xQc Is Taking His Fight To The Olympics

Since getting banned from Twitch for watching Olympic highlight reels in the middle of his July 28 stream, xQc has decided to fight back, and he's ready to take it all the way to the top. If you've kept up with xQc, you know this is one of many in a series of bans the popular Twitch streamer has faced. This time, xQc is speaking out against what he believes is unfair disciplinary action, and he may be putting himself at great personal risk to do so.

xQc received a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) strike from the Olympic Committee and has announced he is responding with a counterclaim. Since the Olympic Committee's next move would be to either sue xQc or drop the strike, he could face a drawn-out legal process and potentially lose millions of dollars.

Risk aside, xQc is unwilling to accept a punishment he finds to be unfair. After all, DMCA strikes don't typically lead to Twitch bans like the one he received. Even when they do, they're typically a full day shorter than the streamer's two-day disciplinary period.

So, what's xQc's main case? Fair use. As broken down by the U.S. Copyright Office, fair use "promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances." Some examples of fair use are when copy-protected works are utilized for "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research." So how positive is xQc that this is the right thing to do?

xQc feels positive that he's fighting the good fight. As he shared with his fans on Twitch regarding the Olympics incident, "This is transformative content. This is fair use, and this is not what you guys claim it is, so we counterclaimed it." He's aware that the process could get "crazy crazy," since it is the more resistant approach.

A Twitter thread analysis by "Video Game Attorney" Ryan Morrison (co-founder of the Esports Bar Association) revealed more behind-the-scenes details. Morrison shared, "we discussed all options with Felix and he is confident, as are we, that the content in question was fair use." 

That being said, Morrison emphasized the "incredible risk" of this decision, since the only two options it leaves the Olympics Committee with are suing or dropping the whole thing. Advising others who likely have different situations and budgets, Morrison wrote, "DO NOT COUNTER your own DMCAs without speaking to an attorney. Even if you are right, it can be VERY costly to win."

If xQc is sued by the Olympic Committee, the outcome of his case has the potential to set a precedent for streamers far and wide. In xQc's words, "It [could] change the fate of not only me but a lot of other people at the same time. It's groundbreaking sh**. If it does go there, so be it. We'll be the first one through the wall, no?"