As if Spike TV's Video Game Awards weren't bad enough on their own, now the channel's parent company, Viacom, has gone on the offensive, issuing copyright infrigement claims against any YouTube clips from the show. That's doesn't sound too crazy, until you realize that their criteria includes any trailers that debuted during the show, even those on the official channels of the publishers or developers.
The most-high profile takedown is the trailer for Naughty Dog's The Last of Us, which was pulled from the game's official YouTube channel after Viacom filed a complaint. That's right. Someone at Viacom thought it was appropriate to prevent the company that owns the rights to the game and the trailer from displaying it publicly, just because it aired first during one of their shows.
That feat of absurd logic meant that until recently, anyone who headed to the game's official website was met with a large takedown notice, front and center.
Thankfully, it seems like someone at YouTube or Viacom has come to their senses, as the video has now been reinstated. Oddly enough, the title of the clip has been altered to "The Last of Us VGA 2011 Trailer", leading to speculation that Viacom forced Sony to credit the awards show as part of the dispute.
