YouTube reverses absurd takedown of GTA 5 Galaxy Note 7 bomb mod video

Earlier this month we reported about a mod created for Grand Theft Auto 5 which allowed players to replace the in-game sticky bomb with the Galaxy Note 7 because of, you know, the flagship's tendency to explode. The video detailing this mod quickly went viral and remained up for a couple of weeks until just a few days ago when Samsung decided to have it taken down. It filed a DMCA request with YouTube and the video was taken down, however, the online video platform has now reversed the decision and restored the video.

It merits mentioning here that the video does not contain anything that can be considered to be a copy of intellectual property owned by Samsung so the DMCA claim was flaky at best. The creator of this video filed a counterclaim with YouTube which then reviewed its decision. He posted his correspondence with YouTube on this matter online and it confirms that the video has been restored, it's now accessible via its original link.

Samsung stood to gain nothing by being petty about this, at a time when its reputation is already taking a lot of flak, it was a bad decision that should not have been made. The video is back up and it's highly unlikely that YouTube will consider another takedown request now and that's beside the fact that countless similar videos are now available on YouTube. Samsung will surely think twice before sending notices to have each and every one of those videos taken down.

Adnan Farooqui - Executive Editor

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First Samsung device: SGH-E900

Adnan Farooqui is a long-term writer at SamMobile. Based in Pakistan, his interests include technology, finance, Swiss watches and Formula 1. His tendency to write long posts betrays his inclination to being a man of few words.

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