Thread by @HoegLaw

Here on the eve of #TheLastofUsPartII let's take a look back at two months of Sony legal stories.

It begins with a question.

"Is Sony Illegally Using the DMCA to Muzzle Last of Us Leaks? (VL215)"

A deeper dive took us into the seedy underbelly of Sony's previous attempts to "extra-legally" curtail discussion of their information, let out into the wild.

"Last of Us Leak Follow-Up: A History of Legal Violence (VL216)"

Next we turned to an examination of "fair use" in the context of "unpublished works", unfortunately (for Sony) finding no satisfaction in the law for Sony's DMCA "aggression".

"Last of Us Leaks: Counters, Fair Use, and Unpublished Works (VL217)"

Next we turned to victories won by Youtubers like @heelvsbabyface, who helped establish the deficiencies of the system Sony proxy MUSO TNT LTD was using to issue DMCA strikes.

"Last of Us Leaks (Pt. 4): DMCA Deficiencies and Manual Claim Madness (VL218)"

With the situation becoming more discussed in venues across the Internet, even big YouTubers like @AngryJoeShow put in their two cents (but one we needed to elaborate on).

"Sony, Muso, and Angry Joe: Last of Us Leak Legalities (Pt. 5) (VL221)"

Sony than moved to the time honored art of corporate obfuscation, directing attention to the "shiny object" of *how* their systems were hacked, rather than on *who* did the leaking.

"Sony: How to Spin a Web (WITHOUT even lying) (VL222)"

From there the corporate giant moved to further delay victories won by YouTubers like @heelvsbabyface through YouTube's own timers, seemingly attempting to lock up commentary until release.

"Sony’s New Strategy? Have YouTube Run Out the Clock (VL224)"

But just as quickly, Sony dropped the strategy as well as many of the related takedown actions including (as mentioned in this one) in respect of @justsomeguycc and @GeeksGamersCom.

"Sony Lifts "Last of Us" Copyright Claims - But Why? (VL226)"

And as Sony (through MUSO TNT LTD) delivered requests to folks like @KinelRyan, one could be forgiven for thinking the company was finally backing off in full.

"Last of Us Copyright Claim Finale: Sony Surrenders (VL227)"

But Sony was not quite done "protecting" the public from other's thoughts on #TheLastofUsPartII leaks, as we saw with MUSO advancing strikes against simple text tweets.

"TLOU Finale (Pt. 2): Rebuffed at YouTube, Sony Turns to Twitter (VL232)"

...and even Sony itself.

"Did Sony Just DMCA Strike Its Own Video? Evidence Points to 'Yes' (VL236)"

And then finally, as coda for this very "interesting" state of affairs, Sony was pulled into the deep morass of compulsory song licensing, covers, and moral attribution rights.

"TLOU2: On Compulsory Song Licenses And Cover "Theft" (VL240)"

It was a heck of a ride. Please share with anyone you think might be interested, and please do join for stories like this and more in #VirtualLegality.

We're just getting started.

#TheLastofUsPartII #Sony #DMCA

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