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User:Dr

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games

This is an account of the time I got hit with an absurd DMCA notice by the Entertainment Software Association for downloading wallpapers.

As you may know, Ubisoft removed access to some of the DLCs for some of its games. Most of these I managed to get ahead of, but one DLC I lost was a collection of wallpapers for Assassins Creed II.

I found a torrent, "[R.G. Mechanics] Assassin's Creed Murderous Edition", which could be used to download the wallpapers, as well as other bonus materials (e.g., slipcovers and disc art). It also could potentially be used to download several of the Assassin's Creed games, but I already own (on multiple platforms, no less) all the Assassin's Creed games possibly available via the torrent, and I made absolutely certain to deselect the games from the file downloads. Only the wallpapers were selected.

Within 24 hours of the wallpaper download, the ESA filed a DMCA claim on Ubisoft's behalf, stating in its claim that I had pirated the original Assassin's Creed game. Not only had I not pirated the game, or any other games, I already own (and have for years) the original Assassin's Creed on Steam, GOG, and Ubisoft Connect/Uplay. The ESA was clearly monitoring activity related to that specific torrent, but the lazy bastards didn't even bother to check what files I was actually downloading (or even the file sizes), they just looked at the list of files potentially included (not actually included) in the torrent download and picked a substantial one to accuse me of pirating, even though I didn't download it.

If I had copious amounts of money and time to throw away on bullshit, I would have challenged the ESA's overzealous, erroneous claim, but trade associations like the ESA de facto prevail by having deeper pockets and time to waste (paid for by companies like Ubisoft).

To top it off, the 4 wallpapers in the collection were quintessential uninspired, low-effort Ubisoft promos, with resolutions of 1120 × 770. I subsequently found the same wallpapers on DeviantArt, so maybe the ESA will file a DMCA notice with DeviantArt accusing them of hosting a pirated game.