Universal copyright striked the first look at Matt Damon in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.

Universal Pictures recently unveiled the first official image of Matt Damon as Odysseus, however, the day after posting it, the studio issued a DMCA takedown notice against their own first-look picture specifically. So far, there have been no reports of copyright strikes against pages or brands that shared the first-look picture.

Universal’s History of Controversial Copyright Actions

The Donkey Kong Lawsuit (1982)

Universal has a long history of copyright abuse — dating back to even before the internet era. In 1982, the studio filed a lawsuit against Nintendo, alleging that the game Donkey Kong infringed upon their King Kong trademark. The court ruled against Universal, determining that the studio did not have exclusive rights to the King Kong character.

The “Dancing Baby” Case: Universal vs. Stephanie Lenz

More recently, after more than 10 years of litigation, Stephanie Lenz and UMG resolved their dispute, often referred to as the “Dancing Baby” case. Lenz, represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), filed a lawsuit in 2007 after YouTube removed her video in response to Universal’s false copyright complaint. The 29-second clip featured her son dancing to Prince’s song “Let’s Go Crazy.” This case raised the question of whether a copyright holder can use the DMCA to take down an obvious fair use without consequence.

Section 512 of the DMCA created the so-called “notice and takedown” system, which gives service providers immunity from copyright liability for user-posted content as long as they remove infringing material upon notification. However, Section 512 notices often target lawful content as well. To discourage such abuse, Congress included Section 512(f), which allows users to hold copyright owners accountable for bad-faith DMCA notices. Lenz claimed Universal’s takedown was a misrepresentation in violation of Section 512(f), while Universal argued that copyright holders should not have to consider fair use before sending takedown notices. The Ninth Circuit ultimately ruled that fair use must be considered before issuing a takedown, making clear that fair use is not an infringement to be excused but rather is not copyright infringement at all.

Despite this ruling, the court also decided that copyright holders could be excused if they subjectively believed the material was infringing, even if their belief was unreasonable. This loophole has been a point of concern for digital rights advocates like the EFF. Both Lenz and Universal petitioned the Supreme Court for review, but their petitions were denied, leading to a later settlement.

YouTubers vs UMG

Universal’s aggressive copyright practices extend beyond high-profile lawsuits. YouTubers and content creators frequently complain about UMG issuing DMCA takedowns on music usage, even in cases that likely fall under fair use. Many have accused the company of weaponizing copyright claims to suppress content and monetize videos unfairly, and this case of Universal copyright striking their own first look at Matt Damon in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is further proof they’ve gotten out of hand with copyright.

Check out our film section to stay up to date on the latest with Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_City_Studios,_Inc._v._Nintendo_Co.,_Ltd.
https://x.com/CultureCrave/status/1892133829412098212

https://www.eff.org/cases/lenz-v-universal?language=ko&page=5