Earlier this month, a mod that added Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 to Grand Theft Auto V started making the rounds. The twist? In the game, it was meant to be used as a bomb, because the real Note 7 can get a little explode-y from time-to-time. Samsung, apparently, did not love the joke.
If you try to watch one of the most popular videos of the mod, you’ll find that it’s been taken down via copyright claim. The culprit? “Samsung Electronics America, Inc and its affiliates.” Other videos of the mod, however, are still fine and dandy. Perhaps Samsung was trying to file more claims, but the device they were using exploded before they could complete the process.
The original video’s uploader, who goes by the handle sdaddy345, isn’t happy about the situation. His YouTube channel, Modded Games, had just started gaining some traction thanks to the Note 7 parody video. In a thread about the situation on Reddit, he said he’s filed a counter-claim, but he could have to wait ten or more days for anything to happen.
“Pretty bummed out,” sdaddy345 wrote, “that Samsung copyright take downed a video that I made 100%... No logo, image or even the word ‘Samsung’ was uttered/shown in the video. It was pretty much the same thing as this video, which is just a gta 5 player throwing the phone at cars and blowing them up.”
I’ve reached out to both Samsung and sdaddy345 for more information. In the meantime, it’ll be interesting to see if Samsung goes after other videos. Given that people are already pissed at them for this situation and, you know, phones that goddamn explode, I wouldn’t be surprised to see further action blow up in their face as well.