MultiVersus Withdraws Tweet Following Claims from Charlie the Unicorn Creator Over Copyright Issues
The creator of Charlie the Unicorn, Jason Steele, has criticized Warner Bros. for purportedly using audio from his popular internet short in a MultiVersus advertisement “without authorization”.
The teaser – originally shared on social media but later removed – showcased Reindog’s Unicorndog skin, with the caption “We’re heading to Candy Kingdom to get the new Unicorndog Variant, Charlie!”
This was coupled with a video featuring three Unicorndogs – resembling the three unicorns from Steele’s original clip – which allegedly contained audio directly lifted from the Charlie the Unicorn short.
“MultiVersus is a game created by Warner Bros, a corporation with an annual income of approximately $40 billion,” Steele stated on X, sharing a tweet from Warner Bros’ subsidiary Player First Games.
“They are utilizing my creation, without authorization, to promote their game.”
MultiVersus is a game by Warner Bros, a company with an annual revenue of approximately 40 billion dollars.
Here they’re using my work, without permission, to promote their game. https://t.co/t5LRznScdD
— Jason Steele (@FilmCow) December 22, 2024
“I have no issue with individuals using my works for non-commercial ventures. I have granted specific permissions for this in the past and will continue to do so,” Steele remarked in a follow-up Reddit discussion. “I would never pursue someone for using clips from my work for something like a YouTube or TikTok video, or a Twitch alert, etc. People should have the freedom to use and remix art!
“I have seen numerous references to my work in high-profile projects before. For instance, there’s a deceased unicorn with an enchanted kidney named Charlie in World of Warcraft. This is acceptable! Or it’s entirely within fair-use boundaries. However, directly using my audio is not fair use.
Charlie the Unicorn’s creator isn’t satisfied with the new Reindog short
byu/Kirbykoopa inMultiVersus
“I understand it wasn’t the Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav personally who, from atop the Warner Bros water tower, took my audio for this advertisement. It was (I assume) an undervalued and underappreciated member of the social media team who did it. But it’s Warner Bros who benefits, and it’s Warner Bros who didn’t allocate the necessary budget for their marketing team to properly license media for their social media promotions,” he concluded.
MultiVersus – which has experienced an inconsistent, frequently controversial development track since the launch of its open beta in 2022 – is the debut title from Player First Games.