Italian YouTuber is stealing and profiting off Rocket League content creators’ thumbnails

It's no mystery Rocket League is on the up and up and we can pinpoint one huge reason: content creation. 

Amassing over 5 million hours watched on Twitch channels plus the hundreds of thousands of views Rocket League content is pulling on YouTube, the audience is out there.

This worldwide, multilingual Rocket League audience flocks to originality, visual appeal and personality -- and it is there and then that Mouad Ait “Teknoyd” Rais swooped in to take advantage of it.

Teknoyd, an Italian Gaming YouTuber with over half a million subscribers, was accused of stealing and repurposing Rocket League content creators’ thumbnails, profiting without their permission.

So an Italian youtuber has been stealing thumbnails from @Jonsandman@SunlessKhan myself and probably others, what is the protocol for something like this? 😅 https://t.co/TQkSvK0rPH

— SSG Lethamyr (@Lethamyr_RL) March 4, 2021

The first YouTuber to come forward was Treyven "Lethamyr" Robitaille who is currently signed to Spacestation Gaming as a content creator. Lethamyr mentions this was brought to his attention by Twitter follower @Sparrowhawk_4.

In succession, Rocket League YouTuber “CBell” and Spacestation’s own, Jared “SunlessKhan” Zook and JonSandman also took notice of their work being manipulated and ripped off. All these content creators amass to over 3 million subscribers.

yo he yoinkin' my stuff too pic.twitter.com/aZHHkqzDiL

— CBell (@Chrisofthefam) March 4, 2021

Danny “DannyLotus” Smith, who currently edits videos and designs thumbnails for Lethamyr, was not having it with the plagiarism calling out Teknoyd to pay up.

Danny’s own followers even chased down the guilty party to their Twitch stream to no luck, even stating they were banned after bringing it up.

Yo, Teknoyd, you gotta pay me for these pal. pic.twitter.com/JZ0JKUZ8fj

— DannyLotus 🌞 (@DannyLotusTV) March 4, 2021

Teknoyd does not have a Twitter account and is yet to comment on the matter separately from the platform.

Lethamyr is planning to “report copyright for each of these and pull in $$$ from his videos until he learns to stop doing it.” 

While DannyLotus is not interested in any problems with the Italian YouTuber, specifically asking the audience not to “harass this guy” as they’ll “find a way to handle it”, it definitely is something bigger than just getting artists and designers paid.

(Image: @MrBeast/Twitter)

Just last month, YouTuber behemoth Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson had a similar situation facing off against Russian newcomer A4 led by Vladislav Bumaga who is also blatantly and unapologetically stealing thumbnails and ideas for profit.

A4 went as far as to mock the claims, stating that they do it “10K times better” and that “pics take 10 mins, filming 4-10hrs”, degrading the work and effort that the original artists and creatives put in.

• Read more: Musty goes pro! NRG announces him as new sub in major roster transition

While YouTube copyright claims exist for images, movies/TV shows and musical pieces, there is a grey area surrounding content ideas. 

Without a defined punishment or regulation, Rocket League content creation and MrBeast’s channel are somewhat cornered until YouTube themselves throw their hat in the ring.