In what has been a weird week for us here at SmoothFewFilms, I regret to inform you guys that we’ve got some bad news. Throughout our years as content creators on the Internet, we’ve always worked to deliver quality comedy material. Sometimes, this included legally gray areas such as machinima, where we utilized someone else’s intellectual property for a laugh, or in the case of The Leet World, an entire series.
Regretfully, we have finally pushed things too far. Due to our parody of an “Avatar parody”, Fox has sent us an actual cease and desist letter. It wasn’t just the Avatar parody that lead to this, but also the suggestion that Fox would send us a cease and desist letter in Web Zeroes Episode 14 that lead to the actual cease and desist letter. I know, it’s both terribly confusing as well as ironic, but this is sadly not a laughing matter for us.
A few things are changing. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll have to remove Episode 14 of Web Zeroes, as well as any other outstanding works on our site that use other intellectual property. No we’re not yet in trouble for those, but this is what our legal counsel has recommended for us to do. This will include our Halo shorts, Day in the Life of a Turret, Leet World, and any episodes of Web Zeroes which use even images or brief shots of video games, which is quite a fair bit.
Sorry to have to tell you guys this, it bums us out just as much as it will you, if not more so. We’re not really sure where to go from here, because this is admittedly disheartening. It seems not even our live action endeavors kept us out of legal trouble. Maybe next we’ll work on stick figures or something, but who knows. We could always just send carrier pigeons straight to our fans because the Internet is a big and scary place.
Anyway, if you want to review the actual cease and desist letter, the link is right here. Maybe you guys can help us out.
Update: Yes, this is an April Fool’s Joke.
I’m sensing an april fools joke here.
lmao. for a second I was kind of downtrodden, but then as soon as I saw “the link is right here,” I realized what was going on.
gg, guys
Ha ha. April fools.
You guys almost got me till I saw the tag “whats the date”.
Good one. 😀
Please tell me this is an april fools joke…Please tell me this is an april fools joke…Please tell me this is an april fools joke…
I got up to “regret to inform” before checking to see when this was posted, then i continued and giggled along 🙂
Another reason why SMF is great.
Keep it up guys. I’m sure Bobby King had a a lot of things to say. Especially on the method of water boarding.
I can’t keep this laughter in.
You guys are great.
Well.. I’m alaw student. And having clicked on that link, it appears there isn’t much you can do. Sucks. Well, it was good while it lasted huh?
Still a bit strange that Fox are being such dicks about stuff that hardly has to do with them. Really digging the carrier pigeons idea though.. lololoo
Wow that letter has some chilling stuff in it. I suggest you buy tickets to Mexico.
APRIL FOOLS!
this was well set up, and sure gave me qite the scare, but you dont fool me!
April Fools, dudes!
Damn, well played Smooth Few, you totally got me on this April Fools. I just realized it was when i remembered the link that sends you to the communist roll (aka Russian Rick Roll). Well played guys! Anyways, keep up the good work with Web Zeros. Loved the new episode.
I almost fell for it for a second.
It was an actual decent one at that. I went ahead and clicked the link… not the classic ‘rick roll’ scenario. This just proves that you guys are very original. Like many others have said, good job you guys 😀
what a dedicated joker…you wrote all that just to mess with us..almost had me for a bit…glad it was a joke :p
WOW. I am dumb sometimes.
When i read that, i killed the iTunes process and started copying my iTunes folder onto my External HDD to try and save my WebZeroes and Leet World Podcasts. No joke.
Then i remembered what day it was. I forgot because i’ve been Mr. Serious Teacher all day and no one had the gall to try any pranks.
U seriously got me on this 1, as the fools day in my country is in december it was had 2 find out… until i saw teh stoopid vid
Son of a bitch. You got me. I have been tricked by a master of Trickeration.
I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE EDDY.
i wonder how many people thought this was serious from the get go
fuck you got me good i was mega bummed out as and pissed off
if it wasn’t for the update at the bottom it would have ruined my easter
lol
I got fooled … T_T
Me 2, but then I saw the text at the bottom.
Update: Yes, this is an April Fool’s Joke.
awwwwwww i fell for it.
oh i fell for it to
Crap, I thought I was going to have to dload every Web Zeroes and The Leet World episode this site today! You got me, guys. I just read this today, after April Fools, so gullible me fell for it. Nice taking RayWilliamJohnson’s cue and using the ‘new’ Russian rickroll video for the link to the C&D letter.
at first happened to me what in argentina we call
SE ME FRUNCIO LA VERGA… thank god it was a friggen joke
You would have gotten me but I mark every April 1st so I can check around the net for all the cool pranks. Stay classy, SMF. B)
@Andrew Dougan Clemitson – I was one of them. 🙁
Wow, you had me going since the beginning. Though I didn’t read this on April Fools and didn’t look at the date. I could have saved myself but I was late reading it.
The song in the link made me shiver though. No joke it made me get sick to my stomach to look at that guy. Very old childhood memories are coming back.
Ugh.
actually signed up just to say… well played 🙂
i read this top to bottom just now and i died a little inside reading it, was just about to go watch every one of those vids for the last time when i saw that last bit. you guys suck QQ
LOL they got me, I read up today on the 5th so I didn’t think it was an April Fools joke.. and it seems I’m illiterate because I didn’t seem to see the edit for the title: “Aprils Fool:”
I R RTARD.
Jesus Mary and Joseph this scared me damn near shitless.