We are a passionate community of SpongeBob SquarePants fans who run and support the AI-generated parody AI Sponge Rehydrated out of love for the SpongeBob franchise and to bring joy to tens of thousands of people. The creators have been very careful to follow fair use and parody laws specifically to avoid situations such as this one. As such, Paramount's repeated copyright strikes against the stream have threatened our joy, humor, fandom, and even livelihood.

Paramount Pictures, a multi-billion dollar corporation, is abusing copyright law and YouTube's copyright strike system to take down passionate fan projects made by individuals with a twisted sense of humor and love for these iconic characters. While some of the creators are struggling financially and rely on stream donations for income, Paramount's actions can easily be compared to banning artists from drawing/selling fan art of copyrighted characters - a gross overzealous defense of the IP that does nothing to actually protect Paramount's profits and only serves to harm fans. Furthermore, this is an overreach that dismisses the importance and usage of parody and fair use, two elements inherent in our AI Sponge Rehydrated project that have been repeatedly made clear during the streams. Today, we appeal to Paramount Pictures, the community, and those who believe in media freedom, to respect fair use and parody laws and allow fan projects such as AI Sponge Rehydrated to go on.

A ruling by the United States court, for instance, endorses that copyright law has room for fair use, especially in cases of commentary, criticism, news reporting, and parody (Stanford University Libraries). Thus, we can confidently assert that our project falls within these guidelines. Paramount Pictures' repetitive strikes, with little to no fair consideration, are alarming and oppressive.

Preserving AI Sponge Rehydrated is not only about protecting our joy and livelihood but also about standing against corporate overreach and securing the right of creators to fair use. Stand with us against this overreach - sign this petition to help end Paramount Pictures' unfair copyright strikes against the AI Sponge Rehydrated stream.