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Calling the thing youtube-dl in the first place rather than GenericDownloadHelper or something like that could, I guess, be seen as marketing it for a specific
by red_admiral 6y ago
Calling the thing youtube-dl in the first place rather than GenericDownloadHelper or something like that could, I guess, be seen as marketing it for a specific purpose.
- TheOtherHobbes 6y agoSadly yes. Legally this was actually rather stupid. Giving the project an innocuous name - think of a cute animal that isn't already being used as an open source mascot - and not explicitly mentioning popular artists in the README would have made the RIAA's case harder to argue. As it stands now, whatever the ethics or politics, legally there isn't much of a defence.
- dylan604 6y agoso, let's fork it and call it something like FURIAA
- mulmen 6y agoYeah I'm sure the RIAA won't notice their name hidden in there and argue the tool is designed to obtain their content.
- TeMPOraL 6y agoToo late; the code is already tainted. It carries the colour of "intended, marketed and used for copyright violation", and you can't just wash it away by reuploading the repo under a different name.
- AnthonyMouse 6y agoWhy not? If youtube-dl incorporates some generic HTTP library (which it presumably does), is that now "tainted" too? If it used the one from Chrome, does everybody have to stop using Chrome? That seems problematic. Also, if that's the case I foresee some epic trolling ahead as people incorporate "interesting" code into their overt piracy tools. I bet some of them even incorporate code built into Windows or macOS. If not, what stops somebody from taking all of youtube-dl, changing the name and three lines of code, and saying that the removed lines were the ones promoted for infringement?
- saagarjha 6y agoThe law isn't some computer program that you can trick if you try hard enough. If someone can reasonably tell that you just took a program and rejiggled it a bit to pretend it's something else, they are going to come after you regardless and likely be successful when they do so.
- Aeolun 6y agoSo lets have someone outside the influence of the RIAA do so? Not everyone lives under their thumb.
- pmoriarty 6y ago"The law isn't some computer program that you can trick if you try hard enough." I don't know what you're talking about. It happens all the time. Miscarriages of justice are common. As just one of endless examples, read about how much of forensic science is a joke, yet it passes muster in the courts.
- saagarjha 6y agoGenerally to do that you have to be willing to aggressively pursue your position and be somewhat ok with being unethical, which I doubt will be youtube-dl's position.
- tehjoker 6y agoThose things happen because powerful people are involved either on the side of the state or a plaintiff or defendant with lots of money. As a weaker party, you can't make the system work for you so easily.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- TeMPOraL 6y ago
- tomrod 6y agoSo rebase it and convert to rust.
- indymike 6y agoThe code is not tainted. It's code not some religious relic.
- eli 6y agoAgreed, though the RIAA may well have sent a letter anyway. There's not really any downside to them sending a takedown that is overly broad.
- lettergram 6y agoNo reason it can’t be hosted elsewhere with that name after a fork.