8 ms·

GitHub Reinstates Popcorn Time Code Despite MPA ‘Threat’

178 points by panny 6y ago

panny 6y ago
I realize this is old news. I just wanted to point out github reinstated popcorn time in 15 days. There's a much better case to be made against popcorn time than there is for youtube-dl, so I fully expect github to be reinstating youtube-dl as soon as they file counter claim.
- sundarurfriend 6y ago
  > old news It's from May 2020, for anyone else wondering if this was pre-Microsoft acquisition - it wasn't.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
DoofusOfDeath 6y ago
I'm not really a conspiracy theorist, but I'm curious about a legal aspect to this... Would it be lawful for Microsoft and RIAA to coordinate a DMCA skirmish entirely as a PR move? IIUC, you can't do that with an actual, legal trial. (I'm not clear if it's actually illegal to do so, or if it just makes judges angry.) I'm talking about Microsoft and RIAA hitting each other with DMCA takedown notices and counter-claims, but stopping short of actually filing suit.
- rmrfstar 6y ago
  Here's an accurate summary of the legal profession: "But most of all, the legal profession has failed. Democratic governance depends upon responsible individuals throughout the entire system who understand and uphold the law, not who understand and exploit it. On average, lawyers have become so deeply corrupt that it is imperative for major changes in the profession to take place, far beyond the meek proposals already on the table. To start, the term “legal ethics,” upon which codes of conduct and licensure are nominally based, has become an oxymoron. Mossack Fonseca did not work in a vacuum—despite repeated fines and documented regulatory violations, it found allies and clients at major law firms in virtually every nation. If the industry’s shattered economics were not already evidence enough, there is now no denying that lawyers can no longer be permitted to regulate one another. It simply doesn’t work. Those able to pay the most can always find a lawyer to serve their ends, whether that lawyer is at Mossack Fonseca or another firm of which we remain unaware. What about the rest of society?" [1] [1] https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/20160506-john-doe-statement/ https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/20160506-j...
  - naveen99 6y ago
    all accused are allowed even provided lawyers.
judge2020 6y ago
GitHub isn't siding with anyone here. They're not increasing liability to protect Popcorn Time, they're only following regular counter-notice procedure by reinstating the repositories after 15 days of the MPAA not filing a lawsuit against the owners of Popcorn Time[0,1]. This procedure will also happen with youtube-dl if they decide to counter-notice. 0: https://docs.github.com/en/free-pro-team@latest/github/site-policy/guide-to-submitting-a-dmca-counter-notice#article-contents:~:text=If%20you%20do%2C%20we%20will%20wait,legal%20action%20against%20you%20before%20then https://docs.github.com/en/free-pro-team@latest/github/site-.... 1: https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2020/05/2020-05-04-MPA-counternotice.md https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2020/05/2020-05-0...
- eli 6y ago
  No because the RIAA letter wasn’t a takedown notice
  - judge2020 6y ago
    https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2020/10/2020-10-23-RIAA.md https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2020/10/2020-10-2... > and in plain violation of Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §1201. Doesn’t mean it’s legally valid, just that the service provider must take it down until they receive a counter.
    - eli 6y ago
      That’s not a takedown notice and does not allege that the repo is infringing any RIAA copyright. They are alleging instead a violation of the anti-circumvention provision of DMCA which is not covered by takedown notice procedure. The letter is also missing several required elements of a takedown letter which makes sense because it’s not a takedown notice nor does it purport to be one. It’s just a letter making demands that cites the DMCA. It carries no legal weight other than the implied threat of a lawsuit.
  - rndgermandude 6y ago
    The RIAA letter was a takedown notice, tho from the looks of it a rather frivolous one. They used a DMCA (17 U.S. Code § 512) takedown notice not to complain about infringing content but to complain about "circumvention" (17 U.S. Code § 1201). This is probably outside of the scope of DMCA notices, but courts often rule like common people would not expect (shout-out to Google vs Oracle). Github then followed the letter of the law (and case law and jurisprudence) and processed the takedown request without looking into the merit, just making sure the notice had the required elements under the DMCA. Doing anything else would potentially open up Github to liability. Now it's up to yt-dl to file a counter-notice, pointing out that the RIAA members do not actually own any copyright to the code itself (and maybe also state that yt-dl is not "primarily" a "circumvention" software according to 17 U.S. Code § 1201), and see what happens. RIAA can then file a lawsuit, which at this point they would probably win just because they can throw more money at it. Hurray for the US civil law legal system, where the richer party almost always wins.
katzgrau 6y ago
"The code is 100 % ours and do not contain any copyright [sic] material please check again" Laughed at loud, especially at "please check again." Something a developer would definitely say.
- abc-xyz 6y ago
  I wonder if they ended up giving all their private information: > So that the complaining party can get back to you, please provide both your telephone number and physical address. > Please type your full legal name below to sign this request. (https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/d7f4a6a3aade92999d4d86962972c4b27af820e3/2020/05/2020-05-04-MPA-counternotice.md https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/d7f4a6a3aade92999d4d8696...) And if they did, then it would be interesting to see if MPA ended up going after them. If I were youtube-dl then that would be the only thing that might stop me from writing a counter-notice.
  - salawat 6y ago
    Signed, Ben Dover Jr. 44 Hereitcomesagain Court Walla Walla, Washington 99362
mpalmer 6y ago
Dunno if anyone from PassiveTech is in the thread, but for the love of God please do not use white text on a black background. It is an abomination.
- snazz 6y ago
  Or at least not a serif like that in that color scheme. A thicker sans-serif in white on black could work.
TT3351 6y ago
I had never heard of this service before today. Thanks MPA!
barrelmonkey 6y ago
The link posted by OP is from Passivetech which just parasites other peoples work. They literally pirated an article about piracy Proper link: https://torrentfreak.com/github-reinstates-popcorn-time-code-despite-mpa-threat-200520/ https://torrentfreak.com/github-reinstates-popcorn-time-code...

178 points by panny 6y ago

I realize this is old news. I just wanted to point out github reinstated popcorn time in 15 days. There's a much better case to be made against popcorn time than there is for youtube-dl, so I fully expect github to be reinstating youtube-dl as soon as they file counter claim.

sundarurfriend 6y ago
> old news It's from May 2020, for anyone else wondering if this was pre-Microsoft acquisition - it wasn't.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

DoofusOfDeath 6y ago

I'm not really a conspiracy theorist, but I'm curious about a legal aspect to this... Would it be lawful for Microsoft and RIAA to coordinate a DMCA skirmish entirely as a PR move? IIUC, you can't do that with an actual, legal trial. (I'm not clear if it's actually illegal to do so, or if it just makes judges angry.) I'm talking about Microsoft and RIAA hitting each other with DMCA takedown notices and counter-claims, but stopping short of actually filing suit.

rmrfstar 6y ago
Here's an accurate summary of the legal profession: "But most of all, the legal profession has failed. Democratic governance depends upon responsible individuals throughout the entire system who understand and uphold the law, not who understand and exploit it. On average, lawyers have become so deeply corrupt that it is imperative for major changes in the profession to take place, far beyond the meek proposals already on the table. To start, the term “legal ethics,” upon which codes of conduct and licensure are nominally based, has become an oxymoron. Mossack Fonseca did not work in a vacuum—despite repeated fines and documented regulatory violations, it found allies and clients at major law firms in virtually every nation. If the industry’s shattered economics were not already evidence enough, there is now no denying that lawyers can no longer be permitted to regulate one another. It simply doesn’t work. Those able to pay the most can always find a lawyer to serve their ends, whether that lawyer is at Mossack Fonseca or another firm of which we remain unaware. What about the rest of society?" [1] [1] https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/20160506-john-doe-statement/ https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/20160506-j...
- naveen99 6y ago
  all accused are allowed even provided lawyers.

judge2020 6y ago

GitHub isn't siding with anyone here. They're not increasing liability to protect Popcorn Time, they're only following regular counter-notice procedure by reinstating the repositories after 15 days of the MPAA not filing a lawsuit against the owners of Popcorn Time[0,1]. This procedure will also happen with youtube-dl if they decide to counter-notice. 0: https://docs.github.com/en/free-pro-team@latest/github/site-policy/guide-to-submitting-a-dmca-counter-notice#article-contents:~:text=If%20you%20do%2C%20we%20will%20wait,legal%20action%20against%20you%20before%20then https://docs.github.com/en/free-pro-team@latest/github/site-.... 1: https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2020/05/2020-05-04-MPA-counternotice.md https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2020/05/2020-05-0...

eli 6y ago
No because the RIAA letter wasn’t a takedown notice
- judge2020 6y ago
  https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2020/10/2020-10-23-RIAA.md https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2020/10/2020-10-2... > and in plain violation of Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §1201. Doesn’t mean it’s legally valid, just that the service provider must take it down until they receive a counter.
  - eli 6y ago
    That’s not a takedown notice and does not allege that the repo is infringing any RIAA copyright. They are alleging instead a violation of the anti-circumvention provision of DMCA which is not covered by takedown notice procedure. The letter is also missing several required elements of a takedown letter which makes sense because it’s not a takedown notice nor does it purport to be one. It’s just a letter making demands that cites the DMCA. It carries no legal weight other than the implied threat of a lawsuit.
- rndgermandude 6y ago
  The RIAA letter was a takedown notice, tho from the looks of it a rather frivolous one. They used a DMCA (17 U.S. Code § 512) takedown notice not to complain about infringing content but to complain about "circumvention" (17 U.S. Code § 1201). This is probably outside of the scope of DMCA notices, but courts often rule like common people would not expect (shout-out to Google vs Oracle). Github then followed the letter of the law (and case law and jurisprudence) and processed the takedown request without looking into the merit, just making sure the notice had the required elements under the DMCA. Doing anything else would potentially open up Github to liability. Now it's up to yt-dl to file a counter-notice, pointing out that the RIAA members do not actually own any copyright to the code itself (and maybe also state that yt-dl is not "primarily" a "circumvention" software according to 17 U.S. Code § 1201), and see what happens. RIAA can then file a lawsuit, which at this point they would probably win just because they can throw more money at it. Hurray for the US civil law legal system, where the richer party almost always wins.

katzgrau 6y ago

"The code is 100 % ours and do not contain any copyright [sic] material please check again" Laughed at loud, especially at "please check again." Something a developer would definitely say.

abc-xyz 6y ago
I wonder if they ended up giving all their private information: > So that the complaining party can get back to you, please provide both your telephone number and physical address. > Please type your full legal name below to sign this request. (https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/d7f4a6a3aade92999d4d86962972c4b27af820e3/2020/05/2020-05-04-MPA-counternotice.md https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/d7f4a6a3aade92999d4d8696...) And if they did, then it would be interesting to see if MPA ended up going after them. If I were youtube-dl then that would be the only thing that might stop me from writing a counter-notice.
- salawat 6y ago
  Signed, Ben Dover Jr. 44 Hereitcomesagain Court Walla Walla, Washington 99362

mpalmer 6y ago

Dunno if anyone from PassiveTech is in the thread, but for the love of God please do not use white text on a black background. It is an abomination.

snazz 6y ago
Or at least not a serif like that in that color scheme. A thicker sans-serif in white on black could work.

TT3351 6y ago

I had never heard of this service before today. Thanks MPA!

barrelmonkey 6y ago

The link posted by OP is from Passivetech which just parasites other peoples work. They literally pirated an article about piracy Proper link: https://torrentfreak.com/github-reinstates-popcorn-time-code-despite-mpa-threat-200520/ https://torrentfreak.com/github-reinstates-popcorn-time-code...