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GitHub has received a DMCA from MPA about torrent tracker nyaa.si

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Re: GitHub has received a DMCA from MPA about torrent tracker nyaa.si

#101

Post by thinkingemote »

maltalex wrote: post #63

The title is misleading. This isn't some generic torrent tracker. The repo in question is the source of a specific site - nyaa.si [0] which according to the complaint is preconfigured to share copyrighted material: > The identified files and code are preconfigured to find and provide infringing copies of our Members’ film and tv content to Nyaa.si users in violation of copyright law. This is probably what makes this…

Possibly due the inclusion of the tracker URLs in the code? https://web.archive.org/web/20200917190718/https://github.co...

Re: GitHub has received a DMCA from MPA about torrent tracker nyaa.si

#102

Post by dan-robertson »

hedora wrote: post #75
mmastrac wrote: post #9

The MPA seems to be getting braver with these takedowns, considering how quickly the youtube-dl one got flipped around. This one seems particularly shaky as you could not use it to explicitly download anything - rather to host data of your own (with no explicit requirement for it to be unauthorized copyright violation). EDIT: perhaps just a ploy to unmask the authors of the torrent site?

Sooner or later, one of these projects will counter-sue for misuse of copyright. Misuse of copyright is when a copyright holder attempts to illegitimately expand the rights granted to them by their copyright in some work (in this case, quashing competition from distribution channels that are used to distribute unrelated copyrighted material). The normal punishment for misuse of copyright is the rendering of the copyr…

I’m not a lawyer but this feels like a fantasy to me. It seems crazy the MPA would take such a risk if they thought it was likely.

Re: GitHub has received a DMCA from MPA about torrent tracker nyaa.si

#103

Post by room500 »

bitcharmer wrote: post #3

Can someone knowledgeable explain to me how a tracker source code violates DMCA? What's next, hard disk manufacturers? Internet providers?

It is stated in the complaint:

> Specifically, at the URL, the Repository hosts and offers for download the Project, which, when downloaded, provides the downloader everything necessary to launch and host a “clone” infringing website identical to Nyaa.si (and, thus, engage in massive infringement of copyrighted motion pictures and television shows).

This is not a generic BitTorrent tracker. This is source code for duplicating the nyaa.si website (which in the github source code, they state is "A BitTorrent community focused on Eastern Asian media including anime, manga, music, and more" [1]).

I think it would be a stretch to say you are interested in this source code so you could then rip out large pieces of it to host your Linux ISO's on...

I agree that some DMCA crosses the line. But in this case, I don't see a legitimate use for this source code other than enabling copyright infringement.

[1] https://github.com/seco/nyaa-1/blob/master/nyaa/templates/ho...

Re: GitHub has received a DMCA from MPA about torrent tracker nyaa.si

#104

Post by thinkingemote »

jchw wrote: post #98
maltalex wrote: post #63

The title is misleading. This isn't some generic torrent tracker. The repo in question is the source of a specific site - nyaa.si [0] which according to the complaint is preconfigured to share copyrighted material: > The identified files and code are preconfigured to find and provide infringing copies of our Members’ film and tv content to Nyaa.si users in violation of copyright law. This is probably what makes this…

Please don't, however, baselessly propagate their claims. As far as I can tell it's bullshit. The source code may be for nyaa.si but it just contains normal torrent tracker code. Take a look at the files listed: > https://github.com/nyaadevs/nyaa/blob/master/utils/api_info.... Online here: https://gitlab.com/SIGBUS/nyaa/-/blob/master/utils/api_info.... See anything remotely suggestive? Not I. > https://github.com/nya…

how about trackers.txt ?

Re: GitHub has received a DMCA from MPA about torrent tracker nyaa.si

#105

Post by TheDong »

daheza wrote: post #18
toomuchtodo wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Github needs to go on the offensive and begin to take action against fraudulent DMCA notices, including justification to seek damages for these claims.

Agreed that Github needs to push back, but we should also be contacting our legislature so that they are aware of the abuse of law.

Whether we contact our representatives or not, the MPA / Disney / etc have deeper pockets than we do.

We've reached the point where a candidate for the senate will only get the nomination and have a chance to be elected if they spend a significant amount of money on their campaign. There's no campaign limits, so if you don't spend much, you're liable to lose.

As a result, the people who run successful campaigns almost always have already agreed to side with the MPA and other interests that have money.

Us telling our legislature we're not happy about it won't help either because, well, what are we going to do? Vote for the person on the other party? Not likely. Vote for another guy? It's unlikely anyone else will even be on the ballot since both the democrats and republicans will avoid having multiple candidates to avoid splitting the vote within the party.

I agree that the problem is really legal at its root, but I think we need better plans than "contact your representative".

Re: GitHub has received a DMCA from MPA about torrent tracker nyaa.si

#106

Post by wongarsu »

afavour wrote: post #70
toomuchtodo wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Github needs to go on the offensive and begin to take action against fraudulent DMCA notices, including justification to seek damages for these claims.

It's weird that we expect Github to do that, in a way. The repo might well be hosted on there for free, but we all want Github to spend a ton in legal fees to defend something they make zero cash from. I'm not sure what my point is here other than finding it sad that code hosting is so centralised.

Github's market position is in no small part based on network effects and depends on nearly every open source project being hosted there.

Now imagine a competitor promising some kind of protection against these kinds of frivolous DMCAs. That could lead to a large chunk of media, p2p and security software moving there, threatening Github's position in those niches and putting that competitor on more equal footing.

Re: GitHub has received a DMCA from MPA about torrent tracker nyaa.si

#107

Post by walrus01 »

dan-robertson wrote: post #102
hedora wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sooner or later, one of these projects will counter-sue for misuse of copyright. Misuse of copyright is when a copyright holder attempts to illegitimately expand the rights granted to them by their copyright in some work (in this case, quashing competition from distribution channels that are used to distribute unrelated copyrighted material). The normal punishment for misuse of copyright is the rendering of the copyr…

I’m not a lawyer but this feels like a fantasy to me. It seems crazy the MPA would take such a risk if they thought it was likely.

If you're an ISP, fully automated software sends DMCA notices for video content copyright violations all the time. There's no human in the loop anymore. If you see the vast bulk of these notices, a lot of them are spurious. It's a GIGO problem.

Re: GitHub has received a DMCA from MPA about torrent tracker nyaa.si

#108

Post by kmeisthax »

kodah wrote: post #57
daheza wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed that Github needs to push back, but we should also be contacting our legislature so that they are aware of the abuse of law.

This has been an issue, and has been lobbied for, for at least two decades. The law may do us favors one day but that day is far into the future.

The future may arrive soon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHypmOp8AdM

Re: GitHub has received a DMCA from MPA about torrent tracker nyaa.si

#109

Post by looperhacks »

For those who don't know nyaa.si: it's probably the most popular public tracker for anime/manga/and related stuff. It sprung up not so long ago after the original nyaa.eu (? I'm not 100% sure on the domain) shut down. Today it's not the only surviving clone, but probably the biggest one.

I'm still not sure however, how the repo itself violates copyright. Yes I'm aware of the explanations but I have a hard time believing it. And I can't exactly look up the linked code files.

Re: GitHub has received a DMCA from MPA about torrent tracker nyaa.si

#110

Post by jniedrauer »

This site is mainly used to share Japanese media. The streaming services have really dropped the ball in this area. They either don't simulcast to other parts of the world (netflix), offer terrible subtitles that are worse than fan translations (netflix, crunchyroll), or just plain never release content for international audiences.

I pay for every relevant streaming service I can, and even when I can access legal, official distributions, I still generally prefer fan releases. It's embarrassing.

I'm so tired of the rent seeking in the entertainment industry. I want to pay artists and content creators, not an ever growing pile of mediocre middlemen and their lawyers. How can we pool our money to hire lobbyists and change the landscape of this industry?

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