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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

#221
post #204

Now I know about nyaa.si. Cheers MPA. Could you guys DMCA something reminiscent of tvtorrents.com? Man that place was great for finding stuff to watch.

You really want to go to private trackers to get quality over quantity. I'd share public sites, but I'm not sure if it breaks the rules.

I thinK TVTorrents was private. I think it got replaced with the broadcast the .net website.

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

#222
post #115

> 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). I'd like for Motion Picture Association to publish a step-by-step guide on how I can engage in mass…

> by enabling directory indexing and uploading MP4s?

this shows how the MPAA is a short hop away from saying possessing a DRM-free mp4 is tantamount to intent to infringe on copyright

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

#223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Even more entertaining, the bot has no idea what is or isn't legit. Ages ago I received a take-down from "The Internet Police" ordering me to remove all the Atari game updates from the FTP servers. Thing is, they belonged there. Atari paid us to run parts of their site, including game updates.

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

#224

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

Technically, the code is alleged to violate copyright, not DMCA. A DMCA notice is just the process that copyright owners use to tell service providers about allegedly infringing content.

The argument is for contributory copyright infringement via inducement, ala MGM v Grokster 545 U.S. 913 (2005) or Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. v. Fung 710 F.3d 1020 (9th Cir. 2013), the isoHunt case. Inducement occurs where someone distributes a device with the intent of promoting infringement and actual infringement occurs. Here, the argument is that nyaa intends to promote copyright infringement because it provides a tool that is tailored for copyright infringement. The notice letter cites various references in the code to nyaa.si. Exhibit A of the letter comprises "a series of screenshots taken from the Nyaa.si website for the Project that include images of copyrighted works available through the Project." The implication here is that the devs here are encouraging similar use of the code for infringing copyright.

I'm not saying I agree with it, but that's their argument.

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

#225
post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was thinking the same until this part: >> 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. It's one thing to host software that can be used for this. It's another to host software specifically configured for it. Still might be legal. I wanted to see what the linked configuration files actually co…

https://web.archive.org/web/20201105144800/https://codeload.... Have at 'em. .docker/es_sync_config.json .docker/nyaa-config-partial.py config.example.py migrations/versions/2bceb2cb4d7c_add_comment_count_to_torrent.py nyaa/api_handler.py nyaa/static/search-sukebei.xml nyaa/templates/home.html nyaa/torrents.py utils/api_info.py utils/api_uploader_v2.py

Okay this is just getting weird. One of those is just a database update that counts how many comments a torrent has. Another is just some database credentials (probably not the ones you want to use in production, unless you don't mind people knowing your passwords). The HTML template for the home page is also in there for some reason. And then to finish things off they added the OpenSearch definition which I think you can use to add Nyaa/Sukebei as a search engine to your browser.

Really the most suspicious ones are the python scripts in utils, which connect to the api on https://nyaa.si by default. Although those also only seem to allow you to upload torrents (not an infrinfing activity) and download the info of a single entry on nyaa (possibly infringing?).

Also they curiously left out sync_es.py, not that that one does anything too interesting (it synchronizes a elasticsearch database with a MySql database) but it is the script that actually uses those configuration files they picked out.

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

#226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It seems to me that they are deliberately conflating "infringing someone's copyright" and "using to infringe someone's copyright" - there's a difference between "you have my copyrighted code in your github" and "you are providing software that can be used for copying my movie" - the first is what DMCA notices are for, not the second

Seems like they're moving towards thought crime than actual crime.

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

#227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was thinking the same until this part: >> 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. It's one thing to host software that can be used for this. It's another to host software specifically configured for it. Still might be legal. I wanted to see what the linked configuration files actually co…

This is only true if you consider information that can be used to pirate works as "infringing material" that falls under the DMCA (in particular its safe harbour provision). Which would effectively give any copyright holder carte blanche to censor any information that can be used to infringe their copyright.

But isn't that exactly what's happening here?

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

#228
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.

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 almos…

...and don't forget that the incoming president has a definite position on IP and copyright that many here are probably opposed to:

https://techcrunch.com/2008/08/25/joe-biden-obamas-running-m...

In fact I'd go as far as saying quite a few of the events of the past few days are precisely due to this upcoming change of government.

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

#229
post #115

> 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). I'd like for Motion Picture Association to publish a step-by-step guide on how I can engage in mass…

Well copyright is, when it comes down to it, not very logical.

In the digital world every picture, video, audio or other copyrighted material is represented as a number, which can pretty much be any number, if the encoding can be freely chosen.

Transferring and storing those numbers (looking at you π) could be a copyright violation or not, pretty much just depending on the intent.

Because proving intent is very difficult, the rules seem to have changed here a bit, so now the defendant would have to prove that they didn't intent to do so... Which might be even more difficult, but who with money and influence cares about that.

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

#230
post #115

> 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). I'd like for Motion Picture Association to publish a step-by-step guide on how I can engage in mass…

> by enabling directory indexing and uploading MP4s? this shows how the MPAA is a short hop away from saying possessing a DRM-free mp4 is tantamount to intent to infringe on copyright

The idea of constructive possession of copyright infringing material is a little hilarious and sad.
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