The OBS project has accused Streamlabs of copying their name and trademark • Hacker News Board

Re: The OBS project has accused Streamlabs of copying their name and trademark

#21

Post by jobigoud » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 8:46 AM UTC

yccs27 wrote: post #4

Kelteseth wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For example, when someone would bundle OBS with a virus and create a fake website with OBS logo and everything, one could sue them for c̶o̶p̶y̶r̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ trademark infringement. They would still be allowed to do that with FOSS software, but would need to create their own reputation. Edit: Not copyright -> trademark

I think you mean suing for trademark infringement (because FOSS has permissive copyright), or am I just confused?

FOSS doesn't really have permissive copyright though. You can't claim to be the author of a FOSS work that is not your own, even if it uses a permissive license. The license and the copyright are somewhat orthogonal.

Re: The OBS project has accused Streamlabs of copying their name and trademark

#22

Post by panic » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 9:01 AM UTC

djbusby wrote: post #2

This is why it is important to trademark names in your FOSS projects

I would rather put the blame on Streamlabs for using the name without permission than on OBS for not having registered a trademark.

Re: The OBS project has accused Streamlabs of copying their name and trademark

#23

Post by ycombinete » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 9:14 AM UTC

chipotle_coyote wrote: post #8

This is kind of an amazing implosion all at once on Twitter. The OBS Project accused Streamlabs of this after another streaming company, Lightstream, noted that Streamlabs had copy-and-pasted a marketing page from their product to use for Streamlabs' product, down to word-for-word copies of the "user" recommendations. https://twitter.com/Lightstream/status/1460709404609757185 And, also in that thread, El Gato -- make…

maybe it was coordinated?

Re: The OBS project has accused Streamlabs of copying their name and trademark

#24

Post by MayeulC » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 9:21 AM UTC

zeeZ wrote: post #18

charcircuit wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OBS is software for producing and streaming live video content.

While that is its main use, it's also great for recorded video content.

Yes, these years it seems like this is the de-facto screen recorder tool.

"Open Broadcaster Software" -> https://obsproject.com

Re: The OBS project has accused Streamlabs of copying their name and trademark

#25

Post by johanneskanybal » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 9:22 AM UTC

Happy to see this on the front page. What scumbaggery.

Re: The OBS project has accused Streamlabs of copying their name and trademark

#26

Post by pietrovismara » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 9:22 AM UTC

charcircuit wrote: post #14

throwaway81523 wrote: post #13

Can someone explain what OBS is? And yeah, some rando tried to trademark "Linux" some years back, lol. After a fair amount of hassle it ended up getting transferred to Linus Torvalds, which I guess was the best solution.

OBS is software for producing and streaming live video content.

Arguably THE open source software that revolutionized screen recording and live streaming. Not just software.

Re: The OBS project has accused Streamlabs of copying their name and trademark

#27

Post by KennyBlanken » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 9:32 AM UTC

erk__ wrote: post #9

KennyBlanken wrote: post #7

Streamlabs is also almost exactly copying pages from the OBS project website: https://twitter.com/StuV2/status/1460710778462482440 Nearly identical titles, nearly identical general page layout, similar graphics. They even verbatim copied the user testimonial text. My guess is that they're going to Google Adwords themselves to the top of every relevant google search, and trick even people who have been to the correct…

That site have nothing to do with OBS really that is a separate project. https://golightstream.com/studio/ https://streamlabsstudio.com/

Ah, yep, you're right. Unfortunately, I apparently can't edit my comment to correct this. Lovely.

Re: The OBS project has accused Streamlabs of copying their name and trademark

#28

Post by hsn915 » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 9:33 AM UTC

I legit thought OBS and Streamlabs where connected

Re: The OBS project has accused Streamlabs of copying their name and trademark

#29

Post by imtringued » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 9:36 AM UTC

throwaway81523 wrote: post #13

Can someone explain what OBS is? And yeah, some rando tried to trademark "Linux" some years back, lol. After a fair amount of hassle it ended up getting transferred to Linus Torvalds, which I guess was the best solution.

It's the solution to the "Unregistered HyperCam 2" problem.

In simplified words, it's a screen recording software that also lets you stream to twitch and other streaming portals. In practice it does way more than that though.

Re: The OBS project has accused Streamlabs of copying their name and trademark

#30

Post by Splizard » Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 9:37 AM UTC

ycombinete wrote: post #23

chipotle_coyote wrote: post #8

This is kind of an amazing implosion all at once on Twitter. The OBS Project accused Streamlabs of this after another streaming company, Lightstream, noted that Streamlabs had copy-and-pasted a marketing page from their product to use for Streamlabs' product, down to word-for-word copies of the "user" recommendations. https://twitter.com/Lightstream/status/1460709404609757185 And, also in that thread, El Gato -- make…

maybe it was coordinated?

Maybe they just finally had the courage to call streamlabs out on this.