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TikTok streaming software is an illegal fork of OBS

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Re: TikTok streaming software is an illegal fork of OBS

#22

Post by mynameismon »

ghusbands wrote: post #9

People are misunderstanding this and claiming it's not problematic. Ben Torrell (an OBS developer) notes later in the thread that there is indeed GPL code compiled into TikTok's executables; since source is not available and they have not got another license, it is unlicensed and hence illegal.

Relavant Tweet: https://twitter.com/dodgepong/status/1471522226520346632

Re: TikTok streaming software is an illegal fork of OBS

#24

Post by Liquix »

AustinDev wrote: post #20

So people that have ripped off OBS so far and violated GPL include TikTok, StreamLabs (Logitech), and StreamElements. Any other people I missed?

Hopefully this is high profile enough to incur some consequences. GPL is ironclad on paper, but the sad reality is unscrupulous/international companies can and do just copy code directly off github into their products with no repercussions

Re: TikTok streaming software is an illegal fork of OBS

#27

Post by zinekeller »

londons_explore wrote: post #17

The commitment[1] appears to say, in summary, "you can violate the license anytime, and as long as you stop violating soon after we tell you to, there can be no financial penalties". That makes the GPL substantially weaker, since now a company can use GPL code in any place they think nobody will look. They will never be on the hook for court ordered damages going back years for unlicensed use. [1]: https://github.com…

> That makes the GPL substantially weaker, since now a company can use GPL code in any place they think nobody will look. They will never be on the hook for court ordered damages going back years for unlicensed use.

In OBS' case, maybe. But OBS' developers' generosity doesn't automatically translate to other developers, and even in proprietary cases, there have been cases of a exact-copy contract that have gone significantly different ways.

Re: TikTok streaming software is an illegal fork of OBS

#29

Post by trickstra »

Liquix wrote: post #24
AustinDev wrote: post #20

So people that have ripped off OBS so far and violated GPL include TikTok, StreamLabs (Logitech), and StreamElements. Any other people I missed?

Hopefully this is high profile enough to incur some consequences. GPL is ironclad on paper, but the sad reality is unscrupulous/international companies can and do just copy code directly off github into their products with no repercussions

And now they can also claim it was just autocompleted by Copilot.

Re: TikTok streaming software is an illegal fork of OBS

#30

Post by phkahler »

londons_explore wrote: post #17

The commitment[1] appears to say, in summary, "you can violate the license anytime, and as long as you stop violating soon after we tell you to, there can be no financial penalties". That makes the GPL substantially weaker, since now a company can use GPL code in any place they think nobody will look. They will never be on the hook for court ordered damages going back years for unlicensed use. [1]: https://github.com…

I'm not a fan of the GPLv3 limiting the available response to copyright violations. Time limits in particular. It's one of the less clear parts of the license IMHO, and it affects the primary means of enforcement.

Fortunately a lot of GPLv3 code is actually 3+ so maybe if a version 4 ever comes along this nonsensical restriction on enforcement will be more limited. I do understand the reasons around accidental misuse, but I haven't really seen anyone getting into big trouble from accidental misuse. I have seen these high profile cases of deliberate misuse by big corporations.

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