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HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]

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Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]

#31
post #27
post #18

> I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed. Too bad these perjery-as-a-service companies never get held to account.

The notice I've seen from them lists their address as being in New Garden Town, Lahore, Pakistan. I don't expect they're worried about the repercussions.

Perhaps, there should be a bond of some value necessary to be posted in such cases. If there is the appropriate money on the line, people suddenly think twice.

Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]

#32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One way for HackerRank to do the right thing would be to sue WorthIT for breach of contract and loss of reputation. Their contract must have included some requirements for due diligence on filing those notices, and having these bogus DMCA notices does hurt HackerRank’s reputation, especially with its target audience. Only way to make this stop is make companies like WorthIT feel financial pain from their actions.

There's also an argument to be made that this is on HackerRank. Just because they're using a contractor to do the dirty work doesn't excuse them from responsibility for this sloppiness.

Yes, there seems to be a need to blame the lawyers and not the company engaging those lawyers.

Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]

#34

I'm happy that this is now on the front page because that's how fraudulent DMCA requests get fixed :) The goodwill lost will now surely exceed the money they saved by not doing proper due diligence. I'm optimistic that HackerRank won't make the same mistake again and other companies might take notice, too.

It would be nice if a lawyer got censured for this. That's how fraudulent DMCA takedowns should get fixed. It would also be nice if Github would implement instant restoration via counternotice as allowed by the DMCA. Implementing only half of the law enables this sort of abuse.

Github does provide pretty descriptive method of submitting in their dmca repository readme [1], and in every takedown notice, as well.

[1]: github.com/github/dmca/

> Our help articles provide more details on our DMCA takedown policy and [how to file a counter notice][2].

[2]: https://docs.github.com/en/site-policy/content-removal-polic...

Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]

#37
Hello, I'm Vivek, founder/CEO of HackerRank. Our intention with this initiative is to takedown plagiarized code snippets or solutions to company assessments. This was definitely an unintended consequence. We are looking into it ASAP and also going to do an RCA to ensure this doesn't happen again.

Sorry, everyone!

EDIT: update here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31092085

Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]

#38
I apologize in advance for the profanity. This really pissed me off.

FUCK you HackerRank, for even entertaining the notion of litigating open source projects at scale for no good reason.

FUCK you for taking down the the documentation for a harmless open source symbolic mathematics engine without any justification that I can see.

What content of your shitty ranking company could SymPy possibly have infringed on?

Also an honorable FUCK you to GitHub for your DMCA policy to take down the repository without even a standby period (perhaps with a warning?).

And FUCK the internet in 2022 for its bureaucratic and corporate spirit.

And FUCK me for not having the steel to just take my code off of GitHub. I am part of the problem.

Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]

#39
post #37

Hello, I'm Vivek, founder/CEO of HackerRank. Our intention with this initiative is to takedown plagiarized code snippets or solutions to company assessments. This was definitely an unintended consequence. We are looking into it ASAP and also going to do an RCA to ensure this doesn't happen again. Sorry, everyone! EDIT: update here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31092085

RECOMPENSE

Re: HackerRank (YC S11) DMCA'ed the SymPy Docs [fixed]

#40
post #37

Hello, I'm Vivek, founder/CEO of HackerRank. Our intention with this initiative is to takedown plagiarized code snippets or solutions to company assessments. This was definitely an unintended consequence. We are looking into it ASAP and also going to do an RCA to ensure this doesn't happen again. Sorry, everyone! EDIT: update here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31092085

I’m curious - why even bother? What will you do if someone torrents the solutions? Focus on figuring out another solution.

Leetcode for instance puts the solutions out there.

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