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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

#351

Post by dathinab »

lucasyvas wrote: post #34

In almost all cases, TikTok's offering would be considered a derived work because you cannot swap out the OBS part for another and still have it work. So they are likely in full violation unless they agree to open source all their code. Seems like a pretty open and shut case to be honest - that is, if they intend to pursue legal action and the powers that be rule appropriately.

Given that it only affects a beta client they could:

- pay damage for the violation the the client, given that's only beta that would likely not amount to much

- and stop the beta program, while replacing their OBS dependency with something completely different.

Re: TikTok streaming software is an illegal fork of OBS

#352

Post by pphysch »

throw10920 wrote: post #338
pphysch wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bottom line: virtually all large (tech) companies are influenced by governments. They will surveil you on behalf of your government. Period. Any attempts to muddy the waters for ideological point-scoring are beside the point. If you want to dig deeper, please bring evidence instead of speculation.

One of the parent comments in the chain that you wrote said "Do you honestly think Washington doesn't exercise similar influence over Google?" Note the "similar". You then amended your point to "virtually all large (tech) companies are influenced by governments", which is completely different than similar levels of influence . Nobody cares that governments have some level of influence over companies - that's a featur…

If only you (and others) would be as pedantic about verifying claims made by the Washington establishment/media about "the evil See See Pee" as you are about winning internet arguments.

It is impossible to have a practical discussion on these issues when one side unironically believes China is a Mordor-esque land ruled by comic book villains. Totally misinformed.

Anyways, the level of influence is similar. If the Washington wants my private data from Google, they will get it. No amount of wishful thinking and handwaving about "well Google could say no, but bytedance will definitely comply because reasons" will change that.

Re: TikTok streaming software is an illegal fork of OBS

#353

Post by paxys »

908B64B197 wrote: post #239
oliwarner wrote: post #70

It's concerning how many self-labelled software engineers on Twitter are chipping in with comments like "it's open source so it's fair game" or "they just need to add attribution".

I wish "software engineer" meant something. There are CMU/MIT grads using the tittle alongside 3 month bootcamp grads. I also have to wonder, with the owners of Tik Tok really being ByteDance (字节跳动) if the dissrespect for IP really isn't cultural.

The title isn't what's important, it's your skills and what you can do with them. The MIT grad and 3 month bootcamp grad both have the same opportunity to complete and prove themselves, which is unique to the software field. Lack of artificial barriers and gatekeeping is the very reason why the industry is able to thrive.

Re: TikTok streaming software is an illegal fork of OBS

#354

Post by wyldfire »

jnwatson wrote: post #156
wccrawford wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If nobody asked for the source and was denied, they were not yet in violation. They aren't required to actually post it online. They can simply send it to someone when asked.

They are required to post the notice about how to get the source code.

They did post a notice....

“But the plans were on display…”

“On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”

“That’s the display department.”

“With a flashlight.”

“Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.”

“So had the stairs.”

“But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.”

Re: TikTok streaming software is an illegal fork of OBS

#355

Post by paxys »

Not strictly enforcing license terms only deteriorates the standing of the license. A tweet or blog post is fine, but unless someone is willing to take TikTok to court over this the takeaway is clear - violate GPL if you want and nothing will come out of it.

Re: TikTok streaming software is an illegal fork of OBS

#356

Post by pphysch »

throw10920 wrote: post #339
pphysch wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

The US government does not either possess or exercise the power over US companies to coerce them to steal IP from other countries (or companies thereof), which is the issue under discussion (despite attempts to redirect it). Neither NSLs nor Jigsaw give them that power. These are facts.

Characterizing a Ctrl-C Ctrl-V of a publicly available, open-source codebase as government-coerced theft is hilariously overdramatic.

Re: TikTok streaming software is an illegal fork of OBS

#357

Post by dralley »

ksm1717 wrote: post #281
humanistbot wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> that the entire project is a whole cloth copy of OBS. That is a straw man argument. It doesn't matter what percent of the infringing product uses GPL-licensed code.

What if it’s one character?

But it's not one character.

Re: TikTok streaming software is an illegal fork of OBS

#358

Post by bragr »

Vinnl wrote: post #197
kaetemi wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea. Pay someone to write it from scratch. Basically, it's practically (not ethically) fair game to use GPL in commercial software, until someone catches you. The only repercussion that the license provides is that your license is revoked until you resolve the violation (for the first violation). Meanwhile, you got to release your product, and by the time you got caught you've had enough time to implement it yourself…

The authors of the software can create an additional licence that they could buy. Of course, that gets more difficult if there are many different, hard-to-contact authors.

It's worth noting that this is why many commercially minded projects require you assign copyright to them before they'll accept your contributions.

Re: TikTok streaming software is an illegal fork of OBS

#359

Post by xwdv »

paxys wrote: post #355

Not strictly enforcing license terms only deteriorates the standing of the license. A tweet or blog post is fine, but unless someone is willing to take TikTok to court over this the takeaway is clear - violate GPL if you want and nothing will come out of it.

This is exactly how licenses work. If there isn’t some entity willing to take people to court for instances in which the license is violated, it will have no teeth and people will steal and use licensed code with glee.
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