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My Latest Brush with the Corporate Internet: GitHub Has My Stolen Code

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Re: My Latest Brush with the Corporate Internet: GitHub Has My Stolen Code

#41

Post by gabrielhounds »

stormcode wrote: post #4
verroq wrote: post #2

What’s wrong with hiring a lawyer to assert your rights?

It costs money. Many people rely on the fact that lawyers are expensive as a defacto deterrent from legal action.

I had to fight off an obnoxious demand from an attorney representing a former employer so my first instinct was to reach out to the EFF. They couldn't help me directly but they maintain a national network of attorneys that are vetted and specialize in all things digital. It never came to actual courtroom litigation in my instance but we talked and she agreed to help me pro-bono (which was amazing to hear). I don't think I should get into more specifics but I will say the demand letter was so obviously bonkers she said she'd gladly slap down their lawyer and (if needed) represent me if they chose to take things further. Luckily simply calling their bluff was all it took and they backed off immediately. So maybe look to the EFF for a referral - It might not be free but if you need legal help as a code creator they may be able to offer guidance.

Re: My Latest Brush with the Corporate Internet: GitHub Has My Stolen Code

#42

Post by shadowgovt »

monoideism wrote: post #35
shadowgovt wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reread and is still misleading. Github, the corporate entity, did not steal anyone's code. It is complying with United States safe harbor law for a hosting service.

"Github has my stolen code". Do you understand this sentence? Shall I diagram it for you?

Harsh. You are correct, I misread it.

And I am not the only one.

"Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith."

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: My Latest Brush with the Corporate Internet: GitHub Has My Stolen Code

#43

Post by ficklepickle »

stormcode wrote: post #9

Sadly, this is corporate America these days. We are living in the Cyberpunk future where corporations have the upper hand and are not required to provide an actual reasonable human to investigate or pass judgement on your issue. You see it with the algos that run user interfacing parts of Youtube, Facebook regularly. It's messed up. I'm sorry your code got stolen.

You mean a free service won't pay someone to hold my hand and make me feel better? Egregious!

The whole premise of this post makes no sense. He posted code on his site, that he wants other people to use, but they are forbidden from changing a single line. But he didn't want it on github, because that means that Microsoft stole it.

It is lame that someone copied it without attribution. But it is a pretty minor transgression in the grand scheme of things. Certainly no financial harm done and nothing has been taken away. You can't control bytes once they are out there. Information wants to be free.

If it bothers you that much, pay a lawyer. If it was too easy to get things taken down, it would be abused by wealthy corporations (even more), and youtube-dl would be gone for good.

If I got this upset about every perceived slight, I'd be waging battles dawn til dusk. Pick your battles, folks.

Re: My Latest Brush with the Corporate Internet: GitHub Has My Stolen Code

#44

Post by MrStonedOne »

lmm wrote: post #17

> GitHub apparently follows this process exactly--without any deviation. GitHub does zero investigation to determine who is in the right--even in a case as obvious as this. Mr-Steal-Your-Script's user name alone should be enough to let GitHub know who owns the code. During this entire process, GitHub communicated with me entirely by computer-generated responses. I never had an opportunity to explain the situation to…

> GitHub should have provided you with his counter-notice including contact information. If they've accepted a clearly invalid counter-notice then you can sue them.

Too bad they haven't even gotten to that part, because i can't find[0] their dmca[1] or the counter notice

[0] https://github.com/github/dmca/search?q=bwfForum

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

Re: My Latest Brush with the Corporate Internet: GitHub Has My Stolen Code

#45

Post by rwdim »

I’ve had code stolen by an employee who used it to start a competing service. I sued him in Federal court and won.

You didn’t have your code stolen.

Your code was free and open, and the header he removed stated that fact.

What you had was a violation of your terms of use, and I while I agree the guy’s probably a scumbag, the only issue here is that he was seen doing it.

Rest assured, others have done it without being seen, it’s a fact of life for a public code repo.

I suggest you:

(a) change “copywrite” to “copyright” in your code, since a copywrite is someone who writes stories, and a copyright is a legal term claiming ownership;

(b) file a dmca takedown notice with github; I run a hosting service and when we receive those, we take action;

(c) move on. Life’s too short, and all he has to do is republish it to another repo and keep you angry and not working on your code.

(d) actually file a copyright with your code so that he doesn’t do it then sue you for using his code;

I feel for you, but scumbags are what they are and there’s not much you can do about it unless you spend a ton of money to find and file a suit against him that you will probably not win.

My condolences.

Re: My Latest Brush with the Corporate Internet: GitHub Has My Stolen Code

#46

Post by kernelbugs »

rwdim wrote: post #45

I’ve had code stolen by an employee who used it to start a competing service. I sued him in Federal court and won. You didn’t have your code stolen. Your code was free and open, and the header he removed stated that fact. What you had was a violation of your terms of use, and I while I agree the guy’s probably a scumbag, the only issue here is that he was seen doing it. Rest assured, others have done it without being…

b: The author did file a DMCA takedown notice. The issue in this case is that the GitHub user filed a DMCA counter notification which states they have a good faith believe the takedown is incorrect or invalid (under penalty of perjury). I am not a lawyer, but it seems to me that the GitHub user may have perjured themself.

d: One does not need to file any documents in order to have a copyright over a work in the US, it is an automatic right given to creators over their original works. Authors do, however, need to file with the Copyright Office before suing for copyright infringement.

Re: My Latest Brush with the Corporate Internet: GitHub Has My Stolen Code

#47

Post by lmm »

jrochkind1 wrote: post #34

I've never done it, but I don't think you need a lawyer to file a DMCA takedown request. It's not that hard to do. Is there any reason for him not just do it, or that you'd need legal counsel? Thinking it through, I suppose theoretically you might worry that if you did it wrong you could get in legal trouble, but a) this guy is positive he owns the copyright to this thing it's not any kind of grey area, b) even those…

> even those who totally file DMCA takedowns under bad faith never ever ever get penalized for it, like nobody ever has been penalized for filing a DMCA in bad faith I don't think?

The "dancing baby" lawsuit ended in a settlement, so maybe? I can't find the details of the settlement.

Re: My Latest Brush with the Corporate Internet: GitHub Has My Stolen Code

#48

Post by hhas01 »

DethNinja wrote: post #11

Title is some click-bait, github didn’t stole your code, somebody else did and posted it at github. You will have to fill DMCA and if they don’t take it down then claim github stole it.

“github didn’t stole your code, somebody else did and posted it at github”

And if you read the title very precisely, indeed it does say that. That said, it is baity AF with all sorts of rich, tasty read meat: “Corporate Internet”, “Github”, “stolen code”—all the things a good internet mob loves.

Furthermore, demanding (or even just assuming) that hosts can/should act as judges, juries, and executioners is itself an exceedingly slippery slope to hop on. I mean, just look at the Trump campaigns ongoing efforts to get Section 230 revoked because Twitter had the temerity to flag some of his posts as “may be disputed”. (Not even “liar, liar, pants on fire”, mind; merely “disputed”. Good Dog but that’s some thin skin.) Be careful what you wish for; laws of unintended consequences; roads to hell and the paving thereon; etc, etc, etc.

So this is not a “David vs Goliath” narrative, much as it might (accidentally or intentionally) resemble one from the OP’s take. It’s David vs another David, while Goliath very wisely—and legally—stays the hell out that particular boy-girl fight. See also:

https://www.eff.org/issues/cda230

.

Now, whether OP actually needs a lawyer or just legally worded letter to activate the next stage in a DCMA takedown, I’m not sure because US Copyright Law’s not my bullpit either. But, yeah, when someone chooses to violate your copyright, then legal-nastygramming the swine once asking them nicely fails to do squat is entirely up to you.

Considering you can already get yourself template-generated contracts, wills, and other common legal documents online for little or no payment, personally I’d investigate that road first before going straight to the dramatic internet swoon. But that’s just me.

Re: My Latest Brush with the Corporate Internet: GitHub Has My Stolen Code

#49

Post by jrochkind1 »

kernelbugs wrote: post #39
jrochkind1 wrote: post #34

I've never done it, but I don't think you need a lawyer to file a DMCA takedown request. It's not that hard to do. Is there any reason for him not just do it, or that you'd need legal counsel? Thinking it through, I suppose theoretically you might worry that if you did it wrong you could get in legal trouble, but a) this guy is positive he owns the copyright to this thing it's not any kind of grey area, b) even those…

In this case, the author did submit a DMCA takedown request, but the Github user then submitted a DMCA counter notification stating that, under penalty of perjury, they have a good faith believe that the takedown is invalid. As I understand it (and I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice), the only next step available is to use the US court system to sue for copyright infringement and perjury.

oh, I see, thanks. :(

it is true that in past issues, the mob would be mad if Github did anything different.

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