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

Well said!!

Personally, I like designing and building software and have been doing so for 20+ years but after doing several HakerRank and Leetcode style interviews it makes me wish to do something else.

I’ve had FAANG recruiters tell me “study for hours per day for a few months” and then you can be ready. Even smaller companies focus on leetcode more than actual experience.

I’ve worked with plenty of optimal algorithms in my life but when I do I spend time researching and looking at many examples rather than having to memorize something that shouldn’t be memorized in the first place; but the way the interviews are done it seems like companies just want code monkeys (even the good paying companies).

No other well-paid profession tolerates this style of interview one you have experience. I would never recommend Software Engineering to anyone given the current environment.

> is to takedown plagiarized code snippets or solutions to company assessments

So which is it? Plagiarized or solutions? Because unless your company actually owns the copyright for the code in question, you have no right to it.

If a Google assessment asks “how many manhole covers are there in New York” and someone decides to create a repo with “Manhole covers in New York: 23,000” there is no copyright claim.

Do HackerRank users affirmatively sign a non-disclosure agreement? I checked your terms and there is not an apparent non-disclosure agreement. If not, there isn’t any legal recourse if users decide to talk about or solve your problems off the platform.

Educational and not for profit use is often protected by Fair Use. I didn’t see the repo in question so I can’t comment on if the use of the material meets the Fair Use criteria.

However if people are sharing their answers to your questions in a repo, especially for educational or non-profit value, there isn’t much you can legally do about it. For example, If I take the GMAT and I discuss a question on Twitter, that’s allowed by Fair Use. If I offer to sell a PDF of the entire test, that would not be protected.

If someone said “hey HackerRank’s Ruby test asked a question about finding the smallest value in an array” and then they posted a solution. That’s absolutely not violating a HackerRack copyright. People even have the right to describe their experience on HackerRank in great detail.

From your own policy: “Content that You own and post on or through HackerRank belongs to You..”

So if someone wants to post their solution to a question, your own terms allow that. It’s their solution, it belongs to the user.[1]

If someone else “plagiarizes” another user’s solution, HR doesn’t have standing for a DMCA takedown. The user that created the content does, but not HR.

However even if HackerRank did own the solutions, there is a high likelihood that Fair Use would be in effect.

I have a strong dislike of HackerRank type companies because it’s pretty rare that those ridiculously academic assessments predict real world performance. They are a screening tool for the lazy. A well designed, relevant code test relating to the work of the company or a solid technical interview is much more valuable in my experience. When I was interviewing with companies, I immediately passed on the job of HackerRank was part of the hiring process. I ended up at a FAANG for over 5 years, so it’s pretty clear that anti-HackerRank bias among potential employees like me have a detrimental effect on recruiting.

[1] https://www.hackerrank.com/terms-of-service

> plagiarized code snippets

I'm looking at the page that was taken down[1] and it seems to be largely full of pretty basic code snippets demonstrating how to use the Solvers module.

Your DMCA request[2] includes the statements that say, in part, that Fair Use has been considered, that you own the copyright, and that the information in that statement is true and accurate.

Could you elaborate what on that page you consider to be your copyrighted content, and how you came to hold that copyright? Is it the code snippets, as per your comment? Did your company have an employee write that content?

When the DMCA takedown request was being drafted, did someone consider whether those snippets are even qualifies as an Original Work? I'm getting at whether they contain even a minimal level of creativity, as the US Supreme Court has said is a requirement for copyright[3].

[1] https://web.archive.org/web/20220114132753/https://docs.symp...

[2] https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2022/04/2022-04-1...

[3] https://www.copyright.gov/what-is-copyright/

Absolutely. Since they are claiming copyright infringement on random stuff they didn't write, how many things are going to get caught and not have the reputation of SymPy?

Exactly. When you file a DMCA takedown notice you are asserting under penalty of perjury that you own the copyright. While few have suffered consequences for false notices, pissing enough people off might change that.