Re: Tell HN: GitHub refuses to remove cracked copies of my software after a month

First off, let me get this out of the way - I am not a lawyer. If you want a legal advice talk to a lawyer.

Second, I am sorry this is happening to you.

Third, based on GitHub's reply, specifically

> we're unable to confirm a violation of 17 U.S. Code § 1201

they took your submission as 17 U.S. Code § 1201 takedown notice. Maybe you specifically stated this. Maybe it was implied. This is likely not what you want and GitHub's response is likely correct. The reason for this is that § 1201 prohibits circumventing a technological measure. The JS you host on your public site, even if obfuscated, very likely does not qualify for this protection. Another detail - the reason it took long (a month later according to your post) is that after the youtube-dl fiasco, they committed to manual review, legal and technical, of every 1201 takedown notice [0].

Fourth, if you believe these copies are sufficiently reproducing your copyrighted work,
what you likely want to do is file a standard copyright infringement 17 U.S Code § 512(c) takedown notice. This still goes through the same DMCA report flow but it should result in a less stringent review process and a faster response.

Fifth and finally, consider asking your favorite LLM to get more context around these laws. Good luck!

[0] https://github.blog/news-insights/policy-news-and-insights/s...

thought-gap, 6 hours ago