A developer of the web-based photo editor Photopea reports that GitHub refused to remove cracked copies of his software despite a month-long DMCA takedown request. The developer claims AI models are scraping Javascript code from Photopea.com to create unauthorized distributions on the platform. He states he received a generic response citing 17 U.S. Code § 1201, which he believes was applied incorrectly. The developer argues the code hosted publicly does not qualify for anti-circumvention protections and suggests a standard copyright infringement notice under 17 U.S. Code § 512(c) may be more effective. He expresses frustration that no human reviewed his case and questions if legal counsel is the only recourse to protect his reputation and stable software version.
GitHub's current policy requires manual review of takedown notices following the youtube-dl incident. The developer received a form letter stating inability to confirm a violation of the anti-circumvention clause. He maintains that while the copies may infringe on copyright, the specific legal mechanism cited by GitHub is likely the barrier to removal. He is considering external legal action to enforce his rights as the sole stable source for Photopea.
The incident highlights the tension between open code accessibility and creator rights in the age of AI training. While GitHub hosts millions of repositories, creators like this developer face significant hurdles when AI-derived copies threaten their livelihood and brand integrity. The case underscores the need for clearer DMCA pathways for software authors dealing with automated code scraping and redistribution.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing