The application of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to combat copyright violations is bringing great results.
According to reports from Googlein 2022 alone the removal of ben was requested 680 million contents online, with numbers increasing in the following year. One of the services where copyright violations are most frequent, it seems, is GitHub.
In fact, following the application of the DMCA, the software development platform saw the removal of many 20,517 projects in 2023 alone. An impressive number, but one that is profoundly reduced by GitHub traffic. In fact, over 420 contents are published on the platform, including complete code and software.
On GitHub, copyright violations can be mainly of two types. In the first case, we talk about parts of codeo entire software, which imitate already existing applications. Secondly, we talk about software for archiving content (such as eBooks or music) previously pirated.
Copyright Violations: GitHub’s commitment to comply with DMCA guidelines
Copyright infringement on GitHub is a reality, as demonstrated by the recent case of Nintendo.
The Japanese company, just a few weeks ago, filed a lawsuit against an emulator of the Nintendo Switchthat is to say Yuzu, distributed through the aforementioned platform. On the other hand, GitHub is showing great attention in this area, as evidenced by a transparency report published at the beginning of March 2024, precisely to meet the DMCA directives.
The report highlights the service’s activity to stem copyright violations. Among the many data present, the fact that GitHub increases interventions for violations from year to year stands out. Despite this, the platform is not entirely effective, given theexponential increase in published repositories on an annual basis.
Finally, it should be remembered that GitHub has a special team, made up of lawyers e engineerswho review all removal requests to ensure fair interventions and avoid errors of assessment.
The issue of copyright is not the only issue the platform faces. In fact, GitHub, despite itself, had to deal with the actions of the well-known ransomware group Lazarus.