3 Count: YouTube-dl Down

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1: Youtube-dl Site Goes Offline as Hosting Provider Enforces Court-Ordered Ban

First off today, Ernesto Van der Sar at Torrentfreak writes that the German web hosting provider Uberspace has taken down the website for the YouTube ripping tool YouTube-dl following a court order in the country.

The move comes at the best of the RIAA, which has had a long-running battle with YouTube-dl. The RIAA contends that the service allows users to circumvent copy protection schemes. This led to a battle on the code repository site GitHub, which initially removed the application before restoring it.

However, the RIAA continued to press and demanded that Uberspace take down the application’s main website. They declined, but the court ultimately sided with the RIAA, finding that the software is infringing. Uberspace has already moved to appeal the ruling, and it looked like the order wouldn’t go into effect as the RIAA was required to put up a €20,000 ($22,000) bond. However, the RIAA did post the bond and, with that, Uberspace says it had no choice but to take the site down.

2: Safaricom Contests Sh4.5m Copyright Award To Rapper Bamboo

Next up today, Richard Kamau at Nairobi Wire reports that, In Kenya, local cell service provider Safaricom has received a stay of a previous order that would force it to pay Sh4.5 million ($31,300) to local musician Bamboo over the use of his music in callback tunes.

The litigation has been ongoing for over 9 years, as Bamboo alleges that the company used three of his songs as callback tunes on their service without authorization. Safaricom, for their part, alleges that they licensed the songs via a third party and, furthermore, Bamboo doesn’t have the legal standing to sue over the songs.

The lower court sided with Bamboo and awarded the judgment. However, Safaricom is appealing that decision, alleging that the judge did not address the issues of third-party indemnification and whether Bamboo has the needed rights to file the case. Safaricom has said it’s prepared to provide collateral for the judgment amount pending the decision in the appeal.

3: DISH Has a New Plan to Stop IPTV Piracy & Wins a U.S. Patent to Do Just That

Finally today, Luke Bouma at Cord Cutters News reports that DISH Network has secured a new patent for a scheme that it hopes will prevent piracy of its service and the channels that it carries.

The goal of the new system, according to the patent filing, is to provide a new digital rights management (DRM) tool that makes it more difficult to rebroadcast their channels via the internet. The patent further adds that the system could work equally well for satellite and cable companies.

It is unclear if the new system will be implemented and, if it is, when customers might see it. The announcement comes amidst rapid changes to the space, which has seen many customers opt to abandon traditional TV services in favor of online streaming services, both legal and illegal.

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