Court Rejects Appeal of Youtube-dl Hosting Provider ‘Uberspace’

Hosting provider Uberspace has suffered another setback in a German court. The court of appeal ruled against youtube-dl's former hosting provider, holding it liable for alleged violations of YouTube's copyright protection measures. The owner of the company is currently considering further appeal options. Meanwhile, youtube-dl remains available on GitHub.

In 2020, the RIAA infuriated many players in the open source community by targeting YouTube-ripping tool youtube-dl.

The RIAA sent a takedown notice to GitHub, alleging that the software bypassed technological protection measures, in violation of the DMCA.

GitHub initially complied but later changed course. After consulting legal experts, including those at the EFF, it restored the youtube-dl repository. GitHub also launched a million-dollar defense fund to assist developers in similar disputes.

Targeting Youtube-dl’s Host

This episode was a massive setback for the music industry, which had been fighting stream-ripping tools for years. However, instead of laying down their arms, Sony Entertainment, Warner Music Group and Universal Music went after Uberspace, youtube-dl’s website hosting company in Germany.

Last year, the music companies prevailed in this lawsuit. The Hamburg Regional Court ruled that youtube-dl violates the law as it bypasses YouTube’s anti-circumvention measures.

Going one step further, the court also concluded that as a host, Uberspace can be held liable for youtube-dl’s activities. The hosting provider received a takedown notice for the website in the past but continued to host it. According to Uberspace, the software wasn’t clearly illegal, but the court ruled that the company should have known better.

Disappointed with the outcome, Uberspace owner Jonas Pasche swiftly appealed the ruling. According to Pasche, the court made a big mistake that could have far-reaching consequences for the hosting industry.

Court Rejects Appeal

While Uberspace hoped to overturn the lower court’s judgment, the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg decided to reject the appeal in full. A copy of the order has yet to be made public, but the German Federal Music Industry Association (BVMI) describes it as a clear victory.

“This confirms the judgment of the regional court, which already required the defendants to stop providing the stream ripping software YouTube-DL. At the same time, the general liability for damages was established,” BVMI writes.

René Houareau, the music group’s Managing Director of Legal & Policy, notes that the court sends yet another clear signal that hosting companies of ‘infringing’ services can be held liable too.

“This is another judicial clarification and warning. Not only to the providers of stream ripping tools and the operators of the corresponding services, but also to the hosting providers: violations of the law have consequences and no one should benefit from them,” Houareau says.

Following the unfavorable ruling, Uberspace expressed disappointment with the court’s decision. Owner Jonas Pasche indicated that he is currently consulting with legal counsel to evaluate the viability of further appeals, but a final determination has not yet been reached.

Uberspace’s owner previously informed us that he was willing to fight the matter up to the highest court possible. If the current verdict stands, it’s a threat to all hosting companies, he argued.

“The consequences of this will be that hosting providers receiving complaints will most likely kick out their customers without a court ruling, for things that might be perfectly legal,” Pasche previously told us.

GitHub Hosts Youtube-dl Now

Interestingly, youtube-dl remains online. Uberspace was required to take the website offline last summer, facing a potential a fine of €250,000 or jail time.

At the moment, the YouTube download tool uses GitHub as its main hosting location. In addition to the code repository, the developers also have a GitHub hosted website on the platform.

The current youtube-dl website doesn’t differ much from the one that was hosted by Uberspace. Both have a rather minimalist look, as Tarnkappe notes. Whether the record labels intend to go after GitHub now is unknown. But that won’t be an easy fight.

GitHub previously concluded that the code doesn’t violate the DMCA’s anti-circumvention provisions, so it’s not likely to take any action without the involvement of a U.S. court.

“We are taking a stand for developers and have reinstated the youtube-dl repo. Section 1201 of the DMCA is broken and needs to be fixed. Developers should have the freedom to tinker. That’s how you get great tools like youtube-dl,” GitHub CEO Nat Friedman said at the time.

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Update: A redacted copy of the order is now available (pdf, German). We will write a follow-up article next week, when Uberspace’s owner has gathered all his thoughts.

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