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XBMC's Piracy Stance: Draft - Printable Version

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XBMC's Piracy Stance: Draft - natethomas - 2011-12-29

Update: Below you will find slightly updated rules based on the past week of conversation. Unless something dramatic happens, these rules will go into effect at 11PM, Eastern Standard Time on Friday, January 6th.

Hi forum users. Here's a note from your friendly neighborhood community manager. Up until now, we here at XBMC haven't really had a formal stance on how to deal with piracy discussion on the forum, other than to delete direct links to pirated content. Because we've decided that creates too much confusion for you, the user, we've decided to draft some more specific forum rules. While the decisions for how to police the forum ultimately lie with the admins and moderators, I wanted to give you users a chance to look through the proposed rules. If you have any useful suggestions or comments, feel free to list them below.

Our ultimate goal is to try to inhibit creativity as little as possible, while also being as morally respectful of the rights of content owners and creators as we can. So with that said, here are the proposed rules. We will let them stew for 24 to 48 hours. After that time, we will try to incorporate the best suggestions and revisions, and we'll go ahead and make them official.

XBMC's Official Forum Piracy Stance

1. All discussions dealing directly with or linking to add-ons, websites, or services that violate US copyright laws ("pirated content") will be closed when a forum moderator has been made aware of them. The original poster or add-on creator may provide a link to a website not hosted by XBMC for further discussion and inquiries.

2. Discussions for add-ons that link directly to pirated content and enables the user to access that content through the add-on will be shut down.

3. All links to pirated content will be removed.

4. "Pirated content" addons, websites, and services typically do not include the following (to be determined on a case-by-case basis if nessesary):
A. The add-on does not actually perform the act of accessing pirated content ("mistaken identitiy") [For example, Sickbeard, which performs no actual downloading or streaming.]
B. The add-on has the potential to access pirated content, but is potentially useful for downloading legal content as well. [For example, an add-on that downloads torrents is not, itself, a problem, since a torrent can cover a wide variety content, including legally distrubuted videos.]
C. The add-on links/accesses content in a similar way to a normal web browser. This is done under the assumption that if the content owner did not want the content streamed, the owner should have not made the content available to be streamed in their site. [For example, the Bluecop Repository.]
D. The add-on accesses content with permission of the content owner, the content is "copyleft" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyleft), or or the add-on accesses content without the clear disapproval of the content owner. XBMC will do its best to comply with DMCA-related takedown requests.

Thread originators or add-on developers may petition Forum Moderators to re-open a thread that was closed if he or she believes one of the above exceptions applies.

5. Fair use exceptions apply for issues such as small video samples for testing and debugging, fanart and related artwork, video and audio summaries, subtitles, etc.

6. These rules apply only to the forum. They do not apply to the XBMC Addon Repository. At no point will any user be prevented from using XBMC Media Center as they so choose, nor will they be prevented from adding additional Addons not in the XBMC Addon Repository or additional addon repositories.


- RenZ0R - 2011-12-29

Eep, id hate to be the mod that has to clean up the plugin section, 90% of any "streaming" site plugin there is to illegal content :|


- htpc guy - 2011-12-29

Looks like this will most likely effect the icefilms addon, which is a shame since its most likely the widest used addon. Sickbeard, Couchpotato and Headphones all grab torrents or nzb's which can access legal content so I gues that skirts around the rules.


- Robotica - 2011-12-29

htpc guy Wrote:Looks like this will most likely effect the icefilms addon, which is a shame since its most likely the widest used addon. Sickbeard, Couchpotato and Headphones all grab torrents or nzb's which can access legal content so I gues that skirts around the rules.

What about all kind of online service (like YouTube, Vimeo, subtitles, etc) which use EULA for accessing their content. Besides, not all the streamed content is illegal, but inappropriate use (copyright infringement, Video calling for racial hatred, video of pedo-pornographic nature, Incitement to violence and any other content that violates the laws) is.

@nate: You're talking about the forum but it probably also goes for Addon Manager UELA and the wiki?


- Robotica - 2011-12-29

Hi Nate,

Great to see a topic like this. I would love to express my view on this but it’s hard discussing this since the Foundation is operating in the dark. How can forum members discuss this when there aren’t any published Letter of Incooperation and Bylaws of this Foundation?

ps.
Wouldn’t a C&D letter (explanation & example) option in the footer be sufficient in US-laws?


- branlr - 2011-12-29

It is unfortunate that we lose this freedom, but necessary.

XBMC is too good and too important to risk aligning itself with piracy.


- Robotica - 2011-12-29

branlr Wrote:It is unfortunate that we lose this freedom, but necessary.

XBMC is too good and too important to risk aligning itself with piracy.

Piracy, esspecially in combination with a GPL-sofware project, should be avoided, like R. Stallmann (and the whole Free / Open Everything Movement) stated. Sharing is more appropriated.


- bigorangekitty - 2011-12-29

I hate to see any form of creativity stifled. However, I believe the registrant should follow the laws of HIS nation, and the USERS take responsibility for how they use information (like people have to do anyhow with the internet in general). The only problem I see here, is the host is "Go Daddy" and the registrant is from Sweden. Change hosts, dump the new rules. People need to take individual responsibility for themselves. As should the registrant. It is that simple.

Here is the information:
Code:
Domain Name:XBMC.ORG
Created On:16-Apr-2004 14:42:00 UTC
Last Updated On:09-Dec-2009 08:26:54 UTC
Expiration Date:16-Apr-2013 14:42:00 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:GoDaddy.com, Inc. (R91-LROR)
Status:CLIENT DELETE PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT RENEW PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT UPDATE PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:CR33816400
Registrant Name:Andreas Setterlind
Registrant Organization:The XBMC Project
Registrant Street1:Gastrikegatan 4 B
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:Gavle
Registrant State/Province:Gastrikland
Registrant Postal Code:803 25
Registrant Country:SE
Registrant Phone:+262 (i'm deleting this)
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email:[email protected]
Admin ID:CR33816402
Admin Name:Andreas Setterlind
Admin Organization:The XBMC Project
Admin Street1:Gastrikegatan 4 B
Admin Street2:
Admin Street3:
Admin City:Gavle
Admin State/Province:Gastrikland
Admin Postal Code:803 25
Admin Country:SE



- Robotica - 2011-12-29

@bigorangekitty: Nice detail! The website is operated by a Foundation and the domain-owners is missing in action...


- Robotica - 2011-12-29

branlr Wrote:It is unfortunate that we lose this freedom, but necessary.

XBMC is too good and too important to risk aligning itself with piracy.

Only piracy for US laws; for other laws it is sharing and freedom of expression. For example, Iceland has got some great laws called Immi.


- bigorangekitty - 2011-12-29

Robotica Wrote:@bigorangekitty: Nice detail! The website is operated by a Foundation and the domain-owners is missing in action...

I'm certainly not trying to get into a pissing match. Just take my words at face value. No one wants creativity or XBMC to fail. Where is the foundation located? Who owns the website? lol. This is a new one for me. Follow the laws of the person(s) running the site. If it is the US (worse case scenario), change it. Best case scenario, Iceland? I don't know why Go Daddy is used? I am located in the US, run websites non-piracy related (because you don't sh*t where you eat) and I use foreign hosting all the time.

I'm just trying to get everyone to think and discuss...that is all. Once again, not looking for a pissing competition.


- Robotica - 2011-12-29

bigorangekitty Wrote:I'm certainly not trying to get into a pissing match. Just take my words at face value. No one wants creativity or XBMC to fail. Where is the foundation located? Who owns the website? lol. This is a new one for me. Follow the laws of the person(s) running the site. If it is the US (worse case scenario), change it. Best case scenario, Iceland? I don't know why Go Daddy is used? I am located in the US, run websites non-piracy related (because you don't sh*t where you eat) and I use foreign hosting all the time.

I'm just trying to get everyone to think and discuss...that is all. Once again, not looking for a pissing competition.

Nobody is; only love for XBMC software on this forum. Everybody is sharing his free time for this project. Sharing important details for this community-driven project will only last the software and the project longer. It's a great initiative from Nate to raise important subjects like this. Even (or maybe specifically) for projects like XBMC.


- ZERO <ibis> - 2011-12-29

The issue I see here is that people living in other nations must suffer under the tyranny of US law. It would be better to move the site to a location with more freedom so that it is then the users responsibility to follow the laws of their nation as it should be. Wink


- Robotica - 2011-12-29

ZERO <ibis>' Wrote:The issue I see here is that people living in other nations must suffer under the tyranny of US law. It would be better to move the site to a location with more freedom so that it is then the users responsibility to follow the laws of their nation as it should be. Wink

In my opinion, Swedish laws related to freedom of expression are pretty ok. Copyright infingement is a case between the addon creator & the user and the content owner. Publishing links is the Foundations/Andres Setterlinds' problem. And, of course, the official repo (addon manager) is effected since it is distributing software. Luckily, we can use our own repo's... Great engineering by spiff and others.


- Martijn - 2011-12-29

In the Netherlands internet freedom has been integrated into the law Smile

However I do agree somethings needs to be done to keep XBMC out of possible trouble.

This post is a perfect example what is wrong:
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=118021

I'm really getting sick and tired of all the icefilms questons througout the forum. Users are just to lazy to read or search for theirselves.


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