![\"ytmp3\"](\"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/ytmp3-logo.jpg\"){kind=logo}
The DMCA takedown process allows copyright holders to report infringing content and have it removed or taken down.<\/p>\nThe DMCA takedown process allows copyright holders to report infringing content and have it removed or taken down.<\/p>\n
It is a powerful tool that takes millions of URLs and links offline every day. In most cases, this happens for a good reason, but some takedown efforts are more questionable.<\/p>\n
Fraudsters have previously used false DMCA notices to target competitors. The strategy can be particularly effective when notices are sent to Google, as the search engine actively downranks domains that are frequently mentioned in takedown requests.<\/p>\n
Notices sent by legitimate music industry groups such as the BPI and RIAA contain claims that YTMP3.nu violates the DMCA\u2019s anti-circumvention provision. However, the YouTube-ripping service also views itself as a victim of bogus takedown notices sent by one or more competitors.<\/p>\n
In an effort to curtail the abuse, earlier this year the site sent a cease and desist letter<\/a> to Google, asking the search engine to begin verifying senders of DMCA notices. In addition, YTMP3.nu also asked for a litigation hold in anticipation of future legal action.<\/p>\n The letter didn\u2019t prompt Google to launch an official verification procedure but the YouTube ripper did follow up on its legal threat, although Google itself isn\u2019t a direct target. <\/p>\n In response to a series of allegedly fraudulent notices, yesterday the operator of YTMP3.nu and Y2mate.nu filed a complaint at a federal court in California. The complaint alleges that the sites are being targeted by one or more competitors with the aim of disappearing the sites from search results.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n YTMP3.nu and Y2mate.nu are operated by CreativeCode Ltd, a company incorporated in Anguilla, a small island in the Eastern Caribbean. With more than 40 million monthly visits, Y2mate has a particularly large userbase that is monetized through advertising.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n YouTube-ripping sites apparently operate in a competitive industry. In recent weeks, some unknown person or persons targeted the YTMP3.nu and Y2mate.nu domain names with takedown notices without proper cause, the complaint alleges. The defendants are not known by name yet and are referred to as \u2018does\u2019 for now.<\/p>\n \u201cStarting on or about June 27, 2023, Defendants began to submit fraudulent DMCA notices to Google, falsely alleging that the Websites were infringing on copyrights held by Defendants and that the Websites implemented software that circumvented technologic barriers regarding copyright[sic],\u201d the complaint reads<\/p>\n \u201cThis has caused Google to either delist or downgrade Plaintiff\u2019s websites\u2019 search results on its search engine, resulting in greatly reduced traffic to Plaintiff\u2019s websites and causing Plaintiff significant damages.\u201d<\/p>\n The complaint doesn\u2019t specify what impact the notices had on revenues, but it notes that traffic to the sites reduced by approximately hundreds of thousands of clicks per day.<\/p>\n While both YouTube rippers have been targeted by legitimate rightsholders in the past, the defendants in this lawsuit clearly fall into a different category. Their notices often fail to list a copyrighted work or reference rather dubious copyright holders. <\/p>\n The complaint lists an example of a DMCA notice<\/a> that was sent by \u201cEnd Of YouTube Converter,\u201d claiming to protect the Rick Astley track \u201cNever Gonna Give You Up.\u201d Mr. Astley\u2019s hit song has taken many people by surprise over the years, but the rights to the song are not held by \u201cEnd Of YouTube Converter\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is clear that \u2018End Of YouTube Converter\u2019 does not own the copyright to \u2018Never Gonna Give You Up\u2019 (and is not otherwise authorized by the actual rights holder). Instead, the copyrights for \u2018Never Gonna Give You Up\u2019 are held by All Boys Music, Ltd., for the words and music, and BMG Music for the sound recording of Rick Astley\u2019s performance on the 1987 record Whenever You Need Somebody,\u201d the complaint continues. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Google is known to remove YouTube-ripper URLs in response to takedown notices sent by legitimate copyright holders, but this one doesn\u2019t appear to fall into that category.<\/p>\n CreativeCode\u2019s attorney previously sent cease-and-desist letters to multiple email addresses suspected of being behind these fraudulent takedowns. While the emails were not answered directly, a recipient ostensibly replied through yet another DMCA notice. <\/p>\n The takedown notice<\/a> in question sent an indirect message that wasn\u2019t too hard for the attorney to unravel. <\/p>\n \u201cThis Defendant, cheekily, but in complete disregard and violation of United States law, sent a DMCA Notice to Google referencing the YouTube page of Ceelo Green\u2019s hit 2010 single, \u2018F*** You!\u2019,\u201d the complaint explains. <\/p>\n \u201cClearly, the cease-and-desist letter struck its target, receiving an unsubtle and churlish response. This provides even further evidence that the DMCA Notices are fraudulent and meant for no other purpose than to harass.\u201d<\/p>\n On top of their complaints concerning the bogus notices, the YouTube rippers further stress that they shouldn\u2019t be classified as anti-circumvention tools under the DMCA. While that\u2019s not needed to make a claim here, it suggests that CreativeCode also objects to notices from legitimate rightsholders. <\/p>\n The company sees its websites as content-neutral services. While music companies often complain about music downloaded through the sites, the YouTube rippers highlight a variety of non-infringing uses. <\/p>\n That said, this case is primarily targeted at competitors, not actual rightsholders. Through discovery, YTMP3.nu and Y2mate.nu hope to pinpoint and then name the perpetrators.<\/p>\n The complaint calls for a trial and accuses the defendants of violating the DMCA, Intentional Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage, and breaching California\u2019s Unfair Competition Law. Through the lawsuit, the YouTube rippers hope to recoup at least $500,000 in damages. <\/p>\n \u2014<\/em><\/p>\n A copy of the complaint filed on behalf of CreativeCode LTD at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California is available here (pdf)<\/a><\/p>\n From: TF<\/a>, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.<\/p>\nLawsuit Against DMCA Fraudsters<\/h2>\n
![\"yt](\"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/yt-complaint.jpg\")
<\/center><\/p>\n![\"ytmp3\"](\"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/ytmp3-full.jpg\")
<\/center><\/p>\nRick Astley<\/h2>\n
![\"EOYC\"](\"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/eoyc1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/center><\/p>\nF*** You!<\/h2>\n
Trial and Damages<\/h2>\n