Yout amicus: fighting for developers' right to innovate

GitHub has filed an amicus brief in the appeal of Yout LLC v. Recording Industry of America, Inc., challenging a district court's interpretation of Section 1201(a) of the DMCA, which prohibits circumventing technological measures controlling access to copyrighted works. The case involves Yout's use of youtube-dl to facilitate the downloading of YouTube videos, which the court deemed a violation due to the absence of a download button being considered an access control measure. GitHub argues that this interpretation conflates access with use, thereby threatening developer innovation by potentially criminalizing widely used tools like ad blockers and web archivers. GitHub emphasizes that Section 1201(a) should not restrict innovations enhancing content experience, as it could stifle technological progress and curtail developers' ability to experiment and innovate without fear of legal repercussions. The brief further asserts that the court should consider whether such uses fall under copyright's fair use provisions, highlighting the importance of protecting developers' rights to foster creativity and innovation in the digital age.