GitHub refuses to remove cracked software copies, developer seeks protection
Problem
GitHub refuses to remove cracked copies of Photopea after DMCA takedown, causing reputational harm to the developer and lacking effective enforcement.
Pain points
- GitHub refused to confirm a violation of 17 U.S. Code § 1201, causing DMCA takedown rejection.
- Numerous cracked Photopea repositories on GitHub dilute the official source.
- Users complaining about cracked versions damage the developer's reputation.
- Dealing with takedowns is time‑consuming and may require hiring a lawyer with uncertain outcomes.
Questions to verify
- Would you be willing to provide specific links to the infringing repositories for further verification?
- Have you previously filed DMCA complaints on other platforms, and what were the outcomes?
- Are you considering implementing domain‑binding or runtime‑detection measures in Photopea to deter piracy?
Evidence
quote
I am a developer of https://www.photopea.com, a popular photo editor that runs in a web browser. Many people are asking AI models to take the Javascript code from my website, remove all ads from it, and they publish such a "new product" on Github for everyone to download. There exist tens of such repositories on Github.
quote · @Anonymous
First off, let me get this out of the way - I am not a lawyer. If you want a legal advice talk to a lawyer. Second, I am sorry this is happening to you. Third, based on GitHub's reply, specifically> we're unable to confirm a violation of 17 U.S. Code § 1201 they took your submission as 17 U.S. Code § 1201 takedown notice.
quote · @Anonymous
IP lawyer here - I can't give you actual legal advice because you aren't my client, but generally, you have two options here, neither of which will be surprising, or very satisfying: 1. Pay a lawyer or firm that specializes in this sort of thing to play whack a mole for you 2. Accept it as normal losses and ignore it.
quote · @Anonymous
I suggest building in some heuristics that detect when Photopea is running outside of your domain. They don't need to be "foolproof," but add additional friction to pirating Photopea so that less people will jump through the hoops.
quote · @Anonymous
Honestly, I was a hoping that giving attention to this problem here at HN might lead to someone from Github actually noticing my problem and looking into it.
Disclaimer: this card is distilled by AI from community discussions as “pain point evidence”. It is a starting point for need analysis and validation, not a “validated market need”. AI has analytical limits; please open the original discussion above to manually verify before key decisions.