TubeNinja, a website which allows users to download videos from sites such as YouTube, Vimeo, and Vine, has been on the receiving end of a letter from YouTube's legal team. According to the company, TubeNinja violates their Terms of Service by allowing downloads of content from its site.
The letter explains that if violations of YouTube's terms don't come to a halt, it may lead to legal repercussions against TubeNinja as a whole, or against TubeNinja's owner, who identifies only as Nathan. However, Nathan doesn't believe YouTube has any legal case, for several reasons:
- TubeNinja's terms state that it is up to the users to ensure they use the site legally
- Google's own web browser add-on store for Chrome lists numerous YouTube video downloaders
- The site does not use YouTube's API, and therefore is not in breach of its terms
- Other sites of a similar nature have been online since 2008, setting a precedent
It will be interesting to see if the company does decide to press on with legal action, as it also threatened action against Youtube-mp3.org in 2012, but legal action never followed despite a similar threatening letter. If YouTube decides to bring a suit, TubeNinja may argue that the lack of precedent for pursuit of other unauthorized downloading sites means their site can be allowed.
"[Given] the fact that services like Savefrom, Keepvid, clipconverter, etc have been around since 2008, we find it hard to believe that there is any legal case at all. Kind of like suing a maker of VHS recorders for users taping a television broadcast.”
The site has replied to YouTube, seeking further clarification on its legal stance. However, for now at least, TubeNinja will not be changing its service as a result of possible legal action.
Source: TorrentFreak
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