Archive for the 'Copyright Issues' Category
Tuesday, May 31st, 2011
A 58-year-old grandmother who earlier this month became the first person to be convicted of criminal file-sharing offenses in Scotland, has been handed three years probation. The grandmother and auxiliary nurse, who confessed to making available music files during her participation on a Direct Connect sharing hub, will also have to attend compulsory therapy sessions.
Source: File-Sharer Sentenced To 3 Years Probation, Cognitive Therapy
Posted in Anne Muir, Copyright Issues, Direct Connect, Hot Off The Press, Legal Issues | Comments Off
Sunday, May 29th, 2011
The popular video streaming site “Fast Pass TV” shut down earlier this week following the arrest of one of the site’s alleged operators. The site itself didn’t host any copyrighted content but indexed videos hosted on third-party sites. The operator has been released on bail pending inquiries.
Source: Fastpasstv Shuts Down After U.K. Arrest
Posted in Copyright Issues, fact, fastpasstv, Streaming | Comments Off
Thursday, May 26th, 2011
The controversial PROTECT IP Act unanimously passed the Senate Judiciary Committee today. When the PROTECT IP Act becomes law U.S. authorities and copyright holders will have the power to seize domains, block websites and censor search engines to prevent copyright infringements. Introduced just two weeks ago, the bill now heads over to the Senate for further consideration and another vote.
Source: Draconian Anti-Piracy Censorship Bill Passes Senate Committee
Posted in Censorship, coica, Copyright Issues, PRO IP Act | Comments Off
Monday, May 23rd, 2011
After being honored with an Oscar for best motion picture last year, the makers of The Hurt Locker have now also secured the award for the biggest file-sharing lawsuit the world has ever witnessed. By targeting at least 24,583 alleged BitTorrent users, Voltage Pictures hopes to recoup millions of dollars in settlements to compensate the studio for piracy-related losses.
Source: Hurt Locker Makers Target Record Breaking 24,583 BitTorrent Users
Posted in Copyright Issues, hurt locker, USCG | Comments Off
Saturday, May 21st, 2011
US authorities have resumed “Operation In Our Sites” and have seized several domain names associated with copyright infringement or counterfeit related crimes. Among the new targets are two sites that linked to copyrighted films hosted on third party streaming sites such as megavideo.com and veoh.com. Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has yet to officially announce the new operation.
Source: U.S. Government Starts New Round of ‘Pirate’ Domain Seizures
Posted in Copyright Issues, DHS, domain seizures, Hot Off The Press, ICE | Comments Off
Friday, May 20th, 2011
Norway’s Ministry of Culture has just proposed legislative changes designed to further crack down on illicit file-sharing. In addition to smoothing the way for Internet users to be monitored more easily by rightsholders, amendments have been tabled which would order file-sharing sites to be blocked at the ISP level. Top of the list, The Pirate Bay.
Source: Pirate Bay Heads Norwegian Domain Blocking List
Posted in Copyright Issues, Legal Issues, Norway | Comments Off
Thursday, May 19th, 2011
During a speech on Wednesday, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt said that proposals from both the U.S. and British governments to block access to file-sharing websites would threaten freedom of speech. Google, he said, is opposed to such measures and will fight them, presumably in court, if necessary.
Source: Google Boss: We’ll Fight Anti-Piracy Blocking Laws
Posted in Copyright Issues, google, Legal Issues | Comments Off
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011
In late April, Ukrainian authorities shut down Pornolab, the largest adult BitTorrent tracker in the world. Ostensibly the action was taken due to the site breaking strict laws designed to limit access to porn by minors, but a Russian pornstar has suggested otherwise. He claims that it was his complaints that led to the site going down not just once, but twice.
Source: Pornstar Takes Credit For Closure of World’s Largest Adult Torrent Site
Posted in Anti-Piracy, Copyright Issues, Pornolab | Comments Off
Tuesday, May 17th, 2011
Three U.S. Senators have introduced a bill that would make streaming unauthorized music, movies and TV-shows a felony. The bill is said to address a gap in current legislation where streaming is not considered a criminal offense. The question is whether the new legislation is really needed though, as the authorities have already started several criminal investigations into movie streaming sites in recent months.
Source: U.S. Bill To Criminalize Illicit Movie / Music Streaming
Posted in Copyright Issues, Streaming | Comments Off
Sunday, May 15th, 2011
Domain seizures of alleged pirate sites continue to be criticized in the United States. Two of the most outspoken politicians on the issue have asked the responsible authorities about the legitimacy of the seizures, but received insufficient answers. In a response both politicians characterize the seizures as censorship and claim that the authorities “demonstrate little if any understanding of the Internet’s value and function.”
Source: Vagueness About ‘Pirate’ Domain Seizures Disturbs US Politicians
Posted in Copyright Issues, domain seizures, ICE | Comments Off
