Archive for the 'Legal Issues' Category
Friday, June 3rd, 2011
According to a report set to be adopted today by the UN’s Human Rights Council, anti-filesharing provisions such as those outlined in the UK’s Digital Economy Act are disproportionate and should be repealed. The provisions, which include disconnecting Internet users for violating the rights of the music and movie industries, breach human rights, the report concludes.
Source: UN: Disconnecting File-Sharers Breaches Human Rights
Posted in Copyright Issues, Legal Issues, Politics and Ideology | Comments Off
Thursday, June 2nd, 2011
A French Court of Appeal has just upheld the sentencing of an administrator of two BitTorrent-related sites. Despite no evidence being presented that money was made from the sites through advertising as claimed – or even that any infringements had occurred – the admin now faces a $29,000 payout. Bizarrely, the Court decided that having the word ‘torrent’ in his sites’ URLs showed that he knew about infringements.
Source: ‘Torrent’ Becomes A Dirty Word As Site Admin Fined $29,000
Posted in Blackistef, Copyright Issues, Legal Issues, SACEM | Comments Off
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
As the United States recoils in horror at the rapid acceleration of so-called ‘speculative invoicing’ schemes designed to force cash from alleged file-sharers, over in Europe the Germans are showing how it’s really done. According to information published by Germany’s Internet industry association, rightsholders there are targeting 300,000 alleged file-sharers every month – a staggering 3.6 million a year.
Source: Anti-Piracy Groups Send 3.6 Million File-Sharing Cash Demands
Posted in Copyright Issues, ECO, germany, Legal Issues, USCG | Comments Off
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
Tuesday, May 24th, 2011
A Pirate Bay user who said he uploaded a comedy movie because he had nothing to do, must now pay a large sum of money to a rightsholder funded anti-piracy group. The man, who was raided back in 2010, admitted uploading a DVD screener of a comedy movie for fun, an act that has turned out rather less amusing than he had hoped.
Source: Bored Pirate Bay Movie Uploader Fined $28,200
Posted in Anti-Piracy, Legal Issues, the pirate bay | 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
Friday, May 13th, 2011
This week it was widely reported that a 58-year-old grandmother from Scotland had become the first person in the country to be convicted of file-sharing offences. Today, David Cook from Burrows Bussin Solicitors, a law firm which has defended individuals in the OiNK and FileSoup BitTorrent cases, voices his concern at the ongoing rights-holder led persecution of those least able to defend themselves.
Source: Scottish File-Sharing Conviction Dismays OiNK and FileSoup Lawyer
Posted in Burrows Bussin, Copyright Issues, David Cook, filesoup, Legal Issues, oink | Comments Off
Thursday, May 12th, 2011
The bizarre-yet-brilliant streaming movie service Zediva recently punched a hole straight through the MPAA’s restrictive licensing roadblocks. Now the fledgling outfit is facing the legal might of Hollywood who want to bomb it back to the Stone Age. Perhaps surprisingly, Zedivca aren’t rolling over and have instead compiled a dream team of lawyers to fight back.
Source: Movie Streamers Line Up Heavyweight Lawyers To Fight MPAA
Posted in Copyright Issues, Legal Issues, mpaa, zediva | Comments Off
Tuesday, May 10th, 2011
As part of a file-sharing investigation, in 2010 authorities tracked an IP address to a house in Sweden. After a night playing video games a blurry-eyed house sitter answered the early morning call only to be welcomed by the police. They weren’t looking for him, but the owner who was abroad. Sometimes, however, you can be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Source: IP Address Leads Police To World’s Unluckiest File-Sharer
Posted in Copyright Issues, Frederick Ingblad, Legal Issues, SWEDEN | Comments Off
