The Pirate Bay is one of the most established brands on the Internet, but this certainly wasn’t the case 13 years ago.

The notorious torrent site was originally founded by Swedish pro-culture organization Piratbyrån, during the summer of 2003.

It was first hosted in Mexico, where Gottfrid Svartholm operated the site on a server owned by the company he was working for at the time. After a few months, it moved to Sweden, where Fredrik Neij ran the site and tracker from a Pentium III 1GHz laptop with 256MB of RAM.

While some of the site’s current users weren’t even born at the time, several of the torrents that were uploaded back then are still available today. This week the site’s longest surviving torrents turn thirteen years old. In other words, they’re teenagers now.

Below are the oldest listed torrents as of this week. An episode of “The High Chaparral” has the honor of being the oldest torrent. The file was originally uploaded on March 25, 2004, and although it lists zero seeders in the search results, there are still several people sharing it.

Pirate Bay’s oldest torrents listed

The ‘unofficial’ record hasn’t gone unnoticed to Pirate Bay users. Several commenters refer to the torrent’s achievement as the oldest surviving torrent on the site.

“Well, I guess since this is a part of TPB history i’ll add it to my Raspberry Pi torrent server to seed forever. Hopefully others will do the same,” one person writes in the comment section.

Other torrents that will soon reach teenager status are a copy of the first season of “Oz,” a book with “Top Secret Recipes,” and the “Revolution OS” documentary, which covers the history of Linux, GNU and the free software movement.

What’s most remarkable is that people are still sharing these files after all this time. A torrent only remains available if there’s at least one person sharing it. Over the years millions of torrents have stopped working, but these have weathered all the storms.

To give an idea of how many older torrents are still listed on The Pirate Bay, we looked at one of the site’s most recent database dumps.

Of the 60,000 torrents that were initially available on TPB at the end of 2004, roughly 3,000 are still online today. This number goes up to 10,000 for the 2006 torrents, and 300,000 of all torrents that were uploaded last year are still around.

Given the iconic status of the “High Chaparral” torrent, it’s not unthinkable that this one will live on to become an adult. That is, if The Pirate Bay itself is still operational in 2022.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

Anti-piracy outfit Rightscorp is famous for tracking pirates on BitTorrent networks and sending them bills attached to ISP DMCA notices. They ask for a relatively small amount, around $20 to $30, in the hope that people settle quickly.

Unfortunately for them, the company is a miserable performer and has lost millions over the past few years. On a good day its stock is worth around $0.04. On a bad one, barely half of that.

Last June, Rightscorp announced that it had hired a new chief financial officer. Cecil Bond Kyte, a former CEO and Chairman of Save the World Air, Inc. (STWA), was said by the company to possess unique and valuable skills, particularly in the fields of company management experience and capital raising.

“Under his stewardship, STWA grew from roughly $10 million in market capitalization in 2007 to an in excess of $350 million by 2013,” Rightscorp said.

At the time, the CEO of Rightscorp was Christopher Sabec. However, on February 14, 2017, Sabec resigned to take up the position of company president. Immediately, Cecil Kyte took over as CEO.

One month later and Rightscorp’s new CEO has signed a rather interesting deal with the company. In a March 18 filing, Rightscorp reveals it has entered into a three-year deal with Kyte, which on completion will renew every year. However, it’s the financial aspects that are perhaps most interesting.

Kyte will initially receive an annual base salary of $150,000. However, that will increase to $250,000 if the company can generate $100,000 in gross monthly revenue for three consecutive months.

Rightscorp is due to publish its latest set of financial results, which may reveal some improvement. However, during the three months ended September 30, Rightscorp struggled to generate just $139,834 in total, around $46K per month. On that basis, Kyte needs to double turnover to get his $250,000 salary.

The incentives do not stop there, though. If the company’s new CEO can guide Rightscorp beyond $2,500,000 in gross revenue in any one year period, he can take home a salary of $350,000. That will increase to $500,000 “upon the Company’s receipt of an aggregate of $10,000,000 in cumulative gross revenue.”

Although his $50k signing bonus will have been welcomed by Kyte (not to mention the five million shares of common stock he’ll receive “upon execution of the employment agreement”), achieving these kinds of figures seems like a big ask.

In the year ended 2014, Rightscorp had revenues of $930,729 but made a loss of $2,852,705. In the year ended 2015, Rightscorp generated lower revenues of $832,215 but somehow managed to lose even more – $3,434,567. Interestingly, however, Kyte’s deal doesn’t appear to be linked to Rightscorp turning a profit in any way, since it’s a turnover-focused arrangement.

That being said, with so many shares involved it’s clearly in Kyte’s interest to see Rightscorp develop into a successful company, but can that be achieved? A few clues exist.

Last March, when the anti-piracy outfit was explaining away another set of terrible results, it made several observations.

First, that there had been “changes in the filesharing software intended to defeat detection of copyrights being illegally distributed.” That was interpreted as a reference to increased uptake of anonymity services, such as VPNs. If Rightscorp is looking for an improvement in this area, it probably needs to reassess.

Second, the company said that the “shutting down of some filesharing network infrastructure” had made it more difficult to track pirates. Rightscorp didn’t elaborate, but it’s possible that the demise of several large torrent trackers during the previous year made Rightscorp’s job of harvesting IP addresses a lot more difficult.

Third, the company said that fewer ISPs were passing on its notices, but this is an area that might potentially offer Rightscorp a ray of hope. Although the battle is still ongoing, Rightscorp customer BMG has booked some significant legal wins against Cox Communications in the United States, something which might persuade other ISPs to play ball with Rightscorp in the future.

The other big unknown is whether Rightscorp will change its business model or, more specifically, the pricing structure for its fines.

As the company notes, the pool of torrent users it can track for payment is currently diminishing. While there are still plenty to go at, trying to extract $40, $50 or $60 from each pirate (instead of $20 or $30) would do wonders for turnover with little to no extra costs involved.

And, with other companies getting involved in the space demanding around $300 per shot, an inflated Rightscorp ‘fine’ might start being perceived as a bit of a bargain, if pirates begin to take them seriously.

Only time will tell how Kyte’s influence will play out in public, but with Rightscorp’s annual results due very soon, it’s expected that the company could be very close to reaching its do-or-die moment. In avoiding the latter, it could be pirates that suffer.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

Last year the UK Government introduced the Digital Economy Bill, which is set to revamp current copyright legislation.

One of the most controversial proposals is to lengthen the maximum sentence for online copyright infringement, without a clear criminal threshold.

If the bill passes, it will increase the maximum prison term for copyright infringement five-fold, from two to ten years. According to the Government, this change is needed to deter notorious copyright infringers. However, opponents warn that its broad definitions also put casual file-sharers at risk.

This week a group of campaigners, copyright scholars and lawyers teamed up to share their concerns with the Government and its Intellectual Property Office (IPO). In their letter, they urge the lawmakers to narrow the definition of ‘criminal online copyright infringement’ to prevent abuse and keep it proportionate.

Under the current draft of the bill, anyone who makes pirated content available will open themselves up to criminal liability, if they expose a copyright owner to the “risk of loss”. That definition is too broad, opponents warn, as it allows rightsholders to frame average file-sharers as criminals.

In the letter, the experts suggest two minor changes to the current text.

As it stands, the bill criminalizes people who make infringing files available in the knowledge that this “will cause loss to the owner of the copyright, or will expose the owner of the copyright to a risk of loss.”

The proposed change would swap the general mention of “loss” and “risk of loss” with “commercial scale loss” and “serious risk of causing commercial scale loss” respectively.

The proposed changes

“It is important to stress that this amendment would introduce thresholds for criminal liability to avoid prosecution of minor, small-scale, non-commercial copyright infringers such as file sharers,” the letter reads.

The Open Rights Group has been campaigning for this change for a while, but thus far the Government has seen no reason to alter the proposed text. With backing from many prominent experts, including scholars and lawyers, they hope lawmakers will consider it once more.

The Digital Economy Bill will go to a third reading in the House of Lords on Wednesday next week, which would provide an opportunity to make the suggested adjustments.

TorrentFreak spoke with Dr Felipe Romero-Moreno, Lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire, and one of the signees of the letter. He stresses that the changes are required to ensure that casual file-sharers are dealt with through civil courts, not through criminal prosecutions.

“This amendment would give the courts, lawyers, and the public a clear indication that minor, non-commercial infringement such as file-sharing or unlicensed online publication would be unlikely to meet the thresholds of ‘serious risk’ or ‘commercial scale’ losses,” Romero-Moreno says.

The proposed changes will also ensure that the bill is not in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights and EU law in general, which may not be the case right now. At the same time, it will shield the public against aggressive “copyright trolls,” which could use the current version to back up their practices.

“Crucially, in addition to being compatible with both the European Convention on Human Rights and EU law, our proposal would protect innocent individuals who received threatening letters from speculative invoicing copyright trolls. The latter is something which, unless the UK Government takes our suggested amendment on board, appears to be alarmingly supporting,” Romero-Moreno notes.

A full copy of the letter is available here (pdf). In a few days, we will know whether it has had the desired effect.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

A few years ago Netflix had a pretty casual stance when it came to online piracy.

At the time, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said that they were keeping an eye on the phenomenon, stressing that it’s not exclusively a bad thing. It also creates demand, he argued.

“Certainly there’s some torrenting that goes on, and that’s true around the world, but some of that just creates the demand,” Hastings said.

Netflix openly admitted to using torrent download data as a market signal, buying shows that are popular among pirates in a certain region. The best way to beat piracy is to provide good options, the mantra was.

While it’s still an important issue, Netflix as a company has a different role now. With an increasing number of original shows, it’s becoming a significant content producer, instead of ‘just’ a distribution platform.

Interestingly, this also shows in Netflix’s approach to piracy. The casual stance has long gone, and today Netflix is operating on par with the major Hollywood studios when it comes to copyright enforcement efforts.

Last year we reported that the company had begun sending DMCA takedown notices on a large scale, but its actions don’t stop there. While Netflix doesn’t boast about its anti-piracy efforts in public, a recent job listing for a Global Copyright Protection Counsel is quite a revelation.

The counsel in question will support Netflix’s “Global Copyright Protection Group,” a department the streaming service hasn’t mentioned in public thus far. One of the key focuses of the job is to minimize online piracy, through an advanced strategy.

“He or she will be tasked with supporting the Netflix Global Copyright Protection Group in its industry-wide anti-piracy strategic initiatives and tactical take down efforts with the goal of reducing online piracy to a socially unacceptable fringe activity.”

The responsibilities that come with the job are very broad, touching on pretty much every piracy angle utilized by Hollywood studios in recent years. Ranging from leak-prevention to automated takedown efforts, Netflix has it covered.

Counsel, Global Copyright Protection

The prospective employee will assist in “enforcement activities” and conduct “piracy trends analysis” while keeping an eye on the overall piracy ecosystem, including third-party platforms such as search engines, social media, advertisers, payment processors, domain name registrars.

In addition to traditional pirate sites, the anti-piracy efforts also focus on streaming devices, including fully-loaded Kodi boxes, and anonymizer tools such as VPNs and proxies.

“Consider solutions to deal with new piracy models and ways to consume pirate content online, such as illicit streaming devices and the use of TV add on apps. Monitor use of circumvention and anonymizer tools in the online pirate world,” the job application reads.

The application further mentions a review of “piracy demand” and “piracy messaging projects,” suggesting a concrete outreach to consumers. In addition, Netflix will directly reach out to pirate sites and other intermediaries.

“Assist in the management of Netflix correspondence with and outreach to both the administrators of pirate sites and the facilitators of piracy, including hosting platforms and providers, social media platforms and UGC sites in response to our tactical and industry copyright protection efforts.”

Overall the job application paints a picture of a rather mature and complete anti-piracy program and strategy. Now that copyrights are becoming a more vital asset for Netflix, it’s likely to become even more advanced as time progresses.

That’s quite a leap from the casual stance a few years ago. Apparently, Netflix now believes that solving piracy isn’t just as simple as making content available. They also want a ‘stick’ with their carrot.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

When copies of movies leak onto the Internet, there is usually very little studios and distributors can do about it. Once a copy gets out there, it’s invariably too late, with thousands of people downloading in the opening hours.

Recently, however, a potential leak took on a different complexion. Sometime in February, a then unknown individual managed to get his hands on a pre-release copy of the upcoming Dreamworks movie The Boss Baby.

According to a local media report, the movie was due to be distributed in Serbia by local company MEGAKOM during April. But first, it needed to be localized with a Serbian language soundtrack.

Somewhat bizarrely given the security that usually surrounds high-profile releases, the movie ended up on a translator’s PC. The movie was copied, apparently without her knowledge, to the laptop of a man who lives with her.

Instead of immediately leaking it online, the man – subsequently identified as 26-year-old Momcilo Đinović – reportedly decided to make some cash. He contacted DreamWorks and 20th Century Fox with blackmail demands – pay a large bitcoin ransom or have your global release day ruined.

With help from local police, distributor MEGAKOM launched an investigation to find out how a third-party had obtained the movie. That involved tracing back the IP addresses of the person carrying out the extortion.

Meanwhile, local media reports indicate that 20th Century Fox paid Belgrade-resident Đinović – the son of a retired policeman – first four and then five bitcoin. Apparently, that was not enough to satisfy the 26-year-old, but in any event, things didn’t end well.

After being arrested by local police, Đinović appeared at the High Prosecutor’s Office charged with extorting both 20th Century Fox and Dreamworks. The judge ordered him to be held in pre-trial detention for 30 days. Sources close to the investigation inform local news outlet Novosti that he faces up to 10 years in prison.

Serbia has certainly been busy on the piracy front in recent days. According to an announcement from the Ministry of the Interior, two suspects have just been arrested following an investigation by the country’s organized crime unit into popular local TV streaming site, Serije.rs.

Police reportedly carried out searches of flats and other premises used by the site’s administrators while seizing equipment. The pair stand accused of committing criminal copyright infringement offenses.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.