# articles

feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85431
title: Lawmakers Get Caught Parroting Copyright Lobby
uri: Lawmakers-Get-Caught-Parroting-Copyright-Lobby
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/evNfOUSad4Q/
content:
<p><img src="media/5451b1e2.finland1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/finland1.jpg" class="alignright" alt="finland">The Finnish constitution allows citizens to draft and submit legislative proposals for Parliament to vote on. All proposals that get 50,000 supporters within six months will be referred. </p>
<p>This also happened to a crowdsourced draft for a &#8220;fairer&#8221; copyright law which reached the required threshold <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/finland-writes-history-with-crowdsourced-copyright-law-130722/">last summer</a>. </p>
<p>Termed “The Common Sense in Copyright Act,” the proposal aims to reduce penalties for copyright infringement, increase fair use, ban unfair clauses in recording contracts, and ease the ability for people to make copies of items they already own for backup and time-shifting purposes.</p>
<p>Last month the proposal was first presented in the Finnish Parliament. This piqued the interest of copyright lobby groups, who handed over a memo to Members of Parliament before the hearing, to inform them on their stance. Needless to say, the entertainment and media companies were rather critical of the public proposal.</p>
<p>What was more surprising though, is that many MPs repeated the rhetoric that was put forward in <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/213074934/Yhteiskannanotto04022014-1">the pamphlet</a>. Member of Parliament Kauko Tuuppainen went as far as parroting from the memo word-for-word, which was noticed by fellow MP Oras Tynkkynen, and later <a href="http://www.hs.fi/politiikka/Kansanedustaja+kopioi+puheensa+l%C3%A4hes+sanasta+sanaan+lobbausj%C3%A4rjest%C3%B6ilt%C3%A4/a1391665052003">picked up</a> by the Finnish press.</p>
<p>Below is a translation of Tuuppainen&#8217;s address in Parliament: </p>
<p><em>&#8220;The proposal could make Finland into a safe harbor for international piracy.  Why?  Because it encourages copyright infringement in many ways.  One would be free to copy illegal content from the internet according to the proposal.&#8221; &#8211; MP Kauko Tuupainen in the initial hearing in Parliament.</em></p>
<p>Now compare this to the language used by the copyright groups in their memo:</p>
<p><em>&#8220;The proposal would make Finland into a safe harbor for international piracy. The proposal encourages copyright infringement in many ways.  One would be free to copy illegal content from the internet according to the proposal.&#8221; &#8211; Joint announcement by the content and media industry organizations.</em></p>
<p>The two descriptions of the law are nearly identical, with several phrases being read word-for-word directly from the memo. </p>
<p>Open Ministry, the organization that coordinates the public law proposals, is not happy with the display of lobbyists&#8217; influence. The whole idea of the public proposals is to hear the voice of the public and experts, but some MPs would rather parrot lobbyists&#8217; opinions.</p>
<p>&#8220;Since copyright issues can be complex, we asked MPs to first hear what the experts have to say on the suggested changes, before shooting them down based on industry lobbyists objections and exaggerated propaganda. They did not,&#8221; Open Ministry Chairman Joonas Pekkanen says.</p>
<p>“The suggested changes are not that radical, since there is national room to maneuver within the boundaries set by the EU Copyright legislation,” he adds.</p>
<p>The above shows that the copyright lobby has a strong influence on lawmaking, and that in some cases the voice of the public can be easily countered by a handful of lobbyists. While it doesn&#8217;t leak out in public very often, it&#8217;s not a big secret that industry groups have a strong say in the laws that are enacted worldwide.  </p>
<p>Just a few months ago it was revealed that 150 amendments to the EU data protection bill, submitted by Belgian Member of European Parliament Louis Michel, <a href="http://euobserver.com/institutional/122205">were copy-pasted from lobbyist paperwork</a>. </p>
<p>For the Finnish &#8220;fairer&#8221; copyright law there is still hope though, but full transparency will be required. The next hearings are scheduled to be behind closed doors, but Open Ministry hopes that will change considering the recent events.</p>
<p>&#8220;There is hope that the committee chair, MP Raija Vahasalo, has the character to heed the request from professors and experts for full transparency and open this up for public hearings, workshops and debate &#8211; like the other citizen initiatives currently in Parliament,&#8221; Open Ministry&#8217;s Pekkanen says.</p>
<p>The proposal has now been referred to the Culture Committee, who will advise on whether to accept it later this year.  </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85428
title: Google Refuses to Take Down Pirate-Movies-on-YouTube Sites
uri: Google-Refuses-to-Take-Down-Pirate-Movies-on-YouTube-Sites
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/ujcVUm5d20Q/
content:
<p><a href="media/ed6820ae.youtube.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/youtube.jpg"><img src="media/63332699.youtube.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/youtube.jpg" alt="youtube" width="200" height="110" class="alignright size-full wp-image-35449"></a>Earlier today <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/18/us-google-viacom-lawsuit-idUSBREA2H11220140318">news broke</a> that Viacom and Google/YouTube have settled their billion dollar copyright infringement dispute, in which the former had accused the latter of hosting its video content without permission. </p>
<p>The precise terms of the settlement have not been disclosed, but the fact that YouTube has been trying hard to combat piracy in recent years can hardly have gone unnoticed. It invests large sums into Content ID, but this anti-piracy / monetization system can&#8217;t ever hope to solve the problem completely.</p>
<p>So, while the world is worrying about The Pirate Bay and other so-called &#8216;rogue sites&#8217;, through no fault of its own YouTube continues to be a pretty decent place to watch unauthorized content, not least hundreds if not thousands of Hollywood movies.</p>
<p>Finding that content is fairly easy too, via a title search (sometimes followed by &#8220;full movie&#8221;) and the activation of the &#8220;Duration Long&#8221; feature which only returns videos in excess of 20 minutes. However, spammers have been doing their best to pollute these results for some time, with fake video uploads of around two hours which claim to be the movie but are actually ploys to generate traffic to other sites.</p>
<p>If only there was a pre-moderated YouTube-movie-indexing site with a great Popcorn Time-style interface complete with reviewer ratings. Maybe looking something like this?</p>
<p><center><img src="media/67984e04.fullmovies1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/fullmovies1.png" alt="FullMoviesOnYouTube"></center></p>
<p>Actually there are already quite a few of these kinds of sites but MovieFork attracted our attention after it appeared in a complaint to Google penned by Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal, Warner and Disney &#8211; together the MPAA.</p>
<p>The complaint features three sites &#8211; MovieFork, <a href="http://fullmovies.cc/">FullMovies.cc</a> and Otakhang.com, each dedicated to indexing Hollywood movies already available on YouTube. While many of the titles indexed by these sites are older classics, there&#8217;s no shortage of newer titles from the past year. Quality is half decent too, hardly the peer-through-a-letterbox experience of years gone by.</p>
<p>In its <a href="http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/removals/copyright/requests/737085/">complaint</a> the MPAA asks Google to take down specific URLs, including the <a href="http://www.moviefork.com">MovieFork homepage</a>. In another it asks for the FullMovies.cc domain to be delisted along with that of fellow YouTube movie indexing site Uflix.net.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/ff5a11c7.uflix.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/uflix.png" alt="Uflix"></center></p>
<p>But despite the nature of the sites, Google refused to comply with the MPAA&#8217;s requests. Google&#8217;s own Transparency Report shows it took &#8220;no action&#8221; in respect of the takedown notices and searching for the precise URLs with Google search reveals they are still indexed, with none of the sites&#8217; homepages being delisted either.</p>
<p>Quite why Google is refusing to respond is unclear, but there are some interesting pointers. For example, similar requests to take down URLs that point to movies hosted on sites other than YouTube have been successful, such as the one for Man of Steel listed in <a href="http://www.chillingeffects.org/notice.cgi?sID=1134255">this</a> complaint.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s certainly possible that Google expects rightsholders to send their takedowns directly to YouTube, rather than shooting endless links and leaving the original content intact. Indeed, there are plenty of signs they are doing just that as some links are no longer available.</p>
<p>The scale of the free-full-movies problem is evident when one looks at <a href="http://zerodollarmovies.com/catalog/english">Zero Dollar Movies</a>, a site that claims to index 15,000 movies, all available for free from YouTube. It appears to use the YouTube Search API and even has its own &#8216;Instant&#8217; feature for suggesting content that searchers may be interested in.</p>
<p>Other indexes, such as <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/fullmoviesonyoutube">/FullMoviesonYoutube</a>, a section of Reddit dedicated to just that, are pretty basic but show that not much infrastructure is needed in order to create a decent selection.</p>
<p>The movies-on-YouTube problem isn&#8217;t new in the same way that the torrents issue isn&#8217;t, but like Popcorn Time showed, it&#8217;s certainly got an awful lot prettier.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85481
title: WWE Lawyer Offers Gifts to Obtain Streaming Pirate’s Home Address
uri: WWE-Lawyer-Offers-Gifts-to-Obtain-Streaming-Pirate-s-Home-Address
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/ukkxWdCl0Is/
content:
<p><a href="media/93931d55.WWE2.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/WWE2.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-85514" alt="WWE2" src="media/93931d55.WWE2.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/WWE2.jpg" width="180" height="120"></a>After launching its own streaming network and <a href="http://business.financialpost.com/2014/03/17/is-vince-mcmahon-ready-to-sell-wwe/">speculation</a> surrounding a takeover, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is now worth a reported $2.3 billion.</p>
<p>Like many large entertainment industry companies, WWE is an aggressive protector of its copyrights and for several years has been pursuing companies and site owners who dare to step over the line. Part of that strategy is to force fan sites to hand over their domains, should they include &#8216;WWE&#8217; in their URL. For owners of sites which threaten their PPV and streaming sales, things aren&#8217;t much better.</p>
<p>During March 2013, Facebook said that WWE Intellectual Property Director Matthew Winterroth was behind the closure of a page operated by <a href="http://wrestling-network.net/">Wrestling-Network</a>, a site offering links to WWE streams and shows. Wrestling-Network operator &#8216;BeBe&#8217; was told by the social network that he would need to contact the lawyer directly to solve the dispute. BeBe decided to quit Facebook and moved to Twitter instead, but by the summer WWE had raised its head again, this time after PayPal disabled an account used for the site&#8217;s finances.</p>
<p>BeBe says that in October WWE sent a takedown notice to Cloudflare, who handed over the details of the site&#8217;s actual host. For a few months things went calm, but last week all that changed. PayPal closed the site&#8217;s new account which had been opened by a third-party, and Facebook shutdown Wrestling-Network&#8217;s new page and BeBe&#8217;s personal page while they were at it. At this point things took a turn for the unusual.</p>
<p><a href="media/aceee052.facebay.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/facebay.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-11458" alt="facebay" src="media/5c64e7a8.facebay.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/facebay.jpg" width="220" height="58"></a>After being given Winterroth&#8217;s contact details by Facebook, BeBe contacted the lawyer to see what could be done.</p>
<p>&#8220;My Facebook page was removed, care to share why?&#8221; BeBe wrote in an email to WWE last Saturday.</p>
<p>Without being given any further details (aside from BeBe&#8217;s email address which is enough to connect him with Wrestling-Network via a simple Google search), Winterroth wrote straight back suggesting there might have been some kind of mistake.</p>
<p>&#8220;What is your name, address and Facebook page that was potentially inadvertently removed and I&#8217;ll look into it,&#8221; the lawyer wrote.</p>
<p>&#8220;http://facebook.com/WrestlingNetworkHD,&#8221; BeBe responded.</p>
<p>Since Winterroth was the person named by Facebook as being responsible for the takedowns, it would be reasonable to presume that he already knew the circumstances behind the page&#8217;s disappearance, so suggesting at this point that there might have been some kind of error seems somewhat unusual. Nevertheless, Winterroth further underlined that notion in a rather unusual follow-up email.</p>
<p><center><img alt="WWE1" src="media/8705166b.WWE1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/WWE1.png"></center>Needless to say, BeBe wasn&#8217;t tempted to take up the offer.</p>
<p>&#8220;I just woke up and while I was checking my phone, I read the email and started laughing hysterically,&#8221; BeBe informs TF.</p>
<p>&#8220;I mean, I heard a long time ago about a case where in order to arrest them on US territory, some guys were attracted to the USA by undercover FBI agents who promised them money and girls, but a gift bag from WWE? Really? He could at least given me some WrestleMania tickets.&#8221;</p>
<p>BeBe says he politely declined the offer.</p>
<p>&#8220;Oh, that&#8217;s so generous of you, but no thanks,&#8221; he told Winterroth. &#8220;I just want my page back since I didn&#8217;t post any links to copyrighted materials like you claim.&#8221;</p>
<p>Exactly 20 minutes later, the WWE lawyer&#8217;s tone had changed.</p>
<p>&#8220;Thank you for your correspondence. We have shut down your Facebook page and also worked with PayPal to permanently suspend your payment processor account with them. We now have your address and whereabouts in Romania,&#8221; he explained.</p>
<p>&#8220;Should you not shut down the website and agree not to infringe WWE intellectual property in the future in an immediate fashion, WWE will continue to work with our counsel in Romania, as well as the relevant legal authorities, including the Ministry of Internal Affairs/Bucharest City Police and Romanian National Audiovisual Council on our ongoing criminal complaint against you.&#8221;</p>
<p>What followed were demands for BeBe to hand over his domain but with tempers beginning to fray, that seemed unlikely.</p>
<p><a href="media/6faffcc3.rflag.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/rflag.jpg"><img src="media/6faffcc3.rflag.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/rflag.jpg" alt="rflag" width="180" height="135" class="alignright size-full wp-image-85533"></a>&#8220;[..] If you don&#8217;t know, Romania is not a state in the United States of America. Romania is a country in eastern Europe. Unless you figured it out by now, US law does not apply here and no Romanian law is being violated,&#8221; BeBe told the WWE in an <a href="http://thepiratebay.se/static/dreamworks_response.txt">Anakata-inspired</a> response.</p>
<p>&#8220;Yes, this is why we are working closely with Romanian legal authorities on this matter, who have more knowledge of the current state of Romanian law that [sic] either you or I,&#8221; BeBe was informed. &#8220;Your website exists to infringe WWE intellectual property in a wholesale fashion, and such illegal use will not be tolerated.&#8221;</p>
<p>At this point, relations truly broke down.</p>
<p>&#8220;Ok, ok, I&#8217;m gonna go outside and wait for the SWAT team, or are you gonna send Seal Team 6? Well, whatever, in the meantime, you can go fuck yourself &#8216;Captain Skinny-Dick&#8217;,&#8221; BeBe told Winterroth.</p>
<p>&#8220;Oh, since you wanted my name and address, here it is: Mr. Fukhusen, 110 eatshitlane, 6800 Romania. Also, please stop with these legal threats Judge Judy, go back in your room and watch Suits and Law and Order.&#8221;</p>
<p>Signing off with a request for Winterroth to say &#8220;Hi&#8221; to WWE supremo Vince McMahon, BeBe severed his &#8220;negotiations&#8221; with WWE and has heard no more since.</p>
<p>Whether WWE will be tag-teaming with the Romanian police anytime soon will remain to be seen.</p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><em><a href="media/d7a13b58.riple-Threat-Tag-Title-Match_in_progress-RLA-Melb-10.11.2007.jpg" data-original-source="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WWE-Triple-Threat-Tag-Title-Match_in_progress,-RLA-Melb-10.11.2007.jpg">Photo credit</a></em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85480
title: Warner Bros Fights Looming Exposé of Anti-piracy Secrets
uri: Warner-Bros-Fights-Looming-Exposé-of-Anti-piracy-Secrets
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Cz4zlxbdPdc/
content:
<p><a href="media/d3910f92.warnerpirate.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/warnerpirate.jpg"><img src="media/cf05b359.warnerpirate.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/warnerpirate.jpg" alt="warnerpirate" width="190" height="109" class="alignright size-full wp-image-71657"></a>To deal with the ongoing threat of online piracy, major Hollywood studios have <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/warner-bros-seeks-it-expert-to-take-on-internet-pirates-140112/">entire divisions</a> dedicated to tracking down copyright infringers. Exactly what goes on behind the scenes is a mystery, but if the Electronic Frontier Foundation (<a href="https://www.eff.org/">EFF</a>) has its way, part of this veil will soon be lifted. </p>
<p>Last month the digital rights group <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/eff-wants-records-of-warner-bros-dmca-abuse-unsealed-140303/">asked</a> a Florida federal court to unseal the filings Warner submitted in its now-settled DMCA abuse case against Hotfile. </p>
<p>EFF argued that the public has the right to know what mistakes Warner made. Knowing how Warner Bros&#8217; anti-piracy system works will be instrumental in discussing the effectiveness of the DMCA takedown procedure and similar measures. </p>
<p>This week Warner opposed the EFF&#8217;s request. The movie studio fears that by exposing the sealed documents pirates will obtain an unfair advantage. <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/213284069/Kaplan-Decl">According to</a> David Kaplan, Warner&#8217;s Senior Vice President of Anti-Piracy operations, the information &#8220;would give pirates multiple routes for evading detection and copyright enforcement.&#8221;</p>
<p>“Persons familiar with Warner’s methods and strategies for identifying unauthorized Warner content online could infringe without fear of detection if they knew how the detection worked,” Kaplan informed the court.</p>
<p>The above is intriguing, as it suggests that there are ways to bypass Warner&#8217;s anti-piracy systems. While this may be as simple as using <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymizer tools</a>, the studio clearly doesn&#8217;t want the public to know. The opposition filings themselves are heavily redacted, but Warner <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/213284148/Warner-Opp">warns the court</a> that exposing their secrets could allow more &#8220;criminals&#8221; to avoid justice.</p>
<p><center><strong>From Warner Bros&#8217; redacted filing</strong></center><img src="media/9513a554.wbfile.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/wbfile.png" alt="wbfile" width="652" height="162" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-85485"></p>
<p>The movie studio asks the court to keep the documents under seal, and accuses EFF of having a secret agenda. Warner believes that the digital rights group is not so much interested in serving the public good, and suggests that the EFF mostly wants to use the information to their own advantage. </p>
<p>&#8220;Although EFF claims that this unsealing would serve the &#8216;public interest,&#8217; EFF’s motion is a thinly-veiled effort to gain access to Warner’s confidential information for EFF’s own tactical advantage in private litigation that EFF regularly brings against copyright owners to challenge their use of takedown systems,&#8221; Warner writes.  </p>
<p>In EFF&#8217;s case, the public interest may of course be aligned with the interests of the group itself. However, the Hollywood studios believe that EFF is mainly interested in scandalizing.</p>
<p>&#8220;Plaintiffs’ concern that EFF’s true intentions are to exploit the sealed information in order to &#8216;promote scandal&#8217; regarding Warner and other copyright owners is fully justified, and tips the balance even further toward continued sealing of the designated information,&#8221; Warner informs the court. </p>
<p>According to Warner, the EFF&#8217;s reasoning doesn&#8217;t trump their right to protect their anti-piracy secrets. This is not to avoid &#8220;embarrassment&#8221; as EFF suggests, but to prevent pirates from outsmarting them. If the sealed documents were exposed, this could severely damage Warner&#8217;s operation, they claim.</p>
<p>&#8220;As Plaintiffs have explained, this detailed information could be used by infringers to evade Warner’s copyright enforcement efforts. That such disclosure would cause significant harm to Warner’s copyright enforcement efforts is beyond serious dispute,&#8221; Warner stresses.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s now up to the court to decide whose interests weigh stronger. If Judge Kathleen Williams decides to unseal the documents, it will be interesting to see what Warner is so afraid of.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85535
title: PayPal Cuts Off Torrent Streaming Service Streamza
uri: PayPal-Cuts-Off-Torrent-Streaming-Service-Streamza
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Egm64Cw1NOw/
content:
<p><a href="media/26f21508.paypaldenied.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/paypaldenied.jpg"><img src="media/feee0104.paypaldenied.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/paypaldenied.jpg" alt="paypaldenied" width="180" height="115" class="alignright size-full wp-image-53701"></a>PayPal is widely known for its aggressive stance towards <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/paypal-demands-invites-to-private-bittorrent-trackers-130108/">BitTorrent sites</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/paypal-bans-usenet-providers-over-piracy-concerns-121121/">Usenet providers</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/paypal-bans-major-file-hosting-services-over-piracy-concerns-120710/">file-hosting</a> services, and it appears that streaming services based on BitTorrent technology are receiving the same treatment.</p>
<p>Last summer Polish developer and Wikidot CEO Michal Frackowiak <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/search-and-stream-torrents-from-the-cloud-for-free-130928/">launched Streamza</a>, a torrent download service that lets users stream music and movies securely to their PC, TV, iPhone or iPad. <a href="https://streamza.com/">Streamza</a> has been growing steadily ever since and welcomes thousands of new users each month. </p>
<p>Earlier this week, however, the developer was presented with some bad news. Without prior warning, PayPal stopped providing payment services to Streamza and limited the associated account. That also means that all funds have been frozen for the time being. </p>
<p>&#8220;They emailed to inform me that my PayPal account had been reviewed and that Streamza does not comply with their policies. My account became &#8216;limited&#8217; until I removed PayPal from checkout and agreed to their policies, which I did immediately,&#8221; Michal informs TF. </p>
<p>The PayPal ban is a major setback for Streamza, as it will no longer be able to process new and recurring membership fees from premium subscribers. At the time of writing the PayPal account is still locked, and Michal hasn&#8217;t heard from PayPal after the initial email.</p>
<p>As usual, PayPal remains vague about the precise reason for the ban. The payment provider mentioned that Streamza violated their <a href="https://cms.paypal.com/pl/cgi-bin/?cmd=_render-content&#038;content_ID=ua/AcceptableUse_full&#038;locale.x=en_US">Acceptable Use Policy</a>, which suggests that PayPal is concerned about possible infringing uses of Streamza.</p>
<p><center><strong>Streamza</strong></center><center><img src="media/89dffa79.streamzz.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/streamzz.jpg" alt="streamzz" width="500" height="395" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-77219"></center></p>
<p>PayPal&#8217;s policies don&#8217;t allow &#8220;infringing&#8221; services to accept payments. In addition, the company requires file-sharing services to be pre-approved. </p>
<p>&#8220;Service Requiring Pre-Approval: Offering online dating services; providing file sharing services or access to newsgroups; or selling alcoholic beverages,&#8221; PayPal&#8217;s AUP reads.</p>
<p>This approvals process requires services to agree to a list of strict terms and conditions. As can be seen below, this includes full disclosure of the processes that are in place to deter piracy, and allowing PayPal to actively monitor their service for copyright infringements. </p>
<p><center><strong>PayPal&#8217;s Terms</strong><img src="media/36dade82.paypalterminate.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/paypalterminate.png" alt="paypalterminate" width="584" height="502" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-85538"></center></p>
<p>While Streamza doesn&#8217;t promote copyright infringement in any way, it could be used to download or stream pirated files, much like any other streaming or download services including YouTube. Michal believes, however, that the payment provider is more strict with smaller players.</p>
<p>&#8220;When looking at these policies I wonder how the hell Mega.co.nz can work with PayPal. Somehow I am not that surprised: rules between two bigger players can be different from between a bigger player and a smaller one,&#8221; Michal tells TF.</p>
<p>Technically, PayPal may have the right to cut off Streamza under its policies, but it would have been appropriate to send an early warning. Over the past few days the service could only accept payments via Bitcoin, which is hurting business. </p>
<p>Due to personal circumstances Michal had plans to auction off Streamza, and the PayPal issue is the straw that broke the camel&#8217;s back. He is accepting bids <a href="https://flippa.com/3043455-personal-media-streaming-torrent-support-34-000-registered-users">on Flippa</a> and hopes someone is willing to take over the service, to keep the 34,000 registered users happy. </p>
<p>&#8220;I believe that after half a year of running Streamza I created something cool. A project that some people love. It&#8217;s not only a great tech and user interface, but a service that fills a niche,&#8221; Michal says.</p>
<p>&#8220;Personally I hope someone smart can take it from here. It&#8217;s a really good piece of tech and a project that has its fans.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> A few hours after publication Michal heard back from PayPal. He can enter the pre-approval process to accept payments for file sharing. This means that Streamza has to comply with the terms listed above. Until this process is completed Streamza can&#8217;t process PayPal payments, but the other account restrictions have been lifted. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85553
title: Anti-Piracy Outfit Pirates Article and Images For Own Press Release
uri: Anti-Piracy-Outfit-Pirates-Article-and-Images-For-Own-Press-Release
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/nIQZijRMlIo/
content:
<p><img src="media/c61de17c.SAflag.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/SAflag.jpg" width="180" height="119" class="alignright">Back in December authorities in South Africa made their first ever arrest of an online movie pirate. The individual, who was connected to a leak of a high-profile local movie on The Pirate Bay, quickly became the focus of the country&#8217;s main movie-related anti-piracy group.</p>
<p>The Southern African Federation Against Copyright Theft (SAFACT) clearly appreciated the significance of the development, with their CEO Corné Guldenpfennig <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/south-african-pirate-bay-user-arrested-for-sharing-high-profile-local-movie-131213/">explaining</a> they had caught the man by employing a hacker. The group further clarified via a piece on their own website.</p>
<p>&#8220;The senior investigator on the E-Task Team is an internationally accredited CEH, or certified ethical hacker. This team was able to identify, profile, and trace the uploader based on their investigation on the Internet,&#8221; SAFACT wrote, adding:</p>
<p>&#8220;When asked about the significance of the case, Guldenpfennig said that it is a first for South Africa and that they made extremely certain of all the rights issues around this situation.&#8221; </p>
<p>Unfortunately, making sure &#8220;of all the rights issues&#8221; wasn&#8217;t something carried out by SAFACT in respect of their own website. Let&#8217;s take a look at an excerpt from the SAFACT announcement <a href="http://www.safact.co.za/news/internet-uploader-arrested-in-cape-town/">currently displayed</a> on their site, with the focus on the last few lines.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/ab282d26.safact1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/safact1.png" alt="SAFACT1"></center></p>
<p>Funnily enough, it turns out that the much of the SAFACT article, minus a few alterations that would identify the source, was lifted from <a href="http://mybroadband.co.za/news/internet/93539-first-for-sa-internet-pirate-arrested-in-cape-town.html">an article</a> written by Jan Vermeulen for MyBroadband.co.nz.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/9508d970.safact21.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/safact21.png" alt="SAFACT2"></center></p>
<p>But lifting the text from a news outlet and passing it off as their own work wasn&#8217;t the end of the matter for SAFACT. <a href="http://www.htxt.co.za/2014/03/18/south-african-federation-against-copyright-theft-website-caught-infringing-copyright/">HTXT.africa</a> has noticed some other issues which for a major pro-copyright group should be a major source of embarrassment.</p>
<p>The problem relates to the image the anti-piracy outfit published alongside their &#8216;version&#8217; of the MyBroadband piece. Courtesy of Google cache, here it is:</p>
<p><center><img src="media/7cf9a3bc.safact3.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/safact3.png" alt="SAFACT3"></center></p>
<p>As can be seen from this <a href="https://www.google.com/search?tbs=sbi:AMhZZiu8tvO6309Lynyl_1nCVRmS0LISRQy6mdirYYOqc_1RryXQxxxPFDgS4pexGglPuJl-6AA1W8QbPImyI3Ul5VIUCu_1AP0BagIBmJQ_1BOa5srj-Vk983zPPDzPE99Te7a1WtlXhNFBJxCdkRKd0gCFFvc04HPQkPcXVC02CLzEC2r9xF3LqNNgVoZdjUiSlAF3RPm6Ckp5s38ox-_1c3ZLRDu6Eex1CdcBe-TpLe3WAZ55zip3Q4XvS8F7VZbr02Al3yM-x9Az6vvOKRDIN1yk23hFdYewmFO4YWOM7r8lODhELoFKCP5DaFt7s3Up0cwcRSWsfocqTNwklMnAmxuiuOZUb6-kUNDSDst-UzW3dz_1ORpV_1ZwuMyo01qp7EO_1aiFVF26jkes4ryEA0kmHzOKqmqjmMVm8Oa5kPD-tolERvjQ3UjTtGP1EeswOh8Tm3a24-YKzT5A9k6V2rXiUZX-0RlCZ5-eeOQV-SKwCxBeXGiWmajEKVHNWY32vZ4xOqxGG9wNXWr6hwSIgQSUi1EsGvo_1Qu5K_1A22R2u1NezLfLSM9E_1k8Zn59jr3W3noLGpvi4pVNpX0sElTIrG3WsURgdl8Ixsi7sbixIJnT2zkt0VohB12qHCT3Rzh99RST_1XKERVD3p6OHFaMjLcKBhadgM02ssR-BIFAy_1oAuhiAuqhpptuRvD9hcHBKBcyKvgeEkkYurBKFBWG-PmGTgfRGuoeSmu3BL40awON4hnAuoOmOdiQNFIeFuriTkAwoe--HWc6sCRJakS7NL_1JC0Su2pq0dpY3DDvixSdOENm4flOsXfwUwwI3j--zbo5PlFmcBx9tPKdGLudYkCllxM0KEZ7CsVS_1MZviG_1X9xQFmKorMzkLwXSZjS0FW54N3qMltLP97GliuZcLlEhF3mlWVXo44vCXg8FjEceXZFSjX5qqH0mp7oY_1YvTZ-kqBsN_101JPS3H8u-8YVApr2zcXbTSVnCwayFxRHU_1QKWvPmJOm3cYEHKmZzSe8ibv8CQlE3RxQ7WAGBvls5gJ_1kW0UQZ09ET2bJ6umhKD9INDsrPglnKWhGNTkMHd3pwsbwG_1jPh3y-j3VCLT_1783FC3NAp5H1PGIU-k1hOb7h6VVCNGSlX3-HrwolS3xX2fOvGIQWBxUQ5_1DxL8zksAaBy0Q2uShKNhAWzJGmjqsW-ukujtaPFPPBujNNdgJ1chaBJ0mEZsOs5mTeMuVLRcSULVCF8nb_1WjcwSG92E8gF4Av8oFHX3Fw9r71oLgSKniDAUkQ7wBm_1s18r87C0zFy_1HsX-ZkHn1UHiTs0N6HxR8zvqTOT5I5GJKNaGx3UhrPjcnQVh1PdZ1bEXdy3leNE0cud38szCTa4MpSm3Q">Google reverse image search</a>, the center photograph is actually related to the arrest of a LulzSec member carried out by the Australian police and published without the necessary Reuters credit.</p>
<p>The fact that the police were Australian was hidden, however, after someone working for SAFACT took the image (<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/video/2013/apr/24/lulzsec-hacking-arrested-sydney-video">from a video</a> shown on The Guardian) and Photoshopped out &#8220;Australian Federal&#8221; from the officer&#8217;s coat leaving just &#8220;police&#8221; behind. (Original below)</p>
<p><center><img src="media/2b7b1da1.safact4.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/safact4.png" alt="SAFACT4"></center></p>
<p>In an email to htxt.co.za, SAFACT CEO Corné Guldenpfennig laid the blame for the image (not the article) at the feet of their web design company.</p>
<p>&#8220;I wish to confirm that SAFACT would never intentionally infringe on any individual or company’s intellectual property rights as it is the mission of SAFACT to protect and enforce IPR,&#8221; Guldenpfennig said.</p>
<p>But things really take a turn for the weird when one notes that although SAFACT later removed the unlicensed image and replaced it with the <a href="media/6b029d94.safact-full-copy-copyright-infringement.jpg" data-original-source="http://www.htxt.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/safact-full-copy-copyright-infringement.jpg">image here</a>, they have since taken that down and replaced it with a new version of the unlicensed Reuters image.</p>
<p>Quite bizarrely SAFACT has animated the graphic in a way that only highlights the fact that they &#8216;shopped the original image. You can see it <a href="http://www.safact.co.za/news/internet-uploader-arrested-in-cape-town/">here</a>, but we&#8217;ve included it below for reference.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/e7a4c273.safact-animation-2.gif" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/safact-animation-2.gif" alt="SAFACT Anim"></center></p>
<p>Quite possibly the most bizarre response to a copyright issue this year.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85572
title: Supreme Court Denies Kim Dotcom Access to U.S. Evidence
uri: Supreme-Court-Denies-Kim-Dotcom-Access-to-U-S-Evidence
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/KbqCtMliLW4/
content:
<p><a href="media/a3ff325e.dotcom-prez.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/dotcom-prez.jpg"><img src="media/ee28886a.dotcom-prez.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/dotcom-prez.jpg" alt="dotcom-prez" width="250" height="250" class="alignright size-full wp-image-56036"></a>Since Megaupload was shut down two years ago, Kim Dotcom and several of his colleagues have been wanted by the United States, each standing accused of copyright infringement related crimes. </p>
<p>Despite the severity of the charges, Megaupload&#8217;s legal team does not have insight into all of the relevant documents the U.S. Government relied upon to arrive at its conclusions.</p>
<p>Through the New Zealand courts Dotcom and his fellow defendants have requested access to this withheld information. To mount a proper defense they want to see the extent to which the U.S. authorities can back up their criminal charges.</p>
<p>Initially the District Court <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-must-be-allowed-to-see-fbi-evidence-against-him-court-rules-120816/">granted</a> the request for full access to the U.S. evidence. However, March last year these rulings <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/u-s-government-wins-appeal-in-kim-dotcom-extradition-battle-120301/">were overturned</a> by the Court of Appeal, which concluded that the United States could move forward with a summary case.</p>
<p>After the defeat Dotcom and his legal team quickly filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, which today <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/9853153/Supreme-Court-rules-against-Kim-Dotcom">ruled against</a> the entrepreneur and his associates. According to the Court&#8217;s ruling, the District Court was wrong to order full disclosure of all U.S. evidence. </p>
<p>The Supreme Court states that the New Zealand Extradition Act doesn&#8217;t require a foreign country to share all evidence with the accused, and the District Court had no statutory power to rule otherwise. </p>
<p>After hearing the verdict Dotcom responded on Twitter with a sad face. &#8220;Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent,&#8221; he <a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marilyn_vos_Savant">quoted</a> a few minutes later.</p>
<p><center><br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>:-(</p>
<p>&mdash; Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/statuses/446742555380547584">March 20, 2014</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center></p>
<p>Earlier this week Dotcom enjoyed success in another legal matter by obtaining a gag order against his former bodyguard Wayne Tempero. After resigning a few months ago, Tempero was supposedly planning to make &#8220;<a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&#038;objectid=11222725">secret revelations</a>&#8221; about Dotcom&#8217;s private life.</p>
<p>Under the injunction obtained by Dotcom, Tempero is &#8220;restrained from using or disclosing to any person, firm, corporation or entity, any confidential or trade information acquired whilst working for Kim Dotcom.&#8221; </p>
<p>The former bodyguard is reportedly going <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&#038;objectid=11223331">to appeal</a> the gag order in the hope of regaining his free speech rights. There is also talk of a possible lawsuit against his former boss. </p>
<p>For now, however, Dotcom&#8217;s legal team will shift its focus to the upcoming extradition hearing. After yet another delay, the hearing is currently scheduled to take place in July this year. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=84530
title: Pirate Bay Founder Gets Ready to Run for European Parliament
uri: Pirate-Bay-Founder-Gets-Ready-to-Run-for-European-Parliament
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/W6WKDYuDtko/
content:
<p><img src="media/1ceafd41.peter-sunde2.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/peter-sunde2.jpg" alt="peter-sunde" width="225" height="225" class="alignright size-full wp-image-85601">Despite a pending prison term for his involvement with The Pirate Bay, Peter Sunde is determined to join the European Parliament in Brussels. </p>
<p>The former Pirate Bay spokesperson announced his plans last year, but with the European Parliament elections coming closer this idea has now become reality. Sunde is currently listed as one of the <a href="http://piraattipuolue.fi/eurovaalit-2014/">19 candidates</a> who will be on the voting ballot of the Finnish branch of the Pirate Party. </p>
<p>Unlike in other countries, the Finnish candidate lists are not in order, which means that there is no lead candidate. However, due to his involvement with The Pirate Bay, Sunde is without a doubt the most recognized name on the ballot. </p>
<p>As if the candidacy for the European Parliament isn&#8217;t enough, today the European Pirate Party also elected the Pirate Bay founder as their pick for the European Commission presidency, together with Amelia Andersdotter. </p>
<p>TF reached out to Sunde who is happy to hear the good news. “If elected, I’ll go and bug fix the EU. We need to reboot the thing called democracy and make it work.” he told us.</p>
<p>In addition, Sunde told us that he&#8217;s ready for the Finnish election campaign which will kick off during the coming weeks. As can be expected of the Pirate Bay founder, he has strong opinions on the topic of file-sharing and freedom of information. </p>
<p>Sunde believes that the Pirate Party can make a huge difference in the European Parliament, as the two current members &#8211; Christian Engström and Amelia Andersdotter &#8211; have already shown. If Sunde is elected, he hopes to revamp current copyright law and legalize casual file-sharing.</p>
<p>&#8220;Non-commercial file sharing should of course become legal and protected, and we must re-think copyright all together. Copyright is not the thing that makes ARTISTS money, it&#8217;s only for their brokers and distributors,&#8221; Sunde told us previously. </p>
<p><center><strong>Peter&#8217;s previous appearance at the European Parliament</strong></center><br>
<center><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-69623" alt="sunde parliament" src="media/9a3a9f41.sunde-parliament.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/sunde-parliament.jpg" width="550" height="331"></center></p>
<p>Copying is baked into people&#8217;s genes according to Sunde, quite literally. &#8220;People learn by copying others. All the knowledge we have today, and all success is based on this simple fact &#8211; we are copies,&#8221; Sunde notes in <a href="http://piraattipuolue.fi/peter-sunde">his bio</a>.</p>
<p>Amusingly, Sunde told TF that he also reached out to Finnish-born Kim Dotcom to join the race. However, the Megaupload founder decided to focus his political aspirations on New Zealand instead, where he founded the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/dotcoms-internet-party-aims-to-shake-up-politics-140115/">Internet Party</a>. </p>
<p>Aside from politics, Sunde himself is still involved in several other projects that are dear to his heart. This includes the micro-donation service <a href="http://flattr.com/">Flattr</a> and the <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-founder-announces-encrypted-nsa-proof-communication-apps-130710/">encrypted messaging app</a> Heml.is which is expected to be released later this year. The latter may come in handy in Brussels, as the NSA is known to spy on political figures.</p>
<p></center></p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><sup><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mpd01605/6755068753/in/photostream/">Photo credit</a></sup></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85635
title: Nuking a Facebook Page on Bogus Copyright Grounds is Easy
uri: Nuking-a-Facebook-Page-on-Bogus-Copyright-Gounds-is-Easy
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/E2ibTsdF5B8/
content:
<p><a href="media/18553179.facebook-logo.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/facebook-logo.jpg"><img src="media/e45c8db7.facebook-logo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/facebook-logo.jpg" alt="facebook-logo" width="190" height="190" class="alignright size-full wp-image-24956"></a>Copyright holders and tech companies in the United States are currently engaged in discussions on how to move forward with the notice and takedown provisions of the DMCA. The moves are voluntary and aimed at eliminating the kind of backlash experienced during the SOPA uprising.</p>
<p>Both parties have good reason to progress. Copyright holders say the are tired of taking down content only to have it reappear quickly after. On the other hand, service providers and similar web companies burn through <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/time-to-punish-dmca-takedown-abusers-wordpress-owners-say-140313/">significant resources</a> ensuring they respond to takedown demands in a way that maintains their protection from liability.</p>
<p>This fear of the law encourages service providers to err on the side of caution by taking content down quickly, and worrying about legitimacy later. Earlier this week TF spoke with a site operator with first hand experience of a major Internet company&#8217;s approach to what they believed to be a genuine copyright complaint.</p>
<p>As <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/wwe-lawyer-offers-gifts-to-obtain-streaming-pirates-home-address-140319/">previously reported</a>, BeBe is the operator of Wrestling-Network, a site that links to unauthorized WWE streams. While the legality of his main domain is up for lively debate, he maintains his Facebook page was squeaky clean when a WWE lawyer moved to have it taken down. What we didn&#8217;t report at the time is that this wasn&#8217;t the first time Wrestling-Network had lost a Facebook page.</p>
<p>&#8220;We’ve removed or disabled access to the following content that you posted on Facebook because we received a report from a third-party that the content infringes their copyright(s),&#8221; Facebook told BeBe in an email.</p>
<p>BeBe wrote back to try and resolve matters, offering to put things right should there have been a copyright-related oversight. But Facebook weren&#8217;t interested in being the middle-man in this dispute, instead directing BeBe to contact the person who filed the complaint against him.</p>
<p>&#8220;If you believe that we have made a mistake in removing this content, then please contact the complaining party directly.[..],&#8221; Facebook responded.</p>
<p>Once furnished with the complainant&#8217;s details BeBe recognized them as belonging to a person he&#8217;d been in an unrelated dispute with. Despite using a Yahoo email address (rather than @wwe.com), the fake copyright complainer had convinced Facebook to shut down a page in the name of a third-party.</p>
<p>Worse still, BeBe would now have to negotiate with his adversary in order to get his page back.</p>
<p>&#8220;If both parties agree to restore the reported content, please ask the complaining party to contact us via email with a copy of the agreement so that we can refer to the original issue,&#8221; Facebook explained. &#8220;We will not be able to restore this content to Facebook unless we receive explicit notice of consent from the complaining party.&#8221;</p>
<p>Fake copyright reports like this aren&#8217;t new. In 2011 there was a spate of false notices which saw well-known Facebook pages belonging to <a href="http://arstechnica.com/business/2011/04/facebook-shoots-first-ignores-questions-later-account-lock-out-attack-works/">Ars Technica</a>, <a href="http://www.neowin.net/news/neowin039s-facebook-page-taken-offline-by-bogus-complaint">Neowin</a> and <a href="http://www.redmondpie.com/redmond-pies-facebook-page-taken-down-on-bogus-complaint/">Redwood Pie</a> all being taken down by fraudulent complaints.</p>
<p>Three years ago it was exceptionally easy to take down a page, but here we are several years later and the process is still open to abuse. So how easy is it to nuke a Facebook page? On condition of anonymity, a person who targeted another&#8217;s Facebook page out of revenge explained.</p>
<p>&#8220;Taking down the Facebook page was simple. It requires a well written and thought out mail, directly sent to Facebook, but it was a very straight forward process,&#8221; TF was told.</p>
<p>&#8220;I did not pretend to be [a rightsholder] however. I claimed to be a company that handles such legal aspects for big corporations without them being directly involved, in order to avoid public backlash but at the same time protect their interests. I provided enough copyrighted posts to prove that the page was a constant abuser and the page was taken down.&#8221; </p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/541043/what_problem_dmca_takedown_notices_/">PCWorld</a>, during the Department of Commerce Internet Policy Task Force&#8217;s first public forum yesterday, Ben Sheffner, vice president of legal affairs for the MPAA, said that erroneous or abusive notices were a tiny part of the DMCA picture and should be afforded appropriate levels of attention.</p>
<p>Corynne McSherry, intellectual property director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, saw things quite differently.</p>
<p>Takedown abuse &#8220;regularly causes quite an uproar,&#8221; McSherry said. &#8220;Any multistakeholder dialog that was talking about the notice-and-takedown system and trying to improve it that didn&#8217;t include a discussion of takedown abuse would really have no legitimacy in the eyes of many, many Internet users.&#8221;</p>
<p>The problem might be small to the MPAA, but of course it&#8217;s not their Facebook page getting targeted. To smaller players the problem can be significantly more severe.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85660
title: Busted: BSA Steals Photo For “Snitch On a Pirate” Campaign
uri: Busted-BSA-Steals-Photo-For-Snitch-On-a-Pirate-Campaign
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/VeqYt2dOuxs/
content:
<p><img src="media/76fd4240.nopiracy.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/nopiracy.png" alt="nopiracy" width="183" height="155" class="alignright size-full wp-image-83919">A few weeks ago we reported on a <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/bsa-offers-facebook-users-cash-rat-pirates-140215/">controversial</a> anti-piracy campaign operated by the Business Software Alliance (BSA).</p>
<p>Representing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSA_(The_Software_Alliance)#Members">major software companies</a>, the BSA is using Facebook ads which encourage people to report businesses that use unlicensed software. If one of these reports results in a successful court case, the pirate snitch can look forward to a cash reward. </p>
<p>Below is one of the promoted Facebook posts that appeared in the timeline of thousands of people on Saint Patrick&#8217;s Day. It features a homemade cake in the shape of a pot of gold and sends a clear message to the readers. </p>
<p>&#8220;Your pot of gold is right here baby. Report unlicensed software and GET PAID,&#8221; the post reads.</p>
<p><center><strong>Unlicensed Photo</strong></center><center><img src="media/ebe80de7.snitchbsa.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/snitchbsa.jpg" alt="snitchbsa" width="666" height="471" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-85683"></center></p>
<p>The ad is a bit misleading, since those who read the fine-print realize that the pot of gold is as unreachable as any. However, there&#8217;s a more worrying issue with the ad.</p>
<p>On closer inspection the photo appears to be <a href="http://cakecentral.com/g/i/1975485/st-patricks-day-pot-o-gold-chocolate-guinness-cake-with-baileys-irish-buttercream/">lifted from Cakecentral</a> where a user named &#8216;bethasd&#8217; posted her home-baked creation. Indeed, all signs suggest that the photo for this campaign wasn&#8217;t properly licensed, but pirated by the BSA.</p>
<p>Hoping that this was all a misunderstanding, TF contacted the BSA yesterday afternoon, asking for a comment. Thus far the group hasn&#8217;t responded to us, but an hour after we sent the inquiry the infringing photo magically disappeared from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/reportsoftwarepiracy"> Facebook</a>. </p>
<p>Luckily we made <a href="media/257fc281.dRqFuBm.png" data-original-source="http://i.imgur.com/dRqFuBm.png">a copy</a>, and <a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freportsoftwarepiracy&#038;oq=cache&#038;aqs=chrome.1.69i57j69i59j0l2j69i60j0.4743j0j4">so did Google</a>.</p>
<p>So while the BSA didn&#8217;t comment, their attempt to cover up the situation clearly shows that they didn&#8217;t have the right to use the image in question. Needless to say, that is more than a touch ironic, especially for an image that&#8217;s being used in an anti-piracy campaign.</p>
<p>We encourage &#8216;bethasd&#8217; to get in contact with the software industry group, and demand both licensing fees and damages for the unauthorized use of her photo. Surely, the BSA will be happy to hand over a pot of gold to her. </p>
<p>For the BSA it&#8217;s probably wise to reconsider their marketing strategy on Facebook. Right now the overwhelming majority of the comments are negative, which defeats the purpose of the campaign. </p>
<p><center><strong>Facebook love</strong></center><br></br><center><img src="media/448fa625.oS1yZDD.png" data-original-source="http://i.imgur.com/oS1yZDD.png" alt="face"></center></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85663
title: Turkey’s Twitter Ban Collapse Fueled By VPNs and DNS Tricks
uri: Turkey-s-Twitter-Ban-Collapse-Fueled-By-VPNs-and-DNS-Tricks
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/A7XCABvOJMo/
content:
<p><a href="media/22c059bc.twitterlogo.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/twitterlogo.jpg"><img src="media/df7c099f.twitterlogo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/twitterlogo.jpg" alt="twitterlogo" width="180" height="171" class="alignright size-full wp-image-59749"></a>Two days ago on the campaign trail ahead of end-of-March elections, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan showed his Internet naivety by doing something extremely silly. In the midst of a corruption scandal he first threatened and then carried through with an outright ban of Twitter.</p>
<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t care what the international community says at all. Everyone will see the power of the Turkish Republic,&#8221; Erdogan said on Thursday.</p>
<p>Angry that Twitter did not respond to requests by Turkish courts to remove material that showed him in a bad light, Erdogan swung the banhammer and by Friday everything was in place. Turkish visitors to Twitter were greeted with notices displayed by their ISPs indicating that Twitter had been blocked by court order.</p>
<p>&#8220;Because there was no other choice, access to Twitter was blocked in line with court decisions to avoid the possible future victimisation of citizens,&#8221; Turkish telecoms watchdog BTK <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/21/turkey-blocks-twitter-prime-minister">said</a> on Friday.</p>
<p>What followed was anger from citizens, then delicious payback against yet another government trying &#8211; and ultimately failing &#8211; to artificially restrict access to information on the Internet.</p>
<p>Rather than bow to Erdogan&#8217;s wishes, Turkish citizens reacted in much the same that file-sharers around the world have done when sites such as The Pirate Bay were blocked by their ISPs. They took to the open web to spread the word on how to circumvent web censorship but in a fresh twist, they also took to the streets</p>
<p>The wonderful image below, ironically <a href="https://twitter.com/Ahmet_Usta_/status/447036298016993280/photo/1">posted to Twitter itself</a>, shows a poster on a Turkish street explaining how to change DNS settings to obliterate the Twitter ban.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/dc3e156a.turkposter.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/turkposter.jpg" alt="Turkposter"></center></p>
<p>Another photograph, again posted to Twitter, <a href="https://twitter.com/Ahmet_Usta_/status/447036298016993280/photo/1">shows graffiti</a> on a housing block informing people of the IP addresses used by Google&#8217;s DNS service rather than the &#8216;infected&#8217; ones offered by local ISPs. </p>
<p><center><img src="media/cb91b607.dnsturk1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/dnsturk1.jpg" alt="DNs"></center></p>
<p>But while these images will be a delight to anti-censorship advocates everywhere, it was online that the real battle was taking place. Here at TF we noticed an unusual level of interest from Turkish visitors in our latest <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">VPN article</a> and then later in the day the effect on VPN takeup was confirmed by the company behind Hotspot Shield.</p>
<p>AnchorFree CEO David Gorodyansky told <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/03/21/turkeys-twitter-ban-boosts-downloads-of-a-vpn/">WSJ</a> that 270,000 Turkish users installed their software in one 12 hour period Friday versus around 10,000 on a normal day, a huge increase by any standards.</p>
<p>TorrentFreak spoke with Andrew Lee at Private Internet Access who explained that while his company does not track the identities or locations of its customers, there had definitely been an uptick in signups following the introduction of Twitter censorship in Turkey.</p>
<p>&#8220;More and more, we are seeing that censorship is a form of control that the weak use in an attempt to hang onto power. In addition to Turkey, we can also see this happening in China, the United Kingdom and other various countries,&#8221; Lee explained.</p>
<p>&#8220;Fortunately, the people of this world, including Turkey, are strong, and democracy will continue to stand.  As such, the attempt to censor Twitter in Turkey has all but failed.&#8221;</p>
<p>This article began with the suggestion that censorship of the type imposed by Turkey is something to be embraced. Not welcomed, of course, but treated as an opportunity to gain knowledge on how the Internet works and how web blockades can be circumvented.</p>
<p>Those who think they can control the Internet and people&#8217;s right to communicate should be made to think again and in Turkey this week that point has been admirably made.</p>
<p>According to analysis site <a href="http://zete.com/2014/03/yasaga-isyan-saat-03-00-2-474-917-tweet/">Zete.com</a>, tweets in Turkey before the ban numbered 10 million a day &#8211; they now sit at 24 million. </p>
<p>Update: According to a <a href="http://www.webrazzi.com/2014/03/22/google-dns-engellendi/">local report</a>, Turkey has now appears to have blocked Google&#8217;s DNS, although other sources say that this is an actual network issue.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85707
title: BitTorrent Hip Hop Album Becomes First Ever to Accept Bitcoin
uri: BitTorrent-Hip-Hop-Album-Becomes-First-Ever-to-Accept-Bitcoin
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/0WBJq0XVHHk/
content:
<p><img src="media/fc8163af.bitcoin1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/bitcoin1.jpg" width="200" height="181" class="alignright">Following a December 2013 <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-client-devs-work-on-bitcoin-integration-131213/">teaser</a>, February builds of FrostWire’s Windows, Mac and Linux BitTorrent clients included a ground-breaking <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/bitcoin-donations-now-integrated-into-bittorrent-client-140227/">new feature</a>.</p>
<p>The Frostwire client, which can be used in the same way as uTorrent or Vuze for example, now includes a torrent creation feature which supports Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin and PayPal donations.</p>
<p>Once a torrent is created and loaded into FrostWire, downloaders are given a new set of icons indicating which crypto-currency donation options are programmed into the release.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/627ed609.frostbitc.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/frostbitc.png" alt="FrostBit"></center></p>
<p>Clicking any of these takes the downloader to a custom donation page, meaning that there is a direct connection between a torrent and a monetization option, something that has been absent from torrents since their creation well over a decade ago.</p>
<p>Although software and a music single were used as a demo for the tipping system, no band had taken the plunge and used it for one of their albums. A month later and hip hop band Ain&#8217;t No Love have made history, becoming the first ever band to offer a full album for free on BitTorrent, using an integrated Bitcoin tipping mechanism.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/a976eb98.aintnolove.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/aintnolove.png" alt="AintNoFrost"></center></p>
<p>“Using Bitcoin has definitely widened our reach to people who don’t necessarily listen to our type of music, but like that we get down with Bitcoin, and started listening to our music, which is a cool thing in itself,&#8221; <a href="http://business.financialpost.com/2014/03/21/toronto-hip-hop-band-accepting-bitcoin-donations-for-digital-album-downloads/?__lsa=2e59-140f">says</a> lead singer Saidah Conrad.</p>
<p>Having worked hard on a Bitcoin implementation, FrostWire say they are pleased to welcome the band on board.</p>
<p>&#8220;Ain’t No Love’s Tears of Joy comes to FrostWire during a very special time – as a first ever .torrent album to support crypto-currency donations such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Dogecoin (as well as the more traditional PayPal),&#8221; the company <a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/curator/FrostClick/blog/Aint_No_Love_Tears_of_Joy">said</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;So if you love the band just as much as we do, be sure to check them out on Facebook, share the video, spread the news on Twitter or simply show some support by giving a little tip, whatever you can, any way you can.&#8221;</p>
<p>The other neat thing is that all donations go directly to the band as there is no middleman, and FrostWire is promising to keep it that way forever.</p>
<p>The torrent for Ain&#8217;t No Love&#8217;s <em>Tears of Joy</em> can be downloaded <a href="http://www.frostclick.com/wp/index.php/2014/03/19/aint-no-love-tears-of-joy/">here</a>.</p>
<p><center><iframe width="600" height="338" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/eV4tfC-7rTw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85734
title: Music Industry Wants Pirate Site Blockades in More Countries
uri: Music-Industry-Wants-Pirate-Site-Blockades-in-More-Countries
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/pz_bL0ARQKQ/
content:
<p><img src="media/07db73b3.stop-blocked.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/stop-blocked.jpg" alt="stop-blocked" width="200" height="168" class="alignright size-full wp-image-72076">In recent years blockades of &#8220;pirate&#8221; websites have spread across Europe and elsewhere. In the UK, for example, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/megashare-viooz-watch32-zmovie-blocked-140311/">more than 30 websites</a> are currently blocked by the major ISPs per court order.</p>
<p>Opponents of this censorship route often warn that the measures inhibit free speech and risk overblocking. However, music industry group IFPI disagrees, pointing out that the rights of creators to protect their work trump these concerns.</p>
<p>&#8220;Despite misrepresentation by some anti-copyright campaigners, courts have consistently found that the blocking of sites providing illegal content achieves an appropriate balance of fundamental rights,&#8221; IFPI writes in its latest <a href="http://www.ifpi.org/digital-music-report.php">Digital Music Report</a>.</p>
<p>IFPI points out that the ISP blockades in several European countries are having effect. Drawing on information supplied by data intelligence firms comScore and Nielsen, they report that &#8220;BitTorrent usage&#8221; decreased 11 percent in countries where pirate sites are censored, while it increased elsewhere.</p>
<p>&#8220;Website blocking measures implemented by ISPs have been effective. Between January 2012 and July 2013, European countries where blocking orders are in place saw BitTorrent use decline by 11 per cent, while European countries without such orders saw BitTorrent use increase by 15 per cent.&#8221;</p>
<p><center><a href="media/b9840c8d.tpbblockade.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tpbblockade.png"><img size-full wp-image-85736" alt="tpbblockade" src="media/b9840c8d.tpbblockade.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tpbblockade.png" width="600" height="602"></a></center></p>
<p>The data further shows that this blockade effect is most pronounced in Italy and the UK, where the most torrent sites are blocked. In Italy BitTorrent traffic dropped 13 percent and in the UK the decline was even larger, 20 percent.</p>
<p>The report doesn&#8217;t make it clear whether actual BitTorrent traffic was measured, or only page views at popular torrent sites. Regardless, IFPI notes that there&#8217;s still plenty of work to be done.</p>
<p>The blockades are currently limited to fixed lines, for example, and should be expanded to mobile networks as well. In addition, IFPI says that the blockades should be expanded to other countries worldwide.</p>
<p>&#8220;The industry believes that website blocking is an effective tool to help tackle digital piracy and should be available in more countries worldwide. It also needs to be extended to cover mobile networks,&#8221; IFPI reports.</p>
<p>The music industry group doesn&#8217;t name any countries, but perhaps they are hinting at the RIAA to push for &#8220;voluntary&#8221; blockades in the United States. In any case, if it&#8217;s up to IFPI the number of ISP blockades around the world will continue to increase.</p>
<p>The results reported by IFPI run contrary to <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/isps-no-longer-have-to-block-the-pirate-bay-dutch-court-rules-140128/">a decision</a> from the Dutch Court of Appeals earlier this year, which concluded that the Pirate Bay blockade was &#8220;disproportionate and ineffective.&#8221; As a result, Dutch ISPs were allowed to lift the access restrictions.</p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><em>Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/huskyte/7512877940/">Michael Theis</a></em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85753
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 03/24/14
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-03-24-14
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Fy66d0jm8Ws/
content:
<p><img src="media/c93f2eb6.47ronin.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/47ronin.jpg" alt="47ronin" width="300" height="275" class="alignright size-full wp-image-85756">This week we have three newcomers in our chart.</p>
<p>47 Ronin is the most downloaded movie this week. </p>
<p>The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. All the movies in the list are BD/DVDrips unless stated otherwise.</p>
<p><a href="http://TorrentFreak.com/category/dvdrip/feed/"><strong>RSS feed</strong></a> for the weekly movie download chart.</p>
<table class="css hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="12%"><strong>Ranking</strong></th>
<th width="15%"><strong>(<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-pirated-movies-of-the-week-140317/">last week</a>)</strong></th>
<th><strong>Movie</strong></th>
<th width="18%"><strong>IMDb Rating / Trailer</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="4">torrentfreak.com</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>(8)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/47_ronin/">47 Ronin</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1335975/">6.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwYhrgDc1uE">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_hobbit_the_desolation_of_smaug/">The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1170358/?">8.2</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfflhfn1W-o">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_pirate_fairy_2014/">The Pirate Fairy</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2483260/">6.9</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et4zsoUNb_0">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/anchorman_2_the_legend_continues/">Anchorman 2</a> (Webrip)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1229340/">6.9</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VdGI5-z_hg">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(1)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wolf_of_wall_street_2013/">The Wolf Of Wall Street</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0993846/">8.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pabEtIERlic">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(5)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/frozen_2013/">Frozen</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294629/">8.1</a> / <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbQm5doF_Uc">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/12_years_a_slave/">12 Years A Slave</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2024544/?">8.4</a> / <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z02Ie8wKKRg">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/300_rise_of_an_empire/">300: Rise of an Empire</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1253863/">7.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zqy21Z29ps">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(4)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bad_country_2014/">Bad Country</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2350892/">?.?</a> / <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3_15U0d2oo">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(9)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gravity_2013/">Gravity</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1454468/">8.2</a> / <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiTiKOy59o4">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85765
title: Sssh! Dotcom’s Use of Twitter Problematic, Court Told
uri: Sssh-Dotcom-s-Use-of-Twitter-Problematic-Court-Told
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/tDKYsmQ-75k/
content:
<p><a href="media/57d13949.dotcom-laptop.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/dotcom-laptop.jpg"><img src="media/5b2669f1.dotcom-laptop.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/dotcom-laptop.jpg" alt="dotcom-laptop" width="233" height="170" class="alignright size-full wp-image-76556"></a>Last week the Supreme Court handed a <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/supreme-court-denies-kim-dotcom-access-to-u-s-evidence-140320/">significant blow</a> to Kim Dotcom and his associates with a ruling confirming they would not be entitled to receive any more than a summary of the claims in the extradition case against them.</p>
<p>Just days later and the Megaupload and Mega.co.nz founder&#8217;s legal team were back in court in connection with their huge compensation claim against the New Zealand police and the government&#8217;s GCSB spy agency following the raid on Dotcom&#8217;s Coatville mansion in 2012.</p>
<p>The claim, for breaches of the Bill of Rights Act and the Government Communications and Security Bureau Act, spans not only Kim Dotcom but also his wife Mona, three of his Megaupload associates, plus one of their wives.</p>
<p>On the basis that the surveillance leading up to the raid was carried out illegally, and that the raid itself was executed by the police using excessive force, the claim for compensation has reached around NZ$5m (US$4.27m)</p>
<p>In the High Court in Auckland this morning, Dotcom lawyer Paul Davison said that he believed that additional documents being held by the government should be revealed as part of the discovery process. Should such documents exist, Davison said, then he would ask that Justice Winkelmann orders their disclosure.</p>
<p>However, Crown lawyer David Boldt said there was nothing left to hand over.</p>
<p>&#8220;The defendants at least have discovered thousands of documents in this proceeding and have been extraordinarily diligent in scouring records for relevant material,&#8221; Boldt <a href="http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/239652/court-order-sought-for-documents">said</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;What I can say is, if that material existed, it would have been discovered, and we&#8217;ve sworn affidavits to the effect that this is all there is.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Crown also took the opportunity to attack Dotcom&#8217;s use of Twitter, a service used by the Megaupload founder to give his followers a window into his private life.</p>
<p>Dotcom posts tweets several times every day, sometimes giving his 350,000 followers updates on his family but on other occasions referring to his ongoing legal battles with both the United States and New Zealand governments. That has included the posting documents connected to his case</p>
<p>Crown lawyer Kristy McDonald said that through his actions on Twitter, Dotcom had demonstrated &#8220;considerable disregard&#8221; for court processes and suggested that any documents obtained by Dotcom might end up getting published on the social networking platform.</p>
<p>&#8220;Is this about obtaining documents so they can be put out in the public arena?&#8221; McDonald questioned. The notion was <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/9862280/Dotcoms-Twitter-use-an-issue">dismissed</a> by Dotcom&#8217;s lawyer.</p>
<p>This is the second attack on Dotcom&#8217;s use of Twitter. In December 2013, the U.S. Government claimed that the entrepreneur&#8217;s use of the social networking site made his defense <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcoms-tweets-make-megaupload-defense-less-credible-us-govt-says-131207/">less credible</a>.</p>
<p>Dotcom&#8217;s legal team, however, suggested that government attempts &#8220;to widely disseminate a one-sided, cherry-picked set of facts&#8221; threatened to &#8220;infect the jury pool before defendants are afforded any opportunity to present their side of the story.”</p>
<p>In the meantime, Dotcom&#8217;s tweets continue. Although not mentioning anyone by name, Dotcom today criticized former security staff for &#8220;leaking family secrets&#8221; and demanding large sums of money. He said that rumors suggesting he treats his staff badly are untrue.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/8a8d1a1b.dotcomtweets.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/dotcomtweets.png" alt="Dotcom Tweets"></center></p>
<p>The compensation hearings, which will continue in the High Court tomorrow, will see Dotcom&#8217;s lawyers argue that the manner in which the 2012 raid was carried out breached his human rights. Earlier this year the Court of Appeal decided that the warrants used in the raid were not in themselves unlawful. Dotcom&#8217;s appeal to the Supreme Court in that matter is pending.</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> Crown lawyers will now <a href="http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/239724/crown-seeks-court-order-to-curb-dotcom">seek an order</a> to stop Dotcom from commenting in public about the ongoing court cases he&#8217;s involved in.  </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85751
title: Judge: IP-Address Is Not a Person and Can’t Identify a BitTorrent Pirate
uri: Judge-IP-Address-Is-Not-a-Person-and-Can-t-Identify-a-BitTorrent-P
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/ddNGgBmVjsI/
content:
<p><a href="media/c584491e.ip-address.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/ip-address.png"><img src="media/f7a82faa.ip-address.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ip-address.png" alt="ip-address" width="225" height="153" class="alignright size-full wp-image-50438"></a>Over the past several years <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/200000-bittorrent-users-sued-in-the-united-states-110808/">hundreds of thousands</a> of alleged BitTorrent pirates have been sued by so-called &#8216;copyright trolls&#8217; in the United States.</p>
<p>The rightsholders bringing these cases generally rely on an IP address as evidence. They then ask the courts to grant a subpoena, forcing Internet providers to hand over the personal details of the associated account holder.</p>
<p>The problem, however, is that the person listed as the account holder is often not the person who downloaded the infringing material. Although not many judges address this crucial issue early on, there are exceptions, such as the one raised by Florida District Court Judge Ursula Ungaro.</p>
<p>Judge Ungaro was presented with a case brought by Malibu Media, who accused IP-address &#8220;174.61.81.171&#8243; of sharing one of their films using BitTorrent without their permission. The Judge, however, was reluctant to issue a subpoena, and asked the company to explain how they could identify the actual infringer.</p>
<p>Responding to this order to show cause, Malibu Media gave an overview of their data gathering techniques. Among other things they explained that geo-location software was used to pinpoint the right location, and how they made sure that it was a residential address, and not a public hotspot.</p>
<p>Judge Ungaro welcomed the additional details, but saw nothing that actually proves that the account holder is the person who downloaded the file. </p>
<p>&#8220;Plaintiff has shown that the geolocation software can provide a location for an infringing IP address; however, Plaintiff has not shown how this geolocation software can establish the identity of the Defendant,&#8221; Ungaro wrote in an order last week.</p>
<p>&#8220;There is nothing that links the IP address location to the identity of the person actually downloading and viewing Plaintiff’s videos, and establishing whether that person lives in this district,&#8221; she adds.</p>
<p><center><strong>The order</strong></center><center><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" src="//www.scribd.com/embeds/214110295/content?start_page=1&#038;view_mode=scroll&#038;access_key=key-1ch2odn0dgh0meqq1gfk&#038;show_recommendations=false" data-auto-height="false" data-aspect-ratio="0.772922022279349" scrolling="no" id="doc_54095" width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0"></iframe></center></p>
<p>Even if Malibu Media can accurately show that the copyright infringer used the Internet connection of the account holder connected to IP-address 174.61.81.171, they still can&#8217;t prove who shared the file.</p>
<p>&#8220;Even if this IP address is located within a residence, the geolocation software cannot identify who has access to that residence’s computer and who would actually be using it to infringe Plaintiff’s copyright,&#8221; Judge Ungaro explains.</p>
<p>As a result, the court decided to dismiss the case for improper venue. The ruling is crucial as it&#8217;s another unique order confirming that an IP address alone is not enough to launch a copyright infringement lawsuit.</p>
<p>Copyright Troll watcher SJD <a href="http://fightcopyrighttrolls.com/2014/03/22/florida-judge-dismisses-a-malibu-case-because-lipscomb-failed-to-establish-a-connection-between-an-ip-address-and-person/">points out</a> that the same Judge has also issued orders to show cause in two other Malibu Media cases, which are also likely to be closed. </p>
<p>While not all judges may come to the same conclusion, the order definitely limits the options for copyright holders in the Southern District of Florida. Together with several <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/judge-ip-address-does-not-prove-copyright-infringement-140121/">similar rulings</a> on the insufficiency of IP-address evidence, accused downloaders have yet more ammunition to fight back.  </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85816
title: Dotcom’s Mega Plans $179m Public Listing Via Reverse Takeover
uri: Dotcom-s-Mega-Plans-179m-Public-Listing-Via-Reverse-Takeover
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/NNLx9RhUAhQ/
content:
<p><a href="media/f427ad1d.mega3.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/mega3.png"><img src="media/ddc76781.mega3.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/mega3.png" alt="mega" width="222" height="103" class="alignright size-full wp-image-79246"></a>Kim Dotcom isn&#8217;t known for doing things &#8216;small&#8217; and that was underlined today with news that the cloud storage firm he founded last year will hit the New Zealand stock exchange.</p>
<p>In keeping with the complex life of the entrepreneur, the plans for the listing aren&#8217;t completely straightforward. Mega.co.nz says it will achieve a backdoor listing on the New Zealand stock exchange via a reverse takeover of an existing company.</p>
<p>Earlier this morning TRS Investments, an inactive investment company valued at NZ$2.2m (US$1.88m), said it had reached an agreement to buy Mega Ltd through a share issue to Mega shareholders.</p>
<p>TRS will acquire the shares for NZ$210 million via the issue of 700 million new shares to the shareholders of Mega at a price of 30 cents per share. This will result in those shareholders owning a 99 percent share of TRS.</p>
<p>Once the deal is completed, TRS will change its name to Mega.</p>
<p>While Kim Dotcom himself is longer a director of Mega having stepped down to concentrate on his extradition battle, musical career and political party, his wife Mona owns 26.5 percent of the company.</p>
<p>The acquisition requires TRS to obtain shareholder approval and necessary collateral on or before May 30, 2014.</p>
<p>&#8220;The rapid global growth of Mega has generated significant interest from potential investors. Listing on the New Zealand Stock Exchange will allow investors to participate in the ongoing growth of Mega,&#8221; said Mega CEO Stephen Hall in a statement.</p>
<p>Perhaps unsurprisingly, the deal already has its controversy, with a <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&#038;objectid=11225952">report</a> this morning that Paul Choiselat, a major TRS shareholder, is facing charges of concealing his interest in listed companies and alleged market manipulation.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, shares in TRS Investments soared to a seven year high, up 600 percent, following news of the takeover.</p>
<p>Mega reports that since its launch in January 2013 it has signed up around seven million users and is currently bringing on board more than 20,000 new ones every day. With encrypted chat video conferencing scheduled for the second quarter, Mega has big things ahead in 2014.</p>
<p>The full NZX announcement can be found <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1095963-trs000000-191493.html">here</a>.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85831
title: Android App Pirates Plead Guilty to Criminal Copyright Infringement
uri: Android-App-Pirates-Plead-Guilty-to-Criminal-Copyright-Infringement
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/fdXm3_9G_8g/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-85833" alt="appbucket" src="media/7b177fbd.appbucket.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/appbucket.jpg" width="200" height="167">With help from French and Dutch police, the FBI <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/fbi-seizes-pirate-android-app-domains-120822/">took over</a> the &#8220;pirate&#8221; Android stores applanet.net, appbucket.net and snappzmarket.com during the summer of 2012.</p>
<p>The domain seizures were the first ever against &#8220;rogue&#8221; mobile app marketplaces and followed similar actions against BitTorrent and streaming sites.</p>
<p>Yesterday the Department of Justice announced that two of the three admins of the Appbucket site have plead guilty to criminal copyright infringement. Nicholas Narbone, 26, and Thomas Dye, 21, both signed a plea deal with the Government and are currently scheduled to be sentenced in June.</p>
<p>No information was provided on the third Appbucket defendant, Thomas Pace, who was primarily responsible for finding copies of Android apps and managing the site&#8217;s servers.</p>
<p>The authorities estimate that more than a million Apps were traded via Appbucket, with a retail value of approximately $700,000. Over the course of two years the site itself generated <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/214391070/Appbucket-Information">little over $80,000</a> in proceeds from subscriptions.</p>
<p><center></p>
<h5>Seizure Banner</h5>
<p><img alt="seizure" src="media/058cac35.seizure-banner.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/seizure-banner.jpg"></p>
<p></center>Acting Assistant Attorney General David O’Neil is happy with the guilty pleas, which are the first of their kind.</p>
<p>“These mark the first convictions secured by the Justice Department against those who illegally distribute counterfeit mobile apps,&#8221; O’Neil says.</p>
<p>&#8220;These men trampled on the intellectual property rights of others when they and other members of the Appbucket group distributed more than one million copies of pirated apps.&#8221;</p>
<p>Besides Appbucket, there are also cases pending against the operators of Snappzmarket and Applanet. The founder of Applanet previously launched a <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/busted-android-store-founder-to-crowdfund-battle-against-u-s-govt-140209/">crowdfunding</a> campaign to pay for his defense, but only managed to raised $1,029 of the required $50,000.</p>
<p>The FBI, meanwhile, is already on the lookout for their next targets.</p>
<p>“The FBI will continue to work with its various law enforcement partners in identifying, investigating, and presenting for prosecution those individuals and groups engaged in such criminal activities that involve the attempt to profit from the hard work and the developed creative ideas of others,” FBI Special Agent Johnson says.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85596
title: Google Takedown Notices Surge 711,887 Percent in Four Years
uri: Google-Takedown-Notices-Surge-711-887-Percent-in-Four-Years
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/ZJhp_nrkxrU/
content:
<p><a href="media/7c6b9504.google-bay.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/google-bay.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-21875" alt="google-bay" src="media/3a6fa524.google-bay.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/google-bay.jpg" width="200" height="177"></a>Signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1998, the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) aimed to ready copyright law for the digital age.</p>
<p>The law heightened punishment for copyright infringement over the Internet and criminalized circumvention of DRM. In addition, it also introduced a safe harbor for Internet services, meaning that they can&#8217;t be held liable for their pirating users as long as they properly process takedown notices.</p>
<p>Initially these notices were mostly sent to consumer ISPs to alert them to pirating subscribers. At the time, rightsholders showed little interest in sending takedown notices to other online services, but this changed drastically in the years that followed.</p>
<p><a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2411915">New research</a> by Stanford Law School&#8217;s Daniel Seng reveals that online services such as Google and Twitter have seen a surge in takedown requests in recent years. In fact, drawing on data from ChillingEffects.org, Seng finds that the number of DMCA notices processed by Google increased 711,887 percent in four years, from 62 in 2008 to 441,370 in 2012.</p>
<p><center><strong>Published takedown notices per recipient*</strong></center><center><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-85653" alt="noticesperyear" src="media/c0d9a558.noticesperyear.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/noticesperyear.png" width="559" height="261"></center></p>
<p>Titled &#8220;The State of the Discordant Union&#8221; and published in the Virginia Journal of Law and Technology, the paper discusses this upward trend. Two key changes Seng observes are that the average number of URLs in each notice is increasing, and that claims for multiple works are often included in a single notice.</p>
<p>Where copyright holders previously listed only one work per notice, there are now sometimes dozens of movies or tracks bundled in each. This is a worrying development according to Seng.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is disturbing to see the trend where more claims and more takedown requests are packed into each takedown notice. Up until 2010, each notice contained only one claim. But in 2011, the average number of claims per notice is 2.18, and in 2012, this average is 5.05,&#8221; Seng writes.</p>
<p>More copyrighted works per notice also means that the number of URLs per notice is increasing too. For example, between 2011 and 2012 the average number of URLs listed in each notice increased from 47.79 to 124.75.</p>
<p>According to Seng, these changes can be attributed to a small number of copyright holders. In fact, most copyright holders still submit only one notice.</p>
<p>&#8220;These increasing averages paint a slightly misleading picture. More than 65% of all reporters have only issued one notice, and almost 95% of all reporters have issued no more than 10 notices in 2012,&#8221; Seng writes.</p>
<p>The most active copyright holders up until 2012 were the RIAA, Froytal and Microsoft, each listing more than five million notices. Seng&#8217;s paper doesn&#8217;t include the most recent data, but Google&#8217;s Transparency Report shows that these numbers <a href="https://www.google.com/transparencyreport/removals/copyright/reporters/?r=last-year">more than doubled</a> again in 2013.</p>
<p><center><strong>Total URLs for all notices per reporting group</strong></center><center><a href="media/27c47224.copyrightholder.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/copyrightholder.png"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-85657" alt="copyrightholder" src="media/27c47224.copyrightholder.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/copyrightholder.png" width="614" height="303"></a></center>A breakdown by industry shows that most of the notices (59%) come from the music industry, followed by adult entertainment companies (20%), and the movie industry (10%) respectively.</p>
<p><center><strong>Notices per industry</strong></center><center><a href="media/cf4bbaeb.noticesperind.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/noticesperind.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-85654" alt="noticesperind" src="media/cf4bbaeb.noticesperind.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/noticesperind.jpg" width="632" height="294"></a></center>The paper emphasizes that most changes are driven by a small number of copyright holders and industry groups, who are mostly targeting Google. Roughly 95% of all notices and 99% of all URLs included in the research were sent to the search engine, which has been under fire from the MPAA and RIAA for two years now.</p>
<p>Interestingly, the surge in notices started right after the SOPA and PIPA bills failed to pass, suggesting that this is anti-piracy plan B for the entertainment industries.</p>
<p>The release of the paper documents an important change in the use of DMCA takedown notices and coincides with ongoing <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/riaa-wants-google-end-piracy-whack-mole-140314/">discussions</a> between copyright holders and online service providers on how to improve the DMCA takedown process. What changes will be made, if any, remains to be seen.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p><sub>*The number of notices sent by Yahoo in 2011 and 2012 are most likely 0 because they stopped reporting them to Chillingeffects.</sub></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85686
title: File-Sharing Copyright Trolls Invade Finland
uri: File-Sharing-Copyright-Trolls-Invade-Finland
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/eUH6JlwoRq0/
content:
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-25779" alt="finland" src="media/5451b1e2.finland1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/finland1.jpg" width="200" height="143">It’s a system that first started in Europe with </span><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" title="You’re caught Downloading “Dream Pinball”, Settle Now or go Broke" href="http://torrentfreak.com/youre-caught-downloading-dream-pinball-settle-now-or-go-broke/">games</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> and especially </span><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" title="Anti-Piracy Law Firm Will Publicly Humiliate The Clergy, Police &amp; Arabs" href="http://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-law-firm-will-publicly-humiliate-the-clergy-police-arabs-120823/">pornography</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">, where people were less likely to fight back due to fear of public embarrassment.<br>
</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The aim for copyright holders is </span><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" title="BitTorrent Troll Admits Its All About Making Even More Money" href="http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-troll-admits-its-all-about-making-even-more-money-120417/">to avoid litigation</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> while generating revenue. Their evidence is often questionable and as a result those that fight back often have their cases dropped &#8211; trolls tend to prefer the escape option over the consequences of an adverse verdict.<br>
</span></p>
<p>After moving to the U.S., settlement programs gained prominence through the actions of entities including <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/tag/prenda/" target="_blank">Prenda</a> and X-Art. These schemes have come under <a title="Federal Judge Fires Phasers, Photons at Prenda for $80k Damages" href="http://torrentfreak.com/federal-judge-fires-phasers-photons-at-prenda-for-80k-damages-130507/">increasing fire</a> in <a title="2,919 Movie Pirates Walk Free as BitTorrent Trolling Scheme Falls Apart" href="http://torrentfreak.com/2919-movie-pirates-walk-free-as-bittorrent-trolling-scheme-falls-apart-130802/">U.S. courts</a>, so it&#8217;s perhaps unsurprising that a new country is now on the agenda.</p>
<p>Citizens of Finland are now being subjecting to pay-up-or-else letters, but the decision to target this Nordic country isn&#8217;t the most obvious one, thanks to less favorable laws than those in the US.</p>
<p>Letters that have recently gone out to some Finnish Internet subscribers (<em>translated example below, from a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_Oy" target="_blank">DNA customer</a></em>)  accuse them of downloading porn using BitTorrent and include an offer to settle for ‘only 600 euros’ (about US$825). A vague reference to the police is also included,  ratcheting up the pressure to comply.</p>
<p>According to Ville Oksanen, <a href="http://www.effi.org/yhdistys/hallitus.html" target="_blank">vice chair</a> of the EFFi and Post-doc researcher at Aalto University, under Finnish law the account holder is presumed to be the infringer by the courts, unless the or she can show that someone may have used the account.</p>
<p>In addition, the loser of a case pays the costs, unlike in the U.S. where each side pays its own costs with a few exceptions (such as a baseless case). More and more courts around the world are starting to look closely into these kinds of cases, and in some instances <a title="Judge: IP-Address Is  Not a Person and Can’t Identify a BitTorrent Pirate" href="http://torrentfreak.com/ip-address-not-person-140324/">throwing them out</a>. That&#8217;s not so good if you&#8217;re liable for the <a title="Prenda Suffers More Fee Award Blows" href="http://torrentfreak.com/prenda-suffers-more-fee-award-blows-130809/">substantial cost</a> of defense.</p>
<p>TorrentFreak has been able to confirm that the letters relate to content from the Hustler stable, who committed to “turning piracy into profit”, presumably through these troll tactics, as far <a title="Hustler Hires Media Protector to Chase Online Porn Pirates" href="http://torrentfreak.com/hustler-hires-media-protector-to-chase-porn-pirates-090103/">back as 2009</a>.</p>
<p>Why this scheme is starting in Finland now is unknown, although the <a title="Finland Writes History With Crowdsourced Copyright Law" href="http://torrentfreak.com/finland-writes-history-with-crowdsourced-copyright-law-130722/">crowdsourced copyright law</a> may make it less profitable in the future. According to Oksanen, the law as written would remove some sections of copyright law, making account-holder identification much harder.</p>
<p>The lawfirm behind this letter, <a href="http://www.hedman-attorneys.com/" target="_blank">Hedman Partners</a>, did not respond to requests at the time of publication.</p>
<h6>With thanks to <i>rehanna, vhautaka and mikachu</i></h6>
<p><iframe id="doc_8776" src="//www.scribd.com/embeds/213803434/content?start_page=1&amp;view_mode=scroll&amp;access_key=key-1urmejts00iv91vni443&amp;show_recommendations=false" height="600" width="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" data-auto-height="false" data-aspect-ratio="0.708006279434851"></iframe></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85888
title: MPAA: Moviegoers Use More ‘Piracy-Enabling’ Smartphones
uri: MPAA-Moviegoers-Use-More-Piracy-Enabling-Smartphones
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/SVZU0yBQT2Y/
content:
<p>The MPAA just <a href="media/687e178b.MPAA-Theatrical-Market-Statistics-2013_032514-v2.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.mpaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/MPAA-Theatrical-Market-Statistics-2013_032514-v2.pdf">released</a> their latest box-office statistics. Despite the continuing threat of online piracy the numbers once again show an increase in revenue worldwide, up to a record-breaking $35.9 billion in 2013. </p>
<p>In addition to the revenue increase, the movie group emphasizes the importance of new technology in expanding its audience. The MPAA stresses that frequent moviegoers are also technology fanatics, with nearly three-quarters owning at least four new devices. </p>
<p>Smartphones are particularly popular among movie fans, and the MPAA notes that the movie industry can do more to use this technology to boost theater attendance even further. </p>
<p>“We need to keep exploring fresh ways of leveraging our new technology to drive traffic to your theaters,&#8221; MPAA CEO Chris Dodd said at The Colosseum inside Caesar’s Palace where the findings were presented.</p>
<p>&#8220;We can embrace technology, and use it to complement our offerings….A smartphone can make more content available, but it will never be able to surpass the shared experience that you deliver to every person who sits in your theaters,” he added. </p>
<p><center><strong>Moviegoers own more tech devices (source: mpaa.org)</strong></center><center><a href="media/d1bd0878.technology-mpaa.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/technology-mpaa.png"><img src="media/d1bd0878.technology-mpaa.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/technology-mpaa.png" alt="technology-mpaa" width="748" height="381" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-85890"></a></center></p>
<p>With the release of these statistics the MPAA wants to show that technology is not just a threat to the movie industry, but also an opportunity. While this is certainly true, the statements are not without conflict. </p>
<p>Using smartphones to drive more people to the movies also presents a problem, as the MPAA doesn&#8217;t want them to be used <em>inside</em> the theater.</p>
<p>The MPAA has previously published a set of <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-wants-advanced-anti-piracy-measures-at-movie-theaters-131114/">anti-piracy practices</a> movie theater owners should adhere to. This includes a very skeptical stance against any device that can be used to capture video, including smartphones.</p>
<p>“The MPAA recommends that theaters adopt a Zero Tolerance policy that prohibits the video or audio recording and the taking of photographs of any portion of a movie,” MPAA states.</p>
<p>“Theater managers should immediately alert law enforcement authorities whenever they suspect prohibited activity is taking place. Do not assume that a cell phone or digital camera is being used to take still photographs and not a full-length video recording,” the group adds.</p>
<p><center><a href="media/3e9c2fcc.mobile-mpaa.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/mobile-mpaa.png"><img src="media/3e9c2fcc.mobile-mpaa.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/mobile-mpaa.png" alt="mobile-mpaa" width="598" height="109" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-82754"></a></center></p>
<p>Past anecdotes show that theaters take these recommendations very seriously. A few years ago a girl was arrested for <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/teen-arrested-for-recording-20-second-movie-clip/">recording a 20 second clip</a> from the movie Transformers on her phone, and more recently a Google Glass wearer was <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/fbi-drags-google-glass-man-from-theater-on-piracy-fears-140121/">handed over to the authorities</a>, without recording anything.</p>
<p>The above is a classical example of the dual role technology plays for the entertainment industries. Nearly every new invention poses both threats and opportunities, and the challenge is to find the right balance between them.  </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85883
title: ‘Fining’ File-Sharers Makes Anti-Piracy Company Lose Money
uri: Fining-File-Sharers-Makes-Anti-Piracy-Company-Lose-Money
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/ZZWsPqDlFt8/
content:
<p><a href="media/96cc090f.rightscorp.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/rightscorp.jpg"><img src="media/96cc090f.rightscorp.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/rightscorp.jpg" alt="rightscorp" width="180" height="71" class="alignright size-full wp-image-85915"></a>For the past six years or so the idea that piracy can be turned into profit has been gaining traction. After Internet users sharing copyrighted material without permission are identified, they can be contacted and pressured into settling what might otherwise be an expensive lawsuit.</p>
<p>Discovering the real-life identities of pirates is not cheap, and that&#8217;s where US-based Rightscorp spotted a gap in the market. By attaching settlement demands to DMCA notices that ISPs are compelled to forward to alleged pirates, Rightscorp can reach alleged infringers without even knowing who they are.</p>
<p>Once a warning letter enters the email inbox of an account holder, he or she is invited to visit the Rightscorp website to settle for around $20.00. Some people simply ignore the warnings and nothing else happens. Others choose to pay $20 for say, a single music track, but sometimes discover that Rightscorp has more demands for the rest of the tracks in the album lined up at $20 a pop.</p>
<p>But while collecting $20 for sending an email might sound like a winner, financial results for 2013 just published by Rightscorp paint a pretty miserable picture.</p>
<p>For the year ending December 31, 2013, Rightscorp reports total revenue of just $324,016. So, presuming all of that revenue came from $20.00 settlements, around 16,200 infringement notices were paid during the 12 month period, or around 311 per week.</p>
<p>While this might seem like a decent return for just sending emails, they don&#8217;t just appear out of thin air. Rightscorp has costs, lots of them in fact.</p>
<p>When an Internet user settles with Rightscorp some of this money goes back to <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/warner-bros-were-fining-file-sharers-who-use-non-six-strike-isps-130607/">companies such as Warner Bros.</a>, who give permission for the anti-piracy company to exploit their content to generate revenue. According to Rightscorp, during 2013 it paid a total of $161,868 to these companies. When we compare that amount with total revenue of $324,016, we can see that Rightscorp gives away $10 from every $20 settlement.</p>
<p>On paper it&#8217;s money for nothing for the copyright holders, but Rightscorp&#8217;s $10 cut just isn&#8217;t balancing the books due to the large costs of running the business. Under &#8216;General and administrative expenses&#8217; the company says it burnt through $1,663,921 in 2013, with &#8216;sales and marketing&#8217; and &#8216;depreciation and amortization&#8217; coming in at $275,616 and $33,438 respectively.</p>
<p>Add those all together and Rightscorp cost $2,134,843 to run in 2013, yet it brought in just $324,016, a shortfall of more than $1.8 million. After other adjustments the bottom line shows a loss of $2,042,779 for the anti-piracy company, an amount that would take <em>their share</em> of another 204,278 settlements to balance, providing no other costs increased.</p>
<p>While the company has expansion plans for Canada and has filed for patents to extend its monitoring services to Europe, China, Israel, Japan, Brazil, and India, the elusive aim of turning piracy into profit is still some way off.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85968
title: EU Court: ISPs Can Be Forced to Block Pirate Sites
uri: EU-Court-ISPs-Can-Be-Forced-to-Block-Pirate-Sites
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/QQs8iG-oDF8/
content:
<p><img src="media/07db73b3.stop-blocked.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/stop-blocked.jpg" width="200" height="168" class="alignright">Although the dream of blocking sites in the United States was completely crushed along with the now-dead SOPA legislation, music and movie companies across Europe have enjoyed a much smoother ride.</p>
<p>Torrent sites such as The Pirate Bay and KickassTorrents are blocked in several countries around the EU and in the UK, for example, dozens of &#8216;pirate&#8217; domains are now blocked at the ISP level.</p>
<p>A notable case originating from Austria, however, has been on hold pending a decision from the Court of Justice of the European Union. The dispute saw movie companies Constantin Film Verleih and Wega Filmproduktionsgesellschaft complain that local ISP UPC Telekabel Wien had been providing subscriber access to illegal streaming site Kino.to, a site now shuttered following police action.</p>
<p>The movie companies previously obtained interim injunctions to have UPC block the site, despite UPC arguing that it couldn&#8217;t be held responsible for a site that it had absolutely nothing to do with. UPC also noted that there was no court ruling indicating its customers had broken the law.</p>
<p>To settle the matter the Austrian Supreme Court asked the Court of Justice to clarify whether a company that provides Internet access to those using an illegal website could be required to block that site. Today the Court of Justice handed down its long-awaited decision.</p>
<p>The Court found that a person who makes copyrighted material available to the public without permission from rightsholders is using the services of the Internet service provider of the people accessing that content. EU law does not require a specific relationship between the person infringing copyright and the intermediary against whom any injunction has been issued, the Court found.</p>
<p>Addressing UPC&#8217;s concerns that none of its customers had been deemed by a court to have acted unlawfully, the EU Court said that proof was not necessary as the law is in place not only to bring an end to infringement, but also to prevent it.</p>
<p>The EU Court added that since any ISP targeted by an injunction is free to carry out its obligations in a way that fits its circumstances, blocking orders do not therefore restrict an ISP&#8217;s freedom to conduct its business.</p>
<p>Any injunction must, however, must be proportional so as not to unnecessarily stop subscribers from lawfully accessing information. Furthermore, any blocking measures must have the effect of preventing access to copyrighted content or at least make it more difficult. National courts are required to ensure that these conditions are met.</p>
<p>The take-home from today&#8217;s ruling, which follows last year&#8217;s advice from the Advocate General, is clear: ISPs can be required to block access to infringing sites but any injunction must be balanced and proportional.</p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><sub><em>Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/danzen/2963144336/">Dan Zen</a> </em></sub></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85948
title: Court Orders Usenet Provider to Prevent Copyright Infringement
uri: Court-Orders-Usenet-Provider-to-Prevent-Copyright-Infringement
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/nexXdP7gAaQ/
content:
<p><a href="media/02ee68d1.usenext1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/usenext1.jpg"><img src="media/02ee68d1.usenext1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/usenext1.jpg" alt="usenext" width="180" height="85" class="alignright size-full wp-image-85951"></a>While the music and movie industries are still developing strategies to deal with illegal file-sharing at the end-user level, tackling Internet companies remains a key component of their anti-piracy arsenals.</p>
<p>While pressure is maintained against search engines and sites such as YouTube, not all Internet-based companies are as willing (or indeed easily able) to cooperate due to the way they are setup. One such complication arises from the continued availability of illicit content on the worldwide Usenet (newsgroup) system.</p>
<p>Considering the masses of copyright-infringing content uploaded to Usenet, legal action against companies that provide access to the system is relatively rare. Adult publisher Perfect 10 <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/never-give-up-perfect-10-sues-giganews-usenet-service-110503/">fought battles</a> against Usenet giant Giganews and five years ago the RIAA crushed Usenet.com in the what was probably the most significant victory of its type.</p>
<p>This week in the latest action against a Usenet supplier, German anti-piracy group GEMA reported a new victory against Aviteo Ltd, the Munich-based operator of <a href="http://www.usenext.de/">UseNeXT</a>.</p>
<p>For years the music-focused rights group has been pressuring UseNeXT claiming that tracks from its repertoire are being made available for illegal download via the company&#8217;s services. UseNeXT isn&#8217;t responsible for putting the tracks online and they weren&#8217;t necessarily placed there by a UseNeXT user, but GEMA wants the company to take responsibility.</p>
<p>This week GEMA obtained an injunction against UseNeXT / Aviteo Ltd at the Hamburg Regional Court in respect of a sample 10 tracks from GEMA&#8217;s repertoire. The injunction is the latest development in GEMA&#8217;s long-running legal battle with UseNeXT.</p>
<p><a href="media/1b0f009d.gema.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/gema.jpg"><img src="media/1b0f009d.gema.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/gema.jpg" alt="gema" width="180" height="217" class="alignright size-full wp-image-85955"></a><a href="http://torrentfreak.com/music-group-gets-court-injunction-against-usenext-100309/">The dispute</a> dates back to 2006 and has already resulted in a pair court injunctions issued in 2007 and 2010, each ordering the provider to do more to protect GEMA&#8217;s rights. </p>
<p>&#8220;The adoption of this [latest] injunction is a positive signal for all rightsowners,&#8221; said GEMA CEO Dr. Harald Heker.</p>
<p>&#8220;It confirms that services whose business model is based on the illegal downloading of protected works and thereby make a profit, have a duty towards rightsholders.&#8221;</p>
<p>The precise details have not yet been made public, but according to GEMA the injunction &#8220;extends the responsibility of services providers towards rights holders&#8221; in the event that copyright works are continually made available.</p>
<p>&#8220;In such a case, the service provider has an obligation to eliminate the danger created by him for illegal use of protected content, through the use of an appropriate filtering system, or if necessary, even the closure of the service,&#8221; GEMA said.</p>
<p>Perhaps unsurprisingly, UseNeXT have a different interpretation of the decision. The company says that it only provides access to the Usenet system and has no control of the content to be found there. It is common practice, UseNeXT <a href="http://www.pcwelt.de/news/GEMA_siegt_erneut_gegen_UseNeXT-Einstweilige_Verfuegung-8629657.html">says</a>, for copyright holders to send takedown notices to the actual server operators so that files can be removed from newsgroups.</p>
<p>In a sure sign that this battle is far from over, UseNeXT / Aviteo says it will appeal.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85925
title: RIAA Demands Personal Details of Pirating YouTube Users
uri: RIAA-Demands-Personal-Details-of-Pirating-YouTube-Users
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/1pGylK56u8k/
content:
<p><a href="media/f805d856.youtubesadsmall1.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/youtubesadsmall1.png"><img src="media/d9d620b7.youtubesadsmall1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/youtubesadsmall1.png" alt="youtubesadsmall" width="200" height="145" class="alignright size-full wp-image-84333"></a>To many, uploading a music video of their favorite artist seems to be a relatively harmless act, but the major record labels clearly disagree.  </p>
<p>Up until now &#8220;pirating&#8221; YouTube users would only get a slap on the wrist by Google, and have their YouTube accounts terminated at worst. However, it appears that the RIAA has had enough and is now going after the uploaders of two leaked Chris Brown tracks. </p>
<p>The RIAA&#8217;s quest started earlier this month when Vice President Anti-Piracy Mark McDevitt contacted YouTube personally to demand the takedown of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_(Chris_Brown_album)">leaked tracks</a> &#8220;New Flame&#8221; and &#8220;Die it For You.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;We are asking you for your immediate assistance in stopping this unauthorized activity,&#8221; McDevitt wrote in a letter to the video hosting service.</p>
<p>&#8220;Specifically, we request that you ensure the removal of the infringing files from your system, or that you disable access to the infringing files, and that you inform the site operator of the illegality of his or her conduct,&#8221; he added.</p>
<p>YouTube was quick to comply, as both videos are <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY72raC3IVU">unavailable</a> at the time of writing. However, the RIAA didn&#8217;t stop there. Instead, the music group went to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to obtain a subpoena for the personal details of the uploader, or uploaders. </p>
<p>In their request the RIAA explains that it requires a subpoena to identify those responsible for the uploads. Among other things, they are looking for the IP-addresses and emails associated with the accounts in question.</p>
<p>&#8220;The purpose for which this subpoena is sought is to obtain the identity or identities of the individual or individuals assigned to this URL,&#8221; RIAA writes. &#8220;This information will only be used for the purposes of protecting the rights granted to our members, the sound recording copyright owners, under [the DMCA].&#8221; </p>
<p>The RIAA&#8217;s request for a subpoena <a href="media/10587a6b.RIAA-subpoena.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/RIAA-subpoena.jpg">was granted</a> by a court clerk on the same day. This means that YouTube now has until April 15 to hand over the requested information, unless it decides to appeal. </p>
<p><center><strong>RIAA subpoena to YouTube</strong></center><center><a href="media/44ce5f1b.subpoena-riaa-youtube.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/subpoena-riaa-youtube.png"><img src="media/44ce5f1b.subpoena-riaa-youtube.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/subpoena-riaa-youtube.png" alt="subpoena-riaa-youtube" width="696" height="200" class="alignright size-full wp-image-85929"></a></center></p>
<p>To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the RIAA has gone after YouTube users. Whether this is an isolated incident has yet to be seen, but it wouldn&#8217;t be a surprise if the record labels want to set an example.</p>
<p>The RIAA has been an active proponent of <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/u-s-bill-to-criminalize-illicit-movie-music-streaming-110517/">criminalizing</a> those who &#8220;stream&#8221; copyrighted videos in the past. While that failed through the PIPA bill, this may be an opportunity for them to test the water under current copyright laws.</p>
<p>In any case, YouTube users should be aware that the RIAA and others can obtain their personal details on a whim. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86000
title: UK Govt: DVD and CD Ripping Will Be Legalized This Summer
uri: UK-Govt-DVD-and-CD-Ripping-Will-Be-Legalized-This-Summer
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/jr151asmpfQ/
content:
<p><img src="media/4d28e669.uk-flag.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/uk-flag.jpg" alt="uk-flag" width="200" height="179" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86005">To most consumers it is common sense that they can make a backup copy of media they own, but in the UK this is currently illegal. </p>
<p>After a public consultation and a thorough inspection of local copyright legislation, the UK Government decided to change current laws in favor of consumers. The changes have been in the planning stage for a few years, but this summer they will finally be implemented. </p>
<p>Starting in July people are free to make copies of DVDs, CDs and other types of media, as long as it&#8217;s for personal use. To inform the public about these upcoming changes the Government has just released a <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/215022716">consumer guide</a>, summing up citizens&#8217; new rights.</p>
<p>&#8220;Copyright law is being changed to allow you to make personal copies of media you have bought, for private purposes such as format shifting or backup,&#8221; the UK&#8217;s Intellectual Property Office writes.</p>
<p>&#8220;The changes will mean that you will be able to copy a book or film you have purchased for one device onto another without infringing copyright.&#8221; </p>
<p>The UK Government stresses that the changes will make current copyright law more reasonable, and doesn&#8217;t expect that copyright holders will suffer any significant harm. However, the changes could generate extra revenue for the technology sector, increasing revenue by £31 million per year.</p>
<p>&#8220;This measure will benefit technology firms by removing barriers and costs and improving entry to technology markets which rely on consumers being able to make private copies,&#8221; the government concluded previously. </p>
<p>Under the updated law people will also be able to legally store copies of their music and movies in the cloud. However, the Government stresses that giving others access to your files will remain illegal. </p>
<p>&#8220;You will be permitted to make personal copies to any device that you own, or a personal online storage medium, such as a private cloud. However, it will be illegal to give other people access to the copies you have made, including, for example, by allowing a friend to access your personal cloud storage,&#8221; the guide explains.</p>
<p>Similarly, people are free to sell any media they purchase, but all backup copies will have to be destroyed. </p>
<p>The mismatch between the law and public opinion became apparent through a Government-commissioned survey, which found that 85% of consumers already thought that DVD and CD ripping was legal. More than one-third of all consumers admitted that they&#8217;d already made copies of media they purchased.</p>
<p>Besides the new private copying rights, the upcoming amendments will also broaden people&#8217;s fair use rights. For example, people no longer have to ask permission to quote from or parody the work of others, such as a news report or a book, as long as it&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_dealing">fair dealing</a>&#8221; and the source is recognized. </p>
<p>From a public point of view the amendments are certainly a welcome change to the restrictive copyright laws that are in place currently, but they are also fashionably late. For those who are interested, a full overview of the upcoming changes is <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/215022716">available here</a>. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86004
title: Early iTunes Release Boosted Movie Piracy, Anti-Piracy Group Says
uri: Early-iTunes-Release-Boosted-Movie-Piracy-Anti-Piracy-Group-Says
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/YvMvSRvo9AM/
content:
<p><a href="media/bf524f61.pirate-running.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/pirate-running.jpg"><img src="media/f2bfe741.pirate-running.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/pirate-running.jpg" alt="pirate-running" width="222" height="204" class="alignright size-full wp-image-78717"></a>There are many factors responsible for people illegally downloading content from the Internet. Of course, some just like the idea of something for nothing, while others may not have the means or ability to pay, but pricing is only part of the story.</p>
<p>After a decade-and-a-half of consumers crying out for content to be made available online in a timely fashion, only now are there truly encouraging signs that the entertainment companies are at least on the right track, with the music industry making better progress than most.</p>
<p>But with its emphasis on keeping theater, PPV, DVD and other revenue channels sacred and in a pretty strict sequence, Hollywood has other ideas. The studios are still years away from debuting all movies online and in theaters on the same day which inevitably leads to piracy.</p>
<p>This week, however, an MPA-affiliated anti-piracy group claimed that having an early online release only leads to movies being pirated more.</p>
<p>The debate surrounds the Lars von Trier movie Nymphomaniac [<a href="http://vimeo.com/80071592">trailer:NSFW</a>], a controversial two-part drama starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and featuring Christian Slater, Uma Thurman and Willem Dafoe. It documents the decades-long destructive sex life of its lead character, Joe.</p>
<p>The movie had its theatrical release in its native Denmark on Christmas Day 2013 but no copy appeared on torrent sites. Usually a movie would then get released in theaters in other countries, but instead it appeared on the U.S. version of <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/nymphomaniac-volume-i/id824680489?ign-mpt=uo%3D2">iTunes on March 6, 2014</a>. Shortly after the movie appeared illegally online, and quickly became a bit of a hit.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/eeb9255a.itunesnymph.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/itunesnymph.jpg" alt="NymphiTunes"></center></p>
<p>Anti-piracy group Rights Alliance said it hired US-based MarkMonitor to track downloads of the movie and discovered that in the first two weeks after airing on iTunes, the movie was illegally downloaded more than 283,600 times. By March 24 that number had increased to almost 349,000 downloads.</p>
<p>Commenting on the findings, lawyer and Rights Alliance chief Maria Fredenslund said that the large number of illegal downloads go towards dispelling the notion that people download less when content is made available quickly online.</p>
<p>&#8220;We often hear the story that if only the movies came out earlier in the legal market, then it would reduce piracy on the web,&#8221; Fredenslund told <a href="http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Kultur/Medier/2014/03/26/142213.htm">DR.dk</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;Here we see that the number of illegal downloads actually explodes while the film is being made available on the U.S. iTunes.&#8221;</p>
<p>But while there can be little doubt that the copies currently circulating online are from U.S. VOD sources, stating that an online release caused all this piracy isn&#8217;t really the full picture. What Rights Alliance didn&#8217;t mention was that the movie didn&#8217;t hit U.S. theaters until March 21, which left a two-week plus window in which piracy could thrive.</p>
<p>Also complicating matters is that distributor Magnolia Pictures only released the movie to 22 theaters on March 21, with just another 17 <a href="http://www.magpictures.com/dates.aspx?id=a0dd32e6-1fc6-4740-93ef-66460bf17c64">gaining access today</a>. The rest will have to wait well into April, by which time part two of the movie will already be debuting.</p>
<p>But despite the doom and gloom coming out of Denmark, Magnolia Pictures says the movie is &#8220;<a href="http://www.thewrap.com/unrated-nymphomaniac-gets-busy-box-office-friday/">doing very well</a>.&#8221; Nymphomaniac&#8217;s budget was less than $5 million with Magnolia reportedly paying $2 million for U.S. rights. </p>
<p>Finally, it&#8217;s interesting that Rights Alliance admit that when they did their tracking of Nymphomaniac downloads they only came across 1,003 Danish IP addresses pirating the movie.</p>
<p>Did giving the movie to Denmark first contribute to that low amount? Or maybe it&#8217;s because Danes have become so familiar with obtaining foreign IP addresses to get around a 2008 blockade of The Pirate Bay and gain access to the U.S. version of Netflix, they have since disappeared into the crowd.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86044
title: Putin: Pirate Site Blocking Has Failed to End Piracy
uri: Putin-Pirate-Site-Blocking-Has-Failed-to-End-Piracy
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/U66mdNGSOgM/
content:
<p><img src="media/83799112.russsopa.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/russsopa.jpg" width="180" height="212" class="alignright">In the early days of 2013 it became clear that after years of wavering, Russia was finally going to get tough on Internet piracy. Despite outcry from Internet giants such as Google, and Yandex, the country’s largest search engine, the government pressed ahead with its plans.</p>
<p>On August 1, 2013, a new law was passed which would allow sites to be blocked at the ISP level if they failed to respond to copyright infringement complaints in a timely fashion. But despite the legislative teeth, file-sharing sites were not blocked, with many simply complying with takedown demands as required by law.</p>
<p>In January 2014, however, the government <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-law-led-to-30-jump-in-legal-content-buyers-govt-claims-140116/">said</a> that the law was actually having the required effect, with the number of Internet users purchasing legal content going up by 30%. But at the same time there were complaints.</p>
<p>The founder of IVI.ru, the country&#8217;s leading source of Hollywood-licensed video, said that his company had not benefited from the law. And now it seems that the law&#8217;s lack of success is being admitted be people right at the top &#8211; the very, very top.</p>
<p>During a meeting with members of the House of the Federation Council, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the legislation introduced in August 2013 had failed to meet its objectives. </p>
<p>&#8220;This is an extremely important area, and we still have very much to do here,&#8221; he <a href="http://www.vz.ru/news/2014/3/27/679293.html">told</a> the meeting.</p>
<p>&#8220;Even after we have adopted these solutions for intellectual property protection in the field of cinema, recent analysis has shown that it does not work as effectively as we expected.&#8221;</p>
<p>Putin added that despite the new law, pirate movies can appear on websites anywhere and completely undermine the framework.</p>
<p>&#8220;The effect is that all of our protection is reduced to zero,&#8221; the President said.</p>
<p>But even though things aren&#8217;t working, there are no signs of any retreat. Instead the Russian government is looking to get even more aggressive.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is necessary to consider additional steps to protect intellectual property rights,&#8221; Putin concluded.</p>
<p>Work is already underway to expand the current legislation to encompass all content since right now only video is protected. The government is also looking at introducing fines for errant hosting providers and wants to find a way to permanently close sites persistently engaging in piracy.</p>
<p>&#8220;Sites engaging in piracy professionally (it&#8217;s their business) should be closed,&#8221; said Vladimir Medina of the Ministry of Culture.</p>
<p>But the idea that closing sites will solve the problem was <a href="http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2438698">dismissed</a> by a representative from the body in control of .ru domains. Noting that she is reminded of the &#8220;Streisand Effect&#8221;, where suppressed information only leads to wider dissemination, Olga Alexandrova-Massine said people will find a way to access blocked content.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85425
title: Pirate Bay’s Longest Surviving Torrents Turn 10 Years Old
uri: Pirate-Bay-s-Longest-Surviving-Torrents-Turn-10-Years-Old
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/zFlIMn2Dh6Y/
content:
<p><a href="media/fd06f581.pirate-bay.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/pirate-bay.jpg"><img src="media/2a43984f.pirate-bay.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/pirate-bay.jpg" alt="pirate bay" width="200" height="207" class="alignright size-full wp-image-53470"></a>The Pirate Bay is currently the most widely known file-sharing site on the Internet, but this certainly wasn&#8217;t the case ten years ago. </p>
<p>At the time the notorious torrent site had just launched. It was available in Swedish language only and hosted just a few hundred torrent files. </p>
<p>Needless to say, the site has evolved quite a bit since, but interestingly enough several of these early uploaded files are still alive and well. In fact, the oldest Pirate Bay torrent with at least one seeder turns ten years old today. </p>
<p>TF asked the Pirate Bay team to find out what the oldest surviving uploads are and a &#8220;Top Secret Recipes E-books&#8221; torrent come out on the top of that list. As can be seen below, the torrent in question was uploaded March 29, 2004 by a user named Wallis.</p>
<p><center><strong>Pirate Bay&#8217;s oldest active torrent</strong><br></br></center><center><a href="media/4317713b.tpb-recipnew.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tpb-recipnew.png"><img src="media/4317713b.tpb-recipnew.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tpb-recipnew.png" alt="tpb-recipnew" width="664" height="197" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-85797"></a></center></p>
<p>At the time the file was uploaded The Pirate Bay looked more <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20041111210845/http://thepiratebay.org/torrents-details.php?id=3211639">like this</a>, and it&#8217;s quite remarkable that the file is still being seeded after all these years.</p>
<p><center><strong>The same torrent, in Pirate Bay&#8217;s 2004 design</strong><br></br></center><center><a href="media/66ff6fd9.tpb-recipold.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tpb-recipold.png"><img src="media/66ff6fd9.tpb-recipold.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tpb-recipold.png" alt="tpb-recipold" width="755" height="246" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-85798"></a></center></p>
<p>The second oldest Pirate Bay torrent that&#8217;s still actively seeded is an &#8220;Italian Teens Home Video.&#8221; This file was uploaded on March 30, 2004 and currently has three seeders. The third place goes to a pirated copy of &#8220;Revolution OS&#8221;, a documentary covering the history of Linux, GNU and the free software movement. </p>
<p>Revolution OS director J.T.S. Moore previously told us that he has mixed feelings about this achievement. He doesn&#8217;t support the unauthorized distribution of his work, but said that it&#8217;s good to know that so many people are still interested in it. </p>
<p>“It’s definitely a problem, but I guess there’s some satisfaction in knowing that REVOLUTION OS still has appeal for some people twelve years later,” Moore <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/the-pirate-bays-oldest-torrent-is-revolution-os-130317/">told TF</a>.</p>
<p>Below is the top five list of oldest torrents on The Pirate Bay with at least one confirmed seeder at the time of writing. It will be interesting to see is any of these are able to survive another decade. That is, if The Pirate Bay is still around by then.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p><center><strong>TPB&#8217;s longest surviving torrents</strong></center></p>
<table class="css hover" summary="5 Largest Public BitTorrent Trackers">
<caption></caption>
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="8%"><strong>#</strong></th>
<th width="20%"><strong>Torrent</strong></th>
<th width="14%"><strong>Uploaded</strong></th>
<th width="14%"><strong>Seeders</strong></th>
<th width="14%"><strong>Peers</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="5">torrentfreak.com</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>Top Secret Recipes E-books</td>
<td>2004-03-29</td>
<td>7</td>
<td>0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>Italian Teens Home Video</td>
<td>2004-03-30</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>Revolution OS</td>
<td>2004-03-31</td>
<td>46</td>
<td>2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>LotR &#8211; War of the Ring</td>
<td>2004-03-31</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>Complete Idiots Guide to Amazing Sex</td>
<td>2004-04-03</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>0</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86058
title: Bad Google DMCA Takedown is Hurting Us, Hosting Site Says
uri: Bad-Google-DMCA-Takedown-is-Hurting-Us-Hosting-Site-Says
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/NJyUFAxD-U4/
content:
<p>As revealed <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/google-takedown-notices-surge-140325/">in a report</a> earlier this week, DMCA takedown notices issued to Google have surged 711,887 percent in just four years.</p>
<p>In fact, this month saw a new record week for notices received by the search engine. In a seven day period starting March 10, Google processed an amazing 6,532,393 notices, sent mainly by the music and adult industries.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/6a1db6ca.googledmca.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/googledmca.jpg" alt="GoogleDMCA"></center></p>
<p>While the majority of these notices are precise, there are some serious inaccuracies. Google does a pretty good job of rejecting many that are sent in error but it&#8217;s inevitable that some slip through the net, and when they do sites can suffer.</p>
<p>One of the latest sites to get on the wrong end of an overbroad notice is UpToBox, a file-hosting service with millions of visitors each month. Particularly popular with the French, the site is France&#8217;s 191st most-visited site.</p>
<p>On March 25, anti-piracy company Piracy Stops Here LLC <a href="http://www.chillingeffects.org/notice.cgi?sID=1584268">sent a notice</a> on behalf of adult movie company Jim Weathers Productions, asking for more than a thousand URLs to be removed from Google&#8217;s search results. All of them were specific URLs, except one &#8211; UptoBox&#8217;s homepage at UptoBox.com.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/28d94183.uptobox.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/uptobox.png" alt="uptobox"></center></p>
<p>Despite zero infringing content appearing on the file-hosting site&#8217;s homepage, Google subsequently de-listed the site. On Friday, French news site Numerama <a href="http://www.numerama.com/magazine/28904-uptobox-rendu-invisible-sur-google.html">contacted</a> Google to find out whether there had been a mistake or whether removing the homepage was intentional, but received no response.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/b9a3777a.uptoboxhp.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/uptoboxhp.jpg" alt="UptoBox"></center></p>
<p>Speaking with TorrentFreak, UpToBox operator &#8216;Guillaume&#8217; says despite contacting Google several times in the past few days, no one from the company has responded to their requests for an explanation.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have sent a notice to Google to cancel this decision some days ago, without any reply from them,&#8221; Guillaume explains. &#8220;We will continue to send a notice everyday to get us put back in the search engine.&#8221;</p>
<p>Guillaume says the cost to his site is already high. Thousands of people have failed to find the site as they might do ordinarily and as a result UptoBox has lost &#8220;a huge quantity&#8221; of new members.</p>
<p>So, could there be unusual circumstances which would explain the complete de-listing of the site? To find out, we asked Guillaume how the site responds to copyright complaints.</p>
<p>&#8220;We analyze them one by one, to see if notices are legal, and if files are really copyright infringing. We have received some DMCA notices about legal files in the past, so now we analyze everything,&#8221; he explains. &#8220;We delete an infringing file quickly when we received the notification, usually in 24 to 48 hours.&#8221;</p>
<p>So for now the UptoBox homepage remains delisted by Google with no idea of when, if ever, it will be restored. The big question now is whether Piracy Stops Here knew what they were doing when they sent the notice or if it was a genuine mistake. That said, with no punishments available for those who send bad notices, nothing can be done against them anyway, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/time-to-punish-dmca-takedown-abusers-wordpress-owners-say-140313/">a problem raised</a> by WordPress owners Automattic earlier this month.</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> Good new for UptoBox, as the homepage has now been reinstated.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86081
title: Demonoid Returns, Website Now Back Online
uri: Demonoid-Returns-Website-Now-Back-Online
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/uoQKrWUPghM/
content:
<p><img class="alignright" alt="demonoid" src="media/24f1ba2b.demonoid.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/demonoid.jpg">As the single largest semi-private BitTorrent tracker that ever existed, Demonoid offered a home to millions of file-sharers.</p>
<p>This <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/demonoid-busted-as-a-gift-to-the-united-states-government-120806/">changed abruptly August last year</a> when a series of troubling events took the site offline. When it was still down after a year, many gave up hope that it would ever return.</p>
<p>Today, however, the site appears to have made a glorious comeback on Demonoid.ph, which the .com and .me domains are also linked to. TorrentFreak contacted the team behind the resurrection who confirmed the relaunch.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are running a pre-launch today,&#8221; TF was told by the admin, who added that the site could go offline again for a while if something breaks.</p>
<p>A message posted on the site&#8217;s homepage explains that Demonoid made some changes to the backend, and that there may be some glitches. However, several Demonoid users confirm that they are able to login using their old credentials.</p>
<p>&#8220;The site is now cloud based and there have been many changes to the code. As a result, you might see some weird glitches here and there. We&#8217;ll do our best to have everything working smoothly as soon as possible so please bear with us,&#8221; the Demonoid team writes.</p>
<p><center><strong>Demonoid comeback</strong></center><center><a href="media/9e046789.demonoid-comeback.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/demonoid-comeback.png"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-86087" alt="demonoid-comeback" src="media/9e046789.demonoid-comeback.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/demonoid-comeback.png" width="719" height="257"></a></center>The above is good news for those who hold Demonoid dear. Several of the former staffers are still involved according to the announcement, but for now it&#8217;s unclear whether the site&#8217;s management is still in the same hands as before.</p>
<p>However, the current resurrection is linked to the old domains, which suggests that it&#8217;s indeed the real thing.</p>
<p>Previously there were concerns that the user database may have been &#8220;compromised.&#8221; For example, last year <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/demonoid-resurrected-an-interview-with-the-admins-of-d2-vu-130509/">a mysterious replacement</a> surfaced, using a copy of the Demonoid user and torrent database. The operator of the spin-off claimed not to be related to the Demonoid owners, but he did have a copy of the site&#8217;s database.</p>
<p>Perhaps in the future the Demonoid team will be willing to explain a bit more about what happened over the past two years. For now, however, it appears that the comeback kid has pulled it off again.</p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><sub><a href="media/f5457042.FileWikimedia_Foundation_Servers-8055_23.jpg" data-original-source="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimedia_Foundation_Servers-8055_23.jpg">Photo credit</a></sub></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86109
title: UK Police Launch Pirate Site Blacklist for Advertisers
uri: UK-Police-Launch-Pirate-Site-Blacklist-for-Advertisers
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/rqlFGnpOZ6E/
content:
<p><img src="media/31176dbb.cityoflondonpolice.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cityoflondonpolice.jpg" alt="cityoflondonpolice" width="200" height="82" class="alignright size-full wp-image-71397">Over the past few months <a href="http://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/Pages/default.aspx">City of London Police</a> have been working together with the music and movie industries to tackle sites that provide unauthorized access to copyrighted content.</p>
<p>Initially the police only sent <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/uk-police-launch-campaign-to-shut-down-torrent-sites-130604/">warning letters</a> to site owners, asking them to go legit or shut down. Late last year this was followed by a campaign targeted at domain registrars, asking them to <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/uk-police-orders-registrars-to-suspend-domains-of-major-torrent-sites-131009/">suspend the domain names</a> of several so-called pirate sites. </p>
<p>Today sees the launch of the next initiative in &#8220;Operation Creative,&#8221; an official URL blacklist of &#8220;pirate sites&#8221;.</p>
<p>The Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (<a href="http://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/advice-and-support/fraud-and-economic-crime/pipcu/Pages/default.aspx">PIPCU</a>) just launched their &#8220;Infringing Website List&#8221; (IWL) and are encouraging advertising agencies to embrace it. The main goal of the blacklist is to disrupt the revenues of infringing websites worldwide.</p>
<p>Together with the movie and music industries the police carried out a three-month pilot which resulted in a 12% reduction of ads from major brands appearing on these sites. To what extent the blocklist will hurt total revenues is unclear though, as there are dozens of ad firms who focus on file-sharing sites, and these are unlikely to join the program.</p>
<p>The police and their partners, however, are convinced that the blacklist will have a positive effect, not only in terms of cutting off revenue to pirate sites, but also as a tool to prevent advertisers being associated with rogue websites.</p>
<p>“If an advert from an established brand appears on an infringing website not only does it lend the site a look of legitimacy, but inadvertently the brand and advertiser are funding online crime,&#8221; PIPCU Chief Andy Fyfe says.</p>
<p>From the information that was made available to TF, it appears that the blacklist will not be open to the public. This is worrying, since there is a serious threat of overblocking without any public oversight. </p>
<p>For example, in their announcement the police cite a <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/torrent-sites-6-million-ad-revenue-140219/">recent report</a> on the profitability of pirate sites. However, that report included many sites with perfectly legitimate uses, and even a purely informational website that doesn&#8217;t host or link to infringing content at all.</p>
<p>Concerns aside, music industry group BPI is confident that the &#8220;Infringing Website List&#8221; will turn out to be another successful voluntary agreement focused  on tackling online piracy.</p>
<p>“The early results from Operation Creative show that through working with the police and the online advertising industry, we can begin to disrupt the funding that sustains illegal websites and the advertising that lends them a false air of legitimacy,&#8221; BPI&#8217;s Chief Executive Geoff Taylor says.  </p>
<p>Similarly, the Hollywood backed group FACT is also positive about the new initiative. </p>
<p>“FACT is delighted to be working with PIPCU to deliver a unique initiative that puts the UK at the forefront of brand protection by allowing everyone in the advertising value chain to prevent misplacement of ads,&#8221; Kieron Sharp, Director General at FACT says. </p>
<p>&#8220;For those rogue sites that continue to provide access to illegally obtained films and TV programmes there will now be affirmative action taken by PIPCU to ask them to change their operation or shut up shop,&#8221; he adds.</p>
<p>Whether the &#8220;Infringing Website List&#8221; will indeed have a significant impact on the business of the affected sites has yet to be seen. In any case, City of London Police and the entertainment industries are determined to keep the pressure on.</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> The City of London Police confirmed to to us that the blacklist will not be made public. </p>
<p>&#8220;All sites on IWL are identified and evidenced as infringing by rights holders and then verified by PIPCU. We are not making the IWL public. The List will be ever changing as new sites appear and older sites comply,&#8221; a City of London Police spokesperson told TF.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86102
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 03/31/14
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-03-31-14
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/P4umKMFdwuw/
content:
<p><a href="media/81858558.secretlife.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/secretlife.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-86104" alt="secretlife" src="media/81858558.secretlife.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/secretlife.jpg" width="299" height="200"></a>This week we have three newcomers in our chart.</p>
<p>The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is the most downloaded movie this week.</p>
<p>The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. All the movies in the list are BD/DVDrips unless stated otherwise.</p>
<p><a href="http://TorrentFreak.com/category/dvdrip/feed/"><strong>RSS feed</strong></a> for the weekly movie download chart.</p>
<table class="css hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="12%"><strong>Ranking</strong></th>
<th width="15%"><strong>(<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-pirated-movies-of-the-week-140324/">last week</a>)</strong></th>
<th><strong>Movie</strong></th>
<th width="18%"><strong>IMDb Rating / Trailer</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="4">torrentfreak.com</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_secret_life_of_walter_mitty_2013/">The Secret Life of Walter Mitty</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0359950/">7.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1Xk-yTuFEU">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_hobbit_the_desolation_of_smaug/">The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1170358/?">8.2</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfflhfn1W-o">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(1)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/47_ronin/">47 Ronin</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1335975/">6.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwYhrgDc1uE">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(8)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/300_rise_of_an_empire/">300: Rise of an Empire</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1253863/">6.9</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zqy21Z29ps">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(5)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wolf_of_wall_street_2013/">The Wolf Of Wall Street</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0993846/">8.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pabEtIERlic">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(4)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/anchorman_2_the_legend_continues/">Anchorman 2</a></td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1229340/">6.9</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VdGI5-z_hg">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_pirate_fairy_2014/">The Pirate Fairy</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2483260/">6.9</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et4zsoUNb_0">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(6)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/frozen_2013/">Frozen</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294629/">8.1</a> / <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbQm5doF_Uc">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lone_survivor/">Lone Survivor</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1091191/">7.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoLFk4JK_RM">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/grudge_match_2014/">Grudge Match</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1661382/">6.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bQSOBJCPQE">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=85904
title: Microsoft Censors TorrentFreak For Security Reasons
uri: Microsoft-Censors-TorrentFreak-For-Security-Reasons
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/3Qpgjt0saoA/
content:
<p><a href="media/e39c1037.censorship.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/censorship.jpg"><img src="media/6cb6a973.censorship.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/censorship.jpg" alt="censorship" width="200" height="200" class="alignright size-full wp-image-47463"></a>Here at TorrentFreak we frequently cover website blockades against file-sharing websites, which are often put in place on copyright infringement grounds. </p>
<p>In many European countries, for example, national courts have ordered ISPs to block access to sites such as The Pirate Bay and Kickass.to. </p>
<p>However, that&#8217;s not the only type of blocking and filtering that&#8217;s common nowadays. There are thousands of companies, schools and other organizations that voluntarily use commercial blocking software to restrict access to objectionable or threatening sites. </p>
<p>As with all filters, however, there are false positives. TorrentFreak, for example, is often categorized as a file-sharing site, and blocked to prevent copyright infringement or other associated &#8220;threats&#8221;.</p>
<p>Apparently this is also happening at Microsoft, where the filter managed by the local information security risk management department blocks TorrentFreak on the internal network. Microsoft employees who try to access our site are welcomed with the following message.</p>
<p>&#8220;The requested resource has been blocked as an identified risk to your client and the Microsoft corporate network.&#8221;</p>
<p><center>TorrentFreak Blocked at Microsoft</center><center><a href="media/4895e56e.ms-block.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ms-block.jpg"><img src="media/4895e56e.ms-block.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ms-block.jpg" alt="ms-block" width="1037" height="595" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-85910"></a></center></p>
<p>The notice shows that TorrentFreak is blocked under the &#8220;peer-to-peer file sharing&#8221; category. A false positive, of course, and one that results in a form of overblocking many perfectly secure and legitimate sites are suffering from.</p>
<p>Unfortunately the issues above are not limited to Microsoft. Every other week we are notified by readers who can’t access TorrentFreak since it’s blocked at their work or school because the site is classified as a source of illegal file-sharing. More often than not we’re collateral damage.</p>
<p>Just a few weeks ago we learned that the UK ISP <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/internet-censors-came-for-torrentfreak-now-im-really-mad-140105/">Sky blocked TorrentFreak</a> for all subscribers who turned on their &#8220;porn&#8221; filter. After the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-25638872">BBC got involved</a> the block was eventually lifted, but other sites may not be so lucky.  </p>
<p>If anything, the above shows that these filtering systems can cause harm to legitimate sites, and the people responsible should be called out for it. TorrentFreak reached out to Microsoft to ask for a comment, but thus far without any luck.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86141
title: Pirate Bay Partners With Neuroscientists to Launch “Virtual Bay”
uri: Pirate-Bay-Partners-With-Neuroscientists-to-Launch-Virtual-Bay
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/SSnvMGFNze8/
content:
<p><img src="media/4a2b4775.virtual-bay1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/virtual-bay1.jpg" alt="virtual bay" width="250" height="247" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86143">The Pirate Bay has been around for more than a decade and has undergone quite a lot of change during that time. However, nothing comes close to today&#8217;s announcement.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re about to take the biggest step in our history,&#8221; says TPB in a blog post that went out earlier than expected. </p>
<p>In addition to changing the look of its <a href="http://thepiratebay.se">frontpage</a> the site has renamed itself to &#8216;The Virtual Bay&#8217; to celebrate a new partnership with neuroscientists from Russia, Israel and Japan. The goal is to build a next generation virtual reality device that will change the way people interact with the site and the pirated media it offers.</p>
<p>&#8220;As piracy is about to change from sharing of files into the sharing of everything, we&#8217;re planning our departure from this earthly form. Preparing our final ascension into the transcendence. The final conflux,&#8221; the <a href="http://thepiratebay.se/blog/236">TPB team notes</a>.</p>
<p>Traditional media companies are resisting change and have been slow to pick up on virtual reality, but The Pirate Bay is jumping in to fill this void. When the site&#8217;s device is ready, Pirate Bay users will be able to actively participate in the games and videos downloaded from the site.</p>
<p>&#8220;Using a simple plugin into the brain, you will no longer only be able to see and hear a movie, a game or whatever it is you want. You&#8217;ll be able to live it. Play the main character. Tweak any story in any way you want,&#8221; TPB writes.</p>
<p>In addition, the virtual reality component will store the entire Pirate Bay ecosystem in people&#8217;s minds, making it accessible instantaneously, faster than ever before, and impossible to shut down. In other words, the people will become The Pirate Bay and take the site to a new dimension.</p>
<p>&#8220;Using your brain power and nervous system, we will be able to speed things up. Every part of The Pirate Bay will be stored within you and everyone else that dares to participate in this step into the future. The more we are, the faster everything will be. </p>
<p>&#8220;Our scientists calculate that if we become at least 1,333,337 nodes, everything will be shared instantaneously,&#8221; the TPB team adds.</p>
<p>More details about this prestigious project are expected to come out later today, or tomorrow, depending on your time zone. Stay tuned. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86161
title: Civil Rights Lawyer To Fight U.S. Govt. in Internet Piracy Case
uri: Civil-Rights-Lawyer-To-Fight-U-S-Govt-in-Internet-Piracy-Case
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/z6v88C39u_0/
content:
<p><img src="media/8baeb686.applanet.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/applanet.jpg" width="250" height="250" class="alignright">In the summer of 2012, the FBI with assistance from French and Dutch police shut down applanet.net, appbucket.net and snappzmarket.com, three sites that offered Android apps outside Google&#8217;s ecosystem.</p>
<p>The action was <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/fbi-seizes-pirate-android-app-domains-120822/">heralded</a> as ground-breaking, with the authorities seizing the domains of these alternative stores and putting up the now-infamous FBI banner to inform visitors of their fate. Together it was claimed the sites were responsible for millions of dollars in losses to software producers.</p>
<p>News of the shutdowns came in August 2012, but it took until last week for the U.S. Government to provide a <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/android-app-pirates-plead-guilty-criminal-copyright-infringement-140325/">significant update</a>. The Department of Justice revealed that two of the three operators of the Appbucket site had signed a plea deal with the Government and now face sentencing in June.</p>
<p>But while the Appbucket guys appear to have accepted their fate, the former admin of Applanet certainly has not. Speaking with TorrentFreak, <a href="www.rainminnslaw.com">Attorney Rain Minns</a> says her client is still under fire, but won&#8217;t be giving in.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is extremely unfortunate that some of the young people targeted by the government’s dragnet have been forced to plead guilty,&#8221; Minns told TF.</p>
<p>&#8220;But this is an inevitable, and incredibly sad and disheartening, consequence when the United States unleashes the power and resources of the most powerful nation on earth against defenseless citizens who, like Aaron, care about free and open world-wide access to publicly available information, and who have not earned any significant income for their efforts.&#8221;</p>
<p>But while Minns says that the mere threat of a long prison term is enough for even the most innocent citizen to plead guilty, that isn&#8217;t going to be happening in Aaron&#8217;s case.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/058cac35.seizure-banner.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/seizure-banner.jpg" alt="FBI Seizure"></center></p>
<p>&#8220;Aaron is an extraordinarily brave and ethical young man, who is not willing to buckle under the pressure of the government’s abusive practices. He believes that someone should stand up to abuse of power, and he is willing to put himself at risk if that is the only way to keep information sites free and open.&#8221;</p>
<p>To that end and in an effort to level the playing field against the Government, Minns informs TF that Aaron&#8217;s legal team has just received a significant boost. </p>
<p>&#8220;After an extensive vetting process, I have now been joined by <a href="http://www.koskoff.com/Lawyers-Staff/Antonio-Ponvert-Iii.shtml">Attorney Antonio Ponvert III</a>, an accomplished and much-feared civil rights lawyer from Connecticut who, to put it plainly, has enjoyed kicking the government’s ass for almost 25 years,&#8221; Minns explains.</p>
<p>&#8220;Antonio’s task is to take the offense in Aaron’s case, focusing on the government’s violation of state and federal civil rights laws, the First Amendment free speech implications of the government’s tactics, and the substantial reputational and financial harm that the D.O.J. has inflicted, and will continue to inflict on Aaron. One can be sure that a damages case is coming down the pike if, and when, an indictment is forthcoming.&#8221;</p>
<p>Through his lawyer Aaron informed TF that while it&#8217;s a pity that the Appbucket guys were &#8220;forced to buckle under the heavy-handed threats of the government&#8221;, he wishes them luck as he looks forward to his own day in court. </p>
<p>From the tone of the language employed by Rain Minns and by extension Antonio Ponvert, there appears to be plenty of appetite for a fight, should the Government decide to go the whole way against Aaron. If they do, Minns is confident he will prevail.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is not even close to a fair fight anymore. And we look forward to the battle,&#8221; she concludes.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86173
title: EZTV Fights Piracy By Going Much Further Than Google
uri: EZTV-Fights-Piracy-By-Going-Much-Further-Than-Google
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/UF76rVV7vCY/
content:
<p><a href="media/06f66564.eztvsmall.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/eztvsmall.jpg"><img src="media/06f66564.eztvsmall.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/eztvsmall.jpg" alt="eztvsmall" width="180" height="104" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86193"></a><a href="http://eztv.it/">EZTV</a> is undoubtedly the most popular TV-focused torrent site on the Internet today. Founded way back in 2005, it is also one of the oldest with nine full years under its belt.</p>
<p>Through its indexing of all popular TV shows, EZTV has become the go-to venue for torrent downloaders but behind the scenes the site has been wrestling with a copyright predicament. Instead of sending in takedown notices via email, in recent months several studios switched to sending theirs in via regular mail, overloading the site&#8217;s staff in the process.</p>
<p>&#8220;For the first few days UPS turned up with a couple of small boxes of notices, but it was soon several crates a day stacking several feet deep,&#8221; EZTV informs TorrentFreak.</p>
<p>In a bid to solve the crisis, EZTV decided to speak with the two studios responsible for sending the majority of the notices. The outcome of the discussions, which were facilitated by the MPAA, was unequivocal &#8211; EZTV would have to massively change the way it does business.</p>
<p>EZTV went back to the drawing board. Which model could they emulate to show that they were now a completely neutral, content agnostic platform? Which company, by virtue of the fact that it had never been sued by the studios over its indexing, could EZTV emulate?</p>
<p>It was obvious &#8211; GOOGLE.</p>
<p>Visitors to EZTV today can see the outcome. Instead of the layout users have become accustomed to over the past near-decade, EZTV now sports a minimal Google-style search engine beneath a new and rebranded EZTV logo.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/779f7f1a.eztvgoogle.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/eztvgoogle.jpg" alt="EZTVGoogle"></center></p>
<p>All TV show categories have gone and all that remains are descriptions pulled from the Internet using algorithms licensed from Google. Completing the sterilization of the site, all torrents have been deleted and now only magnet hash values of content specifically searched for by the user are listed.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/1b1cd076.eztvresults.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/eztvresults.jpg" alt="EZTVResults"></center></p>
<p>But EZTV&#8217;s operators wanted to do more. Realizing that Google&#8217;s Auto-Complete and Auto-Suggest features only serve to direct people to infringing content, EZTV now filters these from Google&#8217;s API and hence its own search results. Not suggesting stuff before people had even asked for it was a key MPAA-pleasing move.</p>
<p><a href="media/3932f7e0.moneybanned.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/moneybanned.jpg"><img src="media/3932f7e0.moneybanned.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/moneybanned.jpg" alt="moneybanned" width="180" height="171" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86198"></a>Honing the business model that has enabled Google to avoid being sued by any Hollywood studio over its search results, EZTV went further still. Working closely with City of London Police&#8217;s new Operation Creative, EZTV has filtered out not only all major brands&#8217; advertising, but all advertising entirely.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve never had any advertising on EZTV but noticed how little trouble Google has had monetizing links to potentially infringing content. With that in mind, we decided nearly a decade ago to go much further, but we&#8217;re only really shouting about it now,&#8221; EZTV told TF.</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, the MPAA are pleased with the results.</p>
<p>&#8220;By working with the industry, EZTV has successfully removed all financial incentives for it to exist by cutting off its own revenues for the last nine years,&#8221; the MPAA said in a statement. &#8220;This is just the kind of action that will save jobs and fuel innovation.&#8221;</p>
<p>The changes, which were phased in during the past month but visible over the past few hours, were expected to solve all of EZTV&#8217;s problems, but this morning at the site&#8217;s spacious New York offices a different picture was emerging.</p>
<p><a href="media/f4dd106f.ups.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ups.jpg"><img src="media/f4dd106f.ups.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ups.jpg" alt="ups" width="180" height="108" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86195"></a>&#8220;Becoming just like Google is proving to be a nightmare. Just like them we&#8217;re now receiving millions of notices every hour,&#8221; EZTV told TF in phone call a few minutes ago.</p>
<p>&#8220;UPS just turned up with a convoy of trucks. We&#8217;re scanning the notices as quickly as we can but the folks at Chilling Effects have already run out of space.&#8221;</p>
<p>Whether EZTV will continue to emulate Google into the future is unclear, but at this point it seems that going back to the way they were might be the best option.</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> Yes this this was an April Fools prank. EZTV is back to normal now.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86184
title: Mobile Music Piracy More Popular Than Torrents and Cyberlockers
uri: Mobile-Music-Piracy-More-Popular-Than-Torrents-and-Cyberlockers
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/izRwRsItObI/
content:
<p><img src="media/7abb2d22.cassette.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cassette.jpg" alt="cassette" width="200" height="150" class="alignright size-full wp-image-84245">In recent years the music industry &#8216;s battle against piracy mostly focused on torrent sites, cyberlockers and unauthorized MP3 indexes. However, new research from the industry analysis firm <a href="http://www.npd.com/">NPD Group</a> suggests that a new, much bigger threat, has arrived. </p>
<p>NPD&#8217;s Senior Vice President, Industry Analysis, Russ Crupnick informs us that mobile music piracy through apps has outgrown traditional P2P file-sharing and direct downloads. </p>
<p>&#8220;In terms of the number of internet users doing a variety of music sharing activities, downloading from mobile apps is the most popular,&#8221; Crupnick tells TF.</p>
<p>The data comes from unpublished research, which was the first to include statistics on the usage of mobile apps to download music. Quite surprisingly, mobile piracy comes out on top right away. </p>
<p>It is estimated that in the United States 27 million people <a href="http://recode.net/2014/03/24/music-piracy-goes-mobile/">downloaded</a> at least one music track via their mobile over the past year, mostly without permission. This trumps all other forms of online piracy. By comparison, 21 million people used traditional P2P sites such as The Pirate Bay to download music. </p>
<p>For other media types the results are different, but the findings signal an interesting trend.  </p>
<p>According to NPD mobile apps are, as one would expect, most popular with younger consumers. There are a variety of reasons for the mobile piracy explosion, but the research firm believes that increased usage of smartphones and apps among Millennials is a major driver.</p>
<p>&#8220;My guess is there is an underground buzz network about music apps that is fueled by teens and Millennials,&#8221; Crupnick says.</p>
<p>NPD believes that it&#8217;s important for copyright holders and app platforms to work together to tackle this problem. While some people may know that these apps are unauthorized, the fact that they appear in iTunes or Google Play may give them an air of legitimacy.</p>
<p>&#8220;Lots of things on the web are free or ad-supported, including some entertainment content. I’m sure some users are quite aware that there is music that is not legally distributed on these apps, but others may not be as educated,&#8221; Crupnick tells us.</p>
<p>&#8220;If it’s on an app store, it must be &#8216;OK&#8217;. This is where the music industry and technology companies have an opportunity and maybe an obligation to work together to make sure consumers understand, and artists get compensated,&#8221; he adds.</p>
<p>These last comments appear to signal a new working territory for the music industry&#8217;s anti-piracy initiatives. Until now, there hasn&#8217;t been a major campaign against &#8220;infringing&#8221; apps, but this is bound to change in the near future.</p>
<p>Whether a crackdown on apps will be enough to counter the current mobile piracy trend has yet to be seen. In addition to pirate apps, several unauthorized MP3 indexes have also developed mobile versions, which will prove much harder to deal with.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86245
title: Police Prepare to Place Banner Ads on Pirate Sites
uri: Police-Prepare-to-Place-Banner-Ads-on-Pirate-Sites
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/_hg7_2yz0ds/
content:
<p><img src="media/31176dbb.cityoflondonpolice.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cityoflondonpolice.jpg" width="200" height="82" class="alignright">For several months City of London Police have been working with the music and movie industries to develop &#8220;Operation Creative&#8221;, a campaign designed to make life difficult for sites that provide access to unauthorized copyrighted content.</p>
<p>The latest stage, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/city-of-london-police-launches-pirate-site-blacklist-for-advertisers-140331/">announced this Monday</a>, will see the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit team up with partners including the BPI, FACT, IFPI, The Publishers Association, and the Internet Advertising Bureau UK.</p>
<p>The product of their toils is the Infringing Website List (IWL), a database containing domains that companies and brands should avoid when placing their advertising online. The idea is simple &#8211; by throttling advertising revenue to these sites they will no longer be able to operate.</p>
<p>In the music and movie industries&#8217; ideal world the likes of The Pirate Bay and KickassTorrents will eventually wither and die, but before they do the police have another trick up their sleeve.</p>
<p>The plan, revealed yesterday by Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fyfe during Adweek Europe, will see the police reaching out directly to users of piracy sites in the hope they will change their ways. The police will do that by &#8216;advertising&#8217; on the sites themselves.</p>
<p>According to the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) who first reported the development, City of London Police intend to take over banner advertising on &#8216;pirate&#8217; sites with the aim of influencing consumer behavior. Or, to put it more directly, they will try to encourage people using file-sharing sites to stop doing so.</p>
<p><center><strong>The Pirate Bay, UK Police edition?</strong><img src="media/e1e2dff0.tpbads.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tpbads.png" alt="TPBAds"></center></p>
<p>Speaking with TorrentFreak, FACT said the precise details of how this will work will have to come from PIPCU, but the aim is straightforward.</p>
<p>&#8220;What is clear is that [the police] are looking to find new and effective ways of reducing criminal profits and also inform and educate consumers,&#8221; said FACT Director of Communications Eddy Leviten.</p>
<p>PIPCU did not immediately respond to our requests for comment, but taking over banner adverts on &#8216;pirate&#8217; sites raises some interesting questions, not least one at the very core of the current issue &#8211; revenue.</p>
<p>The police will need to find a way to advertise on sites without paying money, or the campaign itself will end up financing the very sites they aim to close. Furthermore, sites probably won&#8217;t have much interest in running free ads, particularly those that aim to take their users away, so how long these &#8216;rogue&#8217; ads will remain live is up for debate.</p>
<p>While a traditionally aggressive anti-piracy campaign could be on the cards, a more considered positive reinforcement of legitimate services may have more longevity. Where the ads will appear is not clear either as the Infringing Website List is being kept a secret, but FACT says that sites are being told of their inclusion in advance.</p>
<p>&#8220;I want to clarify that all site owners are contacted before being placed on the IWL, giving them the chance to change their behavior,&#8221; FACT&#8217;s Eddy Leviten explains.</p>
<p>This latest stage in Operation Creative follows two initiatives last year. The <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/uk-police-launch-campaign-to-shut-down-torrent-sites-130604/">first</a>, during late summer 2013, saw police writing to site owners in the hope of securing voluntary shutdowns. This effort was followed by the police <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/uk-police-orders-registrars-to-suspend-domains-of-major-torrent-sites-131009/">targeting registrars</a> with the aim of forcing the seizure or suspension of &#8216;pirate&#8217; domains.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86222
title: Saudi Arabia Government Blocks The Pirate Bay (and More)
uri: Saudi-Arabia-Government-Blocks-The-Pirate-Bay-(and-More)
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/U8_qMPHUlTA/
content:
<p><img src="media/4e243e8b.tpb-logo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tpb-logo.jpg" alt="tpb-logo" width="222" height="198" class="alignright size-full wp-image-67837">Blocking The Pirate Bay has become quite common around Europe in recent years, and today this practice spread to Saudi Arabia. </p>
<p>Without prior warning or official announcement, the country&#8217;s Ministry for Culture and Information ordered local ISPs to block access to The Pirate Bay. In addition, several other torrent sites were also censored, including Torrentz.eu and Rarbg.com.  </p>
<p>The reason for the blockade remains unknown, but piracy concerns seem plausible as the measures are coming from the Ministry of Culture, and not the <a href="http://www.citc.gov.sa/Arabic/Pages/default.aspx">Communications Commission</a> which administers the country&#8217;s <a href="http://www.internet.sa/en/general-information-on-filtering-service/#more-4">regular filters</a>. </p>
<p>As can be seen below, the blocking notification for The Pirate Bay is also different from the <a href="media/25b5db29.tUmBQfq.png" data-original-source="http://i.imgur.com/tUmBQfq.png">green notice</a> that appears for sites that are blocked in violation of the Islamic religion. </p>
<p><center><strong>Saudi Arabia&#8217;s Pirate Bay blockade</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/1f0e2d66.saudi-arabia-block.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/saudi-arabia-block.jpg" alt="saudi-arabia-block" width="735" height="518" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-86224"></center> </p>
<p>Interestingly, the measures come two months after several copyright holder groups <a href="media/be6623f4.2014SPEC301SAUDIARABIA.PDF" data-original-source="http://www.iipa.com/rbc/2014/2014SPEC301SAUDIARABIA.PDF">urged the U.S. Government</a> to place Saudi Arabia on its priority watchlist. MPAA, RIAA and others suggested that the country isn&#8217;t doing enough to stop online piracy.</p>
<p>The blockade is currently active on nearly all ISPs, but TF has learned that <a href="http://www.zain.com/">Zain</a> customers can still access the site. Zain does block Pirate Bay&#8217;s porn category, but that&#8217;s nothing new.</p>
<p>The Pirate Bay is among the <a href="http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries;1/SA">50 most visited</a> websites in Saudi Arabia, and the blockade has caused quite a bit of uproar on social media. The topic is currently trending on Twitter where many people are voicing their frustration. </p>
<p><center><strong>TPB block trending on Twitter</strong><br></br><center></center><img src="media/ad2eb354.sa-tweets-tpb.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/sa-tweets-tpb.png" alt="sa-tweets-tpb" width="583" height="476" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-86226"></center></p>
<p>However, as with all censorship attempts there are plenty of ways to circumvent this blockade. The easiest option at the moment is to simply use the <a href="https://thepiratebay.se">https</a> version of the site. Other workarounds, such as VPNs or Pirate Bay proxies, work fine too.</p>
<p>The Pirate Bay team is not impressed by yet another country blocking access to their website. A few months ago they released <a href="http://piratebrowser.com/">Pirate Browser</a> which allows users to access the site without restrictions. It has been downloaded millions of times since. </p>
<p><strong>Update: </strong>The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Culture and Information <a href="http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/22-sites-blocked-in-saudi-arabia-over-copyrights-issues-1.1313281">has now confirmed</a> that the blockades are copyright related. 22 domain names have been blocked in total.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86279
title: Court Orders ISPs to Unblock “Pirate” Site
uri: Court-Orders-ISPs-to-Unblock-Pirate-Site
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/xLpMR3HHG8A/
content:
<p><img src="media/0fadf791.filmakerz.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/filmakerz.jpg" alt="filmakerz" width="250" height="190" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86282">Last month the Public Prosecutor of Rome ordered Italian Internet providers to <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/italian-police-carry-out-largest-ever-pirate-domain-crackdown-140305/">block access to</a> 46 torrent, streaming and other file-sharing portals.</p>
<p>The crackdown was the largest enforcement action against copyright-infringing sites in Italy, and local authorities hinted that it wouldn&#8217;t be the last. </p>
<p>One of the sites affected by the blockades was Filmakerz.org, a video streaming portal that offers a variety of movies and TV-shows for free. Mainly popular among Italians, the site&#8217;s traffic plummeted as a result of the ban.</p>
<p>But while most blocked sites are quick to throw in the towel, Filmakerz.org decided to appeal the case, with success. This week the Court of Appeals overturned the blocking order against the site, ruling that it was too broad. </p>
<p>The panel of judges clarified that each blocking request should specify under what exact URLs copyrighted works are being infringed, instead of submitting a single domain name. Without the exact location of the infringing content, the court can&#8217;t verify the validity of the blocking request. </p>
<p>According to Fulvio Sarzana, the lawyer who represented Filmakerz.org, the ruling is a clear blow against the increasing censorship efforts in Italy. Sarzana says that the court specified two important ground rules.</p>
<p>&#8220;The first is that the Public Prosecutor must prove the existence of a for-profit motivation to get the blocking order,&#8221; the lawyer tells TF. </p>
<p>&#8220;The second is that parts of the site that contain legitimate content must not affected. This means that a partial seizure of an individual URL is preferred over the seizure of the entire site,&#8221; Sarzana adds. </p>
<p>The ruling comes at a crucial time, a few days after Italy’s independent Electronic Communications Authority (AGCOM) implemented new regulations that would allow foreign sites to be blocked more easily.</p>
<p>&#8220;The verdict is important because it shows that the order to block a site should be carefully decided, and is also important in the light of AGCOM rules,&#8221; Sarzana told us, adding that the regulation to block entire domains contradicts with European and Italian jurisprudence. </p>
<p>Following the Court of Appeals verdict, local ISPs have been instructed to unblock Filmakerz.org, which is expected to be accessible again soon. It is unclear whether any of the other blocked sites also plan to appeal the blockade, but with the appeal decision in Filmakerz&#8217;s favor it might be worth a shot. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86277
title: Slysoft DVD Ripper Owner Found Guilty in Criminal Action
uri: Slysoft-DVD-Ripper-Owner-Found-Guilty-in-Criminal-Action
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/mqRLhkrpM_s/
content:
<p><a href="media/ee020f78.slysoft.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/slysoft.jpg"><img src="media/ee020f78.slysoft.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/slysoft.jpg" alt="slysoft" width="180" height="180" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86305"></a>If one existed, Antigua would hardly head up a list of countries sympathetic to copyright claims originating from the United States. </p>
<p>A dispute over the imposition of a trade blockade preventing Antigua from offering Internet gambling services has been lingering for some time, eventually resulting in a <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/antigua-government-set-to-launch-pirate-website-to-punish-united-states-130124/">2013 WTO ruling</a> which officially allowed the country to ignore U.S. copyright law in order to reclaim lost revenue.</p>
<p>But despite the hostilities, in the background a copyright-related dispute has flourished between U.S.-based AACS LA &#8211; the decryption licensing outfit founded by a group of movie studios and technology partners including Warner Bros, Disney, Microsoft and Intel &#8211; and <a href="http://www.slysoft.com/en/">Slysoft Inc</a>, a local company offering DVD and Blu-ray backup tools.</p>
<p>Slysoft is currently labeled a &#8220;rogue site&#8221; by the USTR but AACS has had the company on its radar for some time. After technical measures introduced by AACS failed to thwart Slysoft&#8217;s software, the group looked towards legal action. With the DMCA useless overseas, AACS looked to Antigua&#8217;s Copyright Act of 2003 which includes anti-circumvention clauses, as detailed below.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/6424d8d6.antigua.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/antigua.png" alt="AntiguaCircumvent"></center></p>
<p>However, a quirk of the law meant that only criminal action could be taken against Slysoft, leaving AACS at the mercy of Antiguan authorities who they hoped would bring a case against company owner, Giancarlo Bettini. Fortunately for the U.S. giants that&#8217;s exactly what happened in 2012 and now, 11 years after the anti-circumvention law was introduced, Antigua has its first conviction.</p>
<p>In an Antigua &#038; Barbuda court, Bettini was found guilty of six charges under the 2003 Copyright Act and ordered to pay a find of $5,000 per offense. Bettini was told to settle two of the $5,000 fines immediately, with payment of the other four deadlined for the end of April. Failure to pay carries <a href="http://www.antiguaobserver.com/30k-fine-for-first-conviction-under-copyright-act/">six months in jail</a> for each offense.</p>
<p>“[SlySoft was] clearly violating Antiguan law, and the court ruled accordingly,” said AACS attorney Bruce Turnbull.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, however, Slysoft continues to do business. TorrentFreak spoke to the company who told us that this decision is not the end of the road.</p>
<p>&#8220;Subsequent to the recent ruling against Bettini, his lawyer Dane Hamilton QC immediately filed a notice of appeal so the judgment has been stayed,&#8221; Slysoft said, adding that it would not comment further on a pending case.</p>
<p>On the heels of the recent AACS case against DVDFab which saw the company&#8217;s <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/u-s-court-orders-seizure-dvdfab-domain-names-funds-140310/">US-based assets seized</a>, it appears that AACS may be contemplating further pressure on Slysoft business partners.</p>
<p>&#8220;[The Antiguan legal victory] gives us a concrete decision to take to others who facilitate SlySoft and their business. We can say to those who do business with them: ‘This is an illegal activity’,” AACS&#8217;s lawyer added.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86300
title: Record Labels Sue Russian Facebook Over Large-Scale Piracy
uri: Record-Labels-Sue-Russian-Facebook-Over-Large-Scale-Piracy
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/eCi8eaVP0nQ/
content:
<p><a href="media/3e3f1f7f.vk.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/vk.jpg"><img src="media/2dca634d.vk.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/vk.jpg" alt="vk" width="180" height="180" class="alignright size-full wp-image-72276"></a>For several years vKontakte, or VK, has been marked as a piracy facilitator by copyright holders and even the U.S. Government.</p>
<p>In several Special 301 Reports published by the United States Trade Representative, Russia’s Facebook equivalent has been criticized for the huge quantities of unauthorized media it hosts. As a result it is currently labeled a “notorious market”, a term usually reserved for piracy’s apparent worst-of-the-worst.</p>
<p>In common with many user-generated sites, VK allows its millions of users to upload anything from movies and TV shows to their entire music collections. Unlike Facebook and other major players, Russia&#8217;s social network has been very slow to adopt anti-piracy measures.</p>
<p>Three major record labels &#8211; Sony Music, Universal Music and Warner Music &#8211; have now taken their concerns to the Saint Petersburg &#038; Leningradsky Region Arbitration Court. The labels accuse VK of running a service that facilitates large-scale copyright infringement and are demanding countermeasures and compensation.</p>
<p>The record labels have asked for an order requiring VK to implement fingerprinting technology to delete copyrighted works and prevent them from being re-uploaded. In addition, Sony, Warner and Universal are demanding 50 million rubles ($1.4 million) from the social networking site to compensate for losses suffered.</p>
<p>&#8220;VK&#8217;s music service, unlike others in Russia, is an unlicensed file-sharing service that is designed for copyright infringement on a large-scale,&#8221; IFPI&#8217;s Frances Moore says in a comment. </p>
<p>&#8220;We have repeatedly highlighted this problem over a long period of time. We have encouraged VK to cease its infringements and negotiate with record companies to become a licensed service. To date the company has taken no meaningful steps to tackle the problem, so today legal proceedings are being commenced,&#8221; Moore adds.</p>
<p>VK has yet to respond to the accusations. Russia’s telecoms regulator Roskomnadzor <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/major-recording-labels-prepare-to-sue-russias-facebook-131227/">previously said</a> that VK was trying very hard to better their anti-piracy practices, but these efforts apparently came too late.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86344
title: Google Patents Method of Keeping Pirate Apps at Bay
uri: Google-Patents-Method-of-Keeping-Pirate-Apps-at-Bay
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/9Y-AKKwRcSU/
content:
<p><a href="media/7c6b9504.google-bay.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/google-bay.jpg"><img src="media/3a6fa524.google-bay.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/google-bay.jpg" alt="google-bay" width="200" height="177" class="alignright size-full wp-image-21875"></a>Regular users of the Google Play store will be aware that apps sometimes appear which are very similar to already established apps. These clones are often designed to take advantage of successful apps&#8217; popularity by ripping off their code in order to generate advertising revenue.</p>
<p>These kinds of apps aren&#8217;t knowingly welcomed by most Android users, with people preferring the real deal if at all possible. That said, keeping them off the Google Play store is easier said than done, so they can get installed by significant numbers of people should they sneak through. Google, however, is planning to do something about that in the future.</p>
<p>Following an application in July 2013, Google Inc. has now been awarded a patent which should help the company keep pirated and cloned content off its Play store. The system itself is fairly complex, but the way it works is relatively simple to explain.</p>
<p>First of all, Google&#8217;s patent requires a reference database of all known &#8216;authorized&#8217; apps that have already been uploaded to Google Play by legitimate software creators. It then compares submitted apps with the contents of the database in order to find instances where they contain assets that are already utilized by known software.</p>
<p>According to the patent the system won&#8217;t compare the submitted apps in their entirety, but will instead look for executable code, data files, images and audio files that appear in existing applications already on the store. Based on this a submitted app will receive a &#8220;similarity rating.&#8221;</p>
<p><center><strong>Detecting a submitted pirated/cloned app</strong><img src="media/548ba7d5.googleapp2.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/googleapp2.png" alt="GoogleApp2"></center></p>
<p>However, Google has recognized that a blanket scanning approach could cause problems. If many apps use open source code or freely available images or audio libraries, for example, the likelihood of completely legal apps becoming labeled as infringing increases. To deal with this type of problem, Google says it will use a filtering system.</p>
<p>&#8220;In order to prevent false positive results, the systems and methods herein filter these types of assets from the comparison. The determination as to which assets are considered to be trusted assets can be made based on data associated with the known software applications,&#8221; Google&#8217;s patent reads.</p>
<p><center><strong>The system for filtering and recognizing &#8216;trusted assets&#8217;</strong><img src="media/4bdc123a.googleapp1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/googleapp1.png" alt="GoogleApp1"></center></p>
<p>The complete patent, which doesn&#8217;t mention Google Play by name but clearly refers to it, is available <a href="https://www.google.com/patents/EP2693356A2?cl=en&#038;dq=copyright+infringement&#038;hl=en&#038;sa=X&#038;ei=2JU-U86bItCQhQfG8YGIAg&#038;sqi=2&#038;pjf=1&#038;ved=0CD0Q6AEwAQ">here</a>. In the meantime anyone who feels their app has been cloned will have to use the <a href="https://support.google.com/legal/troubleshooter/1114905?rd=2">existing system</a> to have unauthorized content examined and if necessary taken down.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86174
title: 1,103 Megaupload Servers Gather Dust at Virginia Warehouse
uri: 1-103-Megaupload-Servers-Gather-Dust-at-Virginia-Warehouse
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Nphi0I7JaxM/
content:
<p><img src="media/5fd37436.megaupload.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/megaupload.jpg" alt="megaupload" width="180" height="154" class="alignright size-full wp-image-30407">When Megaupload <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-shut-down-120119/">was raided</a> early 2012, the U.S. Government seized 1,103 servers at Carpathia’s hosting facility in the United States.</p>
<p>Well over two years have passed since and still it remains uncertain if former users will ever be able to retrieve their files.</p>
<p>A reporter who used Megaupload to store work-related files did take legal steps to secure his files. However, despite six requests asking the court to find a solution for the return of his data, there is still no progress.</p>
<p>Hosting provider Carpathia previously estimated that it cost them $9,000 a day to keep the hardware in storage. The company even threatened that without compensation, it could have no other option than to wipe the data. This is also what Dutch hosting company Leaseweb did to the hundreds of Megaupload servers it had stored.   </p>
<p>The bulk of Megaupload&#8217;s data is stored at Carpathia though, and to learn whether those servers remain intact TF reached out to the hosting company for a status update. Unfortunately, our repeated requests remained unanswered. </p>
<p>Megaupload lawyer Ira Rothken was willing to provide some insight into the issue, and says that according to the information they have the servers remain in storage. Not at the original location, but in a warehouse of the hosting company in Virginia. </p>
<p>&#8220;Our understanding is that the Megaupload servers previously hosted at Carpathia are stacked in a disconnected state in a secure Carpathia facility in Virginia,&#8221; Rothken tells TF.</p>
<p>The U.S. Government is no longer claiming the Megaupload servers as they have copied all crucial data. However, the MPAA and the Department of Justice previously objected to a deal between Carpathia and Megaupload, where the latter would buy their own servers back. </p>
<p>This effort was stopped because the U.S. didn&#8217;t want Kim Dotcom to have access to the files. Hoping to get out of this stalemate the Court then suggested that all affected parties should get together and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/u-s-govt-megaupload-users-should-sue-megaupload-120611/">come up with a solution</a>, thus far without success.</p>
<p>&#8220;In separate written requests in the past year both Carpathia and Megaupload have asked Magistrate Judge Anderson &#8211; who was appointed by Judge O&#8217;Grady to mediate the cloud storage server data issue &#8211; to preside over follow-up negotiations on data preservation and consumer access,&#8221; Rothken tells TF. </p>
<p>&#8220;The US DOJ has shown little interest in such negotiations and the Judge has not been inclined to set any additional meetings,&#8221; he adds.</p>
<p>In other words, there are no signs that former Megaupload users will get their files back in the near future. The question now is for how long hosting provider Carpathia will keep the servers in storage. </p>
<p>If Carpathia follows <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/leaseweb-wipes-all-megaupload-user-data-dotcom-outraged-130619/">the example of Leaseweb</a> and destroys the data, Megaupload&#8217;s business will be wiped for good before the criminal proceedings get into the meat of the matter. Perhaps that&#8217;s what the U.S. planned all along?</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86398
title: Torrent Site Operators Face Jail For Sharing Warner, Disney Movies
uri: Torrent-Site-Operators-Face-Jail-For-Sharing-Warner-Disney-Movies
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/ImDR_fSg_xk/
content:
<p><a href="media/d3910f92.warnerpirate.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/warnerpirate.jpg"><img src="media/cf05b359.warnerpirate.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/warnerpirate.jpg" alt="warnerpirate" width="190" height="109" class="alignright size-full wp-image-71657"></a>While pressure is being applied to file-sharing sites all the time in various ways, overall there seems to be a reduced appetite for expensive litigation. In Sweden, however, direct prosecutions of file-sharers are still raising their head.</p>
<p>The latest involves two men who were arrested way back in 2011. They are the suspected operators of a private tracker called eXcelleNT, or XNT.nu as it was publicly known. The site launched in 2010 and in its first year accumulated some 17,000 users who between them uploaded around 30,000 torrents.</p>
<p>Among those torrents were copyrighted Hollywood movies and TV shows, something which triggered an investigation by anti-piracy group Antipiratbyrån. In May 2011, police in Borlänge, Sweden, arrested one of the men, moving on to Stockholm where they arrested another. Computers were seized locally, plus XNT&#8217;s server in Germany.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/3adeffad.excellent.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/excellent.jpg" alt="XNT"></center></p>
<p>The men were soon released, leaving them to speculate on their fate.</p>
<p>&#8220;Since we haven’t heard much from the police after being released, much of the information in this post is speculations,&#8221; one of the men wrote on the <a href="http://xntnu.wordpress.com/2011/06/09/what-will-happen-now/">XNT blog</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;Anyhow, we’ll have to assume that the police is running an investigation. Since they confiscated almost 10 computers in this bust it’s probably going to take a while. For the time being, we are living life as usual. Minus all the tracker stuff of course.&#8221;</p>
<p>It did indeed take a while. Yesterday, almost three years after the raids, prosecutor Fredrik Ingblad announced that the men had been prosecuted and would be heading to court.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is one of the largest cases in terms of number of films distributed,&#8221; Ingblad told the Siren news agency.</p>
<p>The case, which received support from German authorities, centers around the unauthorized distribution of some 1,050 movies between March and May 2011, including content owned by Warner Bros. and Disney.</p>
<p>The men, now aged 23 and 24, face fines or potential jail sentences when they appear later in the year. Both are believed to have offered some level of confession.</p>
<p>In December 2012 it was reported that a man suspected of being an active XNT user was acquitted of copyright offenses after police were unable to decrypt his hard drive.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86248
title: Rightscorp Finds Scary Shortcut to Expose Alleged BitTorrent Pirates
uri: Rightscorp-Finds-Scary-Shortcut-to-Expose-Alleged-BitTorrent-Pirates
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/uVzAfIeANqw/
content:
<p><a href="media/c584491e.ip-address.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/ip-address.png"><img src="media/f7a82faa.ip-address.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ip-address.png" alt="ip-address" width="225" height="153" class="alignright size-full wp-image-50438"></a>Week in and week out hundreds of U.S. citizens are dragged into lawsuits because their Internet account was used by someone to share copyrighted material. </p>
<p>These cases all follow a familiar pattern. The copyright holder files a lawsuit mentioning several IP-addresses, and asks the court for a subpoena to identify the account holders connected to it. </p>
<p>It&#8217;s then up to a judge to decide whether or not the subpoena should be granted. If it is, ISPs usually inform the affected customer who can then appeal the disclosure before a judge. If this fails, the personal details of the subscriber are handed over by the ISP, after which the affected user usually receives a settlement request from the copyright holder.</p>
<p>This is how file-sharing cases have worked for years, and on the surface it appears to be a fair process. However, for piracy monitoring outfit <a href="http://www.rightscorp.com/">Rightscorp</a> this process is proving too cumbersome. Instead of arguing their case before a judge, they&#8217;re using a shortcut that will be of great interest to copyright trolls. </p>
<p>A few weeks ago several people received a settlement request from Rightscorp via snail mail. This is peculiar since the company generally doesn&#8217;t know who the account holder is. As opposed to classic copyright trolls, Rightscorp usually sends <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/billboard-100-pirates-automated-fines-140227/">its settlement requests</a> via DMCA requests.</p>
<p>Perhaps even more worrying, the settlement letter in question mentions a subpoena. Not a regular one, but a <a href="http://www.chillingeffects.org/dmca-sub/">DMCA-subpoena</a>, which bypasses the judge and only has to be signed off by a court clerk. In other words, Rightscorp used an uncommon shortcut to cheaply and quickly expose the alleged pirates, and the ISPs in question happily complied. </p>
<p><center><strong>Rightscorp letter<br></br></strong></center><center><img src="media/752dd58f.rightscorp-subpoena-letter.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/rightscorp-subpoena-letter.jpg" alt="rightscorp-subpoena-letter" width="552" height="309" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-86331"></center></p>
<p>Wondering why all other trolls aren&#8217;t doing the very same thing, we asked several legal experts for advice. Without exception they told us that DMCA subpoenas are not meant to be used against ISPs who only pass through information, only those who actually store content. </p>
<p>This was decided in a case between <a href="http://itlaw.wikia.com/wiki/RIAA_v._Verizon">Verizon and the RIAA</a> more than a decade ago, and has been upheld in subsequent cases.</p>
<p>&#8220;The RIAA v. Verizon case clarified that 512(h) subpoenas could only be issued to service providers who hosted infringing content directly on their servers.  Because in filesharing cases the allegedly infringing material is stored on users&#8217; systems, 512(h) subpoenas are inapplicable,&#8221; <a href="http://cgcounsel.com">Cathy Gellis</a>, a technology lawyer in the San Francisco Bay Area told TF.</p>
<p>So why is Rightscorp using these DMCA subpoenas? We asked the company, and CEO Christopher Sabec said that they believe the court made the wrong decision at the time. According to Sabec the verdict won&#8217;t hold up at the Supreme Court, so they&#8217;re ignoring it.</p>
<p>&#8220;The [RIAA vs. Verizon] Court case used flawed reasoning in concluding that an ISP such as Verizon is not a &#8216;Service Provider&#8217; even though it clearly meets the definition laid out in the statute,&#8221; Sabec told us.</p>
<p>&#8220;The issue has actually not been addressed by the vast majority of Circuit Courts. We believe that the decision you cite will be overturned when the issue reaches the Supreme Court,&#8221; he adds.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s worth noting that for now Rightscorp is avoiding any of the major Internet providers. Below is the list of ISPs that were targeted, which includes Fidelity Communication, Sweetwater Cable and even the City of Wilson. Of course, these smaller organizations are less likely to object.</p>
<p><center><strong>Rightscorp targets<br></br></strong></center><center><img src="media/9014407e.rightscorp-cases.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/rightscorp-cases.png" alt="rightscorp-cases" width="594" height="344" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-86334"></center></p>
<p>The cases above make it clear that court clerks have no problem with signing off on <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/216290699/Subpoena-Fidelity">these requests</a>. As a result, Rightscorp obtained subpoenas for hundreds of IP-addresses at virtually no cost. In the case of Fidelity Communication alone, court records reveal <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/216290684/Ips-Fidelity">more than a hundred pages</a> of IP-addresses.</p>
<p>While it seems that Rightscorp is currently the only party to use DMCA subpoenas, it wouldn&#8217;t be a surprise if some of the classic copyright trolls now follow suit. </p>
<p>After all, it&#8217;s much easier to obtain people&#8217;s personal details when a judge isn&#8217;t looking over your shoulder.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86410
title: Sony Blocks Creative Commons Movie With Bogus DMCA Takedown
uri: Sony-Blocks-Creative-Commons-Movie-With-Bogus-DMCA-Takedown
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/TrcMko2FYjs/
content:
<p><a href="media/8f4d1e00.sony.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/sony.png"><img src="media/8f4d1e00.sony.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/sony.png" alt="sony" width="180" height="180" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86419"></a>We&#8217;ve reported on dozens of wrongful DMCA takedowns over the years, with each raising their own unique issues. Some are just sloppy efforts executed by careless anti-piracy companies while others have been carried out in a deliberate effort to stifle speech.</p>
<p>But while all wrongful takedowns have the potential to cause damage, few can be so clumsy and likely to enrage as the one carried out by Sony Pictures a few hours ago. If there was a competition to annoy as many people as possible with one click, Sony would definitely take the top spot. Here goes.</p>
<p>The Blender Foundation is the non-profit group behind the development of the open source 3D graphics program <a href="http://www.blender.org/">Blender</a>. The Foundation is funded by donations with the aim of giving &#8220;the worldwide Internet community access to 3D technology in general, with Blender as a core.&#8221;</p>
<p>To showcase what Blender can do and promote the platform, since 2006 the Blender Foundation and Blender Institute have released movies including <a href="http://www.elephantsdream.org/">Elephants Dream</a> and <a href="http://www.bigbuckbunny.org/">Big Buck Bunny</a>. </p>
<p>Their third movie, <a href="http://www.sintel.org/">Sintel</a>, was released in 2010 and was funded by donations, DVD sales and other sponsorship. So that people were free to work with the movie, all animation data, characters and textures were released under Creative Commons Attribution License.</p>
<p><center><strong>The open source beauty of Sintel</strong><img src="media/a74773cd.sintel.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/sintel.png" alt="sintel"></center></p>
<p>Up until yesterday the movie was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRsGyueVLvQ&#038;hd=1">available on YouTube</a> where it had been viewed millions of times. This version of the video is embedded in dozens upon dozens of news stories talking about the movie itself and the wider Blender project.</p>
<p>However, the beauty of Sintel has now been transformed into something infinitely less creative. Apparently Sony Pictures think they created and therefore own Sintel so on that basis have had the video blocked on YouTube on copyright grounds.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/a262f366.blender.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/blender.png" alt="Sintel"></center></p>
<p>If prizes were being handed out for the &#8216;best&#8217; wrongful DMCA takedown likely to annoy the greatest numbers of people, Sony would be taking Olympic gold here.</p>
<p>Free and open source software &#8211; check.<br>
Multiple instances of community funding via donation &#8211; check.<br>
Creative Commons content censorship &#8211; check.<br>
Blatantly claiming copyright on someone else&#8217;s content &#8211; check.<br>
Shoot first, ask questions later mentality &#8211; check.</p>
<p>The only good thing to come out of this as far as Blender is concerned is all the free publicity they&#8217;re going to get in the next 48 hours. Bad publicity aside, *nothing* will happen to Sony &#8211; people aren&#8217;t going to like that either.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86427
title: The Next Five Years Could Determine Our Liberties
uri: The-Next-Five-Years-Could-Determine-Our-Liberties
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/ZkM91nAoB1M/
content:
<p>This European Parliament was elected in June 2009. Its term is coming to an end, and new elections are coming up in six weeks. As a movement for net liberty, we&#8217;ve had unprecedented successes holding the corporate forces of darkness at bay during this term &#8211; but the next term is going to give us a chance to reverse the trend of bad things and start making good things happen instead.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s no secret that I&#8217;m the founder of the Swedish and first Pirate Party, and that we&#8217;ve delivered during our term in the Europarl since 2009, as one important part of this liberty movement. We <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/eu-rejects-three-strikes-legislation-for-good-090506/">stopped</a> <em>three strikes</em> in Europe &#8211; most people don&#8217;t even remember that it was a real danger that the copyright industry could do something as unthinkable as actually shut people off the Internet en masse by just pointing fingers. Our people on the inside were also critical in <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/acta-is-dead-after-european-parliament-vote-120704/">stopping ACTA</a>. Our line with strong Net Neutrality, going against the European Commission, <a href="http://gigaom.com/2014/04/03/european-parliament-passes-strong-net-neutrality-law-along-with-major-roaming-reforms/">just won</a> an important first reading on the European Parliament floor. We managed to get <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/european-greens-want-to-legalize-file-sharing-ban-drm-111007/">mainline support</a> for a radical copyright monopoly <a href="http://www.copyrightreform.eu/">reform proposal</a> that would, as part of the package, fully legalize noncommercial file-sharing and ban DRM. This is not news, just background.</p>
<p>For the past five years, we&#8217;ve seen important battles being fought where we &#8211; we as a liberty movement and pretty much as a whole generation &#8211; have managed to keep dark forces at bay. The next five years will give us an opportunity to go on the offensive and actually start improving the legal state of things, rather than just preventing them from getting worse. I cannot overemphasize how great this opportunity is. However, this obviously requires that we have people in the European Parliament who can outvoice the corporate lobbyists.</p>
<p>Outvoicing lobbyists isn&#8217;t actually a very hard thing to do, if you&#8217;re a Member of Parliament yourself. Lobbyists have a strong voice when, and only when, MPs and MEPs don&#8217;t have a good view of the subject on their own. When people on the inside of Parliament are able to call out the lobbyist bullshit as just that, those lobbyists lose an enormous amount of influence. That&#8217;s why it&#8217;s absolutely critical to have people &#8211; individuals &#8211; in office who understand the issues and are able to do so.</p>
<p>The issues for the coming five years will be an opportunity to go on the offensive for liberty. We&#8217;ve already had a first reading of strong Net Neutrality in Europe, locking down the fundamental principle of the net that everybody&#8217;s an equal, and denying the telcos the right to seek rent for running a business. This is absolutely critical &#8211; it&#8217;s a matter of whether we want free enterprise in Europe or not. We&#8217;ve won in a so-called first reading, but this issue will bounce a bit between the EU institutions until determined, so it will spill over past the election and be finalized by the next European Parliament.</p>
<p><strong>Net Neutrality will be finalized in the next five years.</strong></p>
<p>On an even stronger note, the entire copyright monopoly will be rewritten in the European Union in the next five years. Literally everything is up in the air, and many lobbyists will be fighting for the corporate clampdown on liberty and freedom of speech. But we&#8217;ve learned how to outvoice and outcompete those activists now. There is a very real possibility that we can finally settle that freedom of speech, messenger immunity, and the civil liberties we exercise through the net (mostly all of them) totally, unequivocally, and unambiguously supersede the copyright monopoly &#8211; a distribution monopoly for a powerful but basically unnecessary entertainment industry.</p>
<p><strong>Legalized file-sharing and a ban on DRM can be a reality in the next five years.</strong></p>
<p>The future of the net is being determined in the next six weeks. And what happens in Europe, will necessarily spill over to the rest of the world &#8211; if file-sharing is legal in Europe, no country is able to effectively outlaw it, as it only takes <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/copyright-monopoly-disintegration-inevitable-as-it-only-takes-a-single-country-131201/">one country</a> to undo today&#8217;s ridiculous monopoly. Once file-sharing is completely legal, and I really want to underscore that this is <em>within reach</em> now, any lobbyism from the copyright industry for harsher penalties will be for absolutely nothing, as you can&#8217;t penalize a legal action to begin with.</p>
<p>Obviously, I&#8217;m not going to use a TorrentFreak column to tell people to vote Pirate. That would be abuse of column privileges, and besides, most everybody know I&#8217;m the founder of the Pirate party movement, so people would read it like that anyway. But the reason I founded this movement is because I think there was and still is a critical shortage of politicians who take these issues with the gravity they deserve &#8211; no, let&#8217;s say there&#8217;s a shortage of <em>net liberty activists in office</em> who understand the importance of the net.</p>
<p>So what I am going to do, if you live in Europe, is to ask you to <strong>vote in the European Elections, and to do so for a candidate who does take these issues seriously.</strong></p>
<p>It doesn&#8217;t much matter what party they&#8217;re running for &#8211; all the good forces cooperate on an individual level in the European Parliament, regardless of party affiliation, and we need <em>individuals</em> in parliament who understand net neutrality, basic liberty, and the problems with Industrial Protectionism (IP) at a deep level. After all, if you&#8217;re reading TorrentFreak, odds are overwhelmingly in favor of you understanding the crucial importance of these issues to every aspect of our common future.</p>
<p>In May, that future is in your hands. What I ask is that you participate.</p>
<div style="border:2px solid #3F3F3F;width:521px;padding:15px;padding-top:8px;padding-bottom:4px;margin-top:20px;margin-bottom:10px;border-radius:10px">
<h3 style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:10px">
<div style="float:right;height:130px;width:39px;margin-left:20px;margin-right:10px"><img src="media/98818a80.Rick_Falkvinge_39x130.jpg" data-original-source="http://falkvinge.net/wp-content/themes/WpNewspaper/images/falkvinge/Rick_Falkvinge_39x130.jpg" style="border:none;-moz-box-shadow:none;-webkit-box-shadow:none" class="quimby_search_image"></div>
<p><span style="color:#3F3F3F;font-size:125%">About The</span> <span style="color:#FF3C78;font-size:125%">Author</span></p>
</h3>
<p style="font-family:PTSansRegular,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-weight:400;line-height:150%;margin-bottom:14px"><small>Rick Falkvinge is a regular columnist on TorrentFreak, sharing his thoughts every other week. He is the founder of the Swedish and first Pirate Party, a whisky aficionado, and a low-altitude motorcycle pilot. His blog at <a href="http://falkvinge.net">falkvinge.net</a> focuses on information policy.</small></p>
<div style="float:right;position:relative;top:-12px">
<p><small>Book Falkvinge <a href="http://falkvinge.net/keynotes/">as speaker</a>?</small></p>
</div>
<p><a href="http://twitter.com/Falkvinge" class="twitter-follow-button">Follow @Falkvinge</a></p>
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<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86363
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 04/07/14
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-04-07-14
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Fm2nG6k_es0/
content:
<p><img src="media/ea9dfcea.ride-along.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ride-along.jpg" alt="ride-along" width="300" height="226" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86395">This week we have three newcomers in our chart.</p>
<p>Ride Along is the most downloaded movie this week.</p>
<p>The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. All the movies in the list are BD/DVDrips unless stated otherwise.</p>
<p><a href="http://TorrentFreak.com/category/dvdrip/feed/"><strong>RSS feed</strong></a> for the weekly movie download chart.</p>
<table class="css hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="12%"><strong>Ranking</strong></th>
<th width="15%"><strong>(<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-pirated-movies-of-the-week-140331/">last week</a>)</strong></th>
<th><strong>Movie</strong></th>
<th width="18%"><strong>IMDb Rating / Trailer</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="4">torrentfreak.com</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ride_along_2014/">Ride Along</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1408253/?">6.4</a> / <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5klp6rkHIks">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_nut_job/">The Nut Job</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1821658/">5.7</a> / <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYZfr06HDdM">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(1)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_secret_life_of_walter_mitty_2013/">The Secret Life of Walter Mitty</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0359950/">7.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1Xk-yTuFEU">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/47_ronin/">47 Ronin</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1335975/">6.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwYhrgDc1uE">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_hobbit_the_desolation_of_smaug/">The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1170358/?">8.2</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfflhfn1W-o">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(5)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wolf_of_wall_street_2013/">The Wolf Of Wall Street</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0993846/">8.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pabEtIERlic">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_legend_of_hercules/">The Legend of Hercules</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1043726/">4.2</a> / <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0GMzQwO2l0">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(8)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/frozen_2013/">Frozen</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294629/">8.1</a> / <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbQm5doF_Uc">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(7)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_pirate_fairy_2014/">The Pirate Fairy</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2483260/">6.9</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et4zsoUNb_0">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(4)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/300_rise_of_an_empire/">300: Rise of an Empire</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1253863/">6.9</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zqy21Z29ps">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86436
title: Document Reveals When Copyright Trolls Drop Piracy Cases
uri: Document-Reveals-When-Copyright-Trolls-Drop-Piracy-Cases
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/C8y2dWUJJn0/
content:
<p><a href="media/b083db33.troll.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/troll.jpg"><img src="media/43622170.troll.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/troll.jpg" alt="troll" width="175" height="131" class="alignright size-full wp-image-48009"></a>It&#8217;s well known that while copyright trolls may suggest they are going to pursue all of their cases to the bitter end, they simply do not. Plenty of cases are dropped or otherwise terminated, although the precise reasons why this happens usually remain a closely guarded secret.</p>
<p>Today, however, we have a much clearer idea of what happens behind the scenes at Malibu Media, one of the main companies in the United States currently chasing down BitTorrent users for cash settlements.</p>
<p>The company was required by Illinois Judge Milton Shadur to submit a summary of its activities in Illinois and, as spotted by troll watcher SJD over at <a href="http://fightcopyrighttrolls.com/">Fight Copyright Trolls</a>, there was an agreement that it could remain under seal.</p>
<p>Somehow, however, that document has now became available on Pacer and it reveals some rather interesting details on Malibu&#8217;s operations.</p>
<p>Overall, Malibu Media reports that it filed cases in Illinois against 886 defendants. According to the company, just 174 have paid up so far, with 150 of those hiring a lawyer to do so.</p>
<p>While 100 cases are still open (including 42 still at discovery stage and 30 in negotiations), for various reasons a total of 612 defendants paid nothing at all and the cases against them were dismissed. Malibu reveal the reasons for this in their filing, and they&#8217;re quite eye-opening to say the least.</p>
<p><strong>Hardship</strong></p>
<p>&#8220;Hardship is when a defendant may be liable for the conduct, but has extenuating circumstances where Plaintiff does not wish to proceed against him or her,&#8221; the Malibu document explains.</p>
<p>&#8220;Examples are when a defendant has little or no assets, defendant has serious illness or has recently deceased, defendant is currently active duty US military, defendant is a charitable organization or school, etc.&#8221;</p>
<p>Out of 886 defendants, Malibu reports that cases against 49 were dropped on hardship grounds.</p>
<p><strong>Insufficient Evidence</strong></p>
<p>It has long been said that an IP address alone isn&#8217;t enough to identify an infringer and Malibu&#8217;s own submission to the court underlines this in grand fashion.</p>
<p>&#8220;Insufficient evidence is defined as when Plaintiff’s evidence does not raise a strong<br>
presumption that the defendant is the infringer or some other ambiguity causes Malibu to question the Defendant’s innocence,&#8221; the company writes.</p>
<p>So, in an attempt to boost the value of the IP address evidence, Malibu says it investigates further to determine whether the account holder is in fact the infringer. The company says it looks in three areas.</p>
<p>1. Length of the infringement, i.e. how long it took place, when it began, when it ended, whether it took place during the day or night, and any other patterns.</p>
<p>2. Location of the residence where the infringement occurred, i.e. whether it is in a remote location or with other dwellings within wireless access range.</p>
<p>3. Profiling suspected pirates using social media (Facebook, Twitter)</p>
<p>The third element is of particular interest. Malibu says that since July 2012 it has been  monitoring not just its own content online, but also piracy on music, movies, ebooks and software. It compares the IP addresses it spots downloading other pirate content with the IP addresses known to be infringing copyright on its own titles.</p>
<p>The data collected is then used to profile the person behind the IP address and this is compared with information gleaned from sites including Facebook and Twitter.</p>
<p>&#8220;Oftentimes, a subscriber will publicly admit on social media to enjoying sports teams,<br>
music groups, or favorite TV shows. Malibu will compare their likes and interests to their [downloads of other content] and determine whether the interests match,&#8221; the company explains.</p>
<p><strong>So in what circumstances will Malibu dismiss a case on evidence grounds?</strong></p>
<p>In the company&#8217;s own words:</p>
<p>-Multiple roommates within one residence with similar profiles and interests share a single Internet connection</p>
<p>-The defendant has left the country and cannot be located</p>
<p>-The results of additional surveillance do not specifically match profile interests or occupation of Defendant or other authorized users of the Internet connection</p>
<p>-The subscriber is a small business with public Wi-Fi access, etc</p>
<p>From a total of 886 defendants, cases against 259 were dropped due to insufficient evidence.</p>
<p><strong>The Polygraph Defense</strong></p>
<p>In the absence of any other supporting evidence, how can a subscriber prove a negative, i.e that he or she did not carry out any unlawful file-sharing? Quite bizarrely, Malibu says that it will accept the results of a lie detector test.</p>
<p>&#8220;[M]alibu will dismiss its claims against any Defendant who agrees to and passes a<br>
polygraph administered by a licensed examiner of the Defendant&#8217;s choosing,&#8221; the company told the court.</p>
<p>So has anyone taken the bait? Apparently so.</p>
<p>&#8220;Out of the entirety of polygraphs administered within the United States by Malibu, no Defendant has passed and all such examinations have subsequently led to the Defendant settling the case,&#8221; Malibu writes.</p>
<p><strong>No discovery</strong></p>
<p>In order for Malibu to pressure account holders into settling, it first needs to find out who they are from their ISPs. Malibu&#8217;s submission reveals that this is not always possible due to:</p>
<p>- ISPs not retaining logging data for a long enough period<br>
- Subpoenas being quashed due to cases being severed<br>
- Information held on file at ISPs does not match identities of an address&#8217;s occupants<br>
- ISP could not match the IP address with a subscriber at the time and date stipulated by Malibu</p>
<p>From a total of 886 defendants, cases against 304 were dropped due to failed discovery.</p>
<p><strong>Cases dismissed due to settlement / actual judgments obtained</strong></p>
<p>In total, 174 cases were settled by defendants without need for a trial but the amounts paid are not included in the document. However, the submission does reveal that two cases did go to court resulting in statutory damages awards of $26,250 and $15,000 respectively.</p>
<p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>
<p>Malibu&#8217;s submission points to a few interesting conclusions, not least that the vast majority of their cases get dismissed for one reason or another and a significant proportion simply do not pay up.</p>
<p>The document also suggests that Malibu are working under the assumption that an IP address alone isn&#8217;t enough to secure a settlement and that additional social media-sourced evidence is required to back it up.</p>
<p>This information, plus the reasons listed by Malibu for not pursuing cases, should ensure that even less people are prompted to pay up in future.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86346
title: Game of Thrones Premiere Triggers Piracy Craze
uri: Game-of-Thrones-Premiere-Triggers-Piracy-Craze
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/lIK_1eTpB-s/
content:
<p><a href="media/1fc97bda.thrones.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/thrones.jpg"><img src="media/0f671074.thrones.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/thrones.jpg" alt="thrones" width="248" height="131" class="alignright size-full wp-image-51268"></a>Yesterday evening saw a massive demand for the premiere of Game of Thrones&#8217; fourth season, both on legal and less-authorized channels. </p>
<p>The unprecedented demand caused trouble for the HBO Go service, <a href="https://twitter.com/HBOGO/status/452978166244864000">which crashed</a> and was unreachable for several hours on end. </p>
<p>This outage probably motivated some to look for unauthorized copies, which were widely available through dozens of torrent sites soon after the episode finished. Unlike HBO Go, downloads via BitTorrent actually benefit from the increased interest, which usually means that downloads finish faster. </p>
<p>And indeed, there has been plenty of interest in unauthorized copies of the Game of Thrones season premiere.</p>
<p>Data gathered by TorrentFreak reveals that half a day after the first episode appeared online over a million people have already grabbed a copy via a torrent site. Earlier this morning, more than 300,000 people were actively sharing one of the three most-popular torrents. </p>
<p>The number of downloads is roughly the same as last year, but the season premiere didn&#8217;t set a record for the largest BitTorrent swarm, most likely because there were multiple popular copies available. The most shared torrent file had around 140,000 people sharing at once at its height this morning.</p>
<p><center><strong>Game of Thrones sharers</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/0b8b249d.got-peers.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/got-peers.jpg" alt="got-peers" width="525" height="171" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-86451"></center></p>
<p>During the days to come the number of downloads is expected to grow by several millions. Last year Game of Thrones became the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/game-of-thrones-most-pirated-tv-show-of-2013-131225/">most pirated TV-show</a> for the second time, and with today&#8217;s numbers it is well on its way to securing the title for another year. </p>
<p>In addition to the downloads, we also looked at the countries people were sharing from. A sample of 18,333 IP-addresses collected over the day shows that Australia takes the crown with 11.6% of the total. The United States is a good second with 9.3%, followed by the United Kingdom with 5.8%. </p>
<p>The number one spot for Australia is all the more impressive since it has a population of just over 22 million people, relatively small compared to the other two countries. Looking at the city level we see that most downloads (during the first half day) come from Melbourne, before Athens and Sydney. </p>
<p>So, why are all these people pirating Game of Thrones?</p>
<p>As always, there are many reasons why people may choose torrents or other pirate sources. In some cases there is simply no legal alternative, because of licensing issues for example, or due to technical troubles such as those suffered yesterday by HBO Go. In other cases the legal options are too limited, restrictive, or expensive.</p>
<p>The reasons above are not exhaustive of course, there are many more reasons why people turn to BitTorrent. For some it&#8217;s become a habit that will be hard to break, no matter where they live and how good the legal alternatives are.</p>
<p>If there are any Game of Thrones pirates reading this, let us know what drives you in the comments.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p><em>Note: To clarify, the IP-address sample was collected during the first 12 hours, which means that there&#8217;s a geographical bias. Also, downloaders who <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">use VPNs</a> may appear to be in a different country.</em></p>
<table class="css hover" summary="Game of Thrones Downloads">
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="10%"><strong>#</strong></th>
<th width="22%"><strong>Country</strong></th>
<th width="22%"><strong>%</strong></th>
<th width="22%"><strong>City</strong></th>
<th width="22%"><strong>%</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="5">torrentfreak.com</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>Australia</td>
<td>11.6%</td>
<td>Melbourne</td>
<td>3.2%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>United States</td>
<td>9.3%</td>
<td>Athens</td>
<td>2.9%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>United Kingdom</td>
<td>5.8%</td>
<td>Sydney</td>
<td>2.0%</td>
</tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>Canada</td>
<td>5.2%</td>
<td>London</td>
<td>1.9%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>The Netherlands</td>
<td>4.7%</td>
<td>Stockholm</td>
<td>1.7%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>Philippines</td>
<td>4.6%</td>
<td>Amsterdam</td>
<td>1.7%</td>
</tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>India</td>
<td>4.2%</td>
<td>Madrid</td>
<td>1.5%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>Greece</td>
<td>3.6%</td>
<td>Warsaw</td>
<td>1.4%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>Poland</td>
<td>3.0%</td>
<td>Brisbane</td>
<td>1.4%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>Sweden</td>
<td>2.7%</td>
<td>Perth</td>
<td>1.3%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86472
title: Movie Studios Demand Millions From Megaupload in New Lawsuit
uri: Movie-Studios-Demand-Millions-From-Megaupload-in-New-Lawsuit
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/jDzpukF-vgg/
content:
<p><img src="media/5fd37436.megaupload.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/megaupload.jpg" alt="megaupload" width="180" height="154" class="alignright size-full wp-image-30407">A few months ago the U.S. Department of Justice <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/u-s-releases-more-evidence-of-megauploads-mass-infringing-use-131221/">released</a> a summary of its evidence against Megaupload, to assist civil parties who would want to start their own cases against the defunct file-hosting service.</p>
<p>Previously there have been some rumors that the MPAA was working on a lawsuit and this has now been confirmed. Twentieth Century Fox, Disney, Paramount Pictures, Universal, Columbia Pictures and Warner Bros. have teamed up and filed a complaint in a Virginia District Court.</p>
<p>The lawsuit is filed against Megaupload, Kim Dotcom and the former employees Mathias Ortmann and Bram Van Der Kolk. The same defendants are also part of the ongoing criminal proceedings by the U.S. Government, and <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/216980239/MPAA-Complaint">the complaint</a> itself raises many of the same allegations that were put forward in the indictment. </p>
<p>The movie studios describe Megaupload as a business that was designed to facilitate copyright infringement and are looking for millions of dollars in damages. One of the problems they describe is that, after a DMCA notice was received by Megaupload, it would only remove the URL while the actual file and other URLs pointing to that file would remain intact. </p>
<p>The movie studios claim that this was done to ensure that the most popular infringing files remained available. However, they fail to mention that removing the actual files would be overbroad and wrong in some instances. For example, if an artist stores his files on Hotfile but wants to take unauthorized copies offline, he or she would not want Megaupload to delete the original as well. </p>
<p>Megaupload&#8217;s reward program is also cited as a piracy promoting tool by the studios. According to the complaint it was set up to reward people who shared popular content, which would often be pirated movies. The rewards therefore served as an incentive to share links to Megaupload in public and advertise these through other sites. </p>
<p>This point is also raised by MPAA&#8217;s Steven Fabrizio, who notes that Megaupload wasn&#8217;t a cloud storage service but an &#8220;unlawful hub for mass distribution.&#8221;</p>
<p>“Megaupload was built on an incentive system that rewarded users for uploading the most popular content to the site, which was almost always stolen movies, TV shows and other commercial entertainment content. It paid users based on how many times the content was downloaded by others – and didn’t pay at all until that infringing content was downloaded 10,000 times,&#8221; Fabrizio explains.</p>
<p>TorrentFreak spoke to Megaupload lawyer Ira Rothken who believes that this new case might show that Hollywood and the U.S. Government have little faith in the criminal proceedings. </p>
<p>&#8220;Megaupload believes that the suit lacks merit and we will vigorously defend against the claims,&#8221; Rothken tells TF. </p>
<p>&#8220;The MPAA is apparently concocting a civil claim out of desperation two years after the indictment because it is likely that they and Department of Justice believe the pending criminal allegations lack merit, as there is no such thing as secondary criminal copyright infringement”</p>
<p>Rothken stresses that Megaupload was predominantly used for backup, and not for file-sharing as the complaint suggests. The movie studios paint a distorted picture of Megaupload according to the lawyer, who notes that the money paid out to uploaders was minimal, and that terminating the rewards program didn&#8217;t affect the number of visitors.</p>
<p>&#8220;The amount of money paid out in the rewards programs was tiny and a rounding error compared to revenue. The rewards program was halted about six months before the indictment with no resulting drop in traffic &#8211; it was copyright neutral,&#8221; Rothken explains to TF.</p>
<p>The case promises to be a vital one for the future of cloud hosting services in the United States, and a backup plan for when the criminal case fails. </p>
<p>The MPAA previously settled its lawsuit against Hotfile, and hopes for another win against Dotcom and his colleagues. Megaupload, however, believes it is protected by the DMCA safe harbor and is determined to show that the movie studio&#8217;s allegations are meritless.</p>
<p>In addition to the lawsuit filed this week, Megaupload has also been <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/court-freezes-megaupload-case-for-180-days-120607/">sued by Microhits</a> in 2012. This case has been frozen pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86498
title: European ISPs Can Stop Logging User Data, Court Rules
uri: European-ISPs-Can-Stop-Logging-User-Data-Court-Rules
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/FcC-NWAyDAk/
content:
<p><a href="media/298c27c8.europe-flag.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/europe-flag.png"><img src="media/23e20654.europe-flag.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/europe-flag.png" alt="europe-flag" width="222" height="146" class="alignright size-full wp-image-79290"></a>In a landmark ruling, the European Court of Justice has declared Europe&#8217;s Data Retention directive to be a violation of Internet users&#8217; privacy.</p>
<p>Under the Directive Internet providers and other telecom companies were required to log and store vast amounts of information, including who their subscribers communicate with, and what IP-addresses they use. </p>
<p>The local authorities could then use this information to fight serious crimes, but it was also been frequently used by third parties, in online piracy cases for example.</p>
<p>Today the Court ruled that the data collection requirements are <a href="media/f2b83800.cp140054en.pdf" data-original-source="http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2014-04/cp140054en.pdf">disproportionate</a>. In a case started by <a href="http://www.digitalrights.ie/">Digital Rights Ireland</a> the Court effectively annulled the directive, and it&#8217;s now up to the individual member states to change local laws accordingly.</p>
<p>“The Court is of the opinion that, by adopting the Data Retention Directive, the EU legislature has exceeded the limits imposed by compliance with the principle of proportionality,” the Court states.</p>
<p>&#8220;By requiring the retention of those data and by allowing the competent national authorities to access those data, the directive interferes in a particularly serious manner with the fundamental rights to respect for private life and to the protection of personal data,&#8221; it adds.</p>
<p>The judgement has far-reaching implications for large telecom companies, but also for smaller businesses including many <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">VPN providers</a>. With the new ruling these companies are no longer required to log extensive amount of user data as was required under the EU Directive.</p>
<p>While many ISPs are waiting to see what local Governments decide, the Swedish provider Bahnhof immediately announced that it would wipe all subscriber data it stored. </p>
<p>&#8220;Bahnhof stops all data storage with immediate effect. In addition, we will delete the information that was already saved,&#8221; Bahnhof CEO <a href="https://www.idg.se/2.1085/1.555779">Jon Karlung says</a>.</p>
<p>There&#8217;s also resistance against the Court decision. The Dutch Minister of Justice Fred Teeven, <a href="http://www.nu.nl/tech/3746863/teeven-wil-telefoon--en-internetgegevens-blijven-opslaan.html">for example</a>, wants local ISPs to continue storing user data for law enforcement purposes.  </p>
<p>The European Court of Justice judgement is a clear victory for privacy activists, but mostly for the public who will regain some of their online privacy. While the ruling specified that some data retention may be needed, broad and mandatory retention laws and NSA-style data dragnets are no longer the standard.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86371
title: Popcorn Time ‘Rivals’ Prep TV, Android and ChromeCast Support
uri: Popcorn-Time-Rivals-Prep-TV-Android-and-ChromeCast-Support
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/olRqPhrd034/
content:
<p><a href="media/eca8c94b.popcorn-time.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/popcorn-time.png"><img src="media/16c6d12b.popcorn-time.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/popcorn-time.png" alt="popcorn-time" width="228" height="99" class="alignright size-full wp-image-84917"></a>Unless you&#8217;ve had an Internet outage lasting a month, news of the Popcorn Time app will have <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/open-source-torrent-streaming-a-netflix-for-pirates-140308/">appeared on your screen</a> on several occasions. It dramatically burst onto the scene in March and stirred up a huge controversy, but just a handful of weeks later it was <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/popcorn-time-deleted-by-dotcoms-mega-mpaa-lawsuit-pending-140312/">abandoned</a> by its creators.</p>
<p>Being open source the project was easy for others to pick up but without the original GetPopCornTi.me URL it was always going to be difficult for new project leaders to immediately show they were the &#8216;real deal&#8217;. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, today there are two main Popcorn Time replacements, both of which call themselves Popcorn Time. To get some clarity, TorrentFreak caught up with the people behind both projects to find out about their plans. For simplicity&#8217;s sake we&#8217;ll refer to them by their current URLs &#8211; <a href="http://popcorn-time.tv/">popcorn-time.tv</a> and <a href="http://time4popcorn.eu/">time4popcorn.eu</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Popcorn-Time.tv</strong></p>
<p>Popcorn-Time.tv&#8217;s website has the same look and feel as the original Popcorn Time and offers four version of the software &#8211; Windows and Mac plus Linux 32 and 64 bit. Everything is open source and the project page can be <a href="https://github.com/popcorn-org">found on Github</a>. So where did this group originate?</p>
<p><center><img src="media/a3b24d82.popcornTV.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/popcornTV.png" alt="PopcornTV"></center></p>
<p>&#8220;Our project started right after the original devs abandoned their project,&#8221; a Popcorn-Time.tv dev told TorrentFreak.</p>
<p>&#8220;I happened to be working on a new feature on a fork at that moment. When the devs closed their project, people started asking what should be happening and I pointed them to my repository where I was working on fixing everything. I end up being the most-used fork after a few hours.&#8221;</p>
<p>Shortly after another dev who had worked on the original Popcorn Time project agreed to merge his ongoing fork with what would soon become Popcorn-Time.tv. Together they released three new versions of Popcorn Time &#8211; 0.2.6, 0.2.7 and 0.2.8, the current version.</p>
<p>&#8220;A few days ago, however, the other developer went missing, the main repository and its website were shutdown as well. So I then set up a new organization (popcorn-org) and a new website (popcorn-time.tv) to keep going,&#8221; the Popcorn-Time.tv dev explained.</p>
<p>&#8220;In the general picture I would say we fit as the original Popcorn Time continuation. We haven&#8217;t added many features yet since we are working on getting everything more stable and usable by everyone. TV series and more are planned for the next month.&#8221;</p>
<p>Popcorn-Time.tv also informs TF that work is underway to allow their software to save downloaded movies for later viewing and that an upcoming rewrite and release of version 0.3.0 in around two weeks will sport a new UI.</p>
<p><center><strong>Sneak preview: New Popcorn-Time UI<br></br></strong><img src="media/22a8ddc5.popcornTVnewUI.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/popcornTVnewUI.png" alt="PopcornTVnewUI"></center></p>
<p>Add Chromecast and multi-torrent tracker support on top and things are looking exciting for this version of the infamous software.</p>
<p><strong>Time4Popcorn.eu</strong></p>
<p>Although it has a similar feel, Time4Popcorn.eu&#8217;s website differs slightly from the original. It is less complex and carries just a single version (Windows) of the Popcorn Time software. Which version isn&#8217;t clear since its been repackaged by the site and currently the source is private.</p>
<p>However, speaking with TF the Time4Popcorn.eu team made it clear they have big plans, both on the feature front and in transparency terms.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/9620758f.time4popcornweb.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/time4popcornweb.png" alt="Time4PopcornWeb"></center></p>
<p>&#8220;We are all Popcorn Time users, and when the original project was taken down it was clear to us that we would not let this technology die, and without hesitation we took the files and put them online for download,&#8221;  Time4Popcorn.eu explain.</p>
<p>&#8220;The great response from the users and the amount of downloads a day made us very excited and we decided to invest our time in improving and preserving Popcorn Time.&#8221;</p>
<p>The people behind this version say they are the owners of file-sharing websites with millions of visitors a day. With their experience they want to ensure Popcorn Time stays online &#8220;forever.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Our knowledge in that field will help us to better understand what the users want and need to enjoy more of Popcorn Time,&#8221; they add.</p>
<p>So what next for Time4Popcorn.eu? Big things, apparently, including an imminent mobile version.</p>
<p>&#8220;At this very moment, we are working around the clock on the Android version of Popcorn Time and hoping to release it in the next two weeks,&#8221; the team reveal.</p>
<p>And, for those worried about the current closed-source, things will change on that front too. Once the mobile version is complete the source code will be published on Github and the community will be invited to help with its development.</p>
<p>&#8220;We will also publish our brand new release of the desktop version that will include seeding of the downloaded torrent (the current version does not seed the torrent!), a much faster torrent client and a new video player that will give us the ability to show not only MP4 videos, but all kinds of video formats that will increase the amounts of available torrents,&#8221; they add.</p>
<p>The team says that this version will also go open source on the day of release.</p>
<p>&#8220;For now, we are not doing anything besides staying up all night and developing this great app,&#8221; they conclude.</p>
<p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>
<p>Having more than one version of one piece of software is certainly not ideal since it&#8217;s confusing for users, but at the moment the versions detailed above appear to be key to keeping the Popcorn Time dream alive. Which will win the battle (if they even see it that way) remains to be seen, but of course there&#8217;s aways a chance that a merger could be on the cards, if minds meet at the appropriate moment.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86329
title: YouTube Hurts Music Album Sales, Research Finds
uri: YouTube-Hurts-Music-Album-Sales-Research-Finds
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Suw4yOg1zwU/
content:
<p><a href="media/f805d856.youtubesadsmall1.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/youtubesadsmall1.png"><img src="media/d9d620b7.youtubesadsmall1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/youtubesadsmall1.png" alt="youtubesadsmall" width="200" height="145" class="alignright size-full wp-image-84333"></a>In recent years many academics <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2132153">have researched</a> the link between Internet piracy and the revenues of the major music labels, with varying results. Some have concluded that there is no adverse impact of piracy on sales, others argue that there’s a moderate negative relation.</p>
<p>While the music industry and many researchers seek answers in the piracy realm, other drastic changes are too often ignored. The availability of free on-demand music through legal services such as YouTube for example. </p>
<p>Researchers from Fairfield University and the University of Colorado have started to fill this gap with <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/216999608/CAPRI-Working-Paper-13-2">a new study</a>. In their working paper the researchers examine the effect of Warner Music&#8217;s 2009 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Music_Group#Controversy_and_criticism">YouTube blackout</a> on the record label&#8217;s album sales.</p>
<p>At the time, Warner pulled all their music from the video hosting service due to a licensing dispute. The researchers use this event to compare the sales of Warner&#8217;s artists listed in the Billboard Album 200, to those from labels that still had their videos on YouTube. </p>
<p>The results are intriguing, to say the least. After controlling for several variables, such as music genre and album specific characteristics, they found that Warner&#8217;s top artists sold many more albums during the blackout. </p>
<p>&#8220;We showed that the removal of content from YouTube had a causal impact on album sales by upwards of on average 10,000 units per week for top albums,&#8221; the paper reads.</p>
<p>According to the researchers, these results indicate that YouTube doesn&#8217;t always serve as a promotional tool as many claim, certainly not for the top artists.</p>
<p>&#8220;While a great deal has been said about the potential role of these service in promoting and discovering new artists and music, our results cast some doubt on this widely believed notion, at least with regards to top selling albums [...], they write.</p>
<p>The researchers estimate that for the top albums the total in lost sales because of YouTube equals roughly $1 million per year. This is a significant percentage of the label&#8217;s total revenue. </p>
<p>It is hard to say, however, that YouTube is hurting overall revenue, as the advertising revenue it receives from Google also brings in a significant sum of money.  </p>
<p>The results, which are largely driven by the top selling albums, suggest that there is no promotional effect of YouTube on album sales. In addition, there is no effect on Google searches for the artists in question either. In other words, YouTube doesn&#8217;t mainly hurt album sales.</p>
<p>&#8220;Our findings suggest that sales displacement effect can be real without a promotional effect. That is, the people listening on YouTube appear to be, to some extent people who would know about this album anyway, but may not buy it because of YouTube,&#8221; the researchers conclude.</p>
<p>The findings are interesting for a variety of reasons. Although they don&#8217;t prove that YouTube costs the music industry more than it brings in, it clearly shows that there are more factors that can explain people&#8217;s shift in music buying habits than piracy alone.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86519
title: Police Arrest Streaming Site Admin, Several Domains Suspended
uri: Police-Arrest-Streaming-Site-Admin-Several-Domains-Suspended
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/HiCmLNIjEX4/
content:
<p><img src="media/31176dbb.cityoflondonpolice.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cityoflondonpolice.jpg" width="200" height="82" class="alignright">Speaking with TorrentFreak late last week, the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) clarified the stages behind Operation Creative, an ongoing campaign aimed at disrupting the activities of unauthorized content sites.</p>
<p>&#8220;At the first instance of a website being identified, evidenced and confirmed as providing copyright infringing content, the site owner is contacted by officers at the PIPCU and offered the opportunity to engage with the police, to correct their behavior and to begin to operate legitimately,&#8221; a spokesperson explained.</p>
<p>&#8220;In the contact sent to the website owners PIPCU clearly states that if a website fails to comply and engage with the police, then a variety of other tactical options may be used including; contacting the domain registrar to seek suspension of the site, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/city-of-london-police-launches-pirate-site-blacklist-for-advertisers-140331/">disrupting advertising revenue</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/police-prepare-to-place-banner-ads-on-pirate-sites-140402/">advert replacement</a>.&#8221;</p>
<p>But while disruption is clearly on the agenda, the police can also rely on the traditional investigation and arrest process. Earlier this week, that&#8217;s exactly what they did.</p>
<p><a href="media/dd74c12a.pipcu-map.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/pipcu-map.png"><img src="media/dd74c12a.pipcu-map.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/pipcu-map.png" alt="pipcu-map" width="180" height="180" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86535"></a>Sometime on Monday morning, detectives from PIPCU carried out an arrest of a 26-year-old man in the UK. He  was detained in York, England, a city located around four hours drive from PIPCU&#8217;s base in the City of London.</p>
<p>The man was arrested on suspicion of operating a number of streaming-related domains.</p>
<p>At the time of writing PIPCU has not responded to our requests for comment [Update: PIPCU comment below], but TF has discovered that earlier this week sports streaming domains BoxingGuru.co.uk, boxingguru.eu, boxingguru.tv and nutjob.eu were all suspended.</p>
<p>The sites currently redirect to a page carrying a statement indicating they are under investigation for online copyright infringement. Police have not yet publicly linked their closure with the arrest on Monday.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/81c3a8c8.PIPCU-shutdown.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/PIPCU-shutdown.png" alt="PIPCU-shutdown"></center></p>
<p>The logos of four key Operation Creative partners &#8211; BPI, FACT, IFPI and The Publishers Association &#8211; are displayed on the page although it seems highly likely that FACT were behind the recommendation to investigate the sites closed down this week.</p>
<p>All domains with &#8216;boxing&#8217; in their titles linked to the world&#8217;s biggest boxing events. This would have put the sites on a collision course with FACT members including British Sky Broadcasting, BT Sport and cable provider Virgin Media, all of which generate revenue from that market.</p>
<p>Nutjob.eu linked to streams of a variety of sporting events including soccer, putting the site firmly in the cross-hairs of the powerful Premier League. Other links would certainly have proven unpopular with the NHL, NBA and ESPN.</p>
<p>While the sites certainly embedded videos and provided links to unauthorized content hosted elsewhere, their operator has always maintained he has nothing to do with placing the content online. Whether that holds true &#8211; or even if the police care at this stage &#8211; will be revealed as the investigation unfolds.</p>
<p>FACT did not immediately respond to our request for comment.</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> &#8220;A 26 year old man was arrested on Monday 7 April by detectives from the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) in York, on suspicion of hosting a number of websites allowing people to illegally stream TV and films,&#8221; a PIPCU spokesperson told TF.</p>
<p>&#8220;A number of websites have been suspended and the suspect was taken to a local police station for questioning. The investigation is ongoing.&#8221; </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86579
title: The Netherlands Must Outlaw Downloading, EU Court Rules (Update)
uri: The-Netherlands-Must-Criminalize-Downloading-EU-Court-Rules
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/tKu2mTezZIM/
content:
<p><img src="media/b2da810a.amsterdam.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/amsterdam.jpg" alt="amsterdam" width="222" height="185" class="alignright size-full wp-image-29040">In common with many other countries around the world, downloading music and movies is hugely popular in the Netherlands. Surveys estimate that a third of the population downloads copyrighted content without paying for it.</p>
<p>Contrary to most other countries, however, downloading and copying movies and music for personal use is not punishable by law. In return, the Dutch compensate rightsholders through a “piracy levy” on writable media, hard drives and electronic devices with storage capacity, including smartphones.</p>
<p>In a landmark ruling, the European Court of Justice has declared this system unlawful. The case was brought by several electronics stores and manufacturers, whose products were made more expensive because of the levy. </p>
<p>In its judgment the Court held that the levy system is a threat to the internal market and that it puts copyright holders at an unfair disadvantage. </p>
<p>&#8220;If Member States were free to adopt legislation permitting, inter alia, reproductions for private use to be made from an unlawful source, the result of that would clearly be detrimental to the proper functioning of the internal market,&#8221; the Court noted in a briefing on the verdict today.</p>
<p>&#8220;Similarly, the objective of proper support for the dissemination of culture may not be achieved by sacrificing strict protection of copyright or by tolerating illegal forms of distribution of counterfeited or pirated works.&#8221;</p>
<p>As a result the Court ruled that the Dutch system, in which people are permitted to copy files from pirated sources, can not be tolerated.</p>
<p>The Court believes that &#8220;legalizing&#8221; file-sharing encourages the distribution of counterfeit and pirated works. In addition, it explains that the system poses &#8220;an unfair disadvantage to the copyright holders.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Court further notes that the Dutch system also punishes those who buy their digital movies and music from authorized sources, as they also pay the piracy levy on the devices and media they record them to.</p>
<p>&#8220;All users are indirectly penalized since they necessarily contribute towards the compensation payable for the harm caused by private reproductions made from an unlawful source. Users consequently find themselves required to bear an additional, non-negligible cost in order to be able to make private copies,&#8221; the Court notes. </p>
<p>Today&#8217;s judgment is also likely to affect other European countries with similar systems, such as Switzerland where downloading pirated works for personal use is also permitted.</p>
<p>Ironically, copyright holders may be worse off if the Netherlands does indeed outlaw downloading pirated material. This would result in millions of euros in lost revenue through the piracy levy, which may be hard to match by an increase in legal sales, if there&#8217;s any increase at all.</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> The Dutch Government <a href="http://tweakers.net/nieuws/95335/kabinet-nederland-heeft-per-direct-downloadverbod.html">confirmed to Tweakers</a> that downloading copyrighted material for personal use is no longer allowed, effective immediately. </p>
<p>The Government also clarified that in general offenses will be prosecuted through civil cases, not criminal ones. We have updated this article accordingly.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86572
title: Record Labels Lose Big as Court Declares File-Sharing Tools Legal
uri: Record-Labels-Lose-Big-as-Court-Declares-File-Sharing-Tools-Legal
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/W669VQ18Mh4/
content:
<p><img src="media/563b57c4.pablosoto.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/pablosoto.jpg" width="256" height="188" class="alignright">In 2008, Universal, Sony, EMI, Warner and “Spanish RIAA” Promusicae (Productores de Música de España) joined forces to sue MP2P Technologies, a company created by Pablo Soto, the brains behind Blubster, the “Spanish Napster” file-sharing software.</p>
<p>The record companies said that Soto had designed his Blubster, Piolet and Manolito software with the intent of providing a platform for users to pirate music while he generated profit. This, the labels said, amounted to unfair competition in the market. Soto should pay them 13 million euros ($18m) in damages, the labels argued.</p>
<p>Following years of litigation, in 2011 a Madrid court handed defeat to the labels by declaring Soto&#8217;s technology neutral. While his users may have infringed copyright, Soto was not responsible for that, the court said. Furthermore, since Soto wasn&#8217;t in the record business and the labels weren&#8217;t in the file-sharing business, the unfair competition claim was also dismissed.</p>
<p>After investing so much time in the case, the labels weren&#8217;t prepared to concede defeat. The case went to the Madrid Court of Appeals which has just made its decision public. It&#8217;s a decisive win for Soto and a big loss for the labels.</p>
<p>&#8220;[Soto's] activity is not only neutral, and perfectly legal, moreover it is protected by article 38 of our Constitution,&#8221; the Court wrote in its ruling.</p>
<p>Speaking with TorrentFreak, Soto says that the Court saw no problem with sharing technology and discovered no plan &#8220;to sink or unbalance the recording industry&#8221; or obstruct the development of its business.</p>
<p>&#8220;The court affirmed — yet again — that [the creation of sharing technologies] is not an act of looting, unfair competition or unfair benefit from others&#8217; effort,&#8221; Soto informs TF.</p>
<p>The Spaniard, who has been developing software since he was 16 years old, adds that the win is not only good news for him, but also for others seeking to innovate.</p>
<p>&#8220;This clears the path for more opportunities to bring leading edge technologies to the marketplace and no longer be distracted by misguided legal tactics from the copyright conglomerates. We really appreciate and thank our loyal following, especially among the readers at TorrentFreak.&#8221;</p>
<p>Soto&#8217;s lawyer, David Bravo, who described the ruling as having a &#8220;very strong foundation&#8221;,  said developers will now be able to go about their business free from &#8220;inventive legal interpretations that define the very creator of a file-sharing tool as the responsible of copyright infringement.&#8221;</p>
<p>In celebration of the victory, Soto has released a brand new version of his Blubster software, for the first time powered by BitTorrent.</p>
<p>“While we have continued innovating with <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/most-important-torrent-site-in-years-to-take-the-internet-by-storm-131219/">Torrents.fm</a>, we can now also focus once again on further creating and offering advanced P2P technology across our other networks with this <a href="http://blubster.com">new version of Blubster</a> just launched today,&#8221; Soto told TF.</p>
<p>Traditionally Windows only, Blubster will soon debut on both Linux and Mac.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86600
title: Kim Dotcom Goes Head to Head With The MPAA’s Top Lawyer
uri: Kim-Dotcom-Goes-Head-to-Head-With-The-MPAA-s-Top-Lawyer
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/2dLH_3bDXgI/
content:
<p><img src="media/c830fb8c.mpaa-restricted.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/mpaa-restricted.png" alt="mpaa-restricted" width="250" height="146" class="alignright size-full wp-image-55207">Earlier this week the MPAA <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/movie-studios-demand-millions-megaupload-new-lawsuit-140408/">filed a lawsuit</a> against Megaupload, Kim Dotcom and two former employees of the defunct file-storage service. </p>
<p>In their complaint the movie studios repeat many of the claims that were laid out in the criminal case while demanding millions of dollars in damages.</p>
<p>But according to Dotcom the lawsuit is just a desperate attempt at an asset-grab by the MPAA because the criminal case against Megaupload is going to fail. </p>
<p>&#8220;The criminal case is failing. There will be no extradition. They are now trying to get at our seized assets with civil forfeitures. It&#8217;s a move of desperation,&#8221; Dotcom tells TF. </p>
<p>MPAA General Counsel Steven Fabrizio disagrees, and has told his side of the story to many news outlets this week. Dotcom and Fabrizio are usually not heard at the same time, but in a rare interview with <a href="http://www.radionz.co.nz/">Radio New Zealand</a> the two bumped heads.</p>
<p>Fabrizio was seemingly under the impression that he was doing a solo interview, but that changed when the reporter informed him that Dotcom was listening in on a second line. When she asked the MPAA lawyer whether he wanted to discuss the case with Dotcom there was a brief silence, but he eventually agreed. </p>
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<p>First MPAA&#8217;s General Counsel had the opportunity to explain what Megaupload did wrong and why. In line with their complaint, Fabrizio described the file-storage site as a business that was set up to facilitate and encourage copyright infringement. </p>
<p>&#8220;Megaupload was never a cloud storage service to begin with,&#8221; Fabrizio noted. &#8220;From its birth to its death, it was a service that was designed to profit from copyright infringement, and in fact, it did profit handsomely from copyright infringement.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;The proof of the pudding that it was not a storage service, is that almost 98 percent of the people who used Megaupload were not premium users. If you weren&#8217;t a premium user, and your content wasn&#8217;t downloaded frequently enough, then Megaupload would delete it,&#8221; he added. </p>
<p>Dotcom, who in private refers to the MPAA&#8217;s counsel as &#8220;Fabricatio,&#8221; because he is &#8220;script writing and &#8216;fabricating&#8217; Hollywood&#8217;s science fiction lawsuits&#8221;, later refuted the claim that Megaupload deleted files uploaded by free users. </p>
<p>&#8220;That is a blatant lie,&#8221; Dotcom said. &#8220;We have not purged any files from Megaupload for many years. If you were a non-premium user and you had an account with us that was free, your files would not be deleted.&#8221; </p>
<p>Fabrizio&#8217;s second argument was that Megaupload offered a rewards program which encouraged people to share large video files. Again, Dotcom contested this claim by pointing out that people only got paid for files smaller than 100 megabytes. Megaupload&#8217;s founder conceded that users could circumvent the limits by uploading split archives, but he stressed that the restriction was specifically put in place to discourage copyright infringement.</p>
<p>The third allegation Fabrizio made was that Megaupload employees had private conversations where they allegedly discussed the &#8220;pirate&#8221; status of their work. </p>
<p>&#8220;Internally they referred to themselves as modern pirates. Some of the employees and some of the co-defendants actually uploaded infringing popular movies themselves, so that they could be downloaded by others,&#8221; the MPAA&#8217;s top lawyer noted. </p>
<p>Again, Dotcom disagreed and explained that the &#8220;pirates&#8221; the employee referred to were Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. </p>
<p>&#8220;Yeah, well that&#8217;s complete nonsense, right. One of our employees who was admin staff and a developer has chatted with our CTO and he watched a documentary called Pirates of Silicon Valley. That was a movie about Steve Jobs and Bill Gates and how they stole the ideas from each other,&#8221; Dotcom said. </p>
<p>&#8220;He then made this remark to [the CTO] saying we are modern-day pirates, comparing himself to the attitude those guys had, simply because they were copying from each other and we were copying from our competitors and vice versa,&#8221; he added.  </p>
<p>Responding to the reporter&#8217;s question on why he wouldn&#8217;t go to the U.S. voluntarily to stand trial, Dotcom said that he <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-will-go-to-the-us-in-exchange-for-legal-funds-120710/">offered to do so</a>, but only on the condition that he would get access to his funds as well as bail, which the Department of Justice refused.</p>
<p>The reporter then switched back to Fabrizio, who didn&#8217;t seem to believe much of what Dotcom was saying. </p>
<p>&#8220;Mr. Dotcom can talk all he wants about his excuses, but the reality is that you can say anything you want if you&#8217;re not constrained by the truth of the facts that you&#8217;re saying,&#8221; Fabrizio said.  </p>
<p>Of course, the same also applies to the MPAA and Mr. Fabrizio&#8230; </p>
<p>The interview is an intriguing face-off, and the first time ever that the MPAA and Dotcom have gone head-to-head. It probably wont be the last time either, although the venue will very much depend on how the criminal proceedings and the civil case progress.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86644
title: Now the RIAA Sues Megaupload “For Massive Copyright Theft”
uri: Now-the-RIAA-Sues-Megaupload-For-Massive-Copyright-Theft
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/ZI15PtzhNj8/
content:
<p><a href="media/818b6dbe.megaupload.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/megaupload.jpg"><img src="media/5fd37436.megaupload.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/megaupload.jpg" alt="megaupload" width="180" height="154" class="alignright size-full wp-image-30407"></a>Rolled out to a background of what Kim Dotcom describes as a &#8220;<a href="http://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-goes-head-to-head-with-the-mpaas-top-lawyer-140410/">failing</a>&#8221; criminal process against both him and his former Megaupload associates, earlier this week the MPAA launched yet more litigation.</p>
<p><a href="http://torrentfreak.com/movie-studios-demand-millions-megaupload-new-lawsuit-140408/">In a complaint</a> filed at a Virginia District Court, the studios described Megaupload as a business designed and operated with copyright infringement in mind. Over the course of its life the site generated millions of dollars at the expense of the movie industry, the studios say, and for this Dotcom and partners Mathias Ortmann and Bram Van Der Kolk must be held accountable.</p>
<p>But fighting Hollywood is not the only thing that Dotcom has to worry about. In a fresh complaint filed yesterday in Virginia, Warner Music, UMG Recordings, Sony Music and Capitol Records teamed up against Megaupload, Vestor Limited, Kim Dotcom, Mathias Ortmann and Bram Van Der Kolk in pursuit of yet more millions in damages.</p>
<p>The RIAA&#8217;s 30-page complaint appears to be substantially the same as that filed by the movie studios, with claims that Dotcom and his associates &#8220;actively and intentionally&#8221; encouraged users to upload infringing copies of popular content in order to distribute those copies to millions of people without a license.</p>
<p>The complaint, which lists 87 specific copyright works from artists including Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Beyonce, Coldplay and David Guetta, treads familiar ground when it comes to the rewards program Megaupload was said to operate.</p>
<p>&#8220;Indeed, for several years, through what it called an &#8216;Uploader Rewards&#8217; program, Defendants even paid their users to upload popular content that Defendants knew infringed copyrights, until Defendants finally discontinued this program a few months before their indictment,&#8221; the RIAA <a href="media/7ca60d71.40C910E7-53DE-7CE4-3FCE-4DAE2F3B1D87.pdf" data-original-source="http://76.74.24.142/40C910E7-53DE-7CE4-3FCE-4DAE2F3B1D87.pdf">writes</a>.</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly the RIAA heavily references the US Government&#8217;s action against Megaupload, noting that in 2011 the site was designated a &#8220;notorious market&#8221; by the USTR. Of course, just a month later Megaupload was shut down and by the end of January 2012 its operators were being indicted on charges including criminal copyright infringement.</p>
<p>In common with their movie industry counterparts, the RIAA demands a trial by jury on allegations of direct copyright infringement, inducement of copyright infringement, vicarious and contributory infringement against all defendants. Millions of dollars are at stake but Kim Dotcom&#8217;s U.S. attorney Ira Rothken believes that the lawsuit will not succeed.</p>
<p>&#8220;The RIAA, MPAA, and DOJ are like three blind mice following each other in the pursuit of meritless copyright claims and [an] assault on copyright neutral cloud technology,&#8221; Rothken <a href="https://twitter.com/rothken/status/454384364638318592">said</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;Megaupload strongly believes it&#8217;s going to prevail.&#8221;</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86515
title: American Express Accuses Pirate Sites of ‘Stealing’ Their Ads
uri: American-Express-Accuses-Pirate-Sites-of-Stealing-Their-Ads
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/HHjeJefJtT4/
content:
<p><img src="media/c579e316.pirate-card.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/pirate-card.jpg" alt="pirate-card" width="250" height="210" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86520">Hurting the revenue streams of infringing sites has become a prime anti-piracy strategy for the entertainment industries in recent months.</p>
<p>By cutting off revenue through deals with payment providers and advertising agencies, they hope to make it less profitable to operate these sites.</p>
<p>This is not an easy task, as there are many advertising companies who are still eager to team up with &#8220;rogue&#8221; torrent sites and streaming portals. Likewise, site owners often implement tricks to hide the site where the ads are displayed. </p>
<p>As a result, several major brands see their ads showing up on sites they don&#8217;t want to be associated with. A few weeks ago a report from the <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/torrent-sites-6-million-ad-revenue-140219/">Digital Citizens Alliance</a> revealed that companies such as Amazon, American Express, Dell, Ford, Lego, McDonalds, Xfinity are contributing to the problem.</p>
<p>These problematic ad placements were also highlighted by a publication of the Australian media and entertainment group <a href="http://mumbrella.com.au/piracy-australians-brands-caught-ad-fraudsters-drive-global-piracy-industry-219134">mUmBRELLA</a>, which focused on ads appearing on streaming portals such as watchseries.lt and videoweed.es. The report shows that American Express and other brands had their ads on display, and that the companies were asked for comment.</p>
<p>As expected, none of the major brands said it willingly promoted its products through these pirate sites. However, the explanations that were given varied, and the response from American Express was the most intriguing of all.</p>
<p>The payment processor&#8217;s media agency Mindshare says that the ads in question weren&#8217;t real ads at all. Instead, American Express accuses the pirate sites of &#8220;photoshopping&#8221; their banners into their designs, to increase site credibility. </p>
<p><center><strong>AmEx on Videoweed</strong><br></br></center><a href="media/8ae9b7fc.amex-ad.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/amex-ad.jpg"><img src="media/8ae9b7fc.amex-ad.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/amex-ad.jpg" alt="amex-ad" width="660" height="514" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-86527"></a><center></center></p>
<p>Timothy Whitfield, general operations director at the responsible advertising placement outfit Xaxis, confirms this suspicion. </p>
<p>“Now when we dug into it what happened is that in some cases they were using basic photoshopping skills to take an old creative from Amex and building it into the homepage and into the video leads and on the homepage of the website,&#8221; Whitfield said</p>
<p>“It wasn’t a real creative it was just someone who had photoshopped it into the site. Now the reason that we think they were doing that is that they were working very hard to make themselves look like a reputable website,” he ads.</p>
<p>While this type of banner &#8216;theft&#8217; is certainly an option, TorrentFreak was unable to replicate the finding from a wide variety of locations. It is also unclear why the sites in question would give up valuable advertising placements. There is hardly any positive effect on the site&#8217;s reputation when it&#8217;s not done structurally.</p>
<p>The insurance company Allianz was also caught advertising on pirate sites, but here the explanation was a more common one. According to Whitfield, Xaxis didn&#8217;t place the ad directly, but instead it loaded through several iframes thereby disguising the website where it appeared.</p>
<p>Through this &#8220;nesting&#8221; technique pirate sites can trick advertising agencies and have higher paid ads.</p>
<p>“Every man and his dog blocks these websites – Watchseries.it, Videoweed etc. –  but because you’re seven layers deep you don’t know if it is one you have blocked or not,” Whitfield said in a comment.</p>
<p>Finally, HotelsCombined came up with yet another reason why their banners appeared on infringing websites. Again, without their explicit knowledge. </p>
<p>Kristen McKenzie, global PR and content manager of HotelsCombined, explained that it may have been the result of ad-retargeting. HotelsCombined tracks people who visit their website, and their advertising provider then displays ads on some of the sites these people visit afterwards.</p>
<p>“Our retargeting provider does not disclose their extensive list of networks, and with millions of different sites being accessed simultaneously in real-time, it is ultimately impossible for us to police where retargeting may occur,&#8221; McKenzie said.</p>
<p>The above shows that getting rid of banners on rogue sites is proving to be more difficult than simply compiling a blacklist. It&#8217;s a cat and mouse game, much like the efforts to go after hosting companies and payment providers. And if pirates are starting to use Photoshop to promote brands for free, it&#8217;s never-ending.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86658
title: 39% of Film Industry Professionals are Movie & TV Show Pirates
uri: 39-of-Film-Industry-Professionals-are-Movie-TV-Show-Pirates
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/DYDUerfydME/
content:
<p>Reports, research and surveys covering piracy-related issues have been released in their dozens in recent years, with many of them painting a picture of two distinct groups of people &#8211; those who illegally download and those who pay for content.</p>
<p>Of course, the reality is that many people who obtain content for free also cheerfully pay for content too. In fact, some studies have found that the entertainment industry&#8217;s best customers are also illegal downloaders.</p>
<p>But what if there was evidence to suggest that some of those pirates were actually the very people helping to create movies and TV shows? That&#8217;s one of the intriguing findings of a survey carried out by Stephen Follows, a <a href="http://stephenfollows.com/about-stephen/">writer and producer</a> with a keen interest in discovering what makes the industry tick.</p>
<p>&#8220;Many of the decisions in the film business are based on gut, opinion and gossip so I find it fascinating to research the topics and see what the numbers say,&#8221; Follows informs TorrentFreak.</p>
<p>&#8220;Piracy seemed like a ready topic to research so I added a few question into a survey I ran of 1,235 film industry professionals. The respondents were all people who had been to one of the three major films markets in the past five years &#8211; Cannes, Berlin or the American film Market.&#8221;</p>
<p>Follows first set of questions focused on whether the film professionals felt that piracy had affected their business. The responses were then split by industry sector and budgets the professionals work to.</p>
<p>Considering the anti-piracy rhetoric coming out of Hollywood during the past thirty years, it&#8217;s perhaps surprising that 53% of all respondents said that piracy had either no effect or a positive effect on their business.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/3fc2540d.survey1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/survey1.png" alt="Survey1"></center></p>
<p>Respondents were from all sectors of the industry including development, production, post-production, sales and distribution, exhibition and marketing. When the responses from each sector are broken down, one can see that respondents in sales and distribution &#8211; arguably the role that file-sharing fulfills &#8211; say they are most worried by piracy.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/dd0919e9.survey2.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/survey2.png" alt="survey 2"></center></p>
<p>Turning the tables to discover how the industry professionals are themselves affecting piracy rates couldn&#8217;t be approached directly for obvious reasons, so Follows tried a different tactic.</p>
<p>&#8220;When it came to researching how many of them actually illegally download movies I felt I needed to be a bit sneaky,&#8221; he told TF.</p>
<p>&#8220;To one randomly assigned set of participants I presented three statements<br>
about the industry (such as &#8216;I prefer to watch films on DVD than in the cinema&#8217;). I then asked the respondent how many of the three statements they agreed with, but only asking for the combined total (i.e. &#8216;I agree with two of the three statements&#8217;).&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Then, to a different randomly assigned set I offered the same three statements with the additional statement &#8216;I have illegally downloaded a TV show or feature film&#8217;. By subtracting the average number of agreed-with statements from the average of the control group I was able to calculate the percentage of people who agreed with the additional statement.&#8221;</p>
<p><Center><img src="media/1bef7317.survey3.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/survey3.png" alt="survey3"></center></p>
<p>As can be seen from the diagram, 39% of the industry respondents admitted to illegally downloading video content, with 61% claiming never to have done so. Interestingly, respondents working on lower budgets were more likely to have illegally downloaded than those working on big budgets.</p>
<p>&#8220;Only 2% of people working on films over $10 million admitted to illegally downloading a film or TV show, compared with 65% of those working on films under $1 million,&#8221; Follows explains.</p>
<p>Also of interest is how the percentage of those who admitted illegal downloading fluctuated according to industry sector, with 55% of those in marketing saying they have grabbed movies or TV shows without paying versus zero percent in exhibition (movie theaters).</p>
<p><center><img src="media/c8f6d5b3.survey4.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/survey4.png" alt="survey 4"></center></p>
<p>Sales and distribution, the sector that said they&#8217;d been most affected by piracy, accounted for the next lowest piracy &#8216;confession&#8217; rate of 28%.</p>
<p>&#8220;These are the middlemen behind the scenes of the industry who negotiate the rights between producers and cinemas/retailers. They are part of the reason why there are so many damned logos at the start of every movie,&#8221; Follows explains.</p>
<p>&#8220;They have the largest vested interest in stopping piracy as they don¹t have many other reasons for doing what they do (unlike filmmakers who might be wanting to create art/entertainment) and no other source of income, unlike cinemas who make a fortune on Coke/popcorn etc.&#8221;</p>
<p>Further reading on Stephen Follows&#8217; research and methodology can be found <a href="http://stephenfollows.com/methodology-of-my-film-industry-survey-2014/">here</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/stephenfollows">here</a>. A great video he produced for Friends of the Earth can be <a href="http://vimeo.com/23627164">watched on Vimeo</a>.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86360
title: Raging Anti-Piracy Boss Goes on a Tirade Against BitTorrent
uri: Raging-Anti-Piracy-Boss-Goes-on-a-Tirade-Against-BitTorrent
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/QpkgO_5y24o/
content:
<p><a href="media/fda21d31.steele.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/steele.jpg"><img src="media/fda21d31.steele.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/steele.jpg" alt="steele" width="200" height="242" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86739"></a>For a few years now, BitTorrent Inc. has done its best to position the company as a neutral and legitimate business. </p>
<p>In a recent interview with &#8220;That Was Me&#8221;, BitTorrent inventor Bram Cohen <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1kxe38_who-created-bittorrent-that-was-me_tech">explained</a> this challenge, as well as the general benefits BitTorrent has to offer. </p>
<p>The interview got some coverage here and there, including <a href="http://upstart.bizjournals.com/news/technology/2014/04/03/bram-cohne-of-bittorrent-no-pirate.html">at Upstart</a>, where it drew the attention of Robert Steele, Chief Technology Officer at anti-piracy outfit <a href="http://www.rightscorp.com/">Rightscorp</a>, a company that has made <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/tag/rightscorp/">quite a few headlines</a> this year. </p>
<p>Steele was not happy with the positive press coverage BitTorrent received from the media outlets, to say the least. Through Facebook (<a href="http://torrentfreak.com/facebook-uses-bittorrent-and-they-love-it-100625/">which uses BitTorrent</a>) he wrote two responses to the article, which are worth repeating for a variety of reasons.   </p>
<p>The comments appear to have been made late at night, possibly under influence, so we have left them intact and unedited for authenticity&#8217;s sake. Steele starts off by claiming that BitTorrent was designed for only one reason &#8211; to distribute pirated content.</p>
<p>&#8220;Absolutely ridiculous. Bram Cohen said in 2012 that &#8216;my goal is to destroy television&#8217;. BitTorrent&#8217;s architecture and features are designed for one reason only &#8211; to assist people in avoiding legitimate law enforcement efforts when they illgally consume other people&#8217;s intellectual property,&#8221; Steele begins.  </p>
<p>It may not come as a surprise that Steele is quoting Cohen out of context. At the time, BitTorrent&#8217;s founder was actually <a href="http://gigaom.com/2012/02/13/bram-cohen-kill-tv/">referring to</a> his new streaming technology, that would make it possible for anyone to stream video content to a large audience at virtually no cost. </p>
<p>Also, BitTorrent isn&#8217;t in any way helping people to avoid law enforcement, quite the contrary. People who use BitTorrent are easy to track down, which is in fact something that Rightscorp is banking its <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-chief-patents-pay-up-or-disconnect-scheme-121217/">entire business model</a> on. </p>
<p>In the second comment Steele brings in Accel, the venture capital firm that invested <a href="http://www.bittorrent.com/company/about/bittorrent_secures_20_million_in_venture_capital">millions of dollars</a> in BitTorrent Inc. According to the Rightscorp CTO Accel is also guilty of encouraging piracy, and he suggests that uTorrent should have been equipped with a blacklist of pirate torrent hashes.</p>
<p>&#8220;If Accell Partner&#8217;s BitTorrent was actually a legitimate business not directly involved in driving and facilitating piracy, they would have a blacklist of copyrighted hashes that the BT client won&#8217;t &#8216;share&#8217;. Dropbox does this. Why does Dropbox do this? Because they actually obey the law and respect content creators,&#8221; Steele says. </p>
<p>Steele touches on a sensitive subject here, as BitTorrent could indeed implement a blacklist to prevent some pirated content from being shared. TorrentFreak has raised this issue with BitTorrent Inc in the past, but we have never received a response on the matter. </p>
<p><a href="media/270a4ad1.rage.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/rage.png"><img src="media/270a4ad1.rage.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/rage.png" alt="rage" width="200" height="208" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86741"></a>Moving on from this sidetrack, Steele&#8217;s tirade in the first comment evolves into something that&#8217;s scarily incomprehensible.</p>
<p>&#8220;BTTracker software is not needed unless the goal is to enable other people outside of BitTorrent, Inc. to operate the systems that log the ip addresses of infringing computers. Why do they do it that way? Not becuase it is needed to move big files. Dropbox doesnt need trackers. They do it that way because Limewire got sued for hosting those lists.&#8221; Steele notes. </p>
<p>From what we understand, Steele doesn&#8217;t get why BitTorrent is decentralized, which is the entire basis of the technology. The comment is wrong on so many points that we almost doubt that Steele has any idea how BitTorrent works, or Limewire for that matter.</p>
<p>We surely hope that the investors in Rightscorp, which is a <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/piracy-monitoring-and-settlement-firm-goes-public-131028/">publicly traded company</a> now, aren&#8217;t reading along. </p>
<p>Finally, Rightscorp&#8217;s CTO suggests that BitTorrent and its backers should be taken to court, to pay back the damage they cause to the entertainment industries.</p>
<p>&#8220;Bram Cohen and Accell Partner&#8217;s BitTorrent should be held accountable for the wages and income they have helped take from hundreds of thousands of creative workers just like Limewire, Grokster, Aimster, Kazaa and Napster were.&#8221;</p>
<p>Right.</p>
<p>From the incoherent reasoning and the many grammar and spelling mistakes we have to assume that Steele wasn&#8217;t fully accountable when he wrote the comments. Perhaps the end of a busy week, or the end of an eventful night. </p>
<p>In any case, we&#8217;ve saved a copy of the comments below, just in case they are accidentally deleted. </p>
<p><center><strong>Steele&#8217;s comments</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/b0637ce1.steele-comments.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/steele-comments.png" alt="steele-comments" width="608" height="308" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-86750"></center></p>
<p><em>Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/huskyte/7512877940/">Michael Theis</a></em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86700
title: Why Are Porn Perfomers Scared to Talk About Internet Piracy?
uri: Why-Are-Porn-Perfomers-Scared-to-Talk-About-Internet-Piracy
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/xKl969yQE5I/
content:
<p>Internet porn is big &#8211; extremely big &#8211; and one of the reasons often cited for the rapid growth of the Internet. Every second there is an average of <a href="http://www.therichest.com/expensive-lifestyle/money/money-in-pornography-one-of-the-most-misunderstood-industries/">28,258 Internet users</a> watching porn online, together accounting for an estimated 35% of Internet downloads.</p>
<p>Over the past few years, porn industry claims that its very existence has become threatened by piracy have only increased. In addition to the hundreds of torrent sites offering content for no charge, a new type of site has emerged offering a staggering and immediately accessible range of content, at an entry price of absolutely free.</p>
<p>Due to their similarity with YouTube, these sites are known as &#8216;tube&#8217; sites. They operate in much the same way as YouTube, with content being uploaded by their users for viewing by others.</p>
<p>The space is dominated by giants including YouPorn and Pornhub, sites which have been heavily criticized due to the endless quantities of unauthorized content they host. But in the ever-evolving adult industry, things are not what they seem.</p>
<p><strong>Tube giant takeover</strong></p>
<p><a href="media/b2fe973c.youpornpornhub.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/youpornpornhub.jpg"><img src="media/6f4f6426.youpornpornhub.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/youpornpornhub.jpg" alt="youpornpornhub" width="195" height="143" class="alignright size-full wp-image-53045"></a>&#8216;Mindgeek&#8217; may not sound familiar to everyone, but this is the new name for one of the biggest companies in the adult industry.</p>
<p>Formerly known as Manwin, Mindgeek is a huge company that has scooped up some of the biggest tube sites in the world including YouPorn, Pornhub, Tube8, XTube, RedTube, ExtremeTube and SpankWire to name a few. All in all, Mindgeek is reported to be one of the top three consumers of bandwidth in the world. </p>
<p>While Mindgeek sites act within the law by operating an efficient DMCA process that removes user-uploaded content at the request of copyright holders, many adult producers and performers feel that the sites are hitting their bottom line. But while that might be true for some, for others a much more complex situation is emerging.</p>
<p>A report this week from ABC showed the news outlet attempting to solicit comments from adult industry performers. However, when the topic turned to piracy on tube sites, suddenly they didn&#8217;t want to talk.</p>
<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t talk about THAT part,&#8221; said one actress walking away from the camera. &#8220;I really don&#8217;t want to say anything because I don&#8217;t want them to ban me.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Them&#8221; in this context is Mindgeek, the operator of the tube sites offering unauthorized copies of porn movies uploaded by their users. So why are these actresses scared to talk about Mindgeek and what possible control could it have over them?</p>
<p><strong>Spending tube money</strong></p>
<p><a href="media/d579eec9.dollar-money.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/dollar-money.jpg"><img src="media/2efdb268.dollar-money.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/dollar-money.jpg" alt="dollar-money" width="180" height="135" class="alignright size-full wp-image-38877"></a>After making huge quantities of cash via its tube sites, Manwin/Mindgeek bought up several top studios including Brazzers, Digital Playground, Mofos, MyDirtyHobby and Twistys. The company also sucked up the Reality Kings brand and became an online partner of Playboy. This means that some of the performers complaining about piracy on tube sites are actually being paid by the company running them.</p>
<p>&#8220;Some people have asked me why i&#8217;m being a hypocrite and working for [Mindgeek companies],&#8221; one actress told ABC. &#8220;As a performer, boycotting these companies is not going to take any time, money or anything away from them because if I say no there are another hundred blondes who are willing to do it.&#8221;</p>
<p>Providing yet another twist, the report also shows adult actress and outspoken piracy critic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasha_Reign">Tasha Reign</a> arranging to have one of her illegally uploaded videos taken down from Mindgeek-owned PornHub.</p>
<p>Reign then admits that she too works for Mindgeek.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s like we&#8217;re stuck between a rock and a hard place in a way, because if I want to shoot content then I kinda have to shoot for [Mindgeek] because that&#8217;s the company that books me because they own&#8230;almost&#8230;everything,&#8221; Reign says.</p>
<p>In the meantime, it&#8217;s reported that a new porn video is made in the United States every 39 minutes. How many will be produced by Mindgeek companies or distributed via their tube sites remains to be seen, but in any event the company could be making money at one end, the other, or intriguingly &#8211; both ends at once. </p>
<p><center><iframe src='http://abcnews.go.com/video/embed?id=23285578' width='640' height='360' style='border:none;'></iframe><br/><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/us">ABC US News</a> | <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/business">ABC Business News</a></center></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86686
title: Why People Pirate Game of Thrones, a Global Cost Breakdown
uri: Why-People-Pirate-Game-of-Thrones-a-Global-Cost-Breakdown
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/8H2zFeyluIw/
content:
<p><img src="media/0f671074.thrones.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/thrones.jpg" class="alignright" alt="game of thrones">In a few hours a new episode of Game of Thrones will appear on BitTorrent, and a few days later roughly four million people will have downloaded this unofficial release.</p>
<p>Those who pirate the show have several reasons for doing so. In some countries there is simply no legal option available, however, the price tag that comes with many of the legal services is almost as big of a hurdle. </p>
<p>So what does it cost to access Game of Thrones legally in the countries where the show is most frequently pirated? We decided to take a look based on the <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/game-of-thrones-premiere-triggers-piracy-craze-140407/">list of countries</a> that had the most Game of Thrones file-sharers last week.</p>
<p>Below is a selection of the options people have in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and the Netherlands.</p>
<h4>Australia</h4>
<p>In Australia, Game of Thrones fans need a Foxtel subscription. When we look at <a href="https://www.foxtel.com.au/shop/packages-and-deals/?execution=e1s1">the packages offered</a> on the website the cheapest option appears to be the movie and drama combo, which costs $74 AUD (~ 70 USD) per month. </p>
<p>However, the minimum subscription term is six months, which with the added costs adds up to $520 AUD (~ 490 USD).</p>
<p>Assuming that someone&#8217;s only interested in watching Game of Thrones, an Australian fan will have to pay $52 AUD (~ 49 USD) per episode, which is rather expensive. </p>
<p>While it&#8217;s not advertised as any of the standard options, there&#8217;s also the Foxtel Play subscription. This allows people to <a href="http://www.foxtel.com.au/foxtelplay/gameofthrones/default.htm">watch Game of Thrones</a> on demand on a variety of devices. The regular cost of this plan is $50 AUD (~ 50 USD) per month, and there&#8217;s currently an offer to get the first three months for $35 AUD (~ 33 USD). The Foxtel website notes that there is no long contract, which makes this option considerably cheaper. </p>
<h4>The United States</h4>
<p>In the United States there are several options available, which vary per cable provider. The cost of most HBO subscriptions are between $15 and $25 per month, depending on where you live and what your current plan is. </p>
<p>The downside, in addition to being locked in for several months sometimes, is that the HBO deals require a cable/Internet subscription. This makes the total package considerably more expensive, <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/6/5069882/home-theater-of-pain-pricing-out-the-cheapest-hbo-plus-internet">more than $100 per month</a> in some cases.</p>
<p>But then again, pirates need an Internet subscription anyway.</p>
<h4>The United Kingdom</h4>
<p>In the United Kingdom Game of Thrones is available via <a href="http://www.sky.com/shop/">Sky Atlantic</a>. The costs are £21.50 (36 USD) a month, but with a minimum contract period of 12 months. This means that for those who are only interested in Game of Thrones, there&#8217;s a price tag of £25.80 per episode. </p>
<p>The good news is that UK viewers can watch the episodes simultaneously with the US broadcast, which <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/apr/08/game-of-thrones-opener-watched-uk-9000-sky-atlantic-hbo">9,000 people did</a> this past Sunday. </p>
<p>Update: Sky also offers an online &#8220;<a href="http://www.nowtv.com/promo/gameofthrones">Now TV</a>&#8221; entertainment pass without a contract. Now TV is currently available at an introductory rate of £4.99 per month.</p>
<h4>Canada</h4>
<p>In Canada, Game of Thrones comes in a package of The Movie Network. The price is roughly $20 CAD (~ 18 USD) per month on both Bell and Rogers. This also requires a digital or satellite TV subscription, which drives the price up to <a href="media/a88fbbf3.5JxA1y9.png" data-original-source="http://i.imgur.com/5JxA1y9.png">over $60 CAD</a> per month for those who don&#8217;t have one. </p>
<p>Again, as with the previous examples, some plans require a several-months-long contract which makes it less interesting for those who only want to watch Game of Thrones.</p>
<h4>The Netherlands</h4>
<p>In the Netherlands HBO can be ordered as an add-on to most standard cable TV subscriptions. The standard price is roughly 15 euros (~ 21 USD) per month, and several providers allow subscribers to cancel after a month. </p>
<p>The cheapest cable subscriptions in the Netherlands average around 10 euros, which brings the total package to roughly 25 euros (~ 35 USD) per month. </p>
<p>Interestingly, HBO NL offers the first episode of season 4 for free, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMcb_xAGOkk">on YouTube</a>. Of course, this is only available to people from the Netherlands. </p>
<h4>Conclusion</h4>
<p>The above shows that Game of Thrones certainly doesn&#8217;t come cheap, especially not for the true cable-cutters who have no interest in the other content it&#8217;s bundled with. </p>
<p>While most people will agree that paying for content is the right thing to do, it&#8217;s not always an intuitive choice when a single episode is twice as expensive as a box office ticket for the average Hollywood blockbuster. </p>
<p>So do all these pirates have a point or not? </p>
<p>According to Bruce Meagher, corporate director of &#8220;$52 AUD per episode&#8221; Foxtel, <a href="http://mumbrella.com.au/piracy-least-lannisters-pay-debts-219984">they do not</a>. </p>
<p>&#8220;What we are left with is an argument at the margins about a few dollars. Yet some people still feel that they should be entitled to take this show for free without the consent of its creators rather than pay a reasonable price for an extraordinary product,&#8221; he says. </p>
<p>&#8220;The Lannisters may not be a pleasant lot, but they, at least, always pay their debts,&#8221; he adds.</p>
<p>So what do you think?</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86769
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 04/14/14
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-04-14-14
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/bC7qWS50004/
content:
<p><img src="media/2ccf95ce.themachine.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/themachine.jpg" alt="themachine" width="250" height="174" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86771">This week we have four newcomers in our chart.</p>
<p>The Machine is the most downloaded movie this week.</p>
<p>The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. All the movies in the list are BD/DVDrips unless stated otherwise.</p>
<p><a href="http://TorrentFreak.com/category/dvdrip/feed/"><strong>RSS feed</strong></a> for the weekly movie download chart.</p>
<table class="css hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="12%"><strong>Ranking</strong></th>
<th width="15%"><strong>(<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-pirated-movies-of-the-week-140407/">last week</a>)</strong></th>
<th><strong>Movie</strong></th>
<th width="18%"><strong>IMDb Rating / Trailer</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="4">torrentfreak.com</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_machine_2013/">The Machine</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2317225/">6.3</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIuT4HT8IMg">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(1)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ride_along_2014/">Ride Along</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1408253/?">6.4</a> / <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5klp6rkHIks">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_nut_job/">The Nut Job</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1821658/">5.7</a> / <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYZfr06HDdM">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(4)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/47_ronin/">47 Ronin</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1335975/">6.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwYhrgDc1uE">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/joe_2013/">Joe</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2382396/">7.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WPLVEUx5AU">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_secret_life_of_walter_mitty_2013/">The Secret Life of Walter Mitty</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0359950/">7.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1Xk-yTuFEU">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(5)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_hobbit_the_desolation_of_smaug/">The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1170358/?">8.2</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfflhfn1W-o">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sparks_2013/">Sparks</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2234429/">6.3</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBJPJQxrs_k">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/captain_america_the_winter_soldier_2014/">Captain America: The Winter Soldier</a> (CAM)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1843866/">8.3</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SlILk2WMTI">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(8)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/frozen_2013/">Frozen</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294629/">8.1</a> / <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbQm5doF_Uc">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86805
title: Ryushare File-Host Owner Arrested – Cash, Cars, Motorcycles Seized
uri: Ryushare-File-Host-Owner-Arrested-Cash-Cars-Motorcycles-Seized
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/TON6HJEXjks/
content:
<p><a href="media/0ad856e6.ryushare.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ryushare.jpg"><img src="media/0ad856e6.ryushare.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ryushare.jpg" alt="ryushare" width="180" height="81" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86810"></a>There are many hundreds, probably thousands, of file-hosting sites online, each serving their own area of the market. One only has to watch discussion on so-called warez forums to discover which ones are popular with pirates.</p>
<p>Ryushare was one such site. Whether its operators deliberately influenced that is up for debate, but healthy affiliate and rewards programs certainly made it more attractive than similar sites without them. The site grew steeply in the latter half of 2012, peaking near the Alexa 500 at the turn of 2013.</p>
<p>But while the mere existence of a reward program doesn&#8217;t signal a breach of the law, Ryushare clearly had other legal problems. Earlier this month the site completely disappeared alongside reports that its operators had been arrested.</p>
<p>This weekend a more detailed report from the Vietnamese government stated that police had shut down an operation dedicated to the illegal distribution of pornography.</p>
<p>According to the report, Nguyen Duc Nhat, the Vietnamese owner of Ryushare, was arrested along with three others. This led to the shutdown of the site which according to police had been operating 500 overseas servers.</p>
<p><center><strong>The alleged operators of Ryushare</strong><img src="media/1cc755ef.ryushare22.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ryushare22.png" alt="Ryushare"></center></p>
<p>Authorities <a href="http://antv.gov.vn/anninhtrattu/theo-chuyen-an-triet-pha-trang-web-den/5058.html">say</a> that during its lifetime Ryushare generated profits of 132,000,000,000 Vietnamese dong, or $6.2 million for those who prefer less zeros.</p>
<p>During the course of the arrests, police say they seized two cars, three motorcycles, five laptops and five accounts containing around $355,000.</p>
<p>The Ryushare site remains offline and rumors of a resurrection have yet to come true. Authorities say the investigation continues.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86782
title: UK Prime Minister Asked for Permanent Police Anti-Piracy Unit Funding
uri: UK-Prime-Minister-Asked-for-Permanent-Police-Anti-Piracy-Unit-Funding
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Z7_FZ0Nl4b0/
content:
<p><a href="media/bc6e239e.cityoflondonpolice.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/cityoflondonpolice.jpg"><img src="media/31176dbb.cityoflondonpolice.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cityoflondonpolice.jpg" alt="cityoflondonpolice" width="200" height="82" class="alignright size-full wp-image-71397"></a>Last summer it became evident that police in the UK would be taking a greater interest in the activities of torrent, streaming and other sharing sites. Announcing the creation of the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU), last year City of London Police said that sites would be pressured to step into line, close, or face the consequences.</p>
<p>The unit, which has already claimed the scalps of several smaller domains, including the <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/police-arrest-streaming-site-admin-several-domains-suspended-140409/">forced shutdown</a> last week of a handful of sports-stream related sites, has been active on various fronts. In addition to putting registrars under pressure to close domains, the unit is also <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/city-of-london-police-launches-pirate-site-blacklist-for-advertisers-140331/">working with advertisers</a> in an attempt to cut off advertising revenue.</p>
<p>PIPCU is good news for rightsholders in several ways, not least since the anti-piracy battles of groups such as the BPI and FACT are now being partly financed by the UK taxpayer. PIPCU is currently funded by the Department for Business, Innovation &#038; Skills&#8217; Intellectual Property Office, to the tune of £2.56m over two years.</p>
<p>The funding, which was allocated on a temporary basis, will expire in 2015 if the government doesn&#8217;t allocate additional finances. It could fall back into private hands, but that would mean a significant loss of &#8216;clout&#8217; for the companies relying on PIPCU&#8217;s authority. However, if the UK Prime Minister&#8217;s Intellectual Property Adviser has anything to do with it, that won&#8217;t happen.</p>
<p>In a letter to David Cameron and Home Secretary Theresa May, Mike Weatherley MP praised the &#8220;excellent work&#8221; of PIPCU and urged the funding of the unit on a permanent basis.</p>
<p>“I appreciate that funding for this new unit is not permanent. However, I would like to put on record my support for committing future funding to fighting IP crime and boosting the current level of financial support that is available for PIPCU,&#8221; Weatherley wrote. &#8220;As I am sure that you are aware, the creative industries add over £70 billion to our economy each year and so it really is in our national interest to protect that revenue.&#8221;</p>
<p>As previously reported, PIPCU is currently focusing on cutting off ad revenue to &#8216;pirate&#8217; sites. Speaking to fellow Conservatives, Weatherley <a href="http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/04/mike-weatherley-mp-we-should-follow-the-money-to-strangle-websites-that-rip-off-others-intellectual-property.html">said</a> if that could be done the effects would be dramatic.</p>
<p>&#8220;If we stop advertisers from shoveling money into illegal sites, we can stop a lot of the content. Possibly as much as 95 per cent according to the newly formed national Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU),&#8221; Weatherley said.</p>
<p>&#8220;If you value the NHS [National Health Service], you should also value IP and our creative industries, as together they help pay for the services in this country that we all cherish. If we take the wrong approach, national services that we take for granted will have a huge budget shortfall.&#8221; </p>
<p>There are currently no formal indications that PIPCU will get the permanent funding it needs to continue its work but considering the backing it has among the music and movie industries (not to mention the Prime Minister&#8217;s top IP advisor) it seems unthinkable that a couple of million a year won&#8217;t be found from somewhere.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86747
title: Cinefi Streams Movie and TV-Torrents Straight to Your Browser
uri: Cinefi-Streams-Movie-and-TV-Torrents-Straight-to-Your-Browser
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/hoPFXAckv1c/
content:
<p><img src="media/a3ab83e4.cinefy.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cinefy.png" alt="cinefi" width="275" height="168" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86780">A few weeks ago a new piece of software called &#8220;Popcorn Time&#8221; <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/open-source-torrent-streaming-a-netflix-for-pirates-140308/">made headlines</a> around the world. </p>
<p>The key to this success was the app&#8217;s sheer simplicity, something that was missing from most of the earlier torrent streaming services. Today, a new torrent streaming service launched, one that&#8217;s just as simple, but doesn&#8217;t require any extra software.</p>
<p>Using only HTML5 technology, <a href="http://www.cinefi.com/">Cinefi</a> can stream video torrents directly to a browser. There is no need to install any software or plugins and it works on every platform. This is not limited to PCs and laptops either, since it also includes mobile devices and game consoles. </p>
<p>TorrentFreak caught up with the main developer Rich, who says that the main motivation to develop the service was to see if it was possible to make a torrent streaming tool without any additions.</p>
<p>&#8220;We started the project for the sheer challenge of seeing if we could stream torrents directly to the browser without any other software,&#8221; Rick explains to TF.</p>
<p>The result is a web service that looks awfully simple, but works as advertised. Similar to Popcorn Time, it taps into a database of YTS movies, but users can also stream other videos by pasting a magnet link into the search box. </p>
<p>&#8220;Right now you can search for movies, which come from YTS, but Cinefi will play any torrent or magnet link, except videos encoded in AVI. Just paste and click,&#8221; Rich says.</p>
<p>As can be seen below, a trailer of the fourth Game of Thrones season plays just fine after a few seconds of loading time. As with any torrent streaming service, the playback is the smoothest for files that have relatively many seeders.</p>
<p><center><strong>Cinefi: Game of Thrones Trailer</strong><br></br></center><center><a href="media/7aa0f1ce.cinefy-gottrailer.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cinefy-gottrailer.jpg"><img src="media/7aa0f1ce.cinefy-gottrailer.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cinefy-gottrailer.jpg" alt="cinefy-gottrailer" width="639" height="601" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-86779"></a></center></p>
<p>Cinefi is closed source and uses a &#8220;patent-pending technology&#8221; which blends several HTML5 technologies. According to the developer, this makes it the first torrent streaming service of its kind, and since it doesn&#8217;t depend on extra software, it can be used by pretty much anyone, anywhere. </p>
<p>Of course, the entertainment industries are not going to cheer on this development, but the technology itself isn&#8217;t infringing on any copyrights according to the Cinefi team. In fact, they advise people not to use the service in any way that might break the law. </p>
<p>&#8220;As stated on the site, the site is legal to use, but downloading illegal torrents isn&#8217;t.  We don&#8217;t encourage any illegal activity on the site. We do not host or store any torrents,&#8221; Rich tells TF. </p>
<p>&#8220;We merely provide the technology and it is up to the user&#8217;s discretion,&#8221; he adds.</p>
<p>Those who are interested can head over to <a href="http://www.cinefi.com/">Cinefi.com</a> and take the service for a spin, with <a href="http://kickass.to/tpb-afk-2013-480p-h264-simonklose-t7070948.html#main">this torrent</a> for example. It&#8217;s free to use, and will remain so for the foreseeable future.</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> Cinefi appears to have some trouble loading every now and then, probably due to the sudden increase in vsitors.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86821
title: Game of Thrones Sets New Torrent Swarm Record
uri: Game-of-Thrones-Sets-New-Torrent-Swarm-Record
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/mgjBazCTWX8/
content:
<p><img src="media/0f671074.thrones.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/thrones.jpg" alt="thrones" width="248" height="131" class="alignright size-full wp-image-51268"> Yesterday the second episode of Game of Thrones&#8217; fourth season made its way onto the Internet. As expected, this generated quite a bit of activity on various torrent sites.</p>
<p>From all over the world people virtually gathered around the various pirated copies of the show, breaking the record for the largest BitTorrent swarm ever in the process.</p>
<p>A few hours after the second episode came online the Demonii tracker reported that 193,418 people where sharing one single torrent. 145,594 had a complete copy of the episode and continued to upload, while 47,824 were still downloading the file.</p>
<p>These are unprecedented numbers &#8211; never before have 193,418 people shared a single file simultaneously. The previous record was set last year, when the season finale of Game of Thrones had <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/games-of-thrones-season-finale-sets-new-piracy-record-130610/">171,572 people</a> sharing on a single tracker.</p>
<p>Last week&#8217;s season opening, on the other hand, had &#8220;only&#8221; 140,000 people sharing the most active torrent. There wasn&#8217;t per se less interest in this episode, but at the time the downloaders were spread out more across different torrents.</p>
<p><center><strong>Game of Thrones&#8217; new file-sharing record</strong><br></br></center><center><a href="media/edc2c87e.trackers-got-record.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/trackers-got-record.jpg"><img src="media/edc2c87e.trackers-got-record.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/trackers-got-record.jpg" alt="trackers-got-record" width="635" height="207" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-86827"></a></center></p>
<p>In addition to this record-breaking torrent, there were also several other Game of Thrones torrents out there with tens of thousands of people sharing. </p>
<p>Counting all the different releases it’s estimated that the latest Game of Thrones episode was downloaded roughly 1.5 million times during the first day. This makes the show the likely candidate to be crowned the most-downloaded TV-show at the end of the year.</p>
<p>As previously revealed, Game of Thrones downloaders come from <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/game-of-thrones-premiere-triggers-piracy-craze-140407/">all over the world</a>. Data gathered during the first 12 hours after the release last week revealed that most downloaders came from Australia, followed by the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and The Netherlands.</p>
<p>Interestingly, Game of Thrones is available through legal channels in all countries listed above, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/why-people-pirate-game-of-thrones-a-global-cost-breakdown-140413/">albeit not cheaply</a>.</p>
<p>The current record probably won&#8217;t last for long. The show&#8217;s ratings generally go up throughout the season, and so do the unauthorized downloads. This makes it likely that the barrier of 200,000 simultaneous file-sharers will be broken during the weeks to come.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86838
title: Square Enix: DRM Boosts Profits and It’s Here to Stay
uri: Square-Enix-DRM-Boosts-Profits-and-It-s-Here-to-Stay
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/hqq2NBaHfMw/
content:
<p><a href="media/162799fa.square.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/square.jpg"><img src="media/162799fa.square.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/square.jpg" alt="square" width="190" height="92" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86844"></a>Even in the early 1980s illegal copies of games were viewed as lost sales. In response, software producers built anti-copying mechanisms into their cassette-based content.</p>
<p>While these systems made copying more awkward, they did very little to stop piracy. Also, it didn&#8217;t take long for legitimate buyers to begin noticing something strange. For some reason, games with copy protection errored more often when loading than games without it.</p>
<p>Fast forward more than 30 years and technology is almost unrecognizable from those early 8 bit days, but perhaps surprisingly today&#8217;s copy protection &#8211; or DRM as we now know it &#8211; is still producing conundrums similar to those of three decades ago.</p>
<p>People who use pirate copies these days are generally unaffected by DRM since it is removed in advance, whereas legitimate buyers often have to jump through several hoops in order to get their products running as expected. This punishing of &#8216;honest&#8217; customers is at the root of most DRM complaints.</p>
<p>Still, many of the world&#8217;s games developers see DRM as a necessary evil, claiming that without it copying would continue completely unchecked and as a result sales would decline. One such company is Square Enix, the gaming giant behind Final Fantasy and many dozens of other iconic cross-platform titles.</p>
<p>Adam Sullivan, Square Enix America&#8217;s Senior Manager of Business and Legal Affairs, informs TorrentFreak that the company&#8217;s choice to include DRM in its products has its roots in a simple concept &#8211; maximizing revenue.</p>
<p>&#8220;The primary benefit to us is the same as with any business: profit,&#8221; Sullivan explains.</p>
<p>So does DRM really work?</p>
<p>&#8220;We have a well-known reputation for being very protective of our IPs, which does deter many would-be pirates,&#8221; Sullivan adds. &#8220;However, effectiveness is notoriously difficult to measure — in short, we rely on the data available to us through our sales team and various vendors, along with consumer feedback.&#8221; </p>
<p><a href="media/2d9712c0.drm-no.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/drm-no.jpg"><img src="media/986db98e.drm-no.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/drm-no.jpg" alt="drm-no" width="175" height="206" class="alignright size-full wp-image-8535"></a>Of course, consumer feedback in the Internet space often includes fierce criticism of DRM, especially when it goes catastrophically wrong, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/spore-most-pirated-game-ever-thanks-to-drm-080913/">as it has done</a> on a number of <a href="http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/08/simcity-5-players-petition-offline-mode">occasions</a> in recent years. So has Square Enix learned from these mistakes?</p>
<p>&#8220;The key to DRM is that it can’t interfere with the customer’s ability to play the game,&#8221; Sullivan says.</p>
<p>&#8220;It’s not uncommon for people to get a new computer every few years, or to have multiple computers. Sometimes they don’t have reliable internet connections. There’s no perfect solution yet.&#8221;</p>
<p>But while the problems persist, Sullivan says that Square Enix will pursue its anti-piracy strategy while considering the factors that are most important to the company and the game&#8217;s target audience. So is DRM here to stay?</p>
<p>&#8220;This depends on your definition of DRM, but generally yes &#8212; I think DRM will be essential for the foreseeable future,&#8221; Sullivan explains.</p>
<p>&#8220;When F2P [free-to-play] began trending, lots of people thought it would be the death of DRM. I remember talking with one F2P developer who couldn’t imagine why hackers would want to attack his game, since it was free and all. Two months later they were barraged with several hacks.</p>
<p>&#8220;So long as we’re concerned about things like data privacy, accounting sharing and hacking, we’ll need some form of DRM,&#8221; Square Enix America&#8217;s Head of Legal concludes.</p>
<p>More of Square Enix&#8217;s thoughts on anti-piracy and DRM initiatives will be heard during the <a href="http://www.antipiracycontentsummit.com/SpeakerInfo.aspx?tp_spkid=83964">Anti-Piracy and Content Protection Summit</a> in Los Angeles this summer where Adam Sullivan will be a guest speaker.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=86867
title: Android Pirate Agrees To Work Undercover For the Feds
uri: Android-Pirate-Agrees-To-Work-Undercover-For-the-Feds
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/6IgPFQxK0Aw/
content:
<p><a href="media/21abd508.snappz.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/snappz.jpg"><img src="media/21abd508.snappz.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/snappz.jpg" alt="snappz" width="180" height="158" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86897"></a>In 2012, three Android-focused websites <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/fbi-seizes-pirate-android-app-domains-120822/">were seized</a> by the Department of Justice. With help from French and Dutch police, the FBI took over applanet.net, appbucket.net and snappzmarket.com, a trio of so-called &#8216;rogue&#8217; app stores. </p>
<p>Carrying out several arrests the authorities heralded the operation as the first of its kind, alongside claims that together the sites had facilitated the piracy of more than two million apps.</p>
<p>Last month the Department of Justice announced that two of the three admins of Appbucket had <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/android-app-pirates-plead-guilty-criminal-copyright-infringement-140325/">entered guilty pleas</a> to charges of criminal copyright infringement and would be sentenced in June.</p>
<p>Yesterday the DoJ reported fresh news on the third defendant. Appbucket&#8217;s Thomas Pace, 38, of Oregon City, Oregon, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and will be sentenced in July.</p>
<p>As <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/civil-rights-lawyer-to-fight-u-s-govt-in-internet-piracy-case-140331/">reported</a> in late March, the former operator of Applanet says he intends to fight the U.S. Government. However, the same definitely cannot be said about Kody Jon Peterson of Clermont, Florida.</p>
<p>The 22-year-old, who was involved in the operations of SnappzMarket, pleaded guilty this week to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement. He admitted being involved in the illegal copying and distribution of more than a million pirated Android apps with a retail value of $1.7 million. His sentencing date has not been set, but even when that&#8217;s over his debt to the government may still not be paid.</p>
<p>As part of his guilty plea, Peterson entered into a plea agreement in which he gave up his right to be tried by a jury and any right to an appeal. He also accepted that he could be jailed for up to five years, be subjected to supervised release of up to three years, be hit with a $250,000 fine, and have to pay restitution to the victims of his crimes.</p>
<p><a href="media/5f0dfd25.spy.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/spy.jpg"><img src="media/3d881413.spy.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/spy.jpg" alt="spy" width="200" height="177" class="alignright size-full wp-image-39770"></a>Peterson also agreed to cooperate with the authorities in the investigation, including producing all relevant records and attending interviews when required. However, in addition to more standard types of cooperation, the 22-year-old also agreed to go much further. A copy of his plea agreement obtained by TF reveals that Peterson has agreed to work undercover for the Government.</p>
<p>&#8220;Upon request by the Government, the Defendant agrees to act in an undercover investigative capacity to the best of his ability,&#8221; the agreement reads.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Defendant agrees that Defendant will make himself available to the law enforcement agents designated by the Government, will fully comply with all reasonable instructions given by such agents, and will allow such agents to monitor and record conversations and other interactions with persons suspected of criminal activity.&#8221;</p>
<p>The plea agreement also notes that in order to facilitate this work, Government attorneys and agents are allowed to contact Peterson on no notice and communicate with him without his own attorney being present. The extent of Peterson&#8217;s cooperation will eventually be detailed to the sentencing court and if it is deemed to be &#8220;substantial&#8221; then the Government will file a motion to have his sentence reduced.</p>
<p>But despite the agreements, Peterson has another huge problem to face. According to court documents he is an immigrant to the United States and as such a guilty plea could see him removed from the country. Whether he will be allowed to stay will be the subject of a separate proceeding but given his agreement to work undercover it seems unlikely the Government would immediately choose to eject such a valuable asset.</p>
<p>In the meantime, former associates and contacts of Peterson could potentially be talking online to him right now, with a FBI agent listening in over his shoulder and recording everything being said.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/copyright-issues/">copyright</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/category/pirate-talk/">file-sharing</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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