# articles

feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=164739
title: Google, Facebook, VPNs, and Others Risk Huge Fines Under Proposed Law
uri: Google-Facebook-VPNs-and-Others-Risk-Huge-Fines-Under-Proposed-Law
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/1ByKkZjGImY/
content:
<p><a href="media/38c76fe8.smallclaimsfinepenaltycourt.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/smallclaimsfinepenaltycourt.jpg"><img src="media/82334688.smallclaimsfinepenaltycourt.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/smallclaimsfinepenaltycourt.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="176" class="alignright size-full wp-image-148048"></a>Legislation <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/russian-govt-approves-fines-for-search-engines-linking-to-banned-vpns-180608/">passed last year</a> in Russia saw the creation of a centralized database of permanently blocked sites.</p>
<p>Search companies are required to connect their systems to this database (known locally as FGIS) so that such banned sites can be preemptively removed from search results. However, while most companies are acting as required, Google has thus far failed to connect to the resource.</p>
<p>As a result, Google was recently found to be in breach of federal law. The company was given a warning and told to connect within three days and begin filtering, but the tech giant failed to do so. It now faces an administrative fine of between 500,000 and 700,000 rubles (US$7,611 to US$10,656). On Monday, telecoms regulator Roscomnadzor confirmed it had officially opened a case against the US search giant.</p>
<p>While <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/google-meets-russian-govt-body-to-discuss-ongoing-piracy-issues-181116/">negotiations are still underway</a> for Google to comply moving forward, it&#8217;s now clear that small fines don&#8217;t act as a deterrent to companies with huge revenue streams. It&#8217;s something the Russian government now wishes to address.</p>
<p>As part of reforms under consideration to tackle these types of violations, tech companies could face fines up to 1% of local revenue. In Google&#8217;s case, that&#8217;s around 450.2 million rubles (US$6.7m).</p>
<p>Roscomnadzor says that Google, Facebook, Telegram and other tech giants remain in breach of various local laws, including failure to hand over encryption keys to the government and neglecting to hold personal data of citizens locally in Russia.</p>
<p>A Reuters source told the news outlet that members of the presidential administration have already sent the proposals to representatives of several Russian and foreign Internet companies to receive feedback on the amendments.</p>
<p>The proposals, seen by Reuters but not published, indicate amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses of Russia, which will see fines of 1% of annual revenue for repeated infringements of local law, with a minimum fine of 1.5 million rubles (US$22,400) if the company makes no money locally.</p>
<p>While the draft proposals appear to target large companies such as Google, Facebook and local search giant Yandex, services that provide access to blocked sites (such as <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPNs</a> and proxy services) will also be covered the legislation. </p>
<p>Messenger services like Telegram are also a target and even Netflix, if the company collects personal data of Russian citizens and stores it outside the country.</p>
<p>Additionally, companies that repeatedly breach the regulations could be subject to web-blocking themselves, something that Yandex was threatened with earlier this year in a response to a copyright complaint from several TV companies.</p>
<p>A source from an unnamed &#8216;foreign&#8217; Internet company told <a href="https://ru.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idRUKCN1NV0CI-ORUBS">Reuters</a> that working out the precise levels of fines could be difficult for the Russian government.</p>
<p>“Yes, for foreign companies [the levels of fines under consideration] are already a substantial amount, but it is not clear how they will be calculated and charged,&#8221; the source said.</p>
<p>&#8220;Many foreign companies do not have a legal entity in Russia, while others have only a representative office that performs only marketing functions, and therefore its revenue is minimal. How much a company really earns in Russia, only the company knows.”</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=164948
title: Flixtor Promises to Return More Resilient and Better than Ever
uri: Flixtor-Promises-to-Return-More-Resilient-and-Better-than-Ever
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/tXJTpdMU3I4/
content:
<p><img src="media/5d9729ce.phoenix-e1496819402223.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/phoenix-e1496819402223.png" alt="" width="250" height="170" class="alignright size-full wp-image-140039">Last Tuesday Flixtor <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/flixtor-offline-following-mysterious-domain-updates-181122/">became unreachable</a> after its domain nameservers were updated. </p>
<p>Initially, the domain name&#8217;s A records were removed, and later they were set to localhost, making the site unavailable. </p>
<p>Without any official word from the operators, many users feared that this could be the end of their favorite streaming site. This was particularly painful for those who paid for VIP access.</p>
<p>For these users, there is a glimmer of hope today. All of a sudden, the <a href="https://www.flixtor.to/">Flixtor</a> website is accessible again. The usual list of movies and TV-shows is missing due to an unexplained catastrophe, but that will change. </p>
<p>&#8220;As you&#8217;ve probably noticed, Flixtor is down. And the way it was done is difficult to recover from. We&#8217;re pretty heartbroken because all the work and love we&#8217;ve put into it went down the drain,&#8221; the notice reads.</p>
<p>The Flixtor crew doesn&#8217;t provide any further details on what happened, but they&#8217;re working on a full return. The site will be rebuilt with new video software, a process that will likely take some time.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re currently writing fresh new video software, setting up new hardware and we&#8217;ve started with the rebuild of our complete video library. Please be patient because unfortunately, this takes time.&#8221;</p>
<p><center><strong>The old Flixtor</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/136843d3.flixtor-1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/flixtor-1.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="477" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-164541"></center></p>
<p>The team promises to compensate its VIP users when the site is back, encouraging them to keep their receipts around. Even for those without a receipt, they&#8217;ll figure something out. </p>
<p>As often happens when a site goes offline, many copycats appear. This hasn&#8217;t been any different in Flixtor&#8217;s case and the operators caution users to beware of these impostors.</p>
<p>&#8220;Please be aware that every other site claiming that they&#8217;re (the new) Flixtor is lying. It should be obvious because we don&#8217;t have advertisements, no pop-ups, no malware, no viruses, no tracking, no logging etc. And even if a site says they&#8217;re us and/or looks like us, it&#8217;s really not us,&#8221; they write. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Flixtor team apologizes for any inconvenience they have caused. They&#8217;re determined to make a comeback and if there&#8217;s an update on the relaunch date it will be posted on the site. </p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ll be back. More resilient and better than ever,&#8221; they write. </p>
<p><center><strong>Flixtor&#8217;s message</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/1be34a61.flixmessage.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/flixmessage.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="455" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-164950"></center></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=164401
title: Sci-Hub “Pirate Bay of Science” Blocked in Russia Over Medical Studies
uri: Sci-Hub-Pirate-Bay-of-Science-Blocked-in-Russia-Over-Medical-Stu
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/xFu31K5pl9I/
content:
<p><a href="media/bbad83c7.sci-hub1.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/sci-hub1.png"><img src="media/a00bfc67.sci-hub1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/sci-hub1.png" alt="" width="225" height="281" class="alignright size-full wp-image-148552"></a>With its massive library of research papers, Sci-Hub has been described as “The Pirate Bay of Science”.</p>
<p>The site is dedicated to providing open access to scientific knowledge, something which millions of individuals truly appreciate.</p>
<p>However, due to the copyrighted nature of much of the content provided by the platform, it has become public enemy #1 among academic publishers.</p>
<p>Site founder Alexandra Elbakyan&#8217;s mission is to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/sci-hub-tears-down-academias-illegal-copyright-paywalls-150627/">tear down the paywalls</a> for the good of humankind, a position that has been supported to varying degrees among academics themselves.</p>
<p>“When Sci-Hub became known, I thought that it will provide a good case against copyright law. When the law prevents science to develop, that law must be repealed,” Elbakyan wrote earlier this year.</p>
<p>That challenge to the law has seen Sci-Hub implicated in several copyright suits, including one <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/elsevier-cracks-down-on-pirated-scientific-articles-150609/">filed by publishing giant Elsevier</a>, three years ago. However, despite best efforts, Sci-Hub has remained online.</p>
<p>To tackle the site&#8217;s resilience, publishers have won ISP blocking orders in several jurisdictions, including <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vodafone-blocks-libgen-following-elsevier-springer-macmillan-injunction-180808/">Germany</a> and more recently, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/swedish-isp-protest-site-blocking-by-blocking-rightsholders-website-and-more-181102/">Sweden</a>. Now it is Russia&#8217;s turn to tighten the thumbscrews.</p>
<p>In a case filed recently by UK academic publisher Springer Nature Limited, the Moscow City Court was told that Sci-Hub is infringing the company&#8217;s copyrights and should, therefore, be subjected to blocking.</p>
<p>Listing &#8220;bulletproof&#8221; hosting company <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/bulletproof-hosting-is-an-emerging-piracy-threat-riaa-warns-181004/">Quasi Networks Ltd</a> and US-based CloudFlare as facilitating access to the site, Springer Nature complained that three specific works were being made available illegally by Sci-Hub.</p>
<p><center><strong>The study papers that led to the block</strong><br></br></center><center><a href="media/d617c34d.sci-hub-russia-e1542812771612.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/sci-hub-russia-e1542812771612.png"><img src="media/d617c34d.sci-hub-russia-e1542812771612.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/sci-hub-russia-e1542812771612.png" alt="" width="650" height="251" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-164502"></a></center></p>
<p>As the above table obtained from the Court shows, the research papers cover topics of interest to the medical community in the spheres of heart and brain health &#8211; <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nrcardio.2017.211">Effect of glucose-lowering therapies on heart failure</a>, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nrcardio.2017.224">Nitric oxide signaling in cardiovascular health and disease</a>, and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn.2018.19">Lactate in the brain: from metabolic end-product to signaling molecule</a>.</p>
<p>These would ordinarily sit behind paywalls but thanks to Sci-Hub, their contents are available for everyone to absorb for free. It&#8217;s a situation that&#8217;s unacceptable to Springer Nature and the Moscow City Court was sympathetic to the company&#8217;s complaints.</p>
<p>A decision on preliminary interim measures was handed down last month, which compelled local telecoms watchdog Roscomnadzor to take action to undermine &#8220;technical conditions that ensure placement, dissemination and other use of the works&#8221;.</p>
<p>As a result, several Sci-Hub and Library Genesis domains (gen.lib.rus.ec, www.libgen.io, scihub.unblocked.gdn, lgmag.org, libgen.unblocked.gdn, sci-hub.tw and libgen.io) are now being rendered inaccessible by Russian Internet Service Providers.</p>
<p>&#8220;Access to the Sci-Hub site in Russia is closed by Roscomnadzor. It turns out that Springer’s scientific publishing house filed a lawsuit demanding to restrict access to the portal,&#8221; Sci-Hub founder Alexandra Elbakyan announced on social networks VK and Telegram.</p>
<p>Of course, Sci-Hub is no stranger to blocking efforts so has other domains up its sleeve. However, these can also be targeted by rightsholders, so Elbakyan encourages users to check for the latest updates.</p>
<p>&#8220;The spare domain sci-hub.se works but for how long, I can not guarantee. Therefore, to access Sci-Hub, use tools to circumvent Internet censorship &#8211; which you can search for in Google or by using the bot in Telegram: @scihubot,&#8221; Elbakyan concludes.</p>
<p>While Sci-Hub continues its mission to provide open access, it&#8217;s interesting to note the indirect effect the site is having on the academic community.</p>
<p>Last month, several prestigious European research councils <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/the-sci-hub-effect-prominent-research-councils-push-open-access-180909/">announced</a> a major push for Open Access publishing, designed to limit the influence of major copyright holders and &#8220;tear down&#8221; their paywalls.</p>
<p>On Thursday, Sci-Hub appeared to be completely offline everywhere. It is not clear what caused the outage.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=163901
title: Scammers Hit Pirate Game Sites With ‘Irreversible’ Google Takedowns
uri: Scammers-Hit-Pirate-Game-Sites-With-Irreversible-Google-Takedown
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/IPdf0lGVRM8/
content:
<p><img src="media/af175f74.scamkey.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/scamkey.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="167" class="alignright size-full wp-image-140925">Takedown notices are a particularly useful tool for copyright holders who want to make sure that infringing copies of their work are not widely distributed.</p>
<p>Every single day, rightsholders and their representatives scour the web for references to pirated content, which aren&#8217;t hard to find.</p>
<p>These links are then reported to various online services, such as Google, requesting their operators to remove the allegedly infringing content. This system works well in theory but it&#8217;s being abused by scam-artists as well. </p>
<p>One of the most recent scams we&#8217;ve seen targets various popular game piracy sites, including skidrowgamereloaded.com, fitgirl-repacks.site, freegogpcgames.com, crotorrents.com, nosteam.ro, pcgames-download.com and skidrowreloaded.com.</p>
<p>The notices in question are seemingly sent by prominent names in the gaming industry, such as <a href="https://lumendatabase.org/notices/17582595">Steam</a> and <a href="https://lumendatabase.org/notices/17511464">Ubisoft</a>. However, the sudden flurry of takedown requests appears to be initiated by scammers instead.</p>
<p>TorrentFreak spoke to the operator of one of the affected sites who prefers to remain anonymous. He has been following the activity for a while and asked Google for information about a sender claiming to be Ubisoft. </p>
<p>Google revealed that this &#8220;Ubisoft&#8221; sent notices from suspicious Gmail addresses, using a Russian user interface, from an unidentified Ukrainian IP-address. In addition, the handle used in one of the email addresses can be linked to game-related spam, which doesn&#8217;t build any confidence either.</p>
<p>The site owner shared his findings with Google but the company repeatedly said that there is no option to file a counter notification. </p>
<p>This is because the notices are not regular DMCA takedowns. Instead, they are notifications that the URLs circumvent technological protection measures such as DRM, which is separately covered <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/1201">in the DMCA</a>. </p>
<p>&#8220;Google has been notified that the following URLs distribute copyright circumvention devices in violation of 17 U.S.C. § 1201,&#8221; Google informed the site owner. </p>
<p>&#8220;Please find attached the notice we received. There is no formal counter notification process available under US law for circumvention, so we have not reinstated these URLs. If you dispute that you are distributing circumvention devices, please reply with a further explanation.&#8221;</p>
<p>Google is correct. The DMCA doesn&#8217;t prescribe a takedown and counter-notification scheme for DRM circumvention. While Google has voluntarily chosen to take the URLs offline, it is not required to offer a counter-notice option. This puts targeted sites at a severe disadvantage.</p>
<p>The site owner informs TorrentFreak that he’s been following a spamming operation for a few months. Interestingly, one of the email addresses from the takedown notices could also be matched to a scammer he had contact with in the past.</p>
<p>In addition to the Ubisoft notices, there are also similar requests from other popular brands such as Valve&#8217;s Steam. These notices also use the DRM circumvention argument and target popular game piracy sites. </p>
<p>&#8220;We are the owners of these copyrighted games listed below. These games were only created by our devlopers [sic] and sell exclusively on steampowered.com,&#8221; a Steam notice reads</p>
<p>Apart from the broken English and typo, this claim doesn&#8217;t really hold up. Steam or Valve are not the creators of many of the mentioned games, nor are they all exclusively sold on Steam.</p>
<p><center><strong>One of the many notices</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/64d3d172.steamtorrent.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/steamtorrent.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="410" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-164589"></center></p>
<p>The end result of these fraudulent notices is that thousands of URLs have been wiped from Google&#8217;s search results by what appear to be scammers. In some cases, Google has rejected the requests, but many have been honored.  </p>
<p>What certainly doesn&#8217;t help is that the allegations are not incorrect per se. Pirated games often circumvent DRM. However, the scammy notices are sent out for a different purpose.</p>
<p>One may wonder what the goal of these scammers is. While it&#8217;s hard to prove without a doubt, it looks like they are trying to get malicious sites ranked higher in search results. </p>
<p>According to our source, the scammers can be linked to a couple of pirate gaming sites which trick people into downloading cryptocurrency miners. These sites are, of course, not targeted by the fraudulent DMCA requests.</p>
<p>&#8220;I have been investigating those persons for a long time, and I can tell with proof that they are behind a massive spam attack spreading their miners. They are taking advantage of the lack of games cracks lately, creating websites claiming they provide cracked games, but all the links on these sites lead to cryptocurrencies miners,&#8221; he says.</p>
<p>TorrentFreak visited one of the sites which indeed featured a link that looks rather suspicious. According to Virustotal, it&#8217;s flagged as &#8216;Filetour&#8217; by several anti-virus vendors. This is malware that launches <a href="https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/adware-launches-in-browser-mining-sites-pretending-to-be-cloudflare/">in-browser mining sites</a>.</p>
<p>As scammers remove Google search results for regular pirate gaming sites, these scammy alternatives get a better ranking and more traffic.</p>
<p>To add to the mess, the situation also caused some upheaval between pirate sites. One of the targeted sites suspects that competitor GoodOldDownloads is behind the notices. So, in a retaliatory move, they targeted the site in question with a series of <a href="https://lumendatabase.org/notices/17587887">counter-takedowns</a>.</p>
<p>We have seen no sign that this is a matter of competition for a regular pirate site though, and neither has the site owner we have spoken to. Instead, it seems more likely that scammers are behind this scheme. </p>
<p>TorrentFreak contacted Ubisoft, Valve, and Google for a comment on the situation but none of the companies responded.</p>
<p>When we started working on this article none of the takedown requests were flagged as suspicious by Google, but that&#8217;s now starting to change. Google actively <a href="https://transparencyreport.google.com/copyright/request/6899360">flagged</a> several of the Steam and Ubisoft notices we referred to in our article.</p>
<p>&#8220;We believe that an impostor or someone else abusing the process submitted this request. We report it here for the sake of completeness and to provide a view into one kind of abuse of the DMCA process,&#8221; a notice in Google&#8217;s transparency report reads.</p>
<p>Interestingly, however, Google still lists the reported links as &#8220;removed&#8221; and it&#8217;s unclear if that will change.</p>
<p><center><strong>Impostor</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/50204a11.impostor.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/impostor.png" alt="" width="600" height="203" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-164861"></center></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=164707
title: Irdeto Targets Non-Pirate Kodi-Addon Developer’s PayPal Account
uri: Irdeto-Targets-Non-Pirate-Kodi-Addon-Developer-s-PayPal-Account
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/g_hYtoPYAmM/
content:
<p><a href="media/13c1e1a2.kodi-1.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/kodi-1.png"><img src="media/8aa05985.kodi-1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kodi-1.png" alt="" width="256" height="256" class="alignright size-full wp-image-144339"></a>TorrentFreak <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/non-pirate-kodi-add-on-is-copyright-infringing-denuvo-owner-says-181124/">recently reported</a> on the plight of developer Matt Huisman, the creator of what he believed to be a completely legitimate Kodi add-on.</p>
<p>Huisman created the &#8216;Showmax Add-on&#8217; which provided access to content provided by Showmax, an online video subscription service launched in South African back in 2015.  As a competitor to Netflix and Amazon Video, Showmax requires a paid subscription.</p>
<p>Despite suggesting that it wasn&#8217;t opposed to introducing a Kodi add-on of its own, Showmax never came up with the goods. So, after appeals from the company&#8217;s customers, Huisman took it upon himself to create an add-on so that Showmax users could conveniently view content inside Kodi.</p>
<p>The important thing to note is that the &#8216;Showmax Add-On&#8217; was designed from the ground up to be non-infringing, in that it required all users to have a valid, paid-for subscription with Showmax. Nevertheless, Showmax recently asked anti-piracy company Irdeto (Denuvo&#8217;s owner) to take action against the add-on, filing complaints with both Huisman and Github, where the add-on had its official repository.</p>
<p>With the Showmax Add-On taken down from both Huisman&#8217;s site and Github, the matter was considered to be over. However, that clearly wasn&#8217;t the case. In a move that makes little sense, Irdeto has now filed an infringement complaint against Huisman with PayPal.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are contacting you as we have received a report that your website www.matthuisman.nz is currently infringing upon the intellectual property of Irdeto BV. Such infringement also violates PayPal&#8217;s Acceptable Use Policy,&#8221; an email sent to Huisman by PayPal reads.</p>
<p>&#8220;If you feel your sales do not infringe upon the intellectual property rights of Irdeto BV, please complete the attached Objection to Infringement form.&#8221;</p>
<p>Huisman, who is the developer behind several similar projects, has a &#8220;Show me Love&#8221; page on his site, in which he invites fans to donate in appreciation of his work. He informs TorrentFreak that he never sold the Showmax Add-On and he&#8217;s shocked that Irdeto has taken such action.</p>
<p>&#8220;Irdeto have just had my PayPal (for donations) shut down. Wow! I wasn&#8217;t even selling [the  Showmax] add-on,&#8221; he says.</p>
<p>Huisman is now required to file a counter-notice with PayPal in the hope of regaining full access to his account. However, PayPal has already warned him that if action isn&#8217;t taken soon, the company will &#8220;escalate&#8221; the matter.</p>
<p>&#8220;Failure to respond by the following date will result in the further escalation of this issue: December 01, 2018,&#8221; PayPal&#8217;s Brand Risk Management center advises.</p>
<p>On face value, this action by Showmax and Irdeto (who are both owned by corporate giant Naspers) is somewhat confusing.</p>
<p>It is perhaps understandable that they don&#8217;t want a third-party Kodi add-on being used to access their content (even though an account is still required), but going after a developer&#8217;s means to take donations for all of his projects is a measure usually reserved for fully-fledged &#8216;pirate&#8217; sites.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=164701
title: Director Shares Movie on Torrent Site Before ‘Official’ Release
uri: Director-Shares-Movie-on-Torrent-Site-Before-Official-Release
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/qV_c_RB8w_Y/
content:
<p><img src="media/566ae77e.adoptingtrouble.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/adoptingtrouble.jpg" alt="" width="244" height="231" class="alignright size-full wp-image-164748">Hollywood frequently stresses that piracy not only hurts the major studios, but also smaller independent productions.</p>
<p>While that may be true, for many independent artists obscurity is actually a bigger problem than piracy.</p>
<p>This idea is also shared by Lee Gardner, the Director and co-writer of the film &#8220;<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3087968/">Adopting Trouble</a>.&#8221; A digital copy of the film came out <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JH633WN">on Amazon</a> this week where it can be rented for $0.99 or brought for $4.99. </p>
<p>The problem is, however, that people have to notice the film first. That&#8217;s a tough job when there&#8217;s virtually no marketing budget available. This is why Gardner and his team at <a href="https://rarelegend.com/">Rare Legend Films</a> decided to reach out to RARBG, one of the top torrent sites. </p>
<p>Realizing that pirates will get their hands on the film anyway, he sent the film&#8217;s master files to the site, whose in-house release group FGT <a href="https://rarbg.to/torrents.php?imdb=tt3087968">turned those into torrents</a> of varying qualities.</p>
<p><center><strong>Aopting torrents&#8230;</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/dc61e441.adoptrou.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/adoptrou.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="244" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-164973"></center></p>
<p>The releases come with a special note from Gardner himself, who explains why his production company took this unconventional step. </p>
<p>&#8220;The thing they never tell you when you are making your film is that you won&#8217;t have enough money for marketing and without it, no-one will see your film. Maybe torrenters can fill that gap and spread the word on independent films,&#8221; he writes. </p>
<p>The director sees torrenters as trendsetters. This is why the film came out on RARBG before the official Amazon release. While there are no obligations, a donation or plug are welcome of course. </p>
<p>&#8220;So we are giving it to torrenters a little earlier than anyone else. If you like our movie. Please donate. Throw us a clam, a shekel or two. Tell your friends, your family and everyone you know,&#8221; Gardner adds.</p>
<p><center><strong>Director&#8217;s message</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/a4895e5f.adoptingtroubletorrent.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/adoptingtroubletorrent.png" alt="" width="599" height="280" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-164746"></center></p>
<p>Other filmmakers have shared their work on torrent sites in the past, and it&#8217;s always interesting to hear their motivations. Especially when they work directly with a site such as RARBG. </p>
<p>Speaking with TorrentFreak, Gardner says that RARBG was the only site he reached out to. The director was already familiar with the site and knew that it displayed a list of newly released movies, so it was a good fit. </p>
<p>The reason is simple as well; it&#8217;s all about exposure.</p>
<p>&#8220;The worst thing for an independent filmmaker is if no one ever sees their film. We had a micro-budget for our film and it was mostly out of our own pockets with no interest from distribution companies since we have no name talent involved,&#8221; he says.</p>
<p>Without a marketing budget and knowing that the film would be pirated anyway, they felt like they had nothing to lose.</p>
<p>That said, Gardner certainly isn&#8217;t arguing that piracy helps the movie industry as a whole. However, it&#8217;s a reality that they have to deal with.</p>
<p>&#8220;I wish piracy didn&#8217;t exist but I don&#8217;t think it will ever go away. Our little three-man production company certainly doesn&#8217;t have the means or the time to go after people the way Hollywood does,&#8221; he says.</p>
<p>&#8220;Piracy clearly has an impact economically on filmmakers, theaters, and distribution companies, but I don&#8217;t know that anyone can say exactly how it affects everything.&#8221;</p>
<p>The effects of piracy can vary but so can the motivations of pirates. Gardner doesn&#8217;t believe everyone pirates because they refuse to pay. In part, it&#8217;s a sign of anti-establishment, but also skepticism about what&#8217;s being offered.</p>
<p>&#8220;I think many people are hesitant these days to spend money on movies, even Hollywood offerings. When I take my family of five out to the theater it&#8217;s hard if the movie is a letdown,&#8221; Gardner says. </p>
<p>For independent films, there is even more hesitance. People often have no clue what to expect. They often don&#8217;t know the directors, writers or actors. So there might be room for innovation there.</p>
<p>One option would be to allow people to watch the beginning of a movie for free, so they can decide whether it&#8217;s worth their money or not. </p>
<p>&#8220;We need to find solutions to ease that hesitancy and better support independent filmmakers. One solution could be a platform where a potential customer can see the first 20 minutes of a film for free,&#8221; Gardner notes.   </p>
<p>As for &#8220;Adopting Trouble,&#8221; people can watch it entirely for free on RARBG and other torrent sites where it was uploaded. Those who like it can choose to make a donation or grab a copy on Amazon. </p>
<p>To avoid issues, Gardner stresses that his company will keep standard performance copyright. This means that others can&#8217;t take it and sell it elsewhere, as happened with &#8220;<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/man-from-earth-director-slams-pirates-promotional-love-affair-over-181105/">The Man From Earth: Holocene</a>.&#8221;</p>
<p>It will be interesting to see whether the torrent release delivers the exposure Gardner hoped for. </p>
<p>If that&#8217;s the case it might be worth repeating in the future. That would also depend on other factors of course, as a sanctioned torrent release may be harder to pull off with outside investors in the project.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165011
title: GoodOldDownloads Calls it Quits, Publishes Source on Github
uri: GoodOldDownloads-Calls-it-Quits-Publishes-Source-on-Github
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/htGoLr0uFM0/
content:
<p><a href="media/ed68f01b.6cqg4th_400x400-e1543752914597.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/6cqg4th_400x400-e1543752914597.jpg"><img src="media/ed68f01b.6cqg4th_400x400-e1543752914597.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/6cqg4th_400x400-e1543752914597.jpg" alt="" width="240" height="240" class="alignright size-full wp-image-165013"></a>There are hundreds of pirate sites online today with many offering a broad range of content. Others prefer to work in a niche, aiming to lure fans of particular media to grow a dedicated following.</p>
<p>In recent months, GoodOldDownloads (GOD) &#8211; a site dedicated to gaming &#8211; has been growing powerfully, attracting millions of visitors every month. The site built its reputation on trouble-free downloads while trying to make the experience a smooth and safe one for users.</p>
<p>&#8220;We looked at other popular game piracy sites and discovered they were all filled with dozens of tracking scripts, infuriating ads (sometimes viruses) and mainly existed for the sole purpose of making money,&#8221; the site said in a statement over the weekend.</p>
<p>&#8220;In response, we created a website without any of those things and improvements; it was easy to download files, a clean design, and dead links became a thing of the past with the voting system where you could vote to have games re-uploaded automatically. Best of all, almost everything was automated so you didn&#8217;t have to rely on some person at their computer to upload files!&#8221;</p>
<p>But while a good time was had by all while it lasted, the site has now chosen to relegate itself to the history books. Announcing its closure, the site&#8217;s operators cite attacks from competitors and the ever-present threat of legal action as the reasons behind their decision.</p>
<p>&#8220;Rival sites started to target us by making threats and claiming they have reported us to anti-piracy corporations. We also want to move on with our lives and enjoy other things without the constant fear of legal action breathing down our necks,&#8221; the team confirmed.</p>
<p>As reported <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/scammers-hit-pirate-game-sites-with-irreversible-google-takedowns-181130/">here</a> on TF on Saturday, rival pirate sites have recently been making life difficult for each other with various bogus anti-piracy reports, some of which involved GOD.</p>
<p>While it is difficult from the evidence available to definitively point the finger at any particular platforms, it does seem that there&#8217;s been a simmering tit-for-tat conflict. </p>
<p>GOD doesn&#8217;t indicate specifically who they had problems with but as a parting blow, the platform has taken the unusual step of publishing the results of an &#8216;investigation&#8217; into the security of two &#8220;gaming piracy sites&#8221; on its <a href="https://goodolddownloads.com/enter">main page</a>.</p>
<p>The report makes for interesting reading but it controversially involves the &#8216;doxxing&#8217; of individuals said to be behind two popular rival sites, something that rarely ends well.</p>
<p>&#8220;The purpose of this document is to summarize information found online that reveals the identity of the individuals that operate the gaming piracy websites &#8216;igg-games.com&#8217; (http://igg-games.com/) and &#8216;gamestorrent.co&#8217; (http://gamestorrent.co/) which profit from the distribution of illegal copies of video games via advertisements (pop-up ads, etc). At the time of publication, they are ranked 1,305 and 5,958 globally by Alexa.com,&#8221; the report notes.</p>
<p>Predictably, this is causing additional friction and conflict. IGG-Games has already retaliated with the apparent &#8216;doxxing&#8217; of the alleged operator of GOD and even his alleged family members, something that makes particularly uncomfortable reading.</p>
<p>Due to the hugely private information placed online, we aren&#8217;t linking to either report and several gaming piracy discussion forums have also banned their publication. Considering the details published, it&#8217;s possible that the fallout from this war of words could have serious implications for all of the parties involved.</p>
<p>While GOD is now bowing out, the site is leaving something behind to cement its legacy. Unlike most defunct platforms that simply fade away, GOD has taken the interesting step of publishing its source code on Github.</p>
<p>&#8220;The source code for all our sites is <a href="https://github.com/Good-Old-Downloads">being released under GPLv3</a>. Feel free to fork and improve the project; we have been working on this almost every day for nearly 2 years,&#8221; the site&#8217;s operators write.</p>
<p>While GOD offering so-called &#8216;Scene&#8217; releases and specialized in offering titles from official distributor platform GoodOldGames, GoodOldDownloads recently made the headlines after stepping into a freshly turbulent area of the gaming scene.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/731953bb.goodold.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/goodold.jpg" width="600" height="342" class="aligncenter size-large"></center></p>
<p>After Nintendo filed a complaint at a federal court in Arizona, accusing gaming sites <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/nintendo-sues-console-rom-sites-for-mass-copyright-infringement-180720/">LoveROMS.com and LoveRETRO.co</a> of massive copyright and trademark infringement, a domino effect rippled through the retro-gaming community, with other sites choosing to close down rather than share the same fate.</p>
<p>In response, however, GoodOldDownloads decided to fill the gaps in the market by directly challenging Nintendo with the launch of a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-site-taunts-nintendo-with-a-new-retro-games-section-180830/">retro-gaming section</a> on the site.</p>
<p>While the move was celebrated by fans, this weekend&#8217;s shutdown means that the initiative has now come to an end, along with everything else the site offered. Considering the tit-for-tat &#8216;doxxing&#8217;, however, this might not be the last we hear of this controversial affair.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=164444
title: ‘Movie Piracy Brings in Millions of Extra Revenue Through Promotion’
uri: 2018-12-02-
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/QUTEkdIJU8s/
content:
<p><img src="media/f26de7b6.pirate-clash-fight.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/pirate-clash-fight.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="188" class="alignright size-full wp-image-118800" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/pirate-clash-fight.jpg 250w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/pirate-clash-fight-200x150.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px">Statistics are great. As long as you have enough data points, you can &#8216;win&#8217; virtually any argument by citing only those that support your claim.</p>
<p>This technique is used everywhere, also in debates about copyright, especially when it comes to the impact of online file-sharing on revenue. </p>
<p>Rightsholders frequently cite from studies that reveal major losses. At the same time, their opponents pick findings which clearly prove that there is no serious harm. Both may be right, but neither tell the full story. </p>
<p>If you read the headline of this article it&#8217;s easy to see that the &#8216;pro-piracy&#8217; side will gladly put the findings in their arguments folder. However, the same research actually has something in store for anti-piracy advocates as well. </p>
<p>The research we&#8217;re referring to is published by Zhuang Liu of the University of Western Ontario, in a <a href="media/7792e2a9.job20market20paper.pdf" data-original-source="http://publish.uwo.ca/~zliu328/job%20market%20paper.pdf">paper (pdf)</a> titled &#8220;Quantifying the Heterogeneous Effects of Piracy on the Demand for Movies.&#8221;</p>
<p>Liu conducted an in-depth study on the link between piracy and sales, using estimated download numbers from pirated torrents as a key variable. This revealed that different types of piracy can have different effects.</p>
<p>After monitoring downloads and sales, including box office and DVD figures, for a period of 40 weeks and comparing it to the tracked piracy activity, he concludes that piracy does impact sales negatively. That said, its effect is far from uniform.</p>
<p>&#8220;File sharing reduces the total revenue of the motion picture industry from the box office by $ 231 million in total or 2.71% of the current box office in the US for my sample of 40 weeks in 2015,&#8221; the article reads. </p>
<p>On average, piracy results in a loss of roughly $500,000 per movie. That&#8217;s not insignificant. The bulk of the harm is not created at the box office though, but with DVD aftersales, the research found. </p>
<p>&#8220;Unlike the box office, in the home-video market, DVD revenue decreases by a surprising 36% due to piracy,&#8221; Liu writes. </p>
<p>What&#8217;s interesting to note is that not all piracy types have the same effect. For the earlier low-quality releases (CAM and TS), the &#8220;word-of-mouth&#8221; effect outweighs the negative effects on sales. Most of the harm is done by later high-quality leaks (WEBDL, DVDrip and BRRip), which compete directly with DVD and Blu-ray sales. </p>
<p>While the net effect of piracy is negative, pirates can also serve as promoters. Through word-of-mouth &#8216;advertising&#8217; piracy positively impacts box-office attendance, Liu estimates. </p>
<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s some benefit from piracy, the word-of-mouth from piracy actually contribute to a total of $68.7 million to the industry box office and DVD revenue,&#8221; Liu says, clarifying that the figure applies to a period of 40 weeks and is limited to the US. </p>
<p>There&#8217;s another upside of course, as pirates save a lot of money, much more than the movie studios lose. This means that if all piracy could be eradicated, consumer welfare would be &#8216;lost.&#8217;</p>
<p>&#8220;Consumer welfare decreases when we ban piracy, which is much higher than the increase in motion picture industry revenue,&#8221; Liu notes.</p>
<p>That said, it&#8217;s unrealistic to expect that piracy could be banned entirely. Movie studios take down files and sites whenever they can, but a pirated copy is never hard to find. That brings us to another important finding. </p>
<p>If a single movie is protected from piracy successfully, it &#8216;only&#8217; gains an average $70,000 in additional revenue.</p>
<p>&#8220;Consumers who watch pirated movies simply like &#8216;pirated stuff&#8217;, so if studios try to report and remove torrents of a movie on the file-sharing network, the pirate consumers will just switch to other pirated movies. The improvement in revenue will be very small, around $70,000 on average per movie,&#8221; Liu tells us. </p>
<p>That last point is important. If all piracy was eliminated, films would see a $500,000 increase in revenue per title. But in more isolated cases, which is what mostly happens today, the effect is much lower.</p>
<p>The research offers several interesting insights, to say the least. However, it is not without shortcomings. As it only looks at BitTorrent traffic, it captures only a small part of the piracy ecosystem. </p>
<p>In addition, tracking torrent downloads accurately also has its challenges. Liu aggregated completed counts form various BitTorrent trackers, which likely means that the downloads are overestimated.</p>
<p>We would caution anyone from drawing strong conclusions from this or any other study. What it does brilliantly show, however, is that not all piracy is the same. The quality and timing of leaked files are crucial, and the effects differ greatly between the box-office and DVD aftersales. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165023
title: New ‘Valeroa’ Anti-Piracy System Cracked “In 20 Minutes”
uri: New-Valeroa-Anti-Piracy-System-Cracked-In-20-Minutes
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/ED1e9HoQhWs/
content:
<p><a href="media/16196a8e.security-breach-lock.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/security-breach-lock.jpg"><img src="media/4fc175f7.security-breach-lock.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/security-breach-lock.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="143" class="alignright size-full wp-image-115796"></a>With online piracy still running rampant, content producers are keen to prevent copying wherever they can.</p>
<p>Music and movies are extremely vulnerable, with no effective technology available after several decades of trying. However, software and video games are able to put up a bit more of a fight when appropriate DRM and other technologies are put in place.</p>
<p>Situated on top of regular DRM, Denuvo has made its way to the top of the pile as one of the most effective and hated (by pirates at least) anti-tamper technologies. This reputation has in part been earned through its ability to prevent low-level crackers from defeating its locks but also due to a perception that it can be anti-consumer.</p>
<p>With this reputation, Denuvo is consistently targeted by crackers, who are getting <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/hitman-2s-denuvo-protection-cracked-three-days-before-launch-181112/">more and more successful</a> in defeating the technology. A few days&#8217; protection now seems to be the most the product can offer, with the company itself now openly suggesting that a couple of weeks&#8217; protection is a reasonable aim and <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/denuvo-cites-huge-losses-for-aaa-game-not-using-its-anti-piracy-tech-181108/">valuable in itself</a>.</p>
<p>Given Denuvo&#8217;s profile, it was interesting to see an apparently new technology being touted by its makers a few months ago. Dubbed &#8216;<a href="https://valeroa.com">Valeroa</a>&#8216;, this new kid on the anti-tamper block seems to have Denuvo in its sights, with interesting marketing which presents the tech as a more consumer-friendly tool to achieve the same aims.</p>
<p>&#8220;Valeroa anti-tamper does [not] require you to have an internet connection. Not even when you launch your game for the first time or after you upgraded your hardware. Some games require you to be online, but this is not a Valeroa requirement,&#8221; the company claims.</p>
<p>&#8220;The protected game behaves as if there is no protection applied at all. Gamers don’t need to re-validate hardware or need an internet connection. They also don’t need to install additional software or drivers. They can play the game as it was intended by the game developer.&#8221;</p>
<p>Addressing other complaints usually aimed at Denuvo, Valeroa claims not to continuously write to the gamer&#8217;s hard drive while placing no limit on the number of daily installations or changes of hardware. </p>
<p>In common with Denuvo, however, the company behind Valeroa states that its tech is &#8220;extremely difficult to crack before and closely after the game release date.&#8221;</p>
<p>Curiously, it also adds that the protection &#8220;becomes a lot easier to crack after a predefined period&#8221; noting that the company has &#8220;no problem with organized pirate groups or individuals who crack Valeroa once the protection is weakened.&#8221;</p>
<p>This contrasts with statements made on the company&#8217;s website back in May (now deleted) that said the following:</p>
<p>&#8220;We closely watch the &#8216;Warez Scene&#8217;, P2P and reverse engineering communities. We report criminal activities to legal institutions. Pirate release groups, we know who you are and you have been warned!&#8221; the statement read.</p>
<p>On November 29, Valeroa made its debut on the game <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/789890/City_Patrol_Police/">City Patrol: Police</a>, a racing/action game that doesn&#8217;t appear to be particularly popular with early adopters. Doubling up on the disappointment, the Valeroa technology didn&#8217;t stand up as promised either.</p>
<p>On Saturday December 1, two days after launch, the game appeared online with its protection cracked. A user known online as &#8216;Steam006&#8217; (who claims to be from Turkey) was reportedly responsible and if his report is to be believed, Valeroa didn&#8217;t put up much of a fight.</p>
<p>&#8220;It took about 20 minutes to make the crack,&#8221; he announced.</p>
<p>While this rapid defeat was greeted with amusement by the game cracking community, a number of questions about Valeroa remain.</p>
<p>The site itself gives no indication as to who is behind the technology and its domain WHOIS is protected, something which is not common when traditional corporate entities are involved. Its Linkedin page states the company is in the UK, providing a London postcode of EC1 and stating that Valeroa is &#8220;almost impossible to crack&#8221;.</p>
<p>However, an early version of the website claimed the company was situated in France, offering the address 54-56 Avenue Hoche, Paris 75008.</p>
<p>Adding to the unconventional approach, the site&#8217;s promotional material actually <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/CrackWatch/comments/8gy2yp/new_bullshit_on_the_horizon_valeroa_antitamper/dyhgs03/">carries comments</a> from users of Reddit&#8217;s /r/crackwatch forum which stop short of commending the technology but cautiously praise it for being less anti-consumer than some alternatives.</p>
<p><center><strong>Valeroa cites Crackwatch user? Whatever next..</strong><br></br></center><center><a href="media/f01adc4b.valeroa-e1543773098980.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/valeroa-e1543773098980.png"><img src="media/f01adc4b.valeroa-e1543773098980.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/valeroa-e1543773098980.png" alt="" width="600" height="324" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-165029"></a> </center></p>
<p>While Valeroa fell quickly on this first occasion, it did manage to hold up as long as some of the latest variations of Denuvo, which is an achievement in itself, if one discounts the low interest in the game itself.</p>
<p>Whether its strength will improve over time remains to be seen but the people behind the technology, whoever they are, do seem to understand why gamers hate DRM and similar technologies. That is certainly novel, if nothing else.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165066
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week on BitTorrent – 12/03/18
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-on-BitTorrent-12-03-18
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/8_xle0-uq9A/
content:
<p><img src="media/f5906e1f.venom.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/venom.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="171" class="alignright size-full wp-image-165070">This week we have five newcomers in our chart.</p>
<p>Venom is the most downloaded movie.</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 Web-DL/Webrip/HDRip/BDrip/DVDrip unless stated otherwise.</p>
<p><a href="http://TorrentFreak.com/category/dvdrip/feed/"><strong>RSS feed</strong></a> for the articles of the recent weekly movie download charts.</p>
<h5>This week&#8217;s most downloaded movies are:</h5>
<table class="css hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="12%"><strong>Movie Rank</strong></th>
<th width="15%"><strong>Rank <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-pirated-movies-week-bittorrent-11-26-18/">last week</a></strong></th>
<th><strong>Movie name</strong></th>
<th width="18%"><strong>IMDb Rating / Trailer</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="4">Most downloaded movies via torrents</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1270797/">Venom</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1270797/">7.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLCn88bfW1o&#038;t=3s">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3829266/">The Predator</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3829266/">5.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAJ2LVVgqVo">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2119543/">The House with a Clock in Its Walls</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2119543/">6.1</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQGA42-U0Ro">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(1)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5814060/">The Nun</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5814060/">5.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQRFgGwGeok">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4912910/">Mission: Impossible &#8211; Fallout</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4912910/">8.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiHiW4N7-bo&#038;t=20s">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6850820/">Peppermint</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6850820/">6.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeBMQpzoEXQ">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6182908/">Smallfoot</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6182908/">6.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBw6EvIxIS8">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(6)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3766354/">The Equalizer 2</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3766354/">6.9</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyNJ3UrGk_I">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1502407/">Halloween</a> (Subbed HDRip)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1502407/">7.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek1ePFp-nBI">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(8)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3606756/">Incredibles 2</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3606756/">8.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5qOzqD9Rms">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165006
title: DuckDuckGo Removes ‘Pirate’ Site Bangs to Avoid Liability
uri: DuckDuckGo-Removes-Pirate-Site-Bangs-to-Avoid-Liability
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/8LENIqeSSFI/
content:
<p><img src="media/ca7ed45d.duckduckgo.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/duckduckgo.png" alt="" width="224" height="159" class="alignright size-full wp-image-165047">First launched just a decade ago, search engine <a href="https://duckduckgo.com/">DuckDuckGo</a> is a goto tool for Internet users who value their privacy. </p>
<p>Unlike many competitors, the site doesn&#8217;t keep a record of users&#8217; IP addresses or other sensitive information. </p>
<p>The search engine also has a variety of useful features such as instant answers and <a href="https://duckduckgo.com/bang">bangs</a>. The latter are particularly useful for people who want to use DuckDuckGo to search directly on other sites. </p>
<p>Typing &#8216;!yt keyword&#8217; will do a direct search on YouTube, for example, &#8216;!w keyword&#8217; goes to Wikipedia, and &#8216;!torrentfreak keyword&#8217; does a search on TorrentFreak. This library of bangs has been around for a long time and has grown to more than 10,000 over the years. </p>
<p>However, a few days ago, roughly 2,000 of these were removed. Interestingly, this included many bangs that link to torrent sites, such as The Pirate Bay, 1337x and RARBG. Similarly, bangs for OpenSubtitles, Sci-Hub and LibGen are gone too. </p>
<p><center><strong>Pirate Bay bang stopped working</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/f43a9eb7.brokentpb3.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/brokentpb3.png" alt="" width="600" height="278" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165052"></center></p>
<p>Initially, it was unclear what had happened, but after people started asking questions on Reddit, DuckDuckGo staff <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/duckduckgo/comments/a2crpm/could_the_admins_explain_why_they_removed_2000/">explained</a> that this was part of a larger cleanup operation. </p>
<p>DuckDuckGo went through its bangs library and removed all non-working versions, as well as verbose ones that were not actively used. In addition, many pirate site bangs were deleted as these are no longer &#8220;permitted.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Bangs had been neglected for some time, and there were tons of broken ones. As part of the bang clean-up, we also removed some that were pointing to primarily illegal content,&#8221; DuckDuckGo staffer Tagawa explains.</p>
<p>The search engine still indexes the sites in question but it feels that offering curated search shortcuts for these sites in their service might cause problems.  </p>
<p>Apparently, this wasn&#8217;t a major issue when the bangs were first introduced. However, perhaps in part due to a changing perspective on the role of third-party intermediaries, DuckDuckGo sees potential liability issues now.</p>
<p>&#8220;It may not seem like so at first blush, but it is very different legally if it is a bang vs. in the search results because the bangs are added to the product by us explicitly, and can be interpreted legally as an editorial decision that is actively facilitating that site and its content. </p>
<p>&#8220;We operate globally, as do bangs, and products that actively facilitate interaction with illegal content can have us and our employees face significant legal liability, and jeopardizing the entire service,&#8221; Tagawa adds.</p>
<p>Not all users are happy with the decision. They point out that some of the removed sites can be used to access legal content as well, such as open source Linux versions. But DuckDuckGo doesn&#8217;t want to take any risk. </p>
<p>It is pointed out that users can still achieve the same with other tools. For example, Firefox allows users to create <a href="https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-search-from-address-bar">their own search shortcuts</a>, which work pretty much the same as bangs.</p>
<p>Luckily, the TorrentFreak bang has rightfully survived DuckDuckGo’s purge. Also, anyone who&#8217;s looking for a recent Linux distribution can still use the &#8216;!distro&#8217; bang.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=164781
title: 4.6 Million Italians Consume Pirated Sports Content
uri: 4-6-Million-Italians-Consume-Pirated-Sports-Content
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/S8az4RtQJoQ/
content:
<p><a href="media/096bd33d.streamingkey.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/streamingkey.jpg"><img src="media/468f0769.streamingkey.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/streamingkey.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="167" class="alignright size-full wp-image-125426"></a>For many years, pirating of &#8216;live&#8217; sports was only possible when people downloaded content after the fact via torrents and similar systems. With the dawn of fast Internet connections and more advanced streaming technologies, all that changed.</p>
<p>As a result, the majority of live sporting events can now be accessed in close to real-time via hundreds of streaming websites and dedicated IPTV services. This presents an unprecedented challenge to broadcasters who routinely pay out tens of millions for the right to offer such content through official channels.</p>
<p>While no countries can escape this situation, Italy is considered to be one of the regions where unlicensed consumption has grown particularly rapidly. New research from anti-piracy outfit <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/tag/fapav/">FAPAV</a> and market research company Ipsos highlights the extent of problem.</p>
<p>According to the study, 4.6 million Italians over the age of 15 are now viewing sports content from illegal sources, with an estimated 21 million instances of piracy in 2017 alone.</p>
<p>While &#8216;pirate&#8217; streaming sites are reported to be providing much of the content, premium unlicensed IPTV services are taking a large slice of the action. According to Ipsos, around 35% of Italians consume live sports via such services while paying an average of 10 to 15 euros per month for the privilege. </p>
<p>During a recent presentation and conference, anti-piracy group FAPAV revealed that IPTV is already a serious problem for broadcasters.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is an issue of enormous importance and a new phenomenon in the field of audiovisual piracy, which needed to be studied in detail,&#8221; said FAPAV Secretary General, Federico Bagnoli Rossi.</p>
<p>&#8220;Copyright is being challenged internationally. There is a decisive confrontation on copyright and to defend it we need to make a system. The copyright directive under discussion in Europe and the new emerging issues must be tackled by working together, creating synergies.&#8221;</p>
<p>Rossi noted that the results of the Ipsos study indicate that the problem is not going away, affecting not only live sports but other forms of audiovisual content, all of which are available from illicit vendors at a market disrupting price.</p>
<p>&#8220;[T]he Ipsos data presented shows how the illegal IPTV galaxy is taking root in our country, becoming, in fact, a new form of piracy linked not only to films and TV series but also to live sporting events,&#8221; Rossi <a href="https://www.key4biz.it/iptv-illegali-e-pirateria-audiovisiva-fapav-in-italia-fenomeno-che-coinvolge-quasi-5-milioni-di-persone/236802/">said</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;Our Federation, understanding the seriousness of the problem, wanted to bring together for the first time all the main actors operating in the production, distribution and protection of audiovisual content, to understand how to deal, in an inclusive and effective way, a behavior that not only damages the industries and the economy of our country, but also goes to feed the illicit market and the criminal organizations that run it.&#8221;</p>
<p>Maria Vittoria De Simone, Italy&#8217;s Deputy National Prosecutor for organized crime, agreed that IPTV is now one of the preferred methods to watch content illegally, noting that soccer matches are now the most pirated content, with an outlay of just a few euros per month enabling the public to get in on the action.</p>
<p>Citing a 2017 survey which found that damage to the Italian economy is now estimated to be around a billion euros in turnover affecting some 6,000 jobs, Simone said that dealing with the IPTV problem won&#8217;t be easy.</p>
<p>&#8220;This crime is difficult to investigate, because it is widespread on an international scale, with individuals who evade the police in an area that for too long has been underestimated and little considered,&#8221; Simone said.</p>
<p>&#8220;What is certain is that the phenomenon has a high impact on the market, with alarming economic dimensions,&#8221; she added, noting that this type of piracy is often tolerated by the public, since they are offered a cheap alternative to more expensive commercial offerings. </p>
<p>&#8220;In the absence of a concerted action at the international level, the criminal groups have emulated the commercial models of legal companies, with obvious advantages to act outside the market rules. Thus a parallel and criminal commercial context was born, with a cloned product put in circulation even in advance of normal programming.&#8221;</p>
<p>While calling for new tools and strategies, Simone said that the problem should be dealt with using blocking measures, restrictions on sales and advertising, plus a &#8220;follow-the-money&#8221; approach.</p>
<p>&#8220;I believe that there are no obstacles to the possibility of using these blocking measures not only against DNS, but also to static IP addresses, so as to prevent the repetition of illegal activities,&#8221; she added.</p>
<p>Stan McCoy, MPA President EMEA, praised Italy for its contribution to the audiovisual industry but noted that the problem presented locally by streaming piracy is not unique.</p>
<p>McCoy said that there are an estimated 1.9 million users of illegal IPTV in Germany while in the US, 6.5% of household access pirated services, with almost all of those utilizing set-top boxes to access premium TV including live sports. The UK, he said, is also suffering with the problem.</p>
<p>&#8220;In Britain, over the past three months, about 6.5 million people have benefited from pirated content and 10% of the British population have access to illegal devices to enjoy pirated content,&#8221; McCoy added.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165094
title: ‘YouTube Was The Top Source for Pirated ‘Fury vs Wilder’ Streams’
uri: YouTube-Was-The-Top-Source-for-Pirated-Fury-vs-Wilder-Streams
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/fd3ZtUlZ7io/
content:
<p><img src="media/5db3019c.wilderfury.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/wilderfury.jpg" alt="" width="219" height="296" class="alignright size-full wp-image-165141">A few days ago, the undefeated WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder took on Tyson Fury.</p>
<p>Millions of people saw the fight end in a controversial <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2018/dec/01/deontay-wilder-v-tyson-fury-wbc-heavyweight-championship-live">split draw</a>, something neither side had hoped for. </p>
<p>In common with many of these events, plenty of money was made regardless of the outcome. In part, this was generated by people who paid to watch the fight live or through premium PPV or streaming channels. </p>
<p>However, there was also a large audience on not-so-official channels. According to piracy-tracking outfit <a href="https://www.muso.com/">MUSO</a>, as many as 9.98 million viewers tuned into unauthorized streams.</p>
<p>The pirate streaming alternatives were by far most popular in the US, with 1.9 million viewers, followed at a distance by the UK where roughly 1.1 million streamers were counted. </p>
<p>These viewers had plenty of options to choose from according to MUSO. In total, the company tracked down 133 piracy streaming domains and 80 YouTube live links where the game was displayed.</p>
<p>While YouTube responds to takedown notices, these often come too late it seems. The data published by MUSO shows that YouTube was by far the top source of pirated streams (18.3%), followed by Ripple.is (12.8%), and Vipleague.lc (9.4%). </p>
<p>According to MUSO&#8217;s CEO Andy Chatterley, a pirate audience of this size should not be ignored. Instead, copyright holders should find ways to get these people back on board. </p>
<p>&#8220;This fight was always going to draw in a massive audience, and it certainly did that. In fact, our MUSO Discover data shows that, globally, nearly 10 million viewers chose unlicensed channels to watch the bout,&#8221; Chatterley says. </p>
<p>&#8220;This is a huge audience that is, to all intents and purposes, being ignored. Data like this offers insights that could help bring fans back to legal content, but they need to be acknowledged first,&#8221; he adds.</p>
<p>The question remains how this can be done effectively. Cracking down on pirate streams hasn&#8217;t worked very well in recent years. And perhaps there&#8217;s room for improvement on the supply side as well?</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=164875
title: YouTube Terminates ‘Kodi No Limits’ Account With 600K Subscribers
uri: YouTube-Terminates-Kodi-No-Limits-Account-With-600K-Subscribers
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/WuT5C1e-FRU/
content:
<p><img src="media/34e023fb.sadyoutube.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/sadyoutube.jpg" alt="" width="275" height="196" class="alignright size-full wp-image-117196">YouTube has opened the door for millions of people to share knowledge and information with the rest of the world. </p>
<p>This is also true for piracy-related topics. While YouTube itself doesn&#8217;t allow users to post copyright-infringing movies or TV-shows, there are many videos on the platform that demonstrate how to get this content elsewhere. </p>
<p>A lot of these &#8216;tutorials&#8217; center around Kodi media player. While Kodi itself is perfectly legal, there are numerous third-party add-ons that turn it into a piracy platform. To achieve this, there are dozens of high profile YouTubers who are willing to offer a helping hand. </p>
<p>A search for &#8220;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kodi+addon+guide">Kodi addon guide</a>&#8221; on YouTube reveals a treasure trove of options. Many of these feature Kodi addons that clearly display pirated movies while showing users how to access them. </p>
<p>This has been going on for years, but there are more and more reports of videos and YouTube accounts being flagged. Several Kodi-piracy related YouTubers have lost their videos or have found themselves demonetized. </p>
<p>This is also what happened to &#8220;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGsUwQz0b6_GnabWypEr39A">Kodi No Limits</a>&#8221; a few days ago. The popular channel with over 600,000 videos was removed by YouTube following multiple takedown requests from copyright holders. </p>
<p>&#8220;This account has been terminated because we received multiple third-party claims of copyright infringement regarding material the user posted,&#8221; a message on the channel reads now.</p>
<p><center><strong>Kodi No Limits before it was removed</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/7e716a1e.kodinol.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kodinol.png" alt="" width="622" height="384" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165105"></center></p>
<p>It&#8217;s unknown which videos were found to be infringing. As far as we know, the account didn&#8217;t post any pirated videos or TV-shows, so we assume that copyright holders reported several &#8216;tutorials&#8217; as copyright infringement. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://kodinolimits.com/">Kodi No Limits website</a> remains online. It still features several Kodi-related guides, including how to install the &#8220;No Limits Magic&#8221; build. However, none of the embedded videos are showing up as they still point to the terminated YouTube account. </p>
<p>There is a chance that these may be updated in due course though. While losing 600,000 subscribers is a severe blow, Kodi No Limits is not backing down. Its <a href="https://twitter.com/KodiNoLimits/">Twitter account</a> and other social media are still active, including Instagram where the channel shutdown was confirmed.  </p>
<p><center><strong>Kodi No Limits&#8217; message, via Doc Squiffy</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/1ff928e0.instagramkodi.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/instagramkodi.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="353" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165109" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/instagramkodi.jpg 600w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/instagramkodi-220x130.jpg 220w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></center></p>
<p>The message also teased a new channel. And indeed, recent posts on social media now link to new video content which appears on a newly registered &#8216;No Limits&#8217; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0rm1qmk-v8-u3giNUi-sGQ">YouTube account</a>. </p>
<p>The question remains how long that will stay up of course. YouTuber <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCnpFVyabIM">Doc Squiffy</a> rightfully points out that many others who operate in the same niche have had videos taken down or entire channels demonetized by YouTube recently. </p>
<p>That also brings us back to an article we wrote a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/youtube-wont-put-up-with-blatant-piracy-tutorials-forever-180506/">few months ago</a>. This suggested that YouTube won’t put up with blatant piracy tutorials forever. This appears to be the case indeed, especially when copyright holders are actively targeting them with takedown requests.</p>
<p>TorrentFreak reached out to &#8220;Kodi No Limits&#8221; via an associated contact address, but at the time of writing we haven&#8217;t heard back. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165158
title: Kim Dotcom Extradition Battle May Have Years to Run
uri: Kim-Dotcom-Extradition-Battle-May-Have-Years-to-Run
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/XYv1pdgmIr4/
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="" width="233" height="170" class="alignright size-full wp-image-76556"></a>When Megaupload was shut down by United States authorities in 2012, along with the arrest of its operators in New Zealand, few people anticipated the scale of the legal battle that would ensue.</p>
<p>After countless legal processes and procedures, every attempt to force Kim Dotcom and colleagues Mathias Ortmann, Finn Batato, and Bram van der Kolk into submission have been met with resistance.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most important battle &#8211; to have the quartet sent to the US to face charges including copyright infringement, racketeering, and money laundering &#8211; is still underway and being fiercely contested. Comments made in the Wellington Supreme Court today indicate that the process is moving at glacial pace.</p>
<p>David Boldt, a lawyer for the United States, told the Court that the extradition battle &#8220;might almost be at half-time&#8221;, opening up the potential for more years of struggle.</p>
<p>Back in July, after the case had traveled through the District Court and High Court, New Zealand’s Court of Appeal <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-loses-extradition-appeal-will-take-case-to-supreme-court-180705/">ruled</a> that Dotcom and his former colleagues are indeed eligible for extradition to the United States.</p>
<p>“We are satisfied that New Zealand law permits extradition for copyright infringement in the circumstances of this case. That is so although we have held, contrary to previous authority, that double criminality is required in extradition between New Zealand and the United States. The appellants are accused of conduct that, if proved, would establish extradition offences in New Zealand law,” the ruling reads.</p>
<p>“A criminal offense is committed by anyone who knowingly possesses an infringing digital copy of a protected work in the course of business with a view to committing any act, such as online dissemination, that infringes the copyright.”</p>
<p>Dotcom and his co-accused hope the Supreme Court will come to a different conclusion but according to <a href="https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/377562/dotcom-case-rolls-on-in-supreme-court">RNZ</a>, Boldt told the Supreme Court today that there is no direct right of appeal in Dotcom&#8217;s criminal case, since in 2012, when the case began, there was no eligibility for a third appeal in extradition cases.</p>
<p>&#8220;You have said before &#8216;if it&#8217;s not mentioned we are simply unable to say we have jurisdiction&#8217;. That contrasts with the civil jurisdiction where there is a right of appeal,&#8221; Boldt told the Court.</p>
<p>Of course, lawyers for the Megaupload quartet disagree.</p>
<p>Grant Illingworth, appearing for co-accused Bram Van der Kolk and Matthias Ortmann, said Boldt&#8217;s position is unsupported, adding that New Zealand&#8217;s Bill of Rights states that people cannot be extradited &#8220;except on grounds prescribed by law&#8221;. Lawyers for Dotcom and Batato supported Illingworth&#8217;s submissions.</p>
<p>Even if the US Government gets its way and the appeal is not accepted by the Supreme Court, the so-called &#8220;surrender&#8221; phase could take years. After the District Court decides whether someone can be extradited, it&#8217;s for New Zealand&#8217;s Minister of Justice to make the final decision. That, Boldt said, could lead to yet more processes and debate.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165201
title: Banksy’s Own Video Shredded By YouTube Following Canal+ Copyright Claim”
uri: Banksy-s-Own-Video-Shredded-By-YouTube-Following-Canal-Copyright-Cl
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/X6RDAUHlBn4/
content:
<p><img src="media/34e023fb.sadyoutube.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/sadyoutube.jpg" alt="" width="275" height="196" class="alignright size-full wp-image-117196">Banksy is without a doubt one of the most mysterious yet best-known street artists in the world.  </p>
<p>His works are the most sought after in their genre for which collectors are happy to pay serious cash.</p>
<p>One of his paintings was sold at Sotheby for £1.4 million in October, which is a reasonable amount. However, as soon as the hammer went down a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy#Balloon_Girl_Shredding">built-in shredder tore half of it to pieces</a>. </p>
<p>Apparently, Banksy had built a shredder into the painting, carefully planning his &#8216;stunt,&#8217; which carries a deeper criticism of course. </p>
<p>The stunt was widely covered in the media and also documented by Banksy on his own <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/banksyfilm/feed">YouTube channel</a>. The street artist rarely uploads anything so media outlets were keen to republish the video, which offered a behind-the-scenes perspective on the shredding.  </p>
<p>Apparently, the French media giant Canal+ used the material as well. However, they went a step further and have claimed it as their own, asking YouTube to remove the original, which it did. </p>
<p>&#8220;Video unavailable This video contains content from Canal Plus, who has blocked it on copyright grounds,&#8221; a message <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxkwRNIZgdY">now reads instead</a>. </p>
<p><center><strong>Removed</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/d92eba4c.banksyremoved.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/banksyremoved.png" alt="" width="600" height="476" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165205"></center></p>
<p>The issue was picked up by professional engineering YouTuber Dave Jones <a href="https://twitter.com/eevblog/status/1070284974723485698">on Twitter</a>. He describes YouTube&#8217;s takedown system as a joke, adding that Canal+ should love its Content ID privilege.</p>
<p>While it&#8217;s not entirely clear how this happened it&#8217;s likely that Canal+ used Banksy&#8217;s video in its own programming, adding it to the Content ID system. That certainly would not be the first time this has happened.  </p>
<p>It&#8217;s impossible to summarize all mistakes, but the fact that a <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3637124">bird chirping</a> and <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/musicians-white-noise-youtube-video-hit-with-copyright-complaints-180105/">white noise</a> videos were previously flagged as copyright-infringing content says enough. </p>
<p>In all honesty, mistakes are bound to happen when a company operates on a scale as large as YouTube. In a few hours or days, this mistake will likely be corrected. However, there is certainly room for improvement. Right now, YouTube users can lose their channel after three copyright strikes, but rightsholders can make mistake after mistake. </p>
<p>As for Banksy, we doubt that he&#8217;s seriously upset by any of this. He has seen some of his most iconic works being painted over in the past. Unlike with YouTube, these aren&#8217;t so easy to restore.</p>
<p><em>&#8212;</p>
<p>The header image was taken from another Banksy video, which is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiO_1XRnMt4">still online</a>.<br>
</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165079
title: Demonoid’s Troubles Worsen as Domain Name Expires
uri: Demonoid-s-Troubles-Worsen-as-Domain-Name-Expires
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/0hiHq4Xj2Xo/
content:
<p><img src="media/a6e16bbf.demonoidlargnew-e1504614957760.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/demonoidlargnew-e1504614957760.jpg" alt="" width="222" height="222" class="alignright size-full wp-image-144142">As one of the oldest torrent communities online, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonoid">Demonoid</a> tracker has gone though many ups and downs. </p>
<p>The site has disappeared for months, more than once, but always reappeared.</p>
<p>Earlier this year things were looking quite positive for the site. The founder and operator Deimos was committed to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/demonoid-hopes-to-return-to-its-former-glory-170910/">rebuilding</a> the site to the thriving community it once was, but at the end of this summer new problems emerged.</p>
<p>Initially, there were some technical issues and isolated downtime. However, as the weeks passed on, the site disappeared completely. All the while, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/demonoid-goes-down-while-owner-remains-missing-180924/">Deimos was nowhere to be found</a>. </p>
<p>Over the past few weeks, staff received a sign of life from the operator, but the issues are far from over. In fact, a few days ago the most recent Demonoid.pw domain name expired, which means that it&#8217;s at risk of being lost completely.</p>
<p>TorrentFreak spoke to Demonoid staffer &#8216;Phase&#8217; who believes that Deimos may resurrect the site in the future, but whether he&#8217;s aware of the domain issue is unknown. If the domain isn&#8217;t renewed soon, <a href="http://www.tldregistrarsolutions.com/">the registrar</a> will delete it from the records completely.</p>
<p>This is something the staff hope to prevent, but their hands are tied. </p>
<p>&#8220;I contacted TLD registrar solutions on behalf of the Demonoid and staff members asking if it&#8217;s possible to pay up the domain expenses so the domain doesn&#8217;t get lost,&#8221; Phase tells us. </p>
<p>However, that hasn&#8217;t gotten them anywhere yet. All .pw email addresses are inactive as well now. Phase still has the old phase@demonoid.com <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/DemonoidP2P/comments/7uazrq/having_trouble_activating_your_account_please/">handle</a> and he hopes that by some miracle the registrar will contact him there to help out.</p>
<p>That seems to be a long shot, but there are few other options. </p>
<p>Demonoid&#8217;s staff don&#8217;t have access to the site&#8217;s <a href="https://twitter.com/demonoidp2p?lang=en">Twitter account</a> either, so it&#8217;s hard to inform users about the current situation. According to Phase, many are being tricked by copycat sites. Demonoid.to is particularly problematic, as it encourages visitors to download a scammy client.</p>
<p>As a temporary solution, the staff have decided to create new fora at <a href="http://www.demonoid.info/">Demonoid.info</a> where Demonoid users can get the latest updates or just chat randomly. </p>
<p>&#8220;We staff established a Demonoid Fora for the fans so they can have at least some sense of home while Demonoid is gone. This forum is not file sharing related in any way, it&#8217;s just a way to help the community stay together,&#8221; Phase says.</p>
<p>While several long-time Demonoid users have found their way to the new fora, it remains unsure if or when the real Demonoid will return.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165129
title: Three Sentenced For Placing Advertising on Pirate Sites
uri: Three-Sentenced-For-Placing-Advertising-on-Pirate-Sites
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/gtYq7oUdIRI/
content:
<p><a href="media/1e966c9f.piracydown.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/piracydown.jpg"><img src="media/198e8dc2.piracydown.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/piracydown.jpg" alt="" width="180" height="162" class="alignright size-full wp-image-73866"></a>While there are several business models that are able to keep pirate sites up and running, advertising is one of the most popular.</p>
<p>With huge amounts of traffic landing on both torrent and streaming platforms, even with low-quality adverts it&#8217;s possible for both site owners and advertising companies to generate decent profits.</p>
<p>Until now, pirate site operators have been the main targets for law enforcement agencies but a recently concluded case in Germany shows that the authorities are prepared to extend their reach when required.</p>
<p>According to Germany-based anti-piracy group GVU, the Leipzig District Court has now sentenced three employees of an Internet advertising agency to prison terms for aiding and abetting copyright infringement.</p>
<p>The investigation was led by the Integrated Investigation Unit Saxony (INES) at the Saxon Attorney General&#8217;s Office and supported by the GVU with analysis and insights.</p>
<p>&#8220;The defendants had brokered advertising space on well-known piracy portals such as kino.to or iload.to and displayed lucrative banner ads on a large scale,&#8221; GVU reveals.</p>
<p>&#8220;In this way, they achieved profits of more than 350,000 euros. They were aware that they were involved with structurally infringing sites, which apparently offered almost exclusively copyrighted files for download and streaming.&#8221;</p>
<p>The sentences for the trio were considerable, despite not being directly involved in the running of the sites. The manager of the agency received a sentence of one year and eight months, with two programmers each receiving one year and four months in prison. However, since the defendants confessed, all sentences were suspended.  </p>
<p>&#8220;The verdict sets a significant precedent because up to now no advertising agency in Germany has ever been prosecuted for its support of illegal portal sites,&#8221; GVU concludes.</p>
<p>While they attracted significant volumes of traffic in their prime, both Kino.to and iLoad.to are long gone from the piracy ecosystem.</p>
<p>Kino.to was once the king of all Germany-based streaming sites. It was <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kino-to-raided-in-massive-police-operation-admins-arrested-110608/">raided</a> in 2011 as part of a huge multi-national anti-piracy operation but various clones have since tried to keep the pirate flag flying in its honor.</p>
<p>Finally, <a href="https://tarnkappe.info/gvu-verliert-groessten-geldgeber-mpa-steigt-aus-2/">Tarnkappe reports</a> that GVU is about to lose its funding from the MPA. The organization told the publication that Germany is still important but a new and more integrated approach is required.</p>
<p>&#8220;The MPA continues to promote a vibrant and diverse creative industries in Germany and throughout the European Union &#8211; and to defend the rights of authors to be compensated for their work,&#8221; an MPA spokesperson said.</p>
<p>&#8220;However, as film and television piracy continues to develop rapidly, become increasingly online and international, we need to develop our overall approach to be more integrated and coherent. This requires a more flexible local presence and direct cooperation with local and regional law enforcement agencies. Germany is a strategically important market for the MPA and we are determined to continue playing a key role.&#8221;</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165096
title: Major Rightsholders Are Not Happy With Article 13 Either
uri: Major-Rightsholders-Are-Not-Happy-With-Article-13-Either
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/-nhUWruP0oI/
content:
<p><img src="media/19bd259d.eu-copyright.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/eu-copyright.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="167" class="alignright size-full wp-image-136985">In a plenary vote in September, the European Parliament <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/eu-parliament-adopts-controversial-upload-filter-proposal-180912/">backed</a> the controversial Article 13 proposal, which is part of EU&#8217;s copyright reform plans.</p>
<p>The outcome was welcomed by many copyright holders, particularly in the music industry.</p>
<p>&#8220;This vote is great news for music fans and for anyone who values exciting and original online entertainment. It&#8217;s an important step towards creating a fairer internet that encourages and rewards creativity,&#8221; BPI&#8217;s Geoff Taylor <a href="https://www.bpi.co.uk/news-analysis/bpi-response-to-european-parliament-copyright-directive-vote-to-reform-copyright/">said</a> at the time. </p>
<p>The vote was not the end of the process though. The final text of Article 13 will be agreed upon during the “trilogue” meetings. The second of three meetings was held earlier this week. When the text is final, the EU Parliament will vote again. </p>
<p>It is no secret that Article 13 and the potential for &#8220;upload filters&#8221; is being met with fierce resistance from activists, scholars, academics, and many members of the public. However, it turns out that not all copyright holder organizations are happy either. </p>
<p>A coalition of major representatives from the audiovisual and sports sectors sent a letter to members of the EU Parliament, ahead of the meeting this week. They include the Motion Picture Association, the International Union of Cinemas, the Premier League, and La Liga.</p>
<p>The groups say that they are extremely concerned with the current version of Article 13. They fear that it will do more harm than good for their industries, as it will strengthen the position of major online content sharing service providers (OCSSPs).</p>
<p>&#8220;[U]nfortunately, the Value Gap provision has mutated in such a way that it now strengthens even further the role of OCSSPs to the direct detriment of right holders and completely undermines the status quo in terms of the EU liability regime,&#8221; the letter reads.</p>
<p>The organizations warn that large Internet services will only gain more power. Article 13 will create a new safe harbor for some online services that take measures to prevent infringement, which undermines current law and weakens the position of copyright holders.</p>
<p>&#8220;These would constitute gifts to already powerful platforms, and would de facto constitute the only real change to the current status quo in legal terms, thus improving the position of platforms, but not of right holders.&#8221; </p>
<p>The letter points out that EU case law already makes it clear that online services themselves can communicate to the public and be held liable for infringing activity. They feel that the new proposal could undermine this.</p>
<p>Their solution would be to draft Article 13 in such a way that existing jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice is not at risk. </p>
<p>Alternatively, Article 13 could be framed in a way that the film industry and sports leagues are not affected. For example, by limiting it to music only, which is the sector that&#8217;s believed to be benefitting from it the most. </p>
<p>&#8220;If, on the contrary, any new safe harbour/&#8217;mitigation of liability&#8217; would be part of a final trilogue agreement, we would respectfully urge you to disapply the entire value gap provision to our respective sectors,&#8221; the letter reads. </p>
<p>Pirate Party <a href="https://juliareda.eu/2018/12/article-13-mess/">MEP Julia Reda</a>, who shared the document in public, notes that since even major rightsholders are unhappy, something must clearly change.</p>
<p>&#8220;It can no longer reasonably be denied: Article 13 was misguided from the start. Rather than solving a specific, well-identified problem with a well-assessed solution, lawmakers attempted to use copyright law to rebalance power between several big industries, with no regard for the collateral damage they were causing. </p>
<p>&#8220;Instead of resolving these concerns and converging on a reasonable middle ground, the negotiations have just muddied the waters further,&#8221; Reda adds.</p>
<p>Upload filter opponents, including Reda, have an entirely different view on the matter than the film and sports sectors, of course. However, both sides clearly want Article 13 to change. </p>
<p>The Pirate Party MEP naturally has a different solution as well. If the main goal of the music industry is to get more money from companies such as YouTube, this problem should be tackled more directly, she argues. </p>
<p>By finding a way to ensure that collective licenses are in place, for example, without upload filters. And by legalizing modern remix and fan culture at the same time. </p>
<p>&#8220;But if we can’t even agree that that’s what we’re trying to achieve here – that leaves only one way forward: Let’s drop Article 13 altogether and send the directive back to the drawing board,&#8221; Reda concludes. </p>
<p><em>&#8212;</p>
<p>A copy of the letter sent by representatives of the audio-visual and sports sectors is available <a href="media/a13dbd30.Audiovisual-and-Sports-on-Value-Gap.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/Audiovisual-and-Sports-on-Value-Gap.pdf">here (pdf)</a>.</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165227
title: Just Cause 4 Cracked a Day After Release – But it Gets Worse
uri: Just-Cause-4-Cracked-a-Day-After-Release-But-it-Gets-Worse
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/J9r1nP_oSP8/
content:
<p><a href="media/bc147c35.jc4.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/jc4.png"><img src="media/6fdac005.jc4.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/jc4.png" alt="" width="250" height="251" class="alignright size-full wp-image-165234"></a>After being <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/denuvo-has-been-sold-to-global-anti-piracy-outfit-irdeto-180123/">acquired</a> by anti-piracy company Irdeto earlier this year, it was expected that anti-tamper technology company Denuvo would go on to even bigger things.</p>
<p>Instead, the anti-tamper protection is being subjected to a barrage of cracking activity. </p>
<p>With a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/denuvo-cites-huge-losses-for-aaa-game-not-using-its-anti-piracy-tech-181108/">recent announcement</a> detailing the importance of protecting AAA titles if only for a couple of weeks, the company appeared to be lowering expectations of a longer piracy-free period. Now, however, even those aspirations have been shattered following the release of Just Cause 4.</p>
<p>This long-anticipated AAA action-adventure title is the follow-up to Just Cause 3, which was also protected by Denuvo. That game was released in December 2015 but wasn&#8217;t cracked until the end of February 2017. </p>
<p>Compare that with Just Cause 4. The game was released on December 4, 2018 then cracked and leaked online December 5, 2018. Just Cause 3 and Just Cause 4 were both defeated by cracking group CPY, who are clearly getting very familiar with Denuvo&#8217;s technology.</p>
<p><center><strong>Just Cause 4: Day Two Crack</strong><br></br></center><center><a href="media/2be5dbd5.just-cause-4-nfo-e1544086400645.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/just-cause-4-nfo-e1544086400645.png"><img src="media/2be5dbd5.just-cause-4-nfo-e1544086400645.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/just-cause-4-nfo-e1544086400645.png" alt="" width="650" height="562" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-165232"></a> </center></p>
<p>While having the game appear online the day after release is bad enough, another problem is raising its head. According to <a href="https://steamcommunity.com/app/517630/reviews/">numerous reviewers on Steam</a>, the game is only worthy of a &#8216;thumbs down&#8217; based on complaints about graphics, gameplay, and numerous other issues.</p>
<p>While these things are often handled via early patches from developers, the negative reviews mean that the average score on Steam is currently just 5/10. That, combined with the availability of a pirated version online, seems like a possible recipe for disaster and something that could raise its head later should sales fail to impress.</p>
<p>That being said, dedicated Steam users can be particularly critical. Metacritic scores show an improved picture, with a Metascore of 75 out of a possible 100. Not great, but still slightly higher than the 73 achieved by Just Cause 3.</p>
<p>These are undoubtedly tough times for Denuvo but it would be premature to count out the technology just yet. There can be little doubt that its high-profile has presented a challenge that&#8217;s being relished by cracking groups, who seem prepared to invest significant resources into undermining its work.</p>
<p>A turnaround is still possible but protecting a title for just a day just isn&#8217;t enough, even by the company&#8217;s shortening expectations. Certainly, having a game cracked before its official launch, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/hitman-2s-denuvo-protection-cracked-three-days-before-launch-181112/">as happened with Hitman 2</a> last month, is almost as bad as it gets.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165073
title: Huge Torrent Tracker Calls it Quits After 12 Years, Citing Article 13
uri: Huge-Torrent-Tracker-Calls-it-Quits-After-12-Years-Citing-Article-13
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/uYK_dDaSTnc/
content:
<p><a href="media/bc003361.network-round.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/network-round.jpg"><img src="media/a79e141a.network-round.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/network-round.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="250" class="alignright size-full wp-image-126170"></a>Torrent sites come in all shapes and sizes. Most are known for being indexes of .torrent files or magnet links which facilitate access to various types of media. When these sites specialize in indexing copyrighted content, the law in most developed regions (particularly the EU) renders them illegal.</p>
<p>However, some torrent platforms operate almost completely in the shadows, not necessarily by design, but because of the important services they provide exist almost exclusively behind the scenes.</p>
<p>Most people who regularly load a torrent file or a magnet link into a torrent client will see information related to the content they&#8217;re downloading and sharing. Things such as peer counts (the number of seeders and leechers) probably attract the most attention but in every client one is also able to see which torrent &#8216;trackers&#8217; are helping with their transfers.</p>
<p>These &#8216;trackers&#8217; are servers that are able to put torrent clients sharing the same content in touch with each other. The IP addresses of other seeders and leechers are delivered to everyone in a torrent &#8216;swarm&#8217; so that sharing of media can take place. The same goal can be achieved via <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/bittorrents-future-dht-pex-and-magnet-links-explained-091120/">DHT and PEX</a> but trackers are more immediate and much appreciated by file-sharers.</p>
<p>Unlike regular torrent indexes that can be monetized through web-based advertising, standalone trackers that aren&#8217;t connected to a particular torrent site are mostly run as non-profits. Indeed, many notable trackers over the years never generated a penny and were run as hobbyist projects. As such, their existence relies upon the operator&#8217;s desire to keep the thing going, which isn&#8217;t always easy.</p>
<p>One of the longest-standing trackers was Leechers Paradise, words that have appeared in hundreds of millions of torrent clients over the years. However, an announcement from its operator means that the tacker will shut down for good due to fear over upcoming legislation in the EU.</p>
<p>&#8220;Sadly after 12 years I am calling it quits. Article 13 of the new EU copyright law requires that all uploads are screened. This is impossible which would make this site illegal,&#8221; operator &#8216;Eddie&#8217; writes. </p>
<p>&#8220;This coupled with my ISP kindly asking to move my site out of there [sic] datacenter. Means no more: leechers-paradise.&#8221;</p>
<p>While <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/upload-filters-article-13-the-latest-eu-proposals-181120/">Article 13</a> certainly has sites like YouTube concerned, they actually host, curate, and promote content. Leechers Paradise, which simply acted as a networking tool, did not. There&#8217;s a big difference.</p>
<p>It remains unclear whether the finalized Article 13 text will be applicable to the activities of a content-agnostic tracker like Leechers Paradise, but after 12 years &#8216;Eddie&#8217; probably has plenty of other reasons not to continue with his project, so that&#8217;s to be respected.</p>
<p><center><strong>Leechers Paradise &#8211; gone but not forgotten</strong><br></br></center><center><a href="media/48811f04.leechers-stats.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/leechers-stats.png"><img src="media/54a73d21.leechers-stats.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/leechers-stats.png" alt="" width="600" height="349" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-165074"></a></center></p>
<p>As the image above shows, at the end of July the tracker was servicing 132.3 million peers, a figure that provides a small indication of how important the tracker was to torrent users around the world.</p>
<p>Figures published in August indicated that the tracker was serving just over six million torrents using IPV4 and just over 54,000 using IPV6.</p>
<p><center><strong>Traffic stats: August 31, 2018</strong><br></br></center><center><a href="media/747ac270.leechers-august.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/leechers-august.png"><img src="media/4326db5b.leechers-august.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/leechers-august.png" alt="" width="600" height="444" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-165075"></a></center></p>
<p>As an indicator of how Leechers Paradise has grown over the years, one can compare stats from June 2013 with those of today. Back then the site was assisting transfers on &#8216;just&#8217; 17,152 torrents which together had 95,817 peers and 56,505 seeders.</p>
<p>While other important standalone trackers look set to continue, the loss of Leechers Lair should come as a disappointment to millions of torrent users worldwide. Perhaps the greatest irony is that most won&#8217;t have any idea of the scale of the role it played.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165160
title: GTA V’s Take-Two Wants $150,000 in Damages From Cheat Maker
uri: GTA-V-s-Take-Two-Wants-150-000-in-Damages-From-Cheat-Maker
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/CrTIsvAAUE4/
content:
<p><img src="media/4592b5eb.220px-Grand_Theft_Auto_V.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/220px-Grand_Theft_Auto_V.png" alt="" width="220" height="270" class="alignright size-full wp-image-160081">Over the past year there has been a wave of copyright infringement lawsuits against alleged cheaters or cheat makers.</p>
<p>Take-Two Interactive Software, the company behind ‘Grand Theft Auto V’ (GTA V), is one of the major players involved. The company has filed several lawsuits in the US and abroad, targeting alleged cheaters.</p>
<p>In August the company filed a case against Florida resident Jhonny Perez, accusing him of copyright infringement by creating and distributing a cheating tool. The software, known as “Elusive,” could be used to cheat and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griefer">grief</a>, interfering with the gameplay of others.</p>
<p>&#8220;In essence, Defendant is free riding on TakeTwo’s intellectual property to sell a commercial product that interferes with the carefully orchestrated and balanced gameplay that Take-Two created for its players,&#8221; Take-Two notes in the court filing this week. </p>
<p>The defendant has a clear profit motive, according to the company, which notes that &#8220;Elusive&#8221; was sold at prices ranging from $10 to $30, depending on the package. Buyers could pay through PayPal, but Steam and Amazon gift cards were also accepted.</p>
<p>How much money was made in the process remains unknown. Prior to filing the lawsuit, Take-Two requested detailed financial records from Perez in an attempt to reach a settlement. However, the defendant didn&#8217;t hand over the requested information and eventually stopped responding. </p>
<p>This lack of response continued after the lawsuit was filed, which prompted Take-Two to move for a default judgment. According to the company, it&#8217;s clear that the cheat maker is guilty of both direct and contributory copyright infringement. </p>
<p>Take-Two submitted its proposed default judgment to a New York federal court this week, asking for the maximum statutory damages amount of $150,000. </p>
<p>Among other things, Take-Two says this is warranted because the cheating activity resulted in severe losses. According to an estimate provided by the company, the harm is at least $500,000. In addition, the maximum in damages should also act as a deterrent against other cheat developers. </p>
<p>&#8220;A maximum award would deter Defendant and other infringers from creating similar cheating tools that modify and alter GTAV,&#8221; the company argues. </p>
<p>&#8220;Indeed, Defendant is not alone in his effort to create, distribute, and maintain a program that alters and modifies Take Two’s game, which is then sold to users for profit. Take-Two already has been forced to bring several lawsuits in the United States and around the world against other infringers.&#8221; </p>
<p>On top of the $150,000 in damages, Take-Two also requests $69,686 in attorney’s fees, as well a permanent injunction prohibiting the defendant from continuing infringing activities moving forward. </p>
<p><center><strong>Take-Two&#8217;s conclusion</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/5ae1ecd7.take2conclu.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/take2conclu.png" alt="" width="600" height="142" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165193"></center></p>
<p>As far as we know, Elusive hasn&#8217;t been available since earlier this year when the developer informed the public that activities were being discontinued. </p>
<p>&#8220;After discussions with Take-Two Interactive, we are immediately ceasing all maintenance, development, and distribution of our cheat menu services,&#8221; a public announcement read at the time.</p>
<p>&#8220;We will also be donating our proceeds to a charity designated by Take-Two. We apologize for any and all problems our software has caused to the Grand Theft Auto Online community,&#8221; it added. </p>
<p>That said, Take-Two has experience with developers who say one thing and <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/gta-vs-take-two-wants-lying-cheat-maker-to-pay-up-180901/">do another</a>, so the company would like to see details cemented in a court order. Given that the defendant has not responded in court, it is likely that the court will side with the gaming company.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p>Here are copies of Take-Two&#8217;s <a href="media/d460e01a.2memo.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/2memo.pdf">memorandum (pdf)</a> and the <a href="media/ca69a85a.2proporder.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/2proporder.pdf">proposed order (pdf)</a>, obtained by TorrentFreak.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165167
title: Bizarre Blocking Order Targets ‘Pirate’ Domains Before They’re Registered
uri: Bizarre-Blocking-Order-Targets-Pirate-Domains-Before-They-re-R
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/PVqCx2GJx5A/
content:
<p><img src="media/a70e19c9.pageblocked.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/pageblocked.jpg" alt="" width="275" height="207" class="alignright size-full wp-image-147564" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/pageblocked.jpg 275w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/pageblocked-200x150.jpg 200w" sizes="(max-width: 275px) 100vw, 275px">Website blocking is without a doubt one of the favorite anti-piracy tools of the entertainment industries.</p>
<p>India is no stranger to this measure either. Over the years, local courts have issued a variety of blocking orders, often to protect films upon their initial release.</p>
<p>This also happened last week. Following a request by Lyca Productions, the company behind the film &#8220;2.0,&#8221; the Madras High Court <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/12564-sites-preemptively-blocked-to-protect-indias-most-expensive-movie-181129/">ordered</a> 37 local ISPs to block access to a list of 12,564 domain names, should that be necessary to stop the film from being pirated.</p>
<p>When the news broke it was unknown whether this number referred to separate sites or domains. Local reports only indicated that 2,000 of the &#8216;websites&#8217; are operated by notorious Tamil movie website TamilRockers.</p>
<p>This didn&#8217;t help, as we&#8217;re not aware of that many sites being operated by TamilRockers. Luckily, however, we managed to obtain a copy of the court order that explains what&#8217;s really going on here. </p>
<p>As it turns out, the Madras High Court didn&#8217;t list more than 12,000 separate websites. The order really only targets 16 prime targets, which we can easily list in a single paragraph. </p>
<p>These are Tamilrockers, Movierulz, Tamilmv, 1337x, Worldfree4u, Tamildbox, Tamilgun, Tamilrage, Isaimini, Filmlinks4u, Madrasrockers, Tamilyogi, Thiruttumovies, Mtamilrockers, Hiidude, and Mymoviesda.</p>
<p>So how did the court order get to 12,564 domain names? As it turns out, for each of the targeted &#8216;sites&#8217; it lists hundreds of domain names. Quite exotic ones too, as can be seen below.</p>
<p><center><strong>From the order</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/61c71a3c.tamilorder.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tamilorder.png" alt="" width="600" height="221" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165181"></center></p>
<p>The person who came up with this idea must have thought that this was a great way to prevent pirate sites from simply registering a new domain. The majority of the domains are not even registered yet, which is something we&#8217;ve never seen before. </p>
<p>While the makers of 2.0 probably saw this as an ingenious plan, the reality is quite different. </p>
<p>Take the site Hiidude for example. They previously operated from Hiidide.biz and Hiidude.in. These are covered by the court order and so are other unregistered domain options, such as Hidude.lgbt, Hiidude.wtf, and even Hiidude.fail. </p>
<p>However, the site is not without additional options. Whether it&#8217;s in direct response to this court order or not, today Hiidude is operating from Hiidude1.in. It only took a single character to circumvent the entire court order. </p>
<p>In addition, it&#8217;s worth mentioning that the court order is not permanent. Instead, it only lasts until December 13, noting that the companies should block the domain names if that becomes necessary.</p>
<p>Perhaps more importantly, the order didn&#8217;t prevent the movie &#8220;2.0&#8221; from being leaked. Last weekend, <a href="https://techdows.com/">Venkat</a> informed TorrentFreak that a high-quality copy had leaked online. It reportedly came out first on the site TamilRockers, but it spread to other sites soon after. </p>
<p>This prompted Lyca Productions to retain the anti-piracy outfit &#8220;<a href="http://blockxpiracy.com/">BLOCK X</a>&#8221; to issue strongly-worded takedown requests to a variety of sites where &#8220;2.0&#8221; appeared. </p>
<p>&#8220;We demand that you expeditiously remove or disable access to the material in question. In the event of your non-compliance you will no longer be protected by the veil of safe harbor,&#8221; it reads, referencing the US DMCA. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, it appears that Indian law enforcement is also continuing to put pressure on Tamilrockers. Local news sites report that &#8220;<a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/Members-of-piracy-website-TamilRockers-arrested/articleshow/55887838.cms">a few</a>&#8221; admins were arrested last week, while others state it was <a href="https://tamil.indianexpress.com/entertainment/tamilrockers-admin-member-arrested-in-coimbatore/">just one</a>. The site remains operational though.  </p>
<p>Interestingly this isn&#8217;t the first time that TamilRockers admins or members have been arrested. The same &#8216;reportedly&#8217; happened <a href="https://www.india.com/buzz/tamil-rockers-members-and-admin-arrested-by-anti-piracy-cell-in-coimbatore-3409839/">early November</a>, <a href="https://article.wn.com/view/2018/07/20/TamilRockers_Members_of_piracy_website_Tamil_Rockers_arreste/">in July</a>, <a href="https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/kerala-police-arrest-5-piracy-3-tamilrockers-and-2-dvd-rockers-78008">in March</a>, <a href="https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-cinema-news-16/admin-of-popular-pirated-movie-website-tamilrockers-arrested.html">September 2017</a>, and even <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/bachelor-party-on-the-net-lands-many-in-police-net/article3875125.ece?homepage=true">years earlier</a>. </p>
<p>Apparently, the site not only has a lot of domain names, but also plenty of admins.  </p>
<p><em>&#8212;</p>
<p>A copy of the court order, obtained by TorrentFreak, is available <a href="media/657672a1.johndoe20.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/johndoe20.pdf">here (pdf)</a>.</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165113
title: Showbox: Is it ‘Back’ and More Importantly, is it ‘Safe’?
uri: Showbox-Is-it-Back-and-More-Importantly-is-it-Safe
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/WYeMXqI_Jx0/
content:
<p><a href="media/61b299d8.showbox-logo.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/showbox-logo.png"><img src="media/8f095c72.showbox-logo.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/showbox-logo.png" alt="" width="220" height="212" class="alignright size-full wp-image-117504"></a>As first reported here on TorrentFreak, popular streaming application Showbox hit turbulent times recently.</p>
<p>In May we <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/movie-studios-sue-founder-and-distributors-of-popular-pirate-app-showbox-180524/">revealed</a> that a group of independent movie studios (Dallas Buyers Club, Cobbler Nevada, Bodyguard Productions, and others) were targeting sites and individuals said to be behind or offering Showbox.</p>
<p>Back in September, a DMCA subpoena filed by the same companies ordered Cloudflare to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/cloudflare-ordered-to-expose-yts-showbox-and-popcorn-time-site-operators-180919/">expose</a> the people linked to various sites offering the application.</p>
<p>It is important to know that the companies behind this request are known serial litigants and have been involved in many &#8220;copyright trolling&#8221; cases against BitTorrent users in the US and elsewhere.</p>
<p>Last month we <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/showbox-sites-settle-with-movie-companies-warn-users-of-lawsuits-181124/">reported</a> that two websites connected to Showbox had settled their legal dispute with the companies previously mentioned. The terms of the settlement were not made public and the sites in question now display an ominous warning.</p>
<p><center><strong>Showbox warning</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/2ad1c5fe.showwarning.png" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/showwarning.png" width="600" height="142" class="aligncenter size-large"></center></p>
<p>While some will undoubtedly view these messages as scaremongering, it&#8217;s surprising that former Showbox users want anything to do with the application moving forward, given recent history. Nevertheless, dozens of threads online feature users asking whether new versions of Showbox popping up here and there are &#8216;safe&#8217; to use.</p>
<p>It is a difficult &#8211; if not impossible &#8211; question for anyone to answer conclusively.</p>
<p>First of all, many of the individuals who previously used the app don&#8217;t even seem to know where they downloaded it from. This means they could&#8217;ve been using the original version or a modified variant from an unknown developer, with both options raising security issues but for different reasons.</p>
<p>It appears that the original app is in trouble and as for the clones, who knows what their motivations are? And, with known copyright trolls heavily in the mix here, alarm bells of all kinds should be going off. That said, people clearly want their movies and TV shows for free and are happy to carry on doing that as long as someone says &#8220;yeah, this version is safe.&#8221;</p>
<p>At this point, it might interest readers to learn that several times in the past few months we&#8217;ve been asked by random emailers to &#8216;update&#8217; our old Showbox (and indeed TerrariumTV) articles with new links to what they claimed to be the original apps. </p>
<p>There seems little doubt that this was an attempt to misdirect, so unlike some other news outlets who did change their links, we ignored the requests. We don&#8217;t know whether this was simply an attempt to drive more traffic to &#8216;safe&#8217; clones, websites offering the original, or whether something more sinister was at play. It is something to think about, however.</p>
<p>There are so many variables at play here (including what happens to data gathered from Showbox users&#8217; machines, plus IP addresses etc) that to recommend a certain variant of Showbox as &#8216;safe&#8217; would be pretty irresponsible. There&#8217;s also the fact that Showbox not only uses file-hosting links but also torrents, which are inherently &#8216;unsafe&#8217; unless people use a VPN.</p>
<p>Admittedly, certain versions and updates of Showbox may be completely benign but short of having a detailed analysis done on each app, plus having access to what happens behind the scenes, it&#8217;s a potential minefield that users will have to walk through at their own risk.</p>
<p>Some seem very happy to do that, others are less keen. Only time will tell who made the &#8216;safe&#8217; decision.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165081
title: IFPI Slams Pirate MEP For ‘Lobbying’ Kids, Forgets a Decade of Rightsholders Doing Just That
uri: IFPI-Slams-Pirate-MEP-For-Lobbying-Kids-Forgets-a-Decade-of-Rig
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/C55XY_YIJhM/
content:
<p><a href="media/e4511fa3.ifpilogo.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/ifpilogo.jpg"><img src="media/603de5f1.ifpilogo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ifpilogo.jpg" alt="" width="180" height="109" class="alignright size-full wp-image-54626"></a>As the controversy over the EU&#8217;s Article 13 proposals continue, Twitter appears to be the communications weapon of choice for parties on both sides.</p>
<p>While the debate has often been well thought out and considered, at times it has descended into a chorus of potty-mouthed name-calling that at times has proven embarrassing to read. But that&#8217;s the Internet, of course.</p>
<p>As one of the main opponents of Article 13 and in particular its requirement for upload filtering, Julia Reda MEP has been a frequent target for proponents. Accused of being a YouTube/Google shill (despite <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/article-13-youtube-ceo-is-now-lobbying-for-upload-filters-181115/">speaking out loudly</a> against YouTube&#8217;s maneuvering), Reda has endured a lot of criticism. As an MEP, she&#8217;s probably used to that.</p>
<p>However, a recent response to one of her tweets from music giant IFPI opens up a somewhat ironic can of worms that deserves a closer look.</p>
<p>Since kids will be affected by Article 13, largely due to their obsessiveness with YouTube, Reda recently suggested that they should &#8220;lobby&#8221; their parents to read up on the legislation. In tandem with <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/youtube-amps-up-article-13-protest-with-pop-ups-181121/">pop-ups from YouTube</a> advising users to oppose Article 13, that seemed to irritate some supporters of the proposed law.</p>
<p>As the response from IFPI&#8217;s official account shows, Reda&#8217;s advice went down like a lead balloon with the music group, a key defender of Article 13.</p>
<p> <center><strong>It&#8217;s working!</strong><br></br></center><center><a href="media/2039a3ae.reda-ifpi-2-e1543845941848.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/reda-ifpi-2-e1543845941848.png"><img src="media/2039a3ae.reda-ifpi-2-e1543845941848.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/reda-ifpi-2-e1543845941848.png" alt="" width="600" height="674" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-165083"></a></center></p>
<p>&#8220;Shame on you: Do you really approve of minors being manipulated by big tech companies to deliver their commercial agenda?&#8221; the IFPI tweet reads.</p>
<p>While Reda reaching out to kids probably irritated whoever was behind the keyboard at IFPI, it can&#8217;t have helped that the example given in Reda&#8217;s tweet was a response from UK Labour MP Jess Phillips. She&#8217;s one of the most plain-talking MPs in the UK currently and has a great sense of humor, even when it comes to her own kids offering education on copyright law.</p>
<p>Joking aside though, it&#8217;s pretty ironic that IFPI has called out Reda for informing kids about copyright law to further the aims of &#8220;big tech companies&#8221;. As we all know, the music and movie industries have been happily doing exactly the same to further their own aims for at least ten years and probably more.</p>
<p>Digging through the TF archives, there are way too many articles detailing how &#8220;big media&#8221; has directly targeted kids with <em>their</em> message over the last decade. Back in 2009, for example, a former anti-piracy consultant for EMI <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/emi-tries-to-hide-kids-education-anti-piracy-objective-091004/">lectured kids</a> as young as five on anti-piracy issues.</p>
<p>That same year, it was <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pro-copyright-propaganda-enters-us-classrooms-090522/">revealed</a> that the Copyright Alliance (of which the RIAA is a member) was pushing a pro-copyright curriculum to schools in the US. Then, in 2012, the French anti-piracy agency HADOPI, which has ties to the entertainment industries, put forward <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kids-to-get-3-strikes-and-copyright-education-in-paris-120618/">proposals</a> to target children at the Kidexpo exhibition in Paris.</p>
<p>In 2013, both the RIAA and MPAA began <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-and-riaa-to-teach-copyright-at-kindergartens-130918/">teaching copyright classes</a> in California public schools after developing a curriculum targeted at kids from kindergarten through sixth grade.</p>
<p>More recently in 2016, the Creative Content UK initiative, which is backed by the copyright industries, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-education-enters-uk-classrooms-160104/">hit classrooms</a> in an effort to educate children about the dangers of piracy.</p>
<p>Then, just this year, a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-video-scares-kids-with-fake-malware-info-180206/">special campaign</a> targeted directly at kids tried to deter them from using &#8216;pirate&#8217; sites by feeding them questionable information about malware.</p>
<p>TL;DR Glass houses and black pots.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=164754
title: Scammers Use Facebook and Google to Spread Malicious ‘Pirate’ Files
uri: Scammers-Use-Facebook-and-Google-to-Spread-Malicious-Pirate-File
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/paYMcp9iX-Q/
content:
<p><img src="media/af175f74.scamkey.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/scamkey.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="167" class="alignright size-full wp-image-140925">Last weekend we <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/scammers-hit-pirate-game-sites-with-irreversible-google-takedowns-181130/">reported</a> how scammers were sending DMCA notices to downrank game piracy sites. </p>
<p>Presumably, this was done to give their malware-infested pirate sites a better ranking in search results. </p>
<p>While our previous article focused on the abuse of takedown notices, the problem is much broader. In addition to removing content, scammers are also spamming many sites with messages that link people to their dubious pirate sites. </p>
<p>We spoke to a source who has followed this activity for quite a while and actively reported spam he found on medium.com, change.org, wattpad.com, github.com, bitly.com, deviantart.com, zendesk.com, soundcloud.com, ghost.org, hashnode.com, and elsewhere. </p>
<p>Most of these sites were very cooperative and cleaned up the mess soon after they were alerted. </p>
<p>&#8220;The list is really long, but what was great is that all these services immediately responded to my reports. Some of them implemented spam filters and medium.com even sent a t-shirt to thank me,&#8221; says our source, who prefers to remain anonymous. </p>
<p><center><strong>Zendesk&#8217;s response</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/2ec2d884.zendesk.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/zendesk.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="230" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165292"></center></p>
<p>With any type of spam, it&#8217;s impossible to eliminate the problem completely. However, our source says that some platforms are more receptive to reports than others. At Facebook and Google, this didn&#8217;t go so easily.</p>
<p>For months, scammers have used Facebook events to promote their malware or trojan links out in the open, through numerous accounts. In some cases, these events have been online for months, such as with this <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/FIX-Problem-455264181543544/events/">Fix Problem</a> account.</p>
<p>This account lists many hundreds of events, which presumably link to pirated software, games, and other content. There are no events of course, but these listings help to increase SEO and give the associated sites a boost in traffic as well. </p>
<p><center><strong>Fix problem?</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/223c22ee.fixproblems.gif" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/fixproblems.gif" alt="" width="600" height="329" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165287"></center></p>
<p>The problem is rather persistent. Our source says that he reported the issue in detail to Facebook, but that there&#8217;s been little improvement. Many of the reported events are still online today, and new ones keep appearing too. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.google.com/search?&#038;q=site%3Afacebook.com%2Fevents+cpy+just+cause&#038;oq=site%3Afacebook.com%2Fevents+cpy+just+cause">targeted search</a> for &#8220;Just Cause&#8221; Facebook events created over the past week, shows dozens of results. </p>
<p><center><strong>Targeted Google search</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/df7d6953.justcausegoo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/justcausegoo.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="443" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165295"></center></p>
<p>Initially, the Facebook posts linked directly to the sites where the malware-content could be downloaded, but more recently they switched to Google groups. Perhaps because these links are harder to detect automatically. </p>
<p>People who follow these links don&#8217;t get a copy of free software, games, or movies. Instead, they&#8217;re downloading malware-infested files, although the landing page suggests otherwise. </p>
<p><center><strong>A Just Cause landing page</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/ac5dfbee.justcausesun.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/justcausesun.png" alt="" width="600" height="250" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165296"></center></p>
<p>Facebook events appears to be one of the favorite spamming tools, but Google groups are also frequently used. This issue was brought to Google&#8217;s attention weeks ago, in a rather detailed post in the webmaster <a href="https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/webmasters/pLXSFvYhrlo;context-place=topicsearch/russian$20hackers">help forum</a>. </p>
<p>For weeks, many of the reported groups remained online and some still are at the time of writing. New ones are still appearing too, as shown below. </p>
<p><center><strong>Just Cause?</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/6b3d35b0.causegroup.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/causegroup.png" alt="" width="601" height="336" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165299"></center></p>
<p>More recently, Google has flagged several postings but instead of removing them entirely, Google added a <a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/crack-status-progress-scum-game-cracked-on-pc">warning message</a>.</p>
<p>TorrentFreak followed a few of the links that were provided in these spam posts and these indeed point to suspicious malware files, or worse. While this type of spamming activity is not new, Google, Facebook and others may want to take a closer look at how this can be dealt with properly. </p>
<p>Our source has made it somewhat of a personal crusade to go after the scammers. As he runs a pirate site of his own, he a has stake in the matter. Previousy his own links were taken down from Google and, as reported last week, he believes that this was a targeted action by the scammers. </p>
<p>A very detailed accounting of evidence and other information, shared with us, suggests that&#8217;s indeed the case, at least in some instances. It could of course be that there are more rogue actors. </p>
<p>In the background, this takedown issue has added fuel to a rivalry between &#8216;real&#8217; pirate sites. Accusations were made back and forth, which resulted in one <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/goodolddownloads-calls-it-quits-publishes-source-on-github-181202/">site shutting down</a> and much more drama on top.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s impossible to verify any of the claims or accusations and there may be more things going on at once. What we can say, however, is that our source directly linked the takedown efforts to the type of scamming activity on Google, Facebook, and other sites.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165354
title: New EU Piracy Watchlist Targets Key Pirate Sites and Cloudflare
uri: New-EU-Piracy-Watchlist-Targets-Key-Pirate-Sites-and-Cloudflare
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/gl96NxuyaiA/
content:
<p><a href="media/6542fb40.eu-copyright.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/eu-copyright.jpg"><img src="media/19bd259d.eu-copyright.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/eu-copyright.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="167" class="alignright size-full wp-image-136985"></a>In recent years the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) has released several reports detailing &#8220;notorious markets&#8221; that contribute to large volumes of copyright infringement worldwide.</p>
<p>The annual <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/us-govt-brands-torrent-streaming-cyberlocker-sites-as-notorious-markets-180115/">reports</a> are aimed at guiding the U.S. Government’s position towards foreign countries where these sites and services are located. With a focus overseas, US-based platforms are not included.</p>
<p>Earlier this year the EU <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/the-eu-is-working-on-its-own-piracy-watch-list-180124/">announced</a> that it would be following the example set by the United States by producing a similar report of its own. </p>
<p>“The list will identify and describe the most problematic marketplaces – with special focus on online marketplaces – in order to encourage their operators and owners as well as the responsible local authorities and governments to take the necessary actions and measures to reduce the availability of IPR infringing goods or services,&#8221; the EU noted in January.</p>
<p>Almost 11 months later the EU has published its debut &#8216;Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List&#8217; based on consultations with stakeholders, decisions handed down against sites by national courts, the UK&#8217;s Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit&#8217;s infringing website list, Google&#8217;s Transparency Report, plus various Europol assessments.</p>
<p>As promised, it lists sites, services, and other players who allegedly engage in, facilitate or benefit from counterfeiting and piracy, with the aim of placing pressure on the platforms themselves as well as those in power. </p>
<p>For inclusion in the report, the owner of allegedly-infringing platforms must be believed to reside outside the EU, whether or not the platforms themselves have connections inside due to domain registrations or web hosting, for example.</p>
<p>Perhaps unsurprisingly, the majority of the 70 responses received during the consultation phase mentioned cyberlockers and BitTorrent sites, followed by stream-ripping, linking sites, and unlicensed pay-per-download sites. Also under the spotlight are hosting providers, domain registries and registrars, plus ad-networks generating profit from &#8216;pirate&#8217; sites.</p>
<p><strong>Cyberlockers</strong></p>
<p>Given its appearance in several earlier US &#8216;watch list&#8217; documents, the inclusion of Rapidgator in the brand new EU report was perhaps a given. Supposedly hosted in Switzerland but operated from Russia, the platform is accused of hosting a wide range of infringing content while encouraging uploaders with monetary rewards and affiliate schemes.</p>
<p>&#8220;The total number of visits of rapidgrator.net between April 2017 and March 2018 was around 635.7 million. The average website rank worldwide was 1184 in this period. 34% of the visits came from the EU, 66% from non-EU countries,&#8221; the report notes.</p>
<p>Uploaded.net, a site that has lost <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/court-uploaded-cant-ignore-spam-copyright-notices-160925/">legal cases</a> in Germany during the past two years, also makes an appearance.</p>
<p>Reportedly operated from Switzerland (a country placed geographically in Europe but outside the EU), Uploaded is also accused of incentivizing users to upload popular content by paying out cash rewards.</p>
<p>&#8220;The total number of visits of Uploaded.net between April 2017 and March 2018 was around 856 million. The average website rank worldwide was 1140 in this period. 39% of the visits came from the EU, 61% from non-EU countries. Courts in Germany, India and Italy have issued blocking orders against the site,&#8221; the report adds.</p>
<p>As reported earlier last year, Uploaded implemented a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/uploaded-net-terminates-accounts-of-persistent-pirates-170412/">repeat infringer policy</a> but this doesn&#8217;t appear to have quietened rightsholders.</p>
<p>Openload, a file-hosting site that was recently revealed to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-site-openload-generates-more-traffic-than-hulu-or-hbo-go-181002/">generate more traffic</a> than Hulu or HBO Go, is similarly accused of hosting large quantities of infringing traffic while paying rewards to uploaders.</p>
<p>The report makes no attempt to reveal where its operator is based but says that its hosting provider &#8220;is not revealed by a service provider registered in the US&#8221;, which could be a reference to Cloudflare.</p>
<p>After its appearance in the USTR&#8217;s &#8216;notorious markets&#8217; <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/us-govt-brands-torrent-streaming-cyberlocker-sites-as-notorious-markets-180115/">report</a> earlier this year, 4shared is now also featuring in the EU&#8217;s variant.</p>
<p>Accused of hosting &#8216;pirate&#8217; content and rewarding uploaders, the EU report notes that 4shared has more unique visitors than any similar platform. Interestingly it is said to be hosted in the US, which raises the question why the US Government hasn&#8217;t done something about it rather than simply adding it to a &#8216;rogue&#8217; list.</p>
<p>&#8220;The total number of visits of 4shared.com between April 2017 and March 2018 was<br>
around 721 million. The average rank worldwide was 639 in this period. 10% of the visits came from the EU, 90% from non-EU countries,&#8221; the report states.</p>
<p>In the same section, Sci-Hub is noted as &#8220;one of the most problematic online actors for book and scholarly publishers according to the European publishing industry.&#8221;</p>
<p>The report claims that the infamous &#8216;Pirate Bay of Science&#8217; obtains its content by using &#8220;compromised user credentials obtained via phishing scams&#8221;, something the site&#8217;s operator denies. It&#8217;s claimed that file-hosting site Libgen.io gets most of its content from Sci-Hub.</p>
<p><strong>Stream-ripping</strong></p>
<p>Recently labeled as the number one threat to the music industry, stream-ripping platforms make a prominent appearance in the EU report. H2converter.com is said to be hosted in the US and operated from Vietnam, generating around 312 million visits per year. Again, a US presence doesn&#8217;t appear to be an immediate risk to the platform.</p>
<p>Downvids.net is reportedly hosted in France while its operator is &#8220;presumed&#8221; to be outside the EU. That site is said to have around 107 million visits per year, making it &#8220;one of the most popular stream-ripping services globally&#8221;.</p>
<p><strong>Linking and referrer websites</strong></p>
<p>As defined by the EU report, these sites &#8220;aggregate, categorize, organize and index links to media content that is stored on hosting websites, cyberlockers or other kinds of sites allegedly containing pirated content.&#8221;</p>
<p>Hosted in Turkey, Fullhdfilmizlesene.org is said to be one of the most popular with around 451 million visits per year. Russia-hosted Seasonvar.ru is also listed, with an estimated 1.1 billion visits per year. Dwatchseries.to, 1channel.ch and music-focused platform RnbXclusive.review complete the list.</p>
<p><strong>Torrent sites</strong></p>
<p>Previously listed as some of the top targets for rightsholders and law enforcement, torrent sites appear lower down in the EU&#8217;s report than one might expect. However, it&#8217;s no surprise that the super-resilient The Pirate Bay is presented as the number one threat with an estimated 3.1 billion visits between April 2017 and March 2018.</p>
<p>Next up is popular torrent platform RARBG. Hosted outside the EU in Bosnia and Herzegovina, RARBG is reported as responsive to takedown notices but with content rapidly reappearing again shortly after.</p>
<p>&#8220;The total number of visits of Rarbg.to between April 2017 and March 2018 was around 1.371 billion. The average rank worldwide was 304. 31% of the visits came from the EU, 69% from non-EU countries,&#8221; the report notes.</p>
<p>&#8220;Rarbg.to reportedly generates income from advertisements and a pay-per-install distribution model for potential malware. The website and its variants have been subject to blocking orders in Australia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and the United Kingdom.&#8221;</p>
<p>Three other torrent giants round up the list. With an alleged 968.1 million visitors per year, Russia&#8217;s RuTracker is reported as the largest of the trio. In second place with almost 958 million visits is 1337x.to, a site that&#8217;s supposedly hosted in the United States, although the USTR states it&#8217;s an overseas player. Meta-search engine Torrentz2, with almost 712 million visits per year, completes the lineup. </p>
<p><strong>Hosting providers</strong></p>
<p>In common with the USTR&#8217;s report, the EU&#8217;s variant calls out various hosting providers and services that &#8220;allegedly do not follow due diligence when opening accounts for websites to prevent illegal sites from using their services and do not cooperate with copyright holders in removing or blocking access to pirate content.&#8221;</p>
<p>US-based Cloudflare is accused of offering services to approximately 40% of the world&#8217;s pirate sites, helping to anonymize their operators and hide sites&#8217; true hosts.</p>
<p>&#8220;[C]loudFlare&#8217;s cooperation with the rightholders, including CloudFlare&#8217;s responsiveness to infringement notices should be improved (i.e. disabling access to its services and terminating accounts). Stakeholders also urge CloudFlare to follow due diligence when opening accounts for websites to prevent illegal sites from using its services and to strengthen its repeat infringer policy,&#8221; the report notes. </p>
<p>While Cloudflare avoided being called out in the USTR&#8217;s report, both the US and EU are agreed that Switzerland-based Private Layer is a serious problem.</p>
<p>&#8220;Private Layer provides anonymity to the owners and operators of the websites that use its services, which makes them very attractive also for pirate sites. Private Layer is reported by the creative industries for hosting many IP infringing websites and for not having an effective policy to handle IP infringements,&#8221; the EU says.</p>
<p><em>The full Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List can be download here (<a href="media/021e381f.tradoc_157564.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/tradoc_157564.pdf">pdf</a>)</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165370
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week on BitTorrent – 12/10/18
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-on-BitTorrent-12-10-18
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/fZn-z2DSHC4/
content:
<p><img src="media/f5906e1f.venom.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/venom.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="171" class="alignright size-full wp-image-165070">This week we have two newcomers in our chart.</p>
<p>Venom is the most downloaded movie.</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 Web-DL/Webrip/HDRip/BDrip/DVDrip unless stated otherwise.</p>
<p><a href="http://TorrentFreak.com/category/dvdrip/feed/"><strong>RSS feed</strong></a> for the articles of the recent weekly movie download charts.</p>
<h5>This week&#8217;s most downloaded movies are:</h5>
<table class="css hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="12%"><strong>Movie Rank</strong></th>
<th width="15%"><strong>Rank <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-pirated-movies-week-bittorrent-12-03-18/">last week</a></strong></th>
<th><strong>Movie name</strong></th>
<th width="18%"><strong>IMDb Rating / Trailer</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="4">Most downloaded movies via torrents</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>(1)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1270797/">Venom</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1270797/">7.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLCn88bfW1o&#038;t=3s">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(7)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6182908/">Smallfoot</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6182908/">6.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBw6EvIxIS8">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3829266/">The Predator</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3829266/">5.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAJ2LVVgqVo">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2388771/">Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2388771/">6.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVBjPpUlQrE">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(4)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5814060/">The Nun</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5814060/">5.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQRFgGwGeok">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2119543/">The House with a Clock in Its Walls</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2119543/">6.1</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQGA42-U0Ro">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(5)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4912910/">Mission: Impossible &#8211; Fallout</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4912910/">8.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiHiW4N7-bo&#038;t=20s">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(6)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6850820/">Peppermint</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6850820/">6.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeBMQpzoEXQ">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(8)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3766354/">The Equalizer 2</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3766354/">6.9</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyNJ3UrGk_I">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5080556/">2.0</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5080556/">7.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qOl_7qfPOM">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165403
title: UK Govt. Backs Anti-Piracy Campaign With £2 Million in Funding
uri: UK-Govt-Backs-Anti-Piracy-Campaign-With-2-Million-in-Funding
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/u_C7ApCgnPY/
content:
<p><img src="media/579e4e24.ukflagwallblocked.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ukflagwallblocked.jpg" alt="" width="277" height="177" class="alignright size-full wp-image-154673">Four years ago, copyright indistry groups and Internet providers <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/uk-isps-and-copyright-holders-praise-new-piracy-warning-system-140719/">teamed up</a> to fight online piracy in the UK. </p>
<p>Backed by the Government, they launched several educational campaigns under the &#8220;<a href="https://www.getitrightfromagenuinesite.org/">Get it Right</a>&#8221; banner. </p>
<p>Under the program, ISPs send out <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/uk-piracy-warnings-coming-month-heres-works-170111/">piracy warnings</a> to subscribers whose accounts are used to share copyright-infringing material. This started early last year and has been ongoing since. </p>
<p>There haven&#8217;t been any official updates in a while, nor is it known how many alerts are going out on a monthly basis. However, it appears that copyright holders and the UK Government are happy with the progress thus far. </p>
<p>Late last week the Government announced that it will continue its support for the ‘Get it Right’ campaign. It will allocate £2 million in funding as part of a £20 million boost to the UK&#8217;s creative industries.</p>
<p>&#8220;This package will take the sector from strength to strength by arming the next generation of creatives with the necessary skills and giving businesses in the sector the support they need to succeed,&#8221; says Margot James, Minister for the Creative Industries. </p>
<p>It&#8217;s unclear what the future plans are. The official &#8216;Get It Right&#8217; page hasn&#8217;t changed much in recent years. However, it&#8217;s expected that the email warning program, targeted at alleged pirates, will continue.</p>
<p>We are not aware of any public reports on the effectiveness of the campaign. However, Ian Moss, Public Affairs director at the music industry group BPI, suggests that there is data suggesting that it works.</p>
<p>&#8220;The research into the campaign has shown it really makes a difference and that a positive campaign that is relevant to fans can help change the way people think about accessing content online,&#8221; Moss says. </p>
<p>&#8220;The Government’s continuing commitment to the successful campaign is warmly welcomed.&#8221;</p>
<p>This isn&#8217;t the first time that the UK Government has financially supported the &#8216;Get it Right&#8217; campaign. It also contributed £3.5 million to the program at the start. </p>
<p>While it&#8217;s hard to measure a direct return on investment, the Government previously justified the spending with an <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/uk-govt-hopes-to-profit-from-anti-piracy-measures-140924/">expected increase in sales tax</a>. This would be achieved by converting pirates into legitimate customers.</p>
<p><em>&#8212;</p>
<p>The Governments official announcement is <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/20-million-to-boost-creative-industries-across-england">available here</a>. <a href="https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-12-07-uk-government-pours-20m-into-creative-industries">Via</a> gamesindustry.</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165427
title: Activists to Deliver 4 Million Anti ‘Article 13’ Signatures to EU Parliament
uri: Activists-to-Deliver-4-Million-Anti-Article-13-Signatures-to-EU
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/_hCba6aqwWw/
content:
<p><img src="media/f2bb53b2.savetheinternet.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/savetheinternet.png" alt="" class="alignright">In a plenary vote in September, the European Parliament backed the controversial Article 13 proposal, which is part of the EU’s copyright reform plans.</p>
<p>Since then, the proposal has been tweaked in an attempt to gain broader support, but thus far the critics have yet to be silenced. That includes <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/major-rightsholders-are-not-happy-with-article-13-either-181206/">rightsholders as well</a>. </p>
<p>Most opposition is generated by anti upload filter activists though. They rallied support from the public through various online campaigns, including a prominent petition hosted on Change.org. </p>
<p>Yesterday the &#8220;Stop the censorship-machinery! Save the Internet!&#8221; petition <a href="https://www.change.org/p/european-parliament-stop-the-censorship-machinery-save-the-internet">passed four million signatures</a>, making it one of the largest to be hosted on the platform. With these impressive numbers activists behind the SaveTheInternet campaign hope to make a change. </p>
<p>Tomorrow the <a href="https://safetheinternet.info/">SafeTheInternet team</a> will hand over the signatures to copyright rapporteur Axel Voss at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The activists tried to do the same in July when the petition had roughly one million signees. At the time Voss wasn&#8217;t willing to accept them, but he has agreed to do so tomorrow. </p>
<p>The timing of the handover is not a mere coincidence. It&#8217;s scheduled a day ahead of the final trilogue meeting, during which lawmakers will try to reach agreement on the final test of Article 13 and other copyright reform proposals. </p>
<p>With the petition, the activists call on Members of the European Parliament to decide against directives such as Article 13 which may hamper freedom of information. </p>
<p>&#8220;This form of censorship could very soon destroy the cultural normatives of the internet as we know it. The blocking of uploads, in combination with faulty algorithms, will result in so called overblocking lead by the platforms, so that they can avoid legal violations,&#8221; the campaign website <a href="https://savetheinternet.info/">warns</a>.</p>
<p>The latest Article 13 <a href="media/8dba19b4.latest13.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/latest13.pdf">proposal</a>, published by <a href="https://www.politico.eu">Politico</a> this week, shows that the proposed language has been tweaked further still. Any references to upload filters were long gone, and it&#8217;s now clarified that Article 13 does not impose any monitoring obligation.</p>
<p>In addition, it suggests that platforms will be held liable if they fail to remove content following reports from copyright holders. Optionally, platforms may also be required to &#8220;make best efforts&#8221; to prevent these files from being uploaded. A so-called takedown and staydown policy. </p>
<p><center><strong>From the latest proposal</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/380f6c05.article13t.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/article13t.png" alt="" width="601" height="370" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165443"></center></p>
<p>In what appears to be a response to concerns from the public, the proposal also clarifies that enforcement measures should not prevent the availability of legitimate content. This includes fair use uploads for the purpose of criticism, review or parody. </p>
<p>While that sounds like good news, not everyone is convinced that this will work. </p>
<p>&#8220;This is the &#8216;nerd harder&#8217; approach to regulating. It is magic wand regulating: make the bad stuff go away, and magically don&#8217;t have any collateral damage,&#8221; Techdirt&#8217;s Masnick <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20181210/09323241194/latest-eu-copyright-proposal-block-everything-never-make-mistakes-dont-use-upload-filters.shtml">comments</a>.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s a fair point since large platforms simply can&#8217;t identify fair use content through algorithms. There is bound to be some collateral damage, which is already quite common as things stand today. </p>
<p>Responding to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/major-rightsholders-are-not-happy-with-article-13-either-181206/">concerns</a> from rightsholders in the audiovisual sector, the legislators clarified that they shouldn&#8217;t be worse off under Article 13 than they currently are.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s clear that the lawmakers are trying to appease both rightsholders and the public at large. The question remains, however, whether anyone will be truly pleased with the outcome of the negotiations. </p>
<p>The SafeTheInternet team remains on course though. They hope that the four million signatures will help to convince Members of Parliament to remain vigilant and ensure that their views are heard. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165456
title: Google Gets a Slap on the Wrist For Site-Blocking Failures
uri: Google-Gets-a-Slap-on-the-Wrist-For-Site-Blocking-Failures
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/86xufkchJOU/
content:
<p><a href="media/ec295b70.googlelogo.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/googlelogo.png"><img src="media/367885e7.googlelogo.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/googlelogo.png" alt="" width="250" height="83" class="alignright size-full wp-image-135049"></a>Last year, Russian introduced new <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/russian-govt-approves-fines-for-search-engines-linking-to-banned-vpns-180608/">legislation</a> that can see search engines fined for offering links to VPNs and other anonymizers that have been banned in the country. Fines can also be issued to search engines that fail to connect to a resource offering up-to-date information on what domains should be rendered inaccessible.</p>
<p>This database (known as FGIS), should have been utilized by Google, but for reasons that remain unclear, the US-based search giant didn&#8217;t want to play ball.</p>
<p>Several weeks ago, local telecoms watchdog Roscomnadzor contacted Google with a demand that it should immediately connect to the FGIS blacklist. Google still did not comply, placing the company in breach of federal law.</p>
<p>That left Google exposed to a potential administrative fine of between 500,000 and 700,000 rubles (US$7,545 to US$10,563). A further demand insisted that it should connect to the FGIS database by today.</p>
<p>Despite a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/google-meets-russian-govt-body-to-discuss-ongoing-piracy-issues-181116/">meeting</a> between Deputy Head of Roscomnadzor Vadim Subbotin and Doron Avni, Google’s Director of Public Policy &#038; Government Relations for Europe, Middle East &#038; Africa Emerging Markets, which took place in Moscow last month, today&#8217;s deadline wasn&#8217;t met.</p>
<p>Roscomnadzor announced this morning that as a result of the continued breach, it had considered the merits of an administrative violation against Google. Since the company had not responded as required, despite having the rules &#8220;repeatedly explained&#8221;, a fine had been imposed.</p>
<p>&#8220;Failure to comply with these requirements constitutes an administrative offense (Part 1 of Article 13.40 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation). The sanction of this article provides for a legal fine in the amount of from 500 to 700 thousand rubles,&#8221; a Roscomnadzor statement reads.</p>
<p>While fines are never welcome, the watchdog fined Google just 500,000 rubles (US$7,545). This is the lowest amount that can be handed down under existing laws.</p>
<p>While the dispute was ongoing, Google said that it was in constant contact with Roscomnadzor and was ready for discussion and negotiation, including action to ensure it complies with Russian legal requirements moving forward. Why connecting to Russia&#8217;s FGIS database didn&#8217;t happen as required remains unclear.</p>
<p>Early November, major rightsholders and tech companies in Russia <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/landmark-anti-piracy-database-agreement-signed-in-moscow-181101/">signed</a> a memorandum of cooperation to deal with the issue of online piracy. Google was not a signatory although there are some suggestions that it could join at some point in the future.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165466
title: Bell & Videotron File Criminal Complaint Against IPTV Provider
uri: Bell-Videotron-File-Criminal-Complaint-Against-IPTV-Provider
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/5toba-RKPb4/
content:
<p><a href="media/c6d79219.iptv.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/iptv.jpg"><img src="media/8a86db31.iptv.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/iptv.jpg" alt="" width="234" height="155" class="alignright size-full wp-image-135034"></a>While regular torrent and streaming sites are still a big hit with online pirates, dedicated IPTV services are becoming increasingly popular with consumers.</p>
<p>These services, which can be difficult to tell apart from official offerings, typically supply access to hundreds of otherwise premium channels at a knockdown price. This disruption is something that broadcasters and rightsholders all over the world are keen to bring to an end.</p>
<p>In particular, there have been many raids around Europe but news is now surfacing of action in Canada, featuring two of the country&#8217;s most powerful media companies and what appears to be an unlicensed IPTV provider.</p>
<p>On an unspecified date, Bell and Videotron filed a criminal complaint against IPTV provider Cielo 4K. A website featuring that branding is <a href="https://courtier-iptv.com/cielo-4k/">available here</a>, offering around 250 channels including PPV and adult content while recommending its offer &#8220;especially for the residents of the province of Quebec-Canada.&#8221;</p>
<p>On October 11, 2018, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) reportedly conducted a search at the residence of a former employee of a Videotron subcontractor in Boisbriand, Montreal. <a href="https://www.lapresse.ca/affaires/economie/medias-et-telecoms/201812/11/01-5207569-une-rare-enquete-criminelle-sur-des-pirates-de-la-tele.php">LaPresse</a> reports that dozens of computers and modems plus Bell, Videotron, Roku and DirecTV receivers were seized, totaling some 150 items of hardware. </p>
<p>According to the news outlet, the four people listed as defendants in court documents are not yet facing criminal charges since the RCMP investigation is still ongoing. However, the quartet is suspected of using three Videotron and Bell accounts to receive, capture, and redistribute channels to the public.</p>
<p>&#8220;This kind of use makes us believe that the service installed at this residence is used to power an IPTV network broadcasting unauthorized television content,&#8221; the plaintiffs state in their claim.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s further alleged that the streams were sent to servers operated by OVH Hosting Services, from where they were distributed to the public.</p>
<p>&#8220;OVH is also recognized by the telecommunications industry for hosting the majority of IPTV services offering unauthorized television content,&#8221; the court documents note, citing a Videotron investigation.</p>
<p>When approached for comment, OVH said it does not discuss the activities of its customers, insisting that as a cloud infrastructure provider it does not have access to customers&#8217; data.</p>
<p>This latest action against Cielo 4K comes as both Bell and Videotron remain embroiled in legal action against Kodi add-on repository TVAddons. It&#8217;s been almost 18 months since representatives of the company <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/tvaddons-returns-ugly-war-canadian-telcos-kodi-addons-170801/">entered the home of operator Adam Lackman</a> in a search for evidence to support their copyright infringement lawsuit.</p>
<p>This June, bailiffs for the company <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/tvaddons-telco-bailiffs-enter-operators-home-over-unpaid-attorneys-fees-180614/">returned again</a>, looking to seize goods to the value of CAD$50,000 to pay for attorney&#8217;s fees.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165480
title: Tech Giants Warn US Govt. Against EU’s ‘Article 13’ Plans
uri: Tech-Giants-Warn-US-Govt-Against-EU-s-Article-13-Plans
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/9mafDJLyJFU/
content:
<p><img src="media/19bd259d.eu-copyright.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/eu-copyright.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="167" class="alignright size-full wp-image-136985">Under President Trump, the United States has worked hard to put several new trade deals in place. </p>
<p>The administration is also working on a new trade agreement with the EU for which the US Trade Representative recently <a href="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/FR-2018-11-15/2018-24979">asked the public for input</a>.</p>
<p>This week the Computer &#038; Communications Industry Association (<a href="http://www.ccianet.org/about/members/">CCIA</a>), which includes Amazon, Cloudflare, Facebook, and Google as members, sent in its thoughts. </p>
<p>The submission includes a stark warning against the EU&#8217;s proposed copyright reform plans, including Article 13, which could open the door to upload filtering. </p>
<p>It&#8217;s no secret that the proposal is a topic of intense debate within the EU. The tech companies, however, warn the US Government that its effects may hurt the US economy as well. </p>
<p>The CCIA cautions that the proposed changes could increase liability for large Internet services by weakening the safe harbor protections provided by current EU law. At the same time, it will be at odds with the DMCA&#8217;s safe harbor provisions.</p>
<p>&#8220;The proposed Copyright Directive disrupts settled law protecting intermediaries by weakening established protections from U.S. Internet services in the 2000 EU E-Commerce Directive, and by imposing an unworkable filtering mandate on hosting providers that would require automated &#8216;notice-and-stay-down&#8217; for a wide variety of copyrighted works. </p>
<p>&#8220;If adopted, the Directive would dramatically weaken these long-standing liability protections, which suggests that most modern service providers may be ineligible for its protections,&#8221; the CCIA says.</p>
<p>The tech companies note that EU officials have identified US companies as the intended targets of these proposals. They fear that the plans will result in implicit upload filter requirements.</p>
<p>&#8220;Under Article 13 of the proposal, the Directive now implies that online services must procure or develop and implement content recognition technology. The decision to compel affirmative filtering of all Internet content, including audiovisual works, images, and text, based on that content’s copyright status, is alarming and profoundly misguided.&#8221; </p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/activists-to-deliver-4-million-anti-article-13-signatures-to-eu-parliament-181211/">latest proposals</a>, Article 13 would not impose a general monitoring requirement. However, it may require Internet services to ensure that infringing content is not reuploaded, which is hard to achieve without automated filters.</p>
<p>The CCIA points out the lack of specifics as another concern. It&#8217;s not clear what measures hosting providers and other services will have to implement in order to be safe, they argue.</p>
<p>This uncertainty and the incompatibility with US law is troublesome for the tech companies. They hope that the US Government will keep these concerns in mind while negotiating a new trade deal. </p>
<p>The final text of Article 13 is still being drafted. The latest trilogue meeting will take place later this week. The CCIA cautions the US to keep these developments in mind, noting that they have the potential to harm the US economy. </p>
<p>&#8220;The text is currently under negotiation in trilogue. If the final EU reform does include these provisions, there would likely be a corresponding increase in risk for U.S. platforms doing business in the EU, resulting in significant economic consequences for the U.S. digital economy, which depends on the EU market. </p>
<p>&#8220;Furthermore, there is likely to be a ripple effect on the rest of the world, given the EU’s international influence,&#8221; the CCIA submission adds. </p>
<p>This is only one side of the argument, of course. The RIAA also submitted comments to the US Trade Representative, presenting a different picture. </p>
<p>While the music group doesn&#8217;t mention Article 13, it does caution against &#8220;overbroad provisions on copyright safe harbors&#8221; and the &#8220;lack of online platform accountability,&#8221; two issues the EU&#8217;s copyright reforms aim to address. </p>
<p><em>&#8212;</p>
<p>A copy of the CCIA submission is available <a href="media/22a50a88.CCIA_Comments_to_USTR_on_U_S_-EU_Trade_Objectives_.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/CCIA_Comments_to_USTR_on_U_S_-EU_Trade_Objectives_.pdf">here (pdf)</a>, and the RIAA&#8217;s submission can be found <a href="media/5fe160a0.RIAA_USEU_USTR_2018_WrittenComments_fin-1.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/RIAA_USEU_USTR_2018_WrittenComments_fin-1.pdf">here (pdf)</a>. </em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165561
title: DoJ Indicts Five Men For Pre-Release Movie & TV Show Piracy
uri: DoJ-Indicts-Five-Men-For-Pre-Release-Movie-TV-Show-Piracy
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/9Tytf_86NN4/
content:
<p><a href="media/dc7e9c56.usdoj.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/usdoj.jpg"><img src="media/66fcfffc.usdoj.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/usdoj.jpg" alt="" width="190" height="190" class="alignright size-full wp-image-91397" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/usdoj.jpg 190w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/usdoj-150x150.jpg 150w" sizes="(max-width: 190px) 100vw, 190px"></a>Public sharing of movies and TV shows before their commercial release is considered to be one of the most damaging types of piracy.</p>
<p>With no official copies on the market, entertainment companies are unable to compete in what would ordinarily be the most profitable window of opportunity for sales. That&#8217;s why, year after year, individuals who leak content early become targets for law enforcement.</p>
<p>Yesterday the Department of Justice revealed that a federal grand jury has indicted five men in four countries on charges that they distributed or offered for sale hundreds of movies and TV shows in advance of their official release. It appears to be one of the most important prosecutions in recent memory.</p>
<p>Malik Luqman Farooq, 30, of the UK, is alleged to have sold access to more than a dozen &#8220;stolen pre-release or contemporaneous-release films&#8221; over a period of two years. He is alleged to have used online aliases including dark999, codex, and Lucky.</p>
<p>Aditya Raj, an assumed resident of India, allegedly released pirated movies online and was involved in &#8216;camming&#8217; in India.</p>
<p>Sam Nhance, believed to live in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, allegedly maintained a server on which other members of the group &#8220;stored and manipulated&#8221; videos for distribution. He used online aliases including SamNhaNc3</p>
<p>Ghobhirajah Selvarajah, who is claimed to live in Malaysia, owned a PayPal account which was used to accept payments from people accessing the movies and to pay server bills. He used aliases including Hunter and Hunter X.</p>
<p>Jitesh Jadhav, another presumed resident of India, was allegedly involved in camcording films in India, including The Amazing Spider-Man 2, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.</p>
<p>Of the five indicted men, only one &#8211; Malik Luqman Farooq &#8211; has been physically detained by authorities. He was reportedly arrested by City of London Police and is currently awaiting trial in the UK.</p>
<p>None are in U.S. custody but face a seven-count indictment listing conspiracy to commit computer fraud, unauthorized access to a computer, aggravated identity theft, and copyright infringement.</p>
<p>According to the indictment, the group began offending prior to May 5, 2013 and continued to May 20, 2015.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s alleged that Farooq, Raj, Nhance, and Selvarajah rented servers from companies including OVH which they used to store pirated copies of movies which had been illegally obtained from servers operated by movie, distribution, and other third-party companies.</p>
<p>Farooq and Jadhav are further accused of obtaining &#8216;cammed&#8217; copies of first-run movies and acquiring and distributing &#8216;screener&#8217; copies of movies not intended for public consumption. These and other titles were then offered for sale and also uploaded to the wider Internet.</p>
<p>Details released in the indictment indicate that the authorities gained access to the group&#8217;s supposedly private conversations.</p>
<p>In May 2013, for example, it&#8217;s alleged that during an online chat, Farooq asked Raj to put him in touch with someone who could camcord the movie The Great Gatsby in India.</p>
<p>During the same month, it&#8217;s alleged that Farooq paid an &#8220;unindicted co-conspirator&#8221; for access to a torrent tracker which was used to obtain pirate copies of copyrighted content.</p>
<p>In June that same year, it&#8217;s claimed that Farooq accessed a server in Los Angeles belonging to a movie production and distribution company to obtain trailers for the movie The Wolverine and Turbo, prior to the movies&#8217; official release.</p>
<p>During August 2013, someone illegally camcorded The Smurfs 2 at a cinema in Bhopal, India. The next day, Farooq sold access to that movie to an individual who he believed to be a &#8216;pirate&#8217; customer. In fact, the person was an investigator for an anti-piracy firm hired by the MPAA.</p>
<p>Months later, between April and July 2014, it&#8217;s alleged that Farooq and other co-conspirators accessed the California-based servers of a content-management services company which was used to store and distribute motion picture assets.</p>
<p>From there, using TOR, they downloaded approximately 142 files including the movies Divergent, Godzilla, Seventh Son, Jane Got a Gun, Mortdecai, and the first five episodes of season five of The Walking Dead, all prior to their official release.</p>
<p>Interestingly, the indictment also details how Farooq (or another co-conspirator) obtained a copy of The Expendables 3 prior to its official release. As previously <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/expendables-3-leaks-online-100k-copies-down-in-hours-140725/">reported</a>, the movie leaked online during July 2014.</p>
<p>The indictment claims the copy was obtained from the previously-mentioned<br>
content-management services company and downloaded via TOR. The copy was then stored on an OVH server with Farooq quickly selling it to the MPAA&#8217;s anti-piracy investigator. Many other movies were also sold by Farooq to the investigator, with some of the proceeds ending up in his own PayPal account.</p>
<p>In November 2014, City of London Police announced they had <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/piracy-police-arrest-two-for-the-expendables-3-movie-leak-141125/">arrested two men</a> in the UK in connection with The Expendables 3 being leaked online. The pair, then aged 36 and 33, are considerably older than Farooq who is reportedly just 30.</p>
<p>However, in April 2015, City of London Police arrested a 26-year-old man at his workplace in Leeds. He was taken to a local police station for questioning, suspected of leaking The Expendables 3. Sylvester Stallone took time out to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/stallone-thanks-police-for-new-expendables-3-arrest-150410/">thank police for their efforts</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;This case is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, which received substantial assistance from the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit of the City of London Police. U.S. authorities received cooperation from French and Canadian authorities in obtaining evidence stored abroad,&#8221; the Department of Justice notes.</p>
<p><em>The indictment, which details 106 &#8220;overt acts&#8221;, can be obtained <a href="media/a94cfd4f.395573322-Movie-Piracy-Indictment.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/395573322-Movie-Piracy-Indictment.pdf">here</a> (pdf) (via Variety)</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165554
title: Nintendo Targets Sellers of Pirated Switch Games in Court
uri: Nintendo-Targets-Sellers-of-Pirated-Switch-Games-in-Court
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/OkIEQgFz7YU/
content:
<p><img src="media/6cdaf4ee.switchnintendo.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/switchnintendo.png" alt="" width="255" height="221" class="alignright size-full wp-image-165556">At the start of the year the infamous hacking group Team Xecutor <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/modding-legends-team-xecuter-announce-future-proof-nintendo-switch-hack-180104/">announced</a> an &#8216;unstoppable&#8217; Nintendo Switch hack. </p>
<p>This made it possible to load pirated games onto the popular console, an opportunity many people have taken advantage of.</p>
<p>Some have taken it a step further by offering Nintendo Switch &#8220;modifications&#8221; for sale, specifically mentioning the Team Xecuter hack. This is what California resident Mikel Euskaldunak did, according to Nintendo. </p>
<p>In a complaint filed at a federal court this week, Nintendo of America accuses the man and several unnamed accomplices of various counts of copyright and trademark infringement. </p>
<p>The defendants allegedly offered modification devices and physical chips for the Nintendo Switch which bypass Nintendo&#8217;s anti-piracy protections. </p>
<p>&#8220;This modification is installed in a user’s Nintendo Switch in the form of a circumvention tool along with unauthorized custom firmware. This exploit allows the playing of pirated Nintendo Console Games,&#8221; the company writes.</p>
<p>Euskaldunak sold the mods in public through a profile at OfferUp.com. According to the advert, the Team Xecuter mod would allow buyers to play any Switch games they want.</p>
<p>&#8220;Just load and play!” In connection with the purchase of “Nintendo Switch Mod Play Switch Games Team Xecuter”, Defendants will “give [the buyer] a free game of [his or her] choice,&#8221; <a href="https://offerup.com/item/detail/496238903/">it reads</a>.</p>
<p>In addition, the defendant also offered a 64GB SD card containing pirated games which could be loaded through Team Xecuter&#8217;s dongle.</p>
<p>&#8220;These SD cards will come with any 4-6 (depending on the game size) released Nintendo Switch games of your choice. That is less than the price of a single Switch game.&#8221;</p>
<p><center><strong>The defendant&#8217;s OfferUp offer</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/8045b585.switchsell.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/switchsell.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="327" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165564"></center></p>
<p>Nintendo believes that the defendants modified more than 100 Switch game systems. In addition, they are suspected of having access to a large library of Switch games, including dozens of titles that haven&#8217;t been released in the US yet.</p>
<p>Interestingly, the sellers are aware that pirating games does not come without challenges. They explicitly warn that games downloaded from the Internet might be <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/nintendo-switch-piracy-is-unstoppable-until-people-go-online-180621/">tracked and banned</a> by Nintendo.</p>
<p>&#8220;Defendants inform customers that Nintendo Console Games can be downloaded from the Internet, but that downloading from the Internet is not recommended because NOA can track the downloaded game and ban the user automatically when going online to play the game,&#8221; the complaint reads.</p>
<p>In addition to Nintendo Switch mods and games, the defendants are also accused of selling a modified version of Nintendo’s NES Classic Edition with over 800 games. </p>
<p>In its complaint, Nintendo of America asks the California federal court for an injunction to stop the infringing activity and destroy all pirates games and modded consoles. </p>
<p>On top, the game giant requests damages to compensate the company&#8217;s claimed losses.</p>
<p><em>&#8212;</p>
<p>A copy of Nintendo of America&#8217;s complaint, obtained by TorrentFreak, is available <a href="media/a3b3d077.nintenswitch.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/nintenswitch.pdf">here (pdf)</a>.</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165600
title: Rightsholders Say Latest Article 13 Text Won’t Close the Value Gap
uri: Rightsholders-Say-Latest-Article-13-Text-Won-t-Close-the-Value-Gap
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/6-XWHYPmljU/
content:
<p><a href="media/6542fb40.eu-copyright.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/eu-copyright.jpg"><img src="media/19bd259d.eu-copyright.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/eu-copyright.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="167" class="alignright size-full wp-image-136985"></a>This September, the European Parliament <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/eu-parliament-adopts-controversial-upload-filter-proposal-180912/">backed</a> the controversial Article 13 proposals, something that was met with a chorus of support from the entertainment industries, the music sector in particular.</p>
<p>The final text of Article 13 is yet to be finalized so the EU Parliament will need to vote again, once that&#8217;s completed. However, as Article 13 mutates to address the concerns of opponents, rightsholders have been expressing concern that the changes will actually strengthen the position of major online content sharing service providers (OCSSPs) such as YouTube.</p>
<p>Last week, major rightsholders including the MPA and the Premier League <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/major-rightsholders-are-not-happy-with-article-13-either-181206/">warned</a> that as it stands, Article 13 will create a new safe harbor for services that take measures to prevent infringement. Now, even more dissenting voices are making their opinions known.</p>
<p>In an open letter to the European Commission, Parliament and Council, more rightsholders and content groups including IFPI &#8211; a previously staunch supporter of Article 13 &#8211; say the proposals are going in the wrong direction.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have reviewed the European Commission text/non-papers on article 13 and we have serious concerns about the direction of travel,&#8221; the groups write.</p>
<p>&#8220;As we reach the very final stages of this process, and negotiators seek to finalize a compromise text, we urge you to remember that the overall aim of the original European Commission proposal was to correct the distortion of the digital market place caused by User Upload Content (UUC) services, which enable users to upload content onto their sites and then profit from the availability of creative content without returning fair revenues to rightsholders, who create and invest in such content.&#8221;</p>
<p>The groups say that the solution to the so-called &#8216;Value Gap&#8217; lies in holding OCSSPs liable for communication to the public when copyrighted works are made available from their platforms while excluding them from the safe harbors available in Article 14 of the E-Commerce Directive.</p>
<p>&#8220;We continue to believe that only a solution that stays within these principles meaningfully addresses the Value Gap/Transfer of Value. Moreover, licensing needs to be encouraged where the rightsholders are willing to do so but at the same time not be forced upon rightsholders,&#8221; the groups write, noting that proposals that deviate from the above &#8220;should be dismissed.&#8221;</p>
<p>As things stand, the current proposal text put forward by the European Commission would need &#8220;fundamental changes to achieve the Directive’s aim to correct the Value Gap/ Transfer of Value&#8221;, the groups note.</p>
<p>Underlining the predicament the entertainment industries now find themselves in, the letter warns that the liability exceptions currently on the table could leave rightsholders in a worse position than they&#8217;re in today. </p>
<p>&#8220;Any &#8216;mitigation measures&#8217;, should they be offered to OCSSPs, must therefore be clearly formulated and conditional on OCSSPs taking robust action to ensure the unavailability of works or other subject matter on their services,&#8221; the groups add.</p>
<p>&#8220;To that end, while it may be appropriate for rightsholders or their representatives to give services access to reasonably necessary identifying information concerning unauthorised works or other subject matter, unclear or open-ended provisions potentially obliging rightsholders to play the main role in preventing unauthorized uses of their works fail to provide the necessary legal certainty and therefore fail to provide a meaningful solution to the Value Gap/ Transfer of Value.&#8221;</p>
<p><em>The full letter is available <a href="media/67b19972.tive_solution_to_the_Value_Gap_Transfer_of_Value_13_Dec_2018.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/Rightsholders_unite_in_calling_for_an_effective_solution_to_the_Value_Gap_Transfer_of_Value_13_Dec_2018.pdf">here</a> (pdf) </em></p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> <em>Julia Reda MEP <a href="https://twitter.com/Senficon/status/1073260029103480832">reports</a> that the trilogue negotiations closed Thursday with no overall agreement but it &#8220;still seems like most negotiators want an #Article13 that requires #UploadFilters.&#8221;</p>
<p>Also of note is that companies that have a turnover of 10 million euros were previously excluded from the terms of Article 13. Reda <a href="https://twitter.com/Senficon/status/1073272072187588608">says</a> they are now included.</p>
<p>The next trilogue is planned for third week of January, Reda adds. More information <a href="https://juliareda.eu/2018/12/4-column-documents-for-december-13-trilogue/">here</a>.</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165615
title: EU Members Approve Upload Filters for “Terrorist Content”
uri: EU-Members-Approve-Upload-Filters-for-Terrorist-Content
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/ARBSuaGAcFU/
content:
<p><img src="media/23e20654.europe-flag.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/europe-flag.png" alt="" width="222" height="146" class="alignright size-full wp-image-79290">The &#8216;upload filters&#8217; topic has been widely debated in the European Parliament this year. </p>
<p>While most attention has been focused on copyright-infringing material and Article 13, another filtering discussion has been going on at the same time. </p>
<p>This summer the EU Commission pushed forward a plan to require content hosting platforms including Google, Twitter, and Facebook to swiftly remove terrorist content when a national authority points it out to them.</p>
<p>The proposed regulation was <a href="http://www.ip-watch.org/2018/12/06/eu-members-push-private-censorship-terrorist-content-internet/">accepted</a> by the EU member states at a Council meeting earlier this week. </p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+REPORT+A8-2018-0374+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN">the published report</a>, the EU countries in favor believe that there is a &#8220;need to achieve automatic detection and systematic, fast, permanent and full removal of terrorist content.&#8221;</p>
<p>This &#8220;terrorist content&#8221; can be reported by local police, for example, or another designated private authority. No court has to be involved in the process. What has many activists worried is that, like Article 13, the proposal can enable automated upload filters. </p>
<p>The proposed terrorist content filters will go further than Article 13 in the sense that they require services to remove reported content within one hour. In addition, services will have to prevent this content from reappearing on their platforms. </p>
<p>If they fail to do so, the companies could face hefty fines and criminal liability. </p>
<p>It&#8217;s worth noting that the proposal is not restricted to large Internet platforms. It will apply to all hosting service providers that do business in the EU. This includes many smaller companies. </p>
<p>The French civil rights group La Quadrature notes that while it&#8217;s easy for large tech giants to comply, smaller competitors will be severely disadvantaged. These would all need a point of contact that&#8217;s available 24/7.</p>
<p>&#8220;The other actors will have no other choice but to close down their hosting services or (less likely but just as serious) to outsource the execution of their obligations to the giants,&#8221; the group <a href="https://www.laquadrature.net/en/2018/11/28/antiterrorism-censorship-macron-teams-up-with-the-web-giants-to-set-up-mass-surveillance/">writes</a>.</p>
<p>The proposed legislation has triggered opposition <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20181212/17531141214/if-youre-worried-about-bad-eu-internet-regulation-just-wait-until-you-see-new-terrorist-regulation.shtml">from more sides</a>, including <a href="https://cdt.org/insight/letter-to-ministers-of-justice-and-home-affairs-on-the-proposed-regulation-on-terrorist-content-online/">various public interest groups</a>, the UN&#8217;s Special Rapporteur <a href="https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=24234">David Kaye</a>, and several politicians. </p>
<p>Patrick Breyer, a Pirate Party candidate for next year&#8217;s European elections, warns that Internet censorship is not the way forward, especially if private actors get to decide what content must be removed.</p>
<p>&#8220;No court order is required to block content. This could put our freedom of expression and information in the hands of the Hungarian Ministry of the Interior or a local police officer in Romania, for example, which is unacceptable,&#8221; Breyer&#8217;s team warned previously.</p>
<p>While the report that was agreed on this week only provides a &#8220;recommendation,&#8221; as La Quadrature <a href="http://laquadrature.net">highlights</a>, it&#8217;s a declaration of principle without legal consequences.</p>
<p>The green light from member states is the first step in a long process and the proposed language has yet to be negotiated with the European Parliament. If adopted, individual member states will decide what penalties are appropriate. These can reach 4% of a company&#8217;s global turnover.</p>
<p>Among all the criticism, there is also support for the proposal. Austria&#8217;s minister of the interior Herbert Kickl believes that it will <a href="https://www.consilium.europa.eu/de/press/press-releases/2018/12/06/terrorist-content-online-council-adopts-negotiating-position-on-new-rules-to-prevent-dissemination/">help to protect</a> European citizens.</p>
<p>&#8220;Online terrorist content has played a key role in almost every terrorist attack in Europe. It is our duty to protect citizens as effectively as possible. With this agreement, Internet companies should be clearly signaled that there is an urgent need for action,&#8221; Kickl said.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165512
title: Tipster Gets $10,000 Reward for Reporting Software Piracy
uri: Tipster-Gets-10-000-Reward-for-Reporting-Software-Piracy
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/HICBpJL7rDg/
content:
<p><img src="media/1b513daf.reportpiracy.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/reportpiracy.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="156" class="alignright size-full wp-image-165523">Over the past two decades, the Software Alliance (BSA) has represented <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSA_(The_Software_Alliance)#Members">major software companies</a> including Adobe, Apple, Microsoft and Oracle, in their fight against under-licensed businesses.</p>
<p>This has resulted in audits at thousands of companies worldwide, whose computers are carefully inspected to see if the business owner has failed to pay his or her dues. </p>
<p>Some of these audits have been <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/microsoft-sued-over-mafia-like-anti-piracy-raid-120621/">controversial</a> and the evidence collection process has raised eyebrows as well. Especially BSA&#8217;s explicit attempts to convince people to report companies in exchange for hard cash.</p>
<p>In recent years, the industry group has <a href="https://reporting.bsa.org/r/report/add.aspx?src=us&#038;ln=en-us&#038;cmpid=nopiracy">actively solicited</a> such tips from the public. Legitimate leads are then followed up with a thorough investigation or audit, something many companies are contractually obliged to agree to. </p>
<p>If unlicensed software is found during an audit, BSA tries to negotiate a settlement. This is what happened with an unnamed Australian manufacturing company, <a href="https://www.crn.com.au/news/aussie-manufacturer-slogged-160000-over-unlicensed-software-516829">CRN</a> reports.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s not clear what type of software was used improperly. What we do know is that the &#8216;tip&#8217; came from an anonymous informant who presumably works or worked at the company in question.  </p>
<p>“We work in a competitive industry and while we’re all trying to get ahead, it didn’t feel right using infringing copies of software to give the business an unfair competitive advantage,” the informant reportedly told BSA.</p>
<p>“The decision to report the business ultimately came down to my personal morals and ethics. I don’t believe it’s right to use software without paying for it.”</p>
<p>It&#8217;s unclear whether the informant also raised the issue internally, but that doesn&#8217;t matter anymore. The BSA followed up the lead which eventually led to a significant AU$160,000 settlement. </p>
<p>The whistleblower, tipster, or rat, depending on which side you&#8217;re on, fared well too. </p>
<p>BSA says that the information it receives <a href="https://reporting.bsa.org/r/report/add.aspx?src=us&#038;ln=en-us">from informants</a> is invaluable. It plays a critical role in identifying misbehaving companies and holding them accountable, so it&#8217;s worth a reward.</p>
<p>&#8220;BSA is grateful to the informant for doing the right thing, and have provided the informant with a reward of AU$10,000 for his assistance in this matter,” BSA told CRN. </p>
<p>This is not the first reward BSA has given out, there have been many others in the past. The scale of the award usually depends on the settlement amount. It&#8217;s usually good enough for a nice vacation though, as this old <a href="https://www.facebook.com/reportsoftwarepiracy/photos/a.113250358845276/233293533507624/?type=3&#038;theater">BSA ad</a> also suggests.</p>
<p><center><strong>BSA&#8217;s old Facebook campaign.</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/b680c580.bsavacation.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/bsavacation.png" alt="" width="537" height="412" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165549"></center></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165186
title: Yandex and TV Giants Make Peace Over ‘Pirate’ Search Results
uri: Yandex-and-TV-Giants-Make-Peace-Over-Pirate-Search-Results
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/EIotMOP2AIo/
content:
<p><a href="media/560a9ef5.searchman.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/searchman.jpg"><img src="media/e92721d2.searchman.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/searchman.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="156" class="alignright size-full wp-image-135409"></a>In many developed countries, rightsholders are in dispute with search engines over the appearance of pirated content in search results and other indexes.</p>
<p>Back in August, TV companies under the Gazprom-Media umbrella filed complaints at the Moscow City Court, demanding that Yandex remove links to infringing content. Yandex initially refused to comply but under threat of ISP blocking, eventually took preventative action.</p>
<p>In September, the TV channels filed another <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/russia-to-amend-copyright-law-after-yandex-forced-to-remove-pirate-tv-content-180915/">four lawsuits</a> against Yandex. The companies asked the Court to order the search provider to &#8220;stop creating technical conditions that ensure the placement of [infringing] works on the Yandex.ru website.&#8221;</p>
<p>At the time, it was reported that the underlying aim of Gazprom Media was to reach a settlement agreement with Yandex, which would see the search company take action against infringing content. That aim, it seems, is well on the way to being achieved.</p>
<p>The press service of Gazprom reports that settlement agreements have been reached in four lawsuits, two featuring TV3 and Super TV and another two featuring TNT and 2&#215;2.</p>
<p>The settlements are directly linked to the landmark Memorandum of Cooperation <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/landmark-anti-piracy-database-agreement-signed-in-moscow-181101/">signed</a> by Russia&#8217;s most powerful tech companies and several major media companies early November.</p>
<p>The agreement will see the formation of a central database of infringing sites which will provide information on what content tech companies should remove from their indexes. The database will be queried every few minutes, with search platforms removing infringing links visible in Russia within six hours.</p>
<p>Commenting on the settlements, Gazprom Media said that the cooperation agreement signed last month represents another important step towards &#8220;the development of civilized content consumption.”</p>
<p>Reports circulating mid-November indicated that Yandex had already started to comply with the memorandum&#8217;s terms by deleting links to infringing content.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165325
title: Mainstream Media Outlets Promote ‘Pirate’ Streaming Boxes Now?
uri: Mainstream-Media-Outlets-Promote-Pirate-Streaming-Boxes-Now
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/DhM04Rs6EBU/
content:
<p><img src="media/8f095c72.showbox-logo.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/showbox-logo.png" alt="" width="220" height="212" class="alignright size-full wp-image-117504">In recent years it has become much easier to stream movies and TV-shows over the Internet. </p>
<p>Legal services such as Netflix and HBO are flourishing, but millions of people are streaming from unauthorized sources as well, often paired with perfectly legal streaming platforms and devices. </p>
<p>Hollywood insiders have dubbed this trend &#8220;<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/hollywood-sees-illegal-streaming-devices-as-piracy-3-0-170502/">Piracy 3.0</a>&#8221; and are actively working with stakeholders to address the threat. Just a few weeks ago, the MPAA <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/hollywood-urges-ftc-to-help-combat-online-piracy-181031/">called on the FTC</a> to bring actions for unfair and deceptive trade practices against services that market pirate streaming devices.</p>
<p>In addition, several lawsuits have been filed against box sellers including Dragon Box and SetTV. The same is true for websites that offered the pirate app &#8220;Showbox,&#8221; many of which have since ceased operating.</p>
<p>Still, one doesn&#8217;t have to look hard to find dubious boxes elsewhere. The problem is that many of these devices are perfectly legitimate, but when they&#8217;re preloaded with &#8216;pirate&#8217; apps they can become a problem. </p>
<p>This was brought to our attention again recently when we saw several articles appearing on websites of stations owned by the Americal media broadcaster <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegna_Inc.">Tegna</a>. </p>
<p>The articles in question, posted by NBC affiliate stations such as <a href="https://www.kgw.com/article/money/consumer/dealboss/this-cord-cutting-device-was-a-top-holiday-deal-and-its-still-on-sale/507-620016089">KGW8</a>, <a href="https://www.9news.com/article/money/consumer/dealboss/this-cord-cutting-device-was-a-top-holiday-deal-and-its-still-on-sale/507-620016089?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&#038;utm_content=5c0646c99ac56400010a4aa3">9News</a>, <a href="https://www.ksdk.com/article/money/consumer/dealboss/this-cord-cutting-device-was-a-top-holiday-deal-and-its-still-on-sale/507-620016089?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&#038;utm_content=5c063c4804d30151da0c771d">KSDK</a> <a href="https://www.wkyc.com/article/money/consumer/dealboss/this-cord-cutting-device-was-a-top-holiday-deal-and-its-still-on-sale/507-620016089">WKYC</a> and others, promote a streaming box as an ideal &#8220;cord cutting&#8221; device. The HK1 streaming box &#8220;unlocks hundreds of free movies,&#8221; they note. </p>
<p><center><strong>KGW8 Article</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/7c903400.kgw8.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kgw8.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="315" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165675"></center></p>
<p>The review is written by freelance consumer reporter Matt Granite, also known as the Deal Boss, and is posted with a video of the &#8220;award-winning&#8221; box in action. </p>
<p>What caught our eye is that this box <a href="https://intellishoppers.com/product/livebox-2018-tv-smartest-tv-box-lightning-speeds-brilliant-picture-millions-of-titles/">appears to ship with &#8220;Showbox,&#8221;</a> a known pirate application that allows users to stream free movies. Another app that&#8217;s included is &#8220;Mobdro,&#8221; which offers access to live streaming channels, often without permission.</p>
<p>The apps are clearly visible in the short review video embedded with the articles. This video also appeared on the TV stations themselves.</p>
<p><center><strong>Showbox.. Netflix&#8230; Mobdro</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/d44aba07.mobdroshow.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/mobdroshow.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="468" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165680"></center></p>
<p>A full review of the box, hosted on YouTube, <a href="https://mattsdailydeals.com/get-free-live-tv-channels-with-top-android-tv-box-cut-the-cord/">was removed</a> while we were writing this article. In this video, the Deal Boss showcased the Showbox app but no movies were played. Mobdro was also reviewed, although it wasn&#8217;t entirely clear whether all live streams were authorized.</p>
<p>The problem is that these boxes can be used for both legal and illegal purposes. However, promoting a device that ships with known pirate apps may not be a good idea, especially not for a mainstream media outlet.</p>
<p>TorrentFreak spoke to IP attorney Kerry Culpepper, who works with several movie companies. He also has his doubts regarding the legality of this box &#8220;promotion.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;In this video and the article, the gentleman appears to promote the HK1 box for infringing purpose by repeatedly emphasizing that it can be used to watch free movies. The video clearly shows the HK1 box display with icons of well-known piracy applications such as Showbox,&#8221; Culpepper says.   </p>
<p>&#8220;I am curious as to how the HK1 box can allow someone to watch free movies without using these piracy applications. Based upon this video and article, the HK1 box appears to be one among many piracy boxes.&#8221; </p>
<p>The Tegna stations and The Deal Boss do not explicitly encourage anyone to pirate content. However, promoting a device with pirate apps, and profiting from it, might not be a good idea.</p>
<p>Culpepper tells us that one of his clients, the company behind the movie Hitman&#8217;s Bodyguard, has asked him to look into it. </p>
<p>&#8220;My client Bodyguard Productions invested substantial financial resources, time and effort in the making their movie Hitman’s Bodyguard. Accordingly, we are concerned when devices are promoted for the purpose of infringing copyright protected movies. We have sent a letter to the station expressing our concerns,&#8221; Culpepper says. </p>
<p>At the time of writing, the articles and <a href="https://www.9news.com/video/life/shopping/deal-boss-cutting-the-cord/73-8282181">promo videos</a> are still up on all the Tegna stations we checked. As mentioned before, the full review no longer appears on YouTube, but it&#8217;s unclear why that was removed.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165595
title: Oops! EU Piracy Watchlist Includes a Perfectly Legal Site
uri: Oops-EU-Piracy-Watchlist-Includes-a-Perfectly-Legal-Site
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/t6HjI7NPI5Y/
content:
<p><img src="media/19bd259d.eu-copyright.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/eu-copyright.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="167" class="alignright size-full wp-image-136985">Following the example of the United States, the EU now has its very own piracy watch list. </p>
<p>The plan was first announced in January by the European Commission, which asked various stakeholders for input. </p>
<p>This eventually resulted in a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/new-eu-piracy-watchlist-targets-key-pirate-sites-and-cloudflare-181210/">40-page report</a> in which various pirate sites and third-party intermediaries are identified. There&#8217;s a fair bit of overlap with the US report, as both highlight familiar brands such as The Pirate Bay and Rapidgator.</p>
<p>The goal of the report is similar as well. </p>
<p>&#8220;The aim is to encourage the operators and owners as well as the responsible local enforcement authorities and governments to take the necessary actions and measures to reduce the availability of IPR infringing goods or services on these markets,&#8221; it reads.</p>
<p>Initially, we saw the EU watchlist as yet another pirate site overview, but on closer inspection, something stood out. The list mentions 1channel.ch as a pirate site.</p>
<p>&#8220;1channel.ch (previously Primewire.ag) is one of the most visited linking or referrer sites globally offering links to allegedly illicit copies of blockbuster films and television programmes,&#8221; it reads.</p>
<p><center><strong></strong><br>1channel.ch</br></center><center><img src="media/54695baa.1channeleu.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/1channeleu.png" alt="" width="584" height="255" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165637"></center></p>
<p>According to the report, the notorious pirate site has an Alexa rank of 1,238, with more than 531.8 million visits during an undefined period. Certainly not something to sniff at.  </p>
<p>This mention stands out because 1channel.ch hasn&#8217;t been a &#8220;pirate&#8221; site since late 2017, when the domain was bought by Marshall Domains LTD. The company in question specializes in buying domain names in auction that the previous owner has allowed to expire and are expected to generate a decent amount of traffic, which is monetized in various ways.</p>
<p>TorrentFreak spoke to the owner, David Marshall, who also happens to own the Primewire.ag domain that was mentioned in the EU&#8217;s watchlist. Both domains were bought in an auction and now link to <a href="https://123movies.com/">123movies.com</a>. </p>
<p>&#8220;I noticed that 1channel.ch was expiring and backordered it at various places such as park.io and realtime.at, as I knew they would still be receiving valuable type-in traffic that could be monetised legally,&#8221; Mr. Marshall says.</p>
<p>While 123movies is a pirate brand as well, Mr. Marshall&#8217;s version tries to do the opposite. It&#8217;s a movie information portal with Amazon Prime affiliate links in some locations, hoping to turn lost pirates into paying customers. </p>
<p><center><strong>123movies.com</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/66f4e89e.123moviesl.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/123moviesl.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="362" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165639"></center></p>
<p>To be fair, this redirect was not in place when the research for the watchlist report was conducted. This took place between 18 June and 20 July 2018. However, 1channel.ch already linked to a parked page or an advertising feed at the time and was no longer a pirate site.</p>
<p>In addition, the EU Commission notes that their watchlist includes &#8220;examples of reported marketplaces or service providers whose operators or owners are allegedly resident outside the EU.&#8221; However, a simple Whois search would have shown that Mr. Marshall&#8217;s business is in the UK.</p>
<p>As for the Primewire.ag domain, that was not serving any pirated content during the stated research period either, although that domain wasn&#8217;t bought at an auction until August 2018.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s unclear how both domains ended up in the report. They were both linked to pirate sites in the past but it&#8217;s likely that the commission put too much focus on outdated info. </p>
<p>Mr. Marshall says tells TorrentFreak that the legal 1channel.ch certainly doesn&#8217;t have more than a quarter billion visits, nor is it hosted in Switzerland, or masked behind a reverse proxy service, as the EU watchlist claims.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165439
title: Shuttered Leechers Paradise Tracker Will Rise From the Dead to Serve Millions
uri: Shuttered-Leechers-Paradise-Tracker-Will-Rise-From-the-Dead-to-Serve-M
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Pyx2M2T3um4/
content:
<p><img src="media/10efd0ba.network-round.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/network-round.jpg" width="250" height="250" class="alignright size-large">Thanks to wonders of <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/bittorrents-future-dht-pex-and-magnet-links-explained-091120/">DHT and PEX</a>, public torrents can be shared among millions of people without a need for a dedicated tracker.</p>
<p>However, the existence of standalone trackers is always a plus for torrent users, since these servers are able to put sharers in touch with each more quickly, speeding up the discovery and distribution of similar content.</p>
<p>Public trackers of this type are in short supply so it was a big blow to the sharing community when Leechers Paradise recently <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/huge-torrent-tracker-calls-it-quits-after-12-years-citing-article-13-181207/">announced its closure</a>.</p>
<p>After 12 years in the game, the site&#8217;s operator revealed that he&#8217;d had enough. Citing concerns over the EU&#8217;s Article 13 legislation and problems with hosting such a resource-hungry platform, &#8216;Eddie&#8217; said goodbye to the torrent world. After recently serving up to 132 million peers in a single day in July, the news was significant.</p>
<p>Now, however, an unexpected light has appeared at the end of the tunnel. Speaking with TorrentFreak, Eddie has confirmed that Leechers Paradise will be making a comeback, albeit with a brand new owner.</p>
<p>&#8220;I am happy to announce that a college in the space has picked up the domains from me and will continue to carry the flame,&#8221; Eddie says, without providing specifics for security reasons.</p>
<p>&#8220;A person who is currently running a rather large OpenBitTorrent tracker will continue the work. However, due to this person operating two large trackers, he doesn&#8217;t want his name mentioned because he is afraid he will become too big of a target.&#8221;</p>
<p>Starting off anonymously with his new venture is not something that Eddie considered necessary when he launched Leechers Paradise well over a decade ago. Indeed, he took no precautions to hide who he was, something which he later came to regret.</p>
<p>&#8220;I would like to clarify that one of the reasons to quit was that my actual full-name and address was on the domain. This was no issue 12 years ago but these days with more and more copyright laws it has become more of an issue,&#8221; he explains.</p>
<p>&#8220;I have received physical mail from multiple copyright protection agencies in the past. However, this is not the reason for me to stop operating, as I have complied with their demands and continued to be on the right side of law.&#8221;</p>
<p>During our earlier coverage, we noted how the closure of Leechers Paradise should come as a  disappointment to millions of users. However, due to its magic being worked largely behind the scenes, many won&#8217;t appreciate exactly what it did, nor the effort that was put in.</p>
<p>&#8220;It has been a mostly thankless job which I have gladly done,&#8221; Eddie says.</p>
<p>&#8220;However, the costs and risks have become too great to continue. The new owner will be able to hide his identity and therefore vastly limit the risk. I wish him the best.&#8221;</p>
<p>It is not yet clear when Leechers Paradise will be in the hands of its new owner but we understand that users won&#8217;t have too long to wait. TorrentFreak is informed that the domains are currently being transferred while a new server could be up in a matter of days.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165478
title: Warner Bros. Files Copyright Complaint Against Harry Potter-Inspired Kickstarter
uri: Warner-Bros-Files-Copyright-Complaint-Against-Harry-Potter-Inspired-K
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/edwjbSUJDbw/
content:
<p><a href="media/994f8e1d.monster3-e1544611707564.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/monster3-e1544611707564.png"><img src="media/994f8e1d.monster3-e1544611707564.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/monster3-e1544611707564.png" alt="" width="250" height="159" class="alignright size-full wp-image-165496"></a>Privately raising cash to bring ideas and projects to fruition can be a daunting task. Convincing potential investors is rarely easy, with many demanding a large piece of the final pie in return.</p>
<p>To help solve this problem, in 2009 US-based Kickstarter was born, a site that has developed into a global crowdfunding platform where anyone can throw a few dollars at projects they believe could enjoy future success.</p>
<p>According to current stats, the site has received pledges exceeding four billion dollars from more than 15.5 million backers, which have funded more than 155,000 individual projects. One of those is campaign formerly known as The Monster Book of Monsters Film Project.</p>
<p>&#8220;THE MONSTER BOOK OF MONSTERS is a collection of 100 stories from around the world, inspired by the legendary book from the Harry Potter universe,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mbom/the-monster-book-of-monsters-film-project/description">Kickstarter</a> read until recently.</p>
<p>&#8220;These aren&#8217;t your everyday Werewolves and Wendigos either. Each story is told by the survivor of an encounter with a unique and mysterious creature more wild and varied than you can imagine. From the twisted minds of 70 authors including Amazon Best Sellers: Tobias Wade, Blair Daniels, Tara Devlin, and P.F. McGrail. As well as numerous Reddit NoSleep award winners.&#8221;</p>
<p><center><strong>The initial campaign</strong><br></br></center><center><a href="media/99d76d23.monster1-e1544610011220.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/monster1-e1544610011220.png"><img src="media/99d76d23.monster1-e1544610011220.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/monster1-e1544610011220.png" alt="" width="600" height="380" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-165492"></a></center></p>
<p>The idea of the campaign is to raise funds that will go towards a &#8216;sizzle reel&#8217;, a short video highlighting a vision and tone for a proposed movie or TV show.</p>
<p>&#8220;This reel will be pitched to large production companies in an effort to launch a horror inspired anthology TV series. The more money raised- the better the reel!&#8221; the Kickstarter reads.</p>
<p>The campaign had a modest target of just $3,997 dollars, which was easily reached a few days ago and well in advance of the January 1, 2019 deadline. However, the project appears to have landed on the radar of Warner Bros. who expressed displeasure at the Harry Potter references in the fundraiser.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.lumendatabase.org/notices/17740066">takedown notice</a> sent to Kickstarter, the movie company alleged copyright infringement by the campaign due to its use of a book title featured in the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.</p>
<p>Citing itself as the owner of &#8220;The Harry Potter series of books and motion pictures, and all elements contained therein. Including, but not limited to, the &#8216;Monster Book of Monsters&#8217;,&#8221; Warner demanded action from the crowd-funding platform.</p>
<p>&#8220;This project identifies itself as &#8216;inspired by the legendary book from the Harry Potter universe&#8217; and uses the original title created by Ms. Rowling,&#8221; Warner complained.</p>
<p>While it&#8217;s unclear whether Kickstarter temporarily took the campaign down, the complaint from Warner certainly prompted the team behind it into action. References to all things Harry Potter have now been removed, as the image below shows.</p>
<p><center><strong>More Warner-friendly now&#8230;</strong><br></br></center><center><a href="media/8c6ab6f5.monster2-e1544610414873.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/monster2-e1544610414873.png"><img src="media/8c6ab6f5.monster2-e1544610414873.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/monster2-e1544610414873.png" alt="" width="600" height="360" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-165493"></a></center></p>
<p>Additionally, the text proclaiming that &#8220;THE MONSTER BOOK OF MONSTERS is a collection of 100 stories from around the world, inspired by the legendary book from the Harry Potter universe&#8221; has now been transformed into a more basic &#8220;collection of 100 horror stories from around the world.&#8221;</p>
<p>Finally, the campaign has also amended its end goal statement. That was originally to have a &#8220;&#8216;NoSleep&#8217; inspired TV show&#8221;, a reference to <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/">Reddit&#8217;s NoSleep sub</a> where people share their own scary stories. The edited aim is to have a straightforward &#8220;horror TV show&#8221;, although references to Reddit elsewhere in the campaign remain.</p>
<p>Warner Bros. are notoriously protective over their lucrative Harry Potter interests. Earlier this year the company&#8217;s lawyers <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/warner-bros-presses-library-to-rename-harry-potter-festival-180711/">told</a> an annual Harry Potter festival held in Denmark that it could no longer use names and images related to the Harry Potter movies.</p>
<p>In 2009, Warner Bros. <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/warner-says-harry-potter-dinner-infringes-copyright-091026/">took action</a> against a London-based single-mother after she dared to organize a Harry Potter-themed Halloween dinner. It&#8217;s unclear whether the sarcastically rebranded &#8220;Generic Wizard&#8221; night managed to sell out as planned.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165696
title: ISP Faces ‘Net Neutrality’ Investigation For Pirate Site Blocking Retaliation
uri: ISP-Faces-Net-Neutrality-Investigation-For-Pirate-Site-Blocking
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/MWjlQFMHRnE/
content:
<p><img src="media/ae654011.bahnhof.png" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/bahnhof.png" width="222" height="150" class="alignright size-large">It&#8217;s safe to say that Swedish ISP Bahnhof is one of the most aggressive companies when it comes to defending its customers from interference initiated by outside parties.</p>
<p>The ISP is an outspoken critic of copyright trolls and has taken a number of measures to ensure that it&#8217;s extremely difficult for them to identify Bahnhof subscribers. It also believes in the open Internet and by extension is against site-blocking efforts on copyright grounds.</p>
<p>In November, however, it became clear that Bahnhof would be joining the ranks of other blocking ISPs after a court ordered it to block a series of domain names following a complaint from academic publisher Elsevier.</p>
<p>At the time, CEO Jon Karlung told TorrentFreak that the “horrifying” decision, which targets Sci-Hub domains including sci-hub.tw, sci-hub.mu, sci-hub.se, libgen.io, “goes against the soul of the Internet.”</p>
<p>A clearly incensed Karlung then did something that has never been done before. In a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/swedish-isp-protest-site-blocking-by-blocking-rightsholders-website-and-more-181102/">retaliatory move</a>, he prevented his subscribers from accessing the official Elsevier.com website directly, sending them instead to a landing page containing an advisory notice about blocking and an option to click through. This was done to give the publisher a taste of its own medicine.</p>
<p>The maverick businessman didn&#8217;t stop there though. On top, he ordered his team to ensure that users of the court’s network could no longer access Bahnhof’s website. These protests were designed to provoke a debate about net neutrality and that, it now transpires, is something that will come to pass.</p>
<p>An announcement by the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS), which acts as the national watchdog for the electronic communications and postal sectors, reveals that it has launched an investigation into Bahnhof&#8217;s actions.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Post and Telecom Agency (PTS) is investigating whether the internet service provider Bahnhof has taken measures to influence access to websites,&#8221; PTS says.</p>
<p>&#8220;A key rule in EU regulations in this area is that all traffic on the Internet should be treated equally by providers of internet connection services. PTS&#8217;s task is to monitor and ensure that the provisions on an open internet, also called network neutrality, are complied with.&#8221;</p>
<p>Noting that Bahnof has implemented measures that have restricted access to websites, PTS says it is now investigating whether Bahnhof breached net neutrality rules.</p>
<p>After being adopted on November 25, 2015 and coming into force on April 30, 2016, <a href="http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32015R2120">Regulation (EU) 2015/2120</a> enshrined net neutrality provisions into EU law, including non-discriminatory traffic management. </p>
<p>PTS says it will seek to detemine if Bahnhof&#8217;s actions are in line with the Telecoms Single Market Regulation, noting that ISPs may not block, alter, or discriminate against specific content.</p>
<p>ISPs in the EU are, however, able to implement traffic management measures beyond those that are normally considered &#8220;reasonable&#8221; in order to comply with legal requirements, such as blocking sites in response to a court order.</p>
<p>Speaking with TorrentFreak, Karlung says the situation can be interpreted as &#8220;the essence&#8221; of irony.</p>
<p>&#8220;Bahnhof gets a legal threat to block sites out there somewhere on this huge computer network called the Internet. We block the sites because in reality there is no legal chance to win cases against the copyright mob, since the judge and court are corrupt, and it also comes with a package of astronomic fines,&#8221; he explains.</p>
<p>Karlung says that the PTS appears most interested in the &#8216;counter-blocking&#8217; of Elsevier, which he characterizes as a &#8220;fine opportunity&#8221; to tell people about the dangers of site-blocking which targets &#8220;the soul and core&#8221; of the Internet.</p>
<p>&#8220;[Blocking] also jeopardizes the principle for ISP&#8217;s to be able to operate services. The ISP can never be responsible for content, or what people are doing somewhere out there on the Internet.&#8221;</p>
<p>Bahnhof&#8217;s CEO says he hasn&#8217;t yet seen any formal questions or demands from PTS about his company&#8217;s &#8220;counter-blocking&#8221; but it&#8217;s clear he&#8217;ll relish the chance to bring this issue to the attention of a wider audience.</p>
<p>&#8220;We will of course not let this go unnoticed, and I heartfully thank PTS for this fine opportunity,&#8221; Karlung concludes.</p>
<p>PTS says it will be sending questions to Bahnhof which will require a response by January 17, 2018.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165704
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week on BitTorrent – 12/17/18
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-on-BitTorrent-12-17-18
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/b0L3sdeYz0s/
content:
<p><img src="media/2489c15d.first-man.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/first-man.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="205" class="alignright size-full wp-image-165706">This week we have four newcomers in our chart.</p>
<p>First Man is the most downloaded movie.</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 Web-DL/Webrip/HDRip/BDrip/DVDrip unless stated otherwise.</p>
<p><a href="http://TorrentFreak.com/category/dvdrip/feed/"><strong>RSS feed</strong></a> for the articles of the recent weekly movie download charts.</p>
<h5>This week&#8217;s most downloaded movies are:</h5>
<table class="css hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="12%"><strong>Movie Rank</strong></th>
<th width="15%"><strong>Rank <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-pirated-movies-week-bittorrent-12-10-18/">last week</a></strong></th>
<th><strong>Movie name</strong></th>
<th width="18%"><strong>IMDb Rating / Trailer</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="4">Most downloaded movies via torrents</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1213641/">First Man</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1213641/">7.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSoRx87OO6k">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(1)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1270797/">Venom</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1270797/">7.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLCn88bfW1o&#038;t=3s">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(4)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2388771/">Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2388771/">6.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVBjPpUlQrE">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7040874/">A Simple Favor</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7040874/">7.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAqMlh0b2HU">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3829266/">The Predator</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3829266/">5.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAJ2LVVgqVo">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6781982/">Night School</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6781982/">5.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9QtXGirWf0">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4123430/">Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4123430/">6.9</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bYBOVWLNIs">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(7)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4912910/">Mission: Impossible &#8211; Fallout</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4912910/">8.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiHiW4N7-bo&#038;t=20s">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(5)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6182908/">Smallfoot</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6182908/">6.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBw6EvIxIS8">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(9)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3766354/">The Equalizer 2</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3766354/">6.9</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyNJ3UrGk_I">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165714
title: Courts Want “Something More” Than an IP-Address to Catch Pirates
uri: Courts-Want-Something-More-Than-an-IP-Address-to-Catch-Pirates
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/KTOJn6yhlSk/
content:
<p><img src="media/4efb5d75.ipaddress-ip-address.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ipaddress-ip-address.png" alt="" width="250" height="158" class="alignright size-full wp-image-128649">While it&#8217;s not getting making big headlines in the mainstream media, US courts are still loaded with BitTorrent related lawsuits.</p>
<p>The cases are filed by a small group of copyright holders. To state their claim, these companies generally rely on IP-addresses as evidence. </p>
<p>These IP-address details are collected from BitTorrent swarms and linked to a geographical location using geolocation tools. With this information in hand, rightsholders ask the courts to grant a subpoena, forcing Internet providers to hand over the personal details of the associated account holder.</p>
<p>This process isn&#8217;t new and the same tactics have been used for years. While some federal judges have raised doubts about the accuracy and sufficiency of IP-address evidence, many others let the cases continue. </p>
<p>In recent weeks, however, more and more judges have begun to ask questions. </p>
<p>This started after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reached a verdict in <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/ip-address-is-not-enough-to-identify-pirate-us-court-of-appeals-rules-180828/">Cobbler Nevada v. Gonzales</a>. The Court ruled that identifying the registered subscriber of an IP-address by itself is not enough to argue that this person is also the infringer.</p>
<p>“Because multiple devices and individuals may be able to connect via an IP address, simply identifying the IP subscriber solves only part of the puzzle. A plaintiff must allege something more to create a reasonable inference that a subscriber is also an infringer,” the verdict read. </p>
<p>What this &#8220;something more&#8221; should be was not clarified, but the order didn&#8217;t go unnoticed. In recent weeks several district courts have cited the ruling, requesting copyright holders to come up with &#8220;something more&#8221; as well.</p>
<p>Just last week, US District Judge Sara Ellis <a href="media/e78d777f.ilnd-18-cv-00450-document-37.pdf" data-original-source="https://fightcopyrighttrolls.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/ilnd-18-cv-00450-document-37.pdf">dismissed</a> a complaint Malibu Media had filed for this very reason. </p>
<p>&#8220;This Court agrees with the Ninth Circuit and those courts that have found that a plaintiff must allege more than simply the registration of an IP address to an individual in order to proceed against that individual for copyright infringement,&#8221; Judge Ellis wrote. </p>
<p>Malibu Media, one of the most prolific filers of BitTorrent lawsuits, was given the opportunity to amend the complaint with new details, but those will have to tie the defendant to the alleged infringement.</p>
<p>The company had already amended the complaint previously, showing that the IP address was the source of a persistent pattern of copyright infringement. That, however, was not enough.</p>
<p>In Nevada, US Magistrate Judge Nancy Koppe also <a href="media/fb5a3446.gov.uscourts.nvd.132467.5.0.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nvd.132467/gov.uscourts.nvd.132467.5.0.pdf">highlighted</a> the Gonzales ruling. A request for a subpoena by Strike 3 Holdings was denied because an IP-address alone is not enough.</p>
<p>&#8220;In the context of BitTorrent copyright infringement, the Ninth Circuit has recently held that a plaintiff bears the burden of pleading factual allegations that create a reasonable inference that the defendant is the infringer.</p>
<p>&#8220;Hence, a complaint that traces infringement to a particular IP address and pleads that the IP address is registered to the defendant is insufficient to state a claim,&#8221; Judge Koppe adds. </p>
<p>Over in Washington, District Judge Thomas Zilly <a href="media/f61b77a9.gov.uscourts.wawd.247709.53.0.pdf" data-original-source="https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.wawd.247709/gov.uscourts.wawd.247709.53.0.pdf">asked</a> for &#8220;something more&#8221; as well, in an order that spans twelve cases and dozens of defendants. Again, referencing the Appeals Court&#8217;s Gonzales ruling.  </p>
<p>The rightsholder in those cases, Venice PI, did respond with further details. </p>
<p>The company said that it gathered various other details including download history and the layout of the residence and neighborhood, which make it likely that the account holder is the infringer. Whether that&#8217;s good enough remains to be seen.</p>
<p>What&#8217;s clear though is that the Appeals Court ruling is being used by courts across the country to demand &#8220;something more&#8221; than an IP-address alone. </p>
<p>While this is not the end of so-called &#8220;copyright trolling&#8221; practices just yet, it does make it harder for rightsholders to convince the courts.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165756
title: National Party Wins Copyright Damages Appeal Over Eminem Track
uri: National-Party-Wins-Copyright-Damages-Appeal-Over-Eminem-Track
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/DqWqLOvL-CU/
content:
<p><img src="media/4774df94.lose-yourself.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/lose-yourself.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="175" class="alignright size-full wp-image-146294">In recent years, New Zealand has been the center stage of the largest copyright battle in Internet history; the criminal prosecution of Megaupload&#8217;s Kim Dotcom.</p>
<p>While this case remains ongoing, one of the country&#8217;s largest political parties is facing &#8216;infringement&#8217; problems of its own. </p>
<p>In 2014 Eminem&#8217;s publisher took the National Party <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kiwi-prime-ministers-party-sued-for-pirating-eminem-track-140916/">to court</a> over alleged copyright infringement of the rapper&#8217;s track &#8220;Lose Yourself&#8221; in an election campaign video. </p>
<p>At the time, the party was led by then Prime Minister of New Zealand John Key, who was seen as Dotcom&#8217;s nemesis. In common with the Megaupload case, the dispute between the National Party and Eminem&#8217;s publishers wasn&#8217;t resolved swiftly either.</p>
<p>The initial court proceedings made it clear that the National Party didn&#8217;t simply use the song without paying for it. It actually sought professional advice before starting the campaign and licensed a track called <em>Eminem Esque</em>, which they then used in the campaign ad.</p>
<p>The party hoped to avoid more expensive licensing fees by using the knock-off song, but the court previously ruled that the similarities between Lose Yourself and Eminem Esque are so significant that it breached copyright.</p>
<p>Last fall the High Court sided with Eminem rightsholders Eight Mile Style and Martin Affiliated, ordering the National Party to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/lose-yourself-national-party-guilty-of-eminem-copyright-infringement-171025/">pay $600,000</a> in damages. However, neither side was happy with this figure and both appealed. </p>
<p>The court based the damages amount on a &#8220;hypothetical license fee&#8221; but the National Party argued that the number was too high. At the same time, Eminem&#8217;s rightsholders wanted to increase the scale of the damages.</p>
<p>This week, the Court of Appeal sided with the National Party. In its verdict, the court notes that the party crossed a line.</p>
<p>&#8220;On the evidence, the proposition the National Party turned a blind eye to the risk of copyright infringement or saw a risk and embarked on a reckless course of conduct with respect to that risk was not sustainable,&#8221; the decision reads.</p>
<p>However, at the same time, the Court of Appeal agrees that the original damages amount was too high. It, therefore, reduces the damages amount from $600,000 to $225,000.</p>
<p>There is no question that the music breaches Eminem&#8217;s copyright, but the baseline figure that was initially used should have been lower. The track would only be used for 11 days and targeted a limited audience.</p>
<p>&#8220;The advertising message was only relevant to a relatively small population, and the minimum baseline concept negated proper consideration of a territory-related license,&#8221; the court explained in a summary, <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&#038;objectid=12178849">shared</a> by the NZ Herald.</p>
<p>The lowered damages amount is a clear win for the National Party. Whether Eminem&#8217;s rightsholders have plans to challenge the Court of Appeal&#8217;s decision is not known at the time of writing.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165779
title: Battlestate Games Issues Dozens of DMCA Takedowns to ‘Silence’ YouTuber
uri: Battlestate-Games-Issues-Dozens-of-DMCA-Takedowns-to-Silence-You
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/BK9BAbl4VP8/
content:
<p><img src="media/3360c9a1.eroktic.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/eroktic.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="181" class="alignright size-full wp-image-165788">A few days ago, the channel of gaming YouTuber Eroktic was targeted with two DMCA copyright complaints. </p>
<p>The takedown notices targeted videos in which <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHmvQlYVHbkm4oKkgqezgIg/videos">Eroktic</a>, based on third-party information, discussed an alleged security breach that would affect users of the multiplayer shooter game &#8220;Escape from Tarkov.&#8221; </p>
<p>The game&#8217;s developer, Battlestate Games, refuted the claims and characterized them as misinformation. To prevent the claims from spreading even further the company submitted DMCA takedown notices, so the videos would disappear from YouTube. </p>
<p>The problem is, however, that the DMCA is a tool to address copyright infringement, not any other disputes. The videos were pulled down without any substantial copyright concerns. According to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP1owS5oSdI">SidAlpha</a>, who reviewed the two videos offline, one included a seven-second clip of game footage which is likely fair use. </p>
<p>And Battlestate Games didn&#8217;t stop there either. In the following days, a total of 47 videos from Eroktic were targeted, most of which didn&#8217;t contain any infringing material.</p>
<p><center><strong>Some of the DMCA flags</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/0029739d.somestrikes.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/somestrikes.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="414" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165787"></center></p>
<p>The flurry of takedown requests generated quite a backlash on social media, up to a point where Battlestate Games eventually <a href="https://www.facebook.com/escapefromtarkov/posts/1966710296956614?__tn__=K-R">explained its actions</a>. </p>
<p>&#8220;The decision to address YouTube concerning video on the Eroktic’s channel had to be made in order to stop misinformation and hatred. Moreover &#8211; we did not want and we do not want this person to be associated with our game in the first place. </p>
<p>&#8220;His purposefully destructive actions cannot be considered &#8216;criticism&#8217; no matter how you look at it,&#8221; the game developer added. </p>
<p>Without going into detail on the allegations from either side, it&#8217;s clear that the dispute is not about copyright. As such, most of the DMCA notices were incorrect filed and used to silence a YouTuber over his statements.</p>
<p>In a statement to <a href="https://www.polygon.com/2018/12/17/18145139/escape-from-tarkov-dmca-youtube-eroktic">Polygon</a>, the game developer also admits that most of the videos contained no copyrighted material. </p>
<p>“We know what this instrument is designed for,” a Battlestate Games representative said, referring to the DMCA takedown mechanism. “We had to use this tool in order to stop the wave of misinformation.&#8221;</p>
<p>The company now realizes that their DMCA takedown bombardment might not have been the best idea. They promise that it won&#8217;t happen again and will use the proper channels in the future, which could mean going to court.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are not going to do it anymore. We wanted to show that negative hype and misinformation cannot remain without any punishment. The game and this community do not deserve that,” a representative said.</p>
<p>While that may be true from the developer&#8217;s perspective, the community doesn&#8217;t deserve a games company going rogue with DMCA takedown tools either. Especially if they&#8217;re putting the livelihood of a YouTuber at risk. </p>
<p>According to Eroktic, two of the 47 videos were reinstated yesterday. Whether the others will follow has yet to be seen. Aside from more negative PR, Battlestate Games&#8217; actions remain unpunished. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165750
title: Canada Prohibits Piracy Settlement Demands in ISP Copyright Notices
uri: Canada-Prohibits-Piracy-Settlement-Demands-in-ISP-Copyright-Notices
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/i1JBjmQ8fNc/
content:
<p><a href="media/4d2ce87e.canada.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/canada.jpg"><img src="media/c89c2205.canada.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/canada.jpg" alt="" width="222" height="165" class="alignright size-full wp-image-60888"></a>In several countries around the world, notably the United States, Canada, and the UK, rightsholders and their agents send copyright notices to alleged infringers.</p>
<p>In most cases, recipients are accused of downloading and sharing copyright-infringing content using BitTorrent. The notices contain details of the alleged offense along with instructions to cease-and-desist.</p>
<p>These notices, sent to Internet users&#8217; ISPs, are regularly passed on to the subscriber. However, some companies targeting US and Canadian citizens augment their notices with text indicating that a cash settlement is required, ranging from just a few dollars to several hundred.</p>
<p>Many users who see these demands pay up but these notices are unusual in that the original sender has no idea who the subscriber is. This means that some recipients ignore them, with no further consequences.</p>
<p>While the practice operates largely unhindered in the US, over in Canada (where there is a so-called <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/canadian-isps-vpns-now-alert-pirating-customers-150102/">notice-and-notice</a> regime) there has been considerable opposition <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/canadian-piracy-notices-from-benign-to-ridiculous-150109/">since its inception</a> in 2015.</p>
<p>ISPs, who have to bear the brunt of the administrative burden, have also cried foul, with TekSavvy recently describing the content of some notices as akin to &#8220;<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/canadian-isps-want-ban-on-piracy-settlement-notices-181022/">scams and spam</a>&#8220;, with Bell noting that it would like to see an end to the copyright-notice settlement model.</p>
<p>Back in October, it became clear that the ISPs and other opponents had strong government backing with the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/canada-introduces-bill-to-ban-piracy-settlement-notices-181030/">publication of a new bill</a> that would prevent the activity from continuing.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/bill/C-86/third-reading#enH9998">Bill C-86</a>, the Budget Implementation Act, has now received royal assent, so there will be some big changes in the Great White North. Section 41.‍25 of the Copyright Act is now amended with the addition of the following;</p>
<blockquote><p><em>(3) A notice of claimed infringement shall not contain:</p>
<p>(a) an offer to settle the claimed infringement;<br>
(b) a request or demand, made in relation to the claimed infringement, for payment or for personal information;<br>
(c) a reference, including by way of hyperlink, to such an offer, request or demand; and<br>
(d) any other information that may be prescribed by regulation.</em></p></blockquote>
<p>The text is pretty straightforward, in that it prohibits demands for settlement in the notices themselves or on a third-party site where such a demand may also be available. This is important since some notices contain hyperlinks that not only lead to demands for cash but also undermine subscriber privacy with the use of tracking code.</p>
<p>The news was <a href="http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2018/12/no-more-settlement-demands-new-rules-for-copyright-notice-and-notice-system-receives-royal-assent/">welcomed</a> by Canadian law professor Michael Geist, who notes that notices that do not meet the new standards can be withheld by local ISPs without them facing penalties.</p>
<p>However, Geist also cautions that the new amendments contain no punishments for anti-piracy companies that fail to follow the rules.</p>
<p>&#8220;The key remaining question is whether ISPs will crackdown on non-compliant notices. Since there is no penalty associated with sending non-compliant notices, subscribers are dependent upon ISPs carefully reviewing notices to ensure that they only forward those that fully comply with the law,&#8221; Geist notes.</p>
<p>Considering their earlier opposition, however, it seems unlikely that TekSavvy, Shaw, Rogers, and Bell will have many problems with withholding non-compliant notices.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165816
title: Netflix Quick to File Complaint With New Thai Anti-Piracy Agency
uri: Netflix-Quick-to-File-Complaint-With-New-Thai-Anti-Piracy-Agency
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/IWpn0fV8kEI/
content:
<p><a href="media/6eb7591b.netflixlogonew.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/netflixlogonew.png"><img src="media/e12f98ba.netflixlogonew.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/netflixlogonew.png" alt="" width="267" height="152" class="alignright size-full wp-image-145677"></a>Compared to many other companies in the video industry, Netflix traditionally had a fairly pragmatic approach to the piracy phenomenon.</p>
<p>Now, however, with billions of dollars being spent creating its own content, the company is a major player in the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/inside-the-mpaa-netflix-amazon-global-anti-piracy-alliance-170918/">ACE</a>), a global anti-piracy coalition with considerable influence.</p>
<p>According to a March 2018 <a href="https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/1430867/netflix-casts-service-far-and-wide">report</a>, by 2020 the company will have more than 546,000 customers in the Thailand. However, piracy is rampant in the country, something that has led to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/us-calls-out-dozens-of-countries-on-yearly-piracy-watchlist-180430/">its placement</a> on the USTR&#8217;s Priority and regular Watch Lists in recent years.</p>
<p>To help alleviate this situation and help companies including Netflix, this week the government launched a brand new anti-piracy agency located within the Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (<a href="https://www.nbtc.go.th/Home.aspx?lang=en-us">NBTC</a>).</p>
<p>&#8220;The Royal Thai Police (RTP) and the Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) have been charged with a cooperative mission to suppress and prevent the proliferation of counterfeit products and online piracy,&#8221; an NBTC <a href="https://www.nbtc.go.th/News/Information/34691.aspx">statement</a> reads.</p>
<p>&#8220;This follows a number of expressions of serious concern from international allies such as the US, Japan, and others whose domestic companies’ IP rights are being infringed in the form of counterfeit handbags, clothes, makeup, electronic devices, and digital piracy.&#8221;</p>
<p>During a press conference marking the launch of the Center of Operational Policing for Thailand Against Intellectual Property Violations and Crimes on the Internet Suppression (COPTICS), it was noted that the current procedure (which can sometimes take more than six months from initial complaint through to a court issuing a blocking order) is considered inadequate.</p>
<p>The mission now is to massively speed up the process, with the lofty aim of having sites blocked within a few days of receiving a complaint. Netflix, it appears, will be one of the first companies to test the new system.</p>
<p>Immediately following the launch of the new initiative, three companies &#8211; Netflix, Mono Technology Plc, and Major Cineplex Group, plus the Thai Motion Picture Industry Association &#8211; filed complaints with the new agency, <a href="https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1596674/3-companies-quick-to-file-piracy-complaints">Bangkok Post</a> reports.</p>
<p>It is not yet clear which platforms have been reported to authorities but according to the government, the content companies must first complain to TACTICS, Thailand’s Action Taskforce for Information Technology Crime Suppression.</p>
<p>Once the copyright complaint has been received and accepted by the police, it will be progressed to the NBTC which will order local Internet service providers to block offending websites and URLs. Once blocks are put in place, police and the NBTC will &#8220;monitor and implement proceedings against offenders.&#8221;</p>
<p>According to NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith, 2,000 allegedly infringing sites and/or URLs were reported to the authorities between August and December this year, but only 20% were blocked. Just last week, police filed complaints against 744 sites with the NBTC, but just 47 were blocked in that instance.</p>
<p>Curiously, the reason given by Takorn for the low number of blocks is that the remainder &#8220;are encrypted from abroad&#8221; meaning that they cannot be blocked locally by ISPs, something which is hard to believe. Provoking even more interest is that the majority of the sites are claimed to be run &#8220;by Google, YouTube, and Facebook.&#8221;</p>
<p>According to Bangkok Post, NBTC has asked representatives of the US embassy to invite management teams from these companies to conduct talks with Thai authorities to address the problems.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165813
title: Judge Recommends Dropping ISP Grande’s DMCA Safe Harbor Defense
uri: Judge-Recommends-Dropping-ISP-Grande-s-DMCA-Safe-Harbor-Defense
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/-mbO6rnrnTs/
content:
<p><img src="media/f2bfe741.pirate-running.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/pirate-running.jpg" alt="" width="222" height="204" class="alignright size-full wp-image-78717">Last year several major record labels, represented by the RIAA, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/riaa-sues-isp-grande-communications-for-failing-to-disconnect-pirates-170422/">filed a lawsuit</a> against ISP Grande Communications accusing it of turning a blind eye to pirating subscribers.</p>
<p>According to the RIAA, the Internet provider knew that some of its subscribers were frequently distributing copyrighted material, but failed to take any meaningful action in response.</p>
<p>Grande refuted the accusations and filed a motion to dismiss the case. The ISP <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/isp-books-partial-victory-against-riaa-in-piracy-lawsuit-180405/">partially succeeded</a> as the claims against its management company Patriot were dropped. The same was true for the vicarious infringement allegations.</p>
<p>The labels were not willing to let go so easily. They pushed on with several new filings, including a motion for summary judgment, arguing that Grande has no safe harbor defense. </p>
<p>In order to enjoy safe harbor protection, the DMCA requires ISPs to adopt and reasonably implement a policy for terminating the accounts of repeat copyright infringers. According to the labels, it is clear that Grande failed to do so. As such, the company should be held directly liable.</p>
<p>Yesterday, US Magistrate Judge Andrew Austin issued his “report and recommendation” on the matter, which delivers a significant setback for the Internet provider. </p>
<p>According to the Judge, the undisputed evidence shows Grande had a policy that allowed it to terminate repeat infringers, but that the ISP failed to act on this for years. As such, the policy was not adopted and reasonably implemented.</p>
<p>&#8220;Grande affirmatively decided in 2010 that it would not enforce the policy at all, and that it would not terminate any customer’s account regardless of how many notices of infringement that customer accumulated, regardless of the source of the notices, and regardless of the content of a notice,&#8221; Judge Austin writes. </p>
<p>The evidence shows that Grande did not terminate a single repeat infringer between October 2010 and June 2017. This was effectively confirmed by the ISP&#8217;s own corporate representative.</p>
<p>&#8220;A &#8216;reasonably implemented&#8217; termination policy requires that the policy be enforced, and not just adopted. Because the evidence is undisputed that Grande never enforced its policy during the relevant time period, it is precluded from raising the DMCA safe harbor defense in this case.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is hard to imagine a case in which it is more clear that the DMCA safe harbor is not available,&#8221; the recommendation reads.</p>
<p>In its defense, Grande argued that it did enforce a repeat infringer policy after the lawsuit was filed but, according to the Judge, this was &#8220;too little too late.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Internet provider also argued that terminating customers wasn&#8217;t appropriate because the copyright infringement notices sent by Rightscorp were flawed. However, Judge Austin concludes that this is no defense, as there is no evidence that Grande ever considered terminating a user.</p>
<p>On top of that, the concerns regarding Rightscorp&#8217;s notices don&#8217;t explain why similar complaints from other sources were also disregarded. </p>
<p>&#8220;Yet another failure with Grande’s argument about the Rightscorp notices is that it does not address the several hundred thousand copyright infringement notices it received from companies other than Rightscorp,&#8221; Judge Austin writes. </p>
<p>In weighing the arguments the Judge looked closely at the BMG v. Cox case, which was very similar. In that matter, the court concluded that Cox <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/cox-has-no-dmca-safe-harbor-protection-judge-rules-151124/">didn&#8217;t have a safe harbor defense</a> and Judge Austin argues that that same should apply to Grande. </p>
<p>If the U.S. District Court Judge adopts this recommendation, it will be a major win for the labels of the RIAA. Without a safe harbor defense, ISPs are not shielded from liability for the actions of pirating subscribers. </p>
<p>And there is more bad news for the ISP as well. </p>
<p>Grande requested summary judgment in its favor on a variety of liability issues, including direct infringement, willfulness, damages, and ownership of copyright. These are all under recommendation to be denied, except for two limited issues regarding the alleged violation of reproduction or public performance rights.</p>
<p>The RIAA labels also submitted a cross-motion on these liability issues, requesting a ruling in their favor, but that was denied as well. This means that the matters will be decided at trial. </p>
<p>While Judge Austin&#8217;s recommendations have yet to be adopted, both reports and recommendations have definitely not improved the outlook for Grande.</p>
<p><em>&#8212; </p>
<p>A copy of the safe harbor recommendations is available <a href="media/61377289.recommpartial.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/recommpartial.pdf">here (pdf)</a>, and the recommendations on Grande&#8217;s motions for summary judgment  and the labels&#8217; cross motions can be found <a href="media/59d79cd9.recommlia.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/recommlia.pdf">here (pdf)</a>. </em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165878
title: Kim Dotcom Extradition Case Headed to the Supreme Court
uri: Kim-Dotcom-Extradition-Case-Headed-to-the-Supreme-Court
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/aQJoJJZOnH8/
content:
<p><a href="media/761979f1.santadotcom.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/santadotcom.jpg"><img src="media/a8342b9c.santadotcom.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/santadotcom.jpg" alt="" width="279" height="172" class="alignright size-full wp-image-115618"></a>Following the shutdown of Megaupload in 2012 and the simultaneous raids on founder Kim Dotcom and his colleagues in New Zealand, the US Government has tried to extradite the tech entrepreneurs.</p>
<p>They believe that the former Megaupload quartet should be handed over to face charges of copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering. The effort has been contested every step of the way.</p>
<p>In July, after the case had traveled through the District Court and High Court, New Zealand’s Court of Appeal <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-loses-extradition-appeal-will-take-case-to-supreme-court-180705/">ruled</a> that under the Extradition Act 1999, Dotcom and his former colleagues are indeed eligible for extradition to the United States.</p>
<p>Dotcom and his co-accused quickly announced they would appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. During a hearing earlier this month, the US <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-extradition-battle-may-have-years-to-run-181205/">argued</a> that there is no direct right of appeal in Dotcom’s criminal case, since in 2012, when the case began, there was no eligibility for a third appeal in extradition cases.</p>
<p>This morning, however, the Supreme Court decided otherwise, with Justice William Young declaring that the Court does have the jurisdiction to handle the appeals of Kim Dotcom and former colleagues Mathias Ortmann, Finn Batato, and Bram van der Kolk.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is common ground that under the now relevant provisions of the Extradition Act and the Criminal Procedure Act 2011, the Court has jurisdiction to hear appeals in cases involving extradition,&#8221; a summary from the Court reads.</p>
<p>&#8220;This case, however, falls to be determined by reference to the law as it was when the extradition proceedings commenced – that is, in 2012 which was before the Criminal Procedure Act came into effect. The case turns on the combined effect of the Supreme Court Act 2003 and the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 as they were in 2012.&#8221;</p>
<p>In another complex <a href="http://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/cases/mathias-ortmann-v-united-states-of-america/@@images/fileDecision?r=454.143406038">ruling</a> of the kind this long process has become associated, the Court grapples with issues under both civil and criminal law but ultimately offers the words Dotcom had been hoping for.</p>
<p>&#8220;Given the significance of extradition, there is no reason to suppose that the parliamentary purpose was to exclude a right of appeal to this Court,&#8221; the decision reads.</p>
<p>&#8220;We conclude that we have jurisdiction to entertain the proposed appeals.&#8221;</p>
<p>The news was welcomed by Dotcom defense lawyer Ira Rothken.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are pleased that the New Zealand Supreme Court granted review of the US extradition case against Kim Dotcom. We believe that the Court will find that cloud storage providers cannot be held criminally liable for user copyright infringements under NZ law,&#8221; he <a href="https://twitter.com/rothken/status/1075610575953027072">said</a>.</p>
<p>Dotcom, who has suffered a series of legal setbacks in recent months, enjoyed the moment too, taking to Twitter to celebrate the decision.</p>
<p>&#8220;The US tried to stop the Supreme Court of New Zealand from hearing my appeal by challenging its jurisdiction. What was the US afraid of? Today the Supreme Court held that it has jurisdiction and granted leave to appeal. Merry Christmas!&#8221; he <a href="https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/1075598420268597249">wrote</a>.</p>
<p>Finally, in what is perhaps a not entirely unexpected development, Dotcom also took the opportunity to welcome his wife, Liz Dotcom, to his legal team. </p>
<p>&#8220;I’m happy to announce that my Brilliant wife, Elizabeth Dotcom, is joining my legal team in 2019. She graduated in Law and Business this year and I’m very proud to become her first client. What an excellent start for her career in the Supreme Court of New Zealand,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p><center></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is how big today’s Supreme Court judgement is 😂😂😂 <a href="https://t.co/SNYkyittw3">pic.twitter.com/SNYkyittw3</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/1075614951245414401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2018</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165880
title: Australian Court Orders ISPs to Block 181 ‘Pirate’ Domains, Including Subtitle Sites
uri: Australian-Court-Orders-ISPs-to-Block-181-Pirate-Domains-Includ
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/XUf9pJP5xGk/
content:
<p><img src="media/dbb74c88.aus.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/aus.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="159" class="alignright size-full wp-image-96798">Copyright holders are increasingly demanding that ISPs should block access to pirate sites in order to protect their business.</p>
<p>This is also the case in Australia, where blocking injunctions were made possible three years ago following amendments to copyright law.</p>
<p>In recent years various copyright holders have requested blockades against torrent sites, streaming services, and direct download portals, with relative ease. And these efforts are not slowing down, on the contrary. </p>
<p>This week the Federal Court has issued the <a href="https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/651054/unauthorised-subtitle-services-blocked-court-grants-largest-anti-piracy-injunction/">largest</a> pirate site blocking injunction thus far in Australia, judging by the number of targeted sites. The case in question <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/movie-tv-show-companies-want-subtitle-sites-blocked-down-under-180802/">was filed by</a> Village Roadshow, Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount, Columbia, Universal, Warner, and others, targeting 78 pirate &#8216;locations.&#8217;</p>
<p>The list of targets includes IPTorrents, BT-Scene, Fmovies, Putlocker, RuTracker, KissAnime, NYAA, Torrentday, YIFY-movies and various others. In total, the injunction lists 181 domain names. </p>
<p>Interestingly, the court order also targets several subtitle sites. The injunction lists OpenSubtitles, YifySubtitles, and SubScene, for example. While these sites don&#8217;t host or link to infringing videos, the movie companies argued that the sites are “communicating to the public a literary work,” referencing the screenplay. </p>
<p>Alternatively, it was argued that subtitle files could also be a “substantial reproduction&#8221; of the original subtitles, Computerworld previously <a href="https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/650851/screenplays-key-anti-piracy-effort-targets-subtitle-download-services/">reported</a>. However, this argument was dropped after Justice Nicholas pointed out it would require proof that a subtitle was directly copied.</p>
<p>The screenplay argument did hold up it seems, as the subtitle sites are listed in the final injunction. </p>
<p>The list of ISPs that are required to implement the blockades includes Telstra, Optus, Vocus, TPG, Vodafone, and several subsidiaries. The blocking measures have to be implemented within 15 days, through DNS blocking, IP-address blocking, or any other means agreed with the rightsholder</p>
<p>&#8220;Each Respondent must, within 15 business days of service of these Orders, take reasonable steps to disable access to the Target Online Locations,&#8221; the injunction reads, listing the blocking options.</p>
<p><center><strong>Blocking options</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/ae053616.aussieorder.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/aussieorder.png" alt="" width="579" height="213" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165892"> </center></p>
<p>This order will remain valid for a period of three years. If required, the rightsholders can then apply for an extension. The movie companies must also pay ISPs to implement the blocking measures but, at the rate of $50 per domain name, that&#8217;s not going to be a problem. </p>
<p>With 78 targeted sites, this is the largest piracy blocking injunction issued by an Australian court. However, next year even broader injunctions may follow, after a series of controversial amendments to copyright law <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/australian-parliament-passes-tough-new-anti-piracy-law-181128/">were passed last month</a>.</p>
<p>These amendments make it possible to remove blocked sites from search engines, block mirrors and proxies more effectively, while targeting &#8216;dual-use&#8217; cyberlocker type sites. </p>
<p><em>&#8212;-</p>
<p>The full list of targeted locations is as follow. A copy of the injunction, obtained by TorrentFreak. can be found <a href="media/198ef2d0.P_NSD1246_2018_1312463.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/P_NSD1246_2018_1312463.pdf">here (pdf)</a>.</p>
<p>2ddl; 8maple.ru; 9anime.is; Addic7ed; Anilinkz; Animefreak; Animeshow; Avxhm; azmaple.com; Bilutv; Bt-scene; Cartooncrazy; Cmovieshd; Ddlvalley; DailyTVFix; Dnvod; dramacity.io; dramahk.me; Fmovies.io; Glodls; Gogoanime; Hdpopcorns; hindilinks4u.to; hkfree.co; icdrama.se; icdramase; ilovehks.com; IPTorrents; Kantv; Kimcartoon; Kissanime; kisscartoon.ac; m4ufree.com; Masterani.me; Myanimeseries; Nyaa; Nzbplanet; Ondarewatch; Openloadmovies; Opensubtitles.org; Otakustream; Phimbathu; Putlocker.ac; Putlockerhd.co; qooxi.net; Rmz; Rutracker.org; Scnsrc; Seasonvar; Seriesfree; Solarmoviez; Soul-anime; streamtvb.com; Subscene; Subsmovies; Torrentday; Torrentfunk; Torrentmovies; Tvbox; Tw116; Two-movies; Ultra-vid; Usabit; VexMovies; viewasian.tv; Vkool; Vmovee; Watchanimeonline.me; Watchcartoononline.com; Watchcartoononline.io; Watchonlinemovies; Watchseries-online; woaikanxi.cc; Yify-movies; Yifysubtitles; Ymovies.tv; Zimuzu; Zooqle.</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165863
title: Vodafone Blocks Two Pirate Streaming Sites Without a Court Order
uri: Vodafone-Blocks-Two-Pirate-Streaming-Sites-Without-a-Court-Order
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/uthvd1hNjtY/
content:
<p><a href="media/1b97a33a.deniedblocked.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/deniedblocked.jpg"><img src="media/f6cbbbd7.deniedblocked.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/deniedblocked.jpg" alt="" width="270" height="199" class="alignright size-full wp-image-143825"></a>The fact that ISPs around the world are blocking pirate sites to prevent copyright infringement is nothing new. The practice has been going for more than decade.</p>
<p>Aside from voluntary arrangements, such as the one currently playing out in Portugal, ISPs tend to wait for courts to hand down an injunction before blocking a site. In Germany, however, a new situation has raised its head.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, subscribers to Vodafone discovered that they could no longer access streaming portals Burning Series (BS.to) and Serial Stream (S.to). Rather than accessing the thousands of TV shows usually on offer, they were instead met by a blocking message presented by their ISP.</p>
<p>Both sites currently have messages on their main pages, explaining that Vodafone has chosen to block their platforms. In the meantime, local news outlet <a href="https://tarnkappe.info/vodafone-sperrt-zugriff-auf-burning-series-serienstream-to/">Tarnkappe</a> has obtained a statement from Vodafone which confirmed that the ISP is blocking the sites.</p>
<p>&#8220;Due to the provisions of German and European copyright and telemedia law, access providers such as Vodafone are under certain conditions required by law to block access to websites with illegal content &#8211; eg to illegal streaming offers of films and TV series,&#8221; spokesperson Volker Petendorf told the publication.</p>
<p>While it&#8217;s no surprise to hear of yet another block, further information provided by Vodafone reveals that the block was put in place following a complaint from a rightsholder but without a court ordering a blockade.</p>
<p>Referencing a copyright case which was handled by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) during the summer, Vodafone now says it believes the decision has a knock-on effect that requires them to block sites in certain circumstances.</p>
<p>As previously <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/german-supreme-court-wifi-operators-not-liable-for-pirating-users-180730/">reported</a>, in that case the BGH ruled that WiFi providers cannot be held liable for piracy carried out by their users. However, they can be told to prevent access to file-sharing services and even block entire websites, once infringement has been confirmed.</p>
<p>Vodafone believes this applies to them too, since a copyright holder has informed them of an unsuccessful attempt to prevent infringements via the above-mentioned sites. </p>
<p>&#8220;Currently, the rights holder of the TV series &#8216;Das Boot&#8217; has asked Vodafone to block domains that provide access to the &#8216;s.to&#8217; and &#8216;bs.to&#8217; websites. The copyright holder has made credible claims to Vodafone that this TV series can be accessed illegally via the Internet portals s.to and bs.to without the necessary consent of the copyright holder and thus illegally,&#8221; Vodafone told Tarnkappe.</p>
<p>&#8220;The copyright holder has assured us that it is not possible for him to enforce his rights other than by blocking access to these sites. Vodafone, after thorough legal examination, believes that we are currently obliged to block access to these websites in accordance with mandatory legal provisions.&#8221; </p>
<p>Currently, both BS.to and S.to have notices up on their main pages detailing ways that Vodafone&#8217;s DNS-based block can be circumvented. </p>
<p>&#8220;Some internet service providers, such as Vodafone, block access to Burning Series and censor your Internet access. Therefore, we recommend that you change your DNS name servers to the IP addresses of Google 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 or Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1,&#8221; BS.to notes.</p>
<p>Vodafone suggests that should the legal situation change in the future, the blocks against both sites will be lifted.</p>
<p>This is the third time this year that Vodafone has blocked pirate sites.</p>
<p>In August the ISP <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vodafone-blocks-libgen-following-elsevier-springer-macmillan-injunction-180808/">blocked access to Libgen</a> after publishing giants Elsevier, Springer, and Macmillan obtained an injunction from the Munich Regional Court. In February, following a complaint from a movie distribution company, Vodafone <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-site-blockades-enter-germany-with-kinox-to-as-first-target-180213/">blocked streaming portal Kinox.to</a>.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165963
title: Hollywood Asks Court to Halt ‘Pirate Box’ Whac-a-Mole
uri: Hollywood-Asks-Court-to-Halt-Pirate-Box-Whac-a-Mole
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/n7V2wAB2GXw/
content:
<p><img src="media/8d62c520.dragonbox1-e1524745608776.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/dragonbox1-e1524745608776.png" alt="" width="256" height="167" class="alignright size-full wp-image-154859">Earlier this year, several major Hollywood studios, Amazon, and Netflix filed a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/netflix-amazon-and-hollywood-sue-kodi-powered-dragon-box-over-piracy-180111/">lawsuit against</a> Dragon Media Inc, branding it a supplier of pirate streaming devices.</p>
<p>Under the flag of anti-piracy group <a href="https://www.alliance4creativity.com/">ACE</a>, the companies accused Dragon of using the Kodi media player in combination with pirate addons. As such, the company facilitates mass copyright infringement, it was argued.</p>
<p>It didn&#8217;t take long for the legal pressure to have an effect. Soon after the lawsuit was filed <a href="https://www.thedragonbox.com/">Dragon Box</a> halted its sales. The company indicated that it would either shut down or run a lawful business instead.</p>
<p>The company eventually opted to continue its business by switching to a new subscription service <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/dragon-box-changes-business-model-following-hollywood-lawsuit-180921/">called BlendTV</a>. Although BlendTV&#8217;s website claimed that it has all necessary rights and permissions, the Hollywood studios clearly disagreed. </p>
<p>Two months after this switch, Dragon Box informed its customers about another change. The company said it would stop offering BlendTV late November. That, however, was not the end of the matter.</p>
<p>On December 11th, just hours after an unsuccessful mediation in court, Dragon Box relaunched with yet another service called “My TV Hub.”  According to the Hollywood studios, this service is not legitimate either. </p>
<p>Frustrated by these repeated &#8216;comebacks&#8217; the plaintiffs went to court this week, hoping to halt all infringing activity. </p>
<p>&#8220;With the freshly minted new My TV Hub service, Defendants continue to knowingly induce the widespread infringement of Plaintiffs’ Copyrighted Works by encouraging Dragon Box customers to access infringing streams through the latest iteration of the Dragon Box Service,&#8221; they inform the court.</p>
<p><center><strong>Logan streaming on My TV Hub</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/8c94b563.loganmytv.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/loganmytv.png" alt="" width="600" height="332" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165969"></center></p>
<p>According to the movie companies, none of the services offered Dragon Box were legitimate. Instead, they accuse the vendor of playing a game of whac-a-mole.</p>
<p>&#8220;Defendants’ game is clear: every time they are caught marketing an infringing service to their customers, Defendants pull that service down and substitute another in its place,&#8221; the plaintiffs inform the California federal court.</p>
<p>&#8220;My TV Hub is not licensed to stream Plaintiffs’ Copyrighted Works, just as Blend TV was not before it, and just as the addons Defendants originally utilized was not,&#8221; they add.  </p>
<p>The plaintiffs ask the court to issue a temporary restraining order, prohibiting the company from selling &#8220;My TV Hub&#8221; subscriptions. In addition, they don&#8217;t want Dragon Box to sell any service that offers copyrighted content provided by a third party.</p>
<p>&#8220;Absent injunctive relief, Defendants will continue this game of Whac-a-Mole. Nothing short of a Temporary Restraining Order (&#8216;TRO&#8217;) to enjoin this latest service offering, and all similar offerings, will cause Defendants to cease their flagrantly infringing conduct,&#8221; the movie companies state. </p>
<p>It&#8217;s now up to the court to decide whether a restraining order is justified. At the time of writing, Dragon Box isn&#8217;t selling any boxes on its website. Remote controls and keyboards are still available, <a href="https://www.thedragonbox.com/buy-now/">as well as CBD oil</a>, which was added to the assortment recently.</p>
<p><em>&#8212;-</p>
<p>A copy of the application for a temporary restraining order is available <a href="media/9ec79342.dragonmemo.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/dragonmemo.pdf">here (pdf)</a>.</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=166002
title: Court Returns Seized Laptops to Accused GTA V Cheat Developer
uri: Court-Returns-Seized-Laptops-to-Accused-GTA-V-Cheat-Developer
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/lq-14fxaZ0s/
content:
<p><img src="media/fbb6f139.gtanew.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/gtanew.jpg" alt="" width="277" height="238" class="alignright size-full wp-image-162562">Over the past year there has been a wave of copyright infringement lawsuits against alleged cheaters or cheat makers.</p>
<p>Two of the driving forces behind these cases are GTA V developer Rockstar Games and its parent company Take-Two Interactive.</p>
<p>In Australia, the companies filed a lawsuit in September, targeting several people believed to be linked to the popular “Infamous” cheat.</p>
<p>This lawsuit <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/gta-cheat-developers-have-homes-searched-and-assets-frozen-181015/">is notable</a> because the Federal Court of Australia signed off on several broad enforcement actions. Not only were the defendants restrained from any cheating related activity, they were also the subject of a search and assets freezing order.</p>
<p>With the orders in hand, a search party was permitted enter several buildings and search, copy, or remove relevant evidence including any computers and documents related to “Infamous.” In addition, the freezing order prevented defendants from taking out more money than needed for regular expenses.</p>
<p>According to court documents, several devices and hardware belonging to defendant Christopher Anderson were indeed taken. While the case remains active, this week the court decided to return some of the seized items. </p>
<p>The list of returned items includes several laptops, an iPad and an iPhone, as seen below. In addition, the court also listed the assets freezing order. This will help the defendant to prepare his defense.  </p>
<p><center><strong>Returned devices</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/762056f1.devices.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/devices.png" alt="" width="609" height="281" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-166058"></center></p>
<p><a href="https://www.comcourts.gov.au/file/Federal/P/NSD1751/2018/3835556/event/29682198/document/1312465">The order</a> was issued after both parties appeared before the Australian Federal Court this week to discuss progress in the case. Anderson appeared via phone and chose to represent himself.</p>
<p>The defendant told the court that he is working on a defense but that this had been a challenge without access to funds and an unspecified &#8220;confidential&#8221; document, ZDNet <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/australian-court-awaits-paypal-to-release-funds-of-alleged-gta-v-software-cheat/">reports</a>.</p>
<p>According to Justice Nicholas, who has seen the document in question, the lack of access should not prohibit Anderson from preparing a defense. </p>
<p>This was also made clear in the order. After an earlier extension, the alleged cheat developer is now required to submit his reply on or before February 1st, 2019. </p>
<p>During the hearing, it also became clear that PayPal has frozen Anderson&#8217;s funds for 180 days. This money remains locked for now, which may continue until March.</p>
<p>Counsel for Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive contacted PayPal about the issue but it appears that there&#8217;s not much they can do about it.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is between him and PayPal and they do not appear to be the easiest depositors to have one&#8217;s money,&#8221; the Counsel said. &#8220;They have their own terms and conditions, and they do their own thing.&#8221;</p>
<p>March will be too late for the defendant. He has little more than a month to file a response, which means that he likely has to rely on other resources.</p>
<p>Finally, it&#8217;s worth noting that earlier court documents mentioned several possible defendants, referring to the &#8220;person or persons&#8221; known as Christopher Anderson, Cycus Lesser, Sfinktah, Koroush Anderson, and Koroush Jeddian. The latest court records only mention Christopher Anderson.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165838
title: Adobe Piracy Tutorial Takedown Upsets Reddit’s Piracy Sub
uri: Adobe-Piracy-Tutorial-Takedown-Upsets-Reddit-s-Piracy-Sub
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/dd2zq0RtVYE/
content:
<p><a href="media/af6fa99d.redditp.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/redditp.png"><img src="media/35045417.redditp.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/redditp.png" alt="" width="250" height="186" class="alignright size-full wp-image-125451" srcset="https://torrentfreak.com/images/redditp.png 250w, https://torrentfreak.com/images/redditp-200x150.png 200w" sizes="(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px"></a>Anyone wanting to develop new skills can find information to do so on the Internet. While many areas can benefit from one-to-one instruction, tutorials on how to accomplish most things under one&#8217;s own steam can be found online.</p>
<p>The majority of online tutorials are completely non-controversial but when it comes to learning skills that have the potential to break the law, things get a little more volatile.</p>
<p>This is particularly evident in the online piracy scene. With just a few clicks of a mouse, people can learn how to obtain content without paying for it, learn how to crack software or bypass anti-piracy mechanisms on pay TV, for example. It&#8217;s been this way for at least a couple of decades and doesn&#8217;t appear to be going away anytime soon.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s perhaps why there was such outcry on Reddit this week when a long-standing tutorial on how to pirate Adobe CC was taken down following a copyright complaint.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Piracy/comments/5f5uz7/pirating_adobe_cc_for_dummies/">tutorial</a>, titled &#8216;Pirating Adobe CC for Dummies&#8217;, was posted in 2016 and was presumably interesting to the many thousands of people who read it, whether they went on to pirate anything or not. However, a takedown notice received by Reddit saw the tutorial removed.</p>
<p><center><strong>Taken down after two years</strong><br></br></center><center><a href="media/2c9d8e45.adobe-tutdown1-e1545235968534.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/adobe-tutdown1-e1545235968534.png"><img src="media/2c9d8e45.adobe-tutdown1-e1545235968534.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/adobe-tutdown1-e1545235968534.png" alt="" width="600" height="297" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-165855"></a></center></p>
<p>The text that now sits in place of the tutorial doesn&#8217;t indicate that the takedown notice was sent by Adobe. However, it seems fairly likely the world-famous software company was behind the effort. In any event, Reddit clearly viewed the tutorial as problematic and removed it.</p>
<p>This ignited a very lively <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Piracy/comments/a79sxp/a_post_featured_in_this_subs_guide_section_has/">discussion</a> about the legality of the tutorial, with people pointing out that it didn&#8217;t link to any unauthorized Adobe content, nor did it directly link to any of the tools required to pirate the company&#8217;s software.</p>
<p>Perhaps more surprisingly, however, is that many users turned their anger on Reddit&#8217;s admins, who were accused of taking the site in a corporate direction while pleasing shareholders with the takedown of content, this tutorial in particular. In fact, many posts discussed where users of /r/piracy could move to, in order to escape perceived censorship on Reddit.</p>
<p>There are several angles to this issue, none of which are straightforward. TorrentFreak showed the original thread to three lawyers at separate companies while pointing out the lack of links to copyrighted content, to see if this aspect might play a role in the validity of the original claim.</p>
<p>None particularly wanted to commit on whether the tutorial itself was illegal but in off-the-record comments, two independently touched on <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/contributory_infringement">contributory infringement</a>, &#8220;a means by which a person may be held liable for infringement even though he or she did not actually engage in infringing activities.&#8221;</p>
<p>TorrentFreak also sought comment from the EFF but at the time of publishing, we were yet to receive a response. Clearly, getting definitive answers on the legality of the tutorial itself wasn&#8217;t going to be easy but perhaps that&#8217;s the distraction here.</p>
<p>After receiving the complaint, Reddit was compelled by law to take the content down. There is, of course, the possibility to file a counter-notice, which would enable the author to challenge Adobe&#8217;s assertions of infringement (if that&#8217;s who sent the notice) and allow the content to go back up, at least for a while.</p>
<p>However, it is extremely unlikely the author of the tutorial would be prepared to file a <a href="https://www.reddit.com/help/useragreement/#section_your_right_to_file_a_counter-notice">counter-notice</a> because that would mean a) identifying him or herself (with a statement including &#8220;name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of federal district court for the judicial district in which the address is located&#8221;) and b) exposing themselves to a potential lawsuit if the sender wanted to make a point.</p>
<p>This leads, of course, to the inevitable conclusion. Few people who write this kind of tutorial want to be exposed or find themselves on the end of a lawsuit, whether they believe they have the law on their side or not. For most people, expensive lawsuits are not fun and the fight for freedom of speech and access to information often stop when the bills come flooding in.</p>
<p>So, with no counter-claim forthcoming, the tutorial stays down and Reddit keeps its own safe harbor protections, ready to fight another day.</p>
<p>None of this should come as a surprise to anyone. Adobe trying to protect its content? Reddit responding to copyright takedown demands? Piracy tutorial creators not wanting to be part of a lawsuit? A heated debate over freedom of speech? It&#8217;s just another day at the office in the copyright world. </p>
<p>Finally, it&#8217;s worth noting that the /r/piracy sub-Reddit now has another copyright complaint to add to the increasing tally, despite the best efforts of its moderators who, like Reddit&#8217;s admins, may soon have tough choices to make about what content can stay and what must go.</p>
<p>Adobe did not respond to TorrentFreak&#8217;s request for comment.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165804
title: YouTube’s Copyright Protection System is a Total Mess, Can it Be Fixed?
uri: YouTube-s-Copyright-Protection-System-is-a-Total-Mess-Can-it-Be-Fix
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/cqfcJlwAjb0/
content:
<p><img src="media/34e023fb.sadyoutube.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/sadyoutube.jpg" alt="" width="275" height="196" class="alignright size-full wp-image-117196">YouTube’s copyright enforcement is a growing source of frustration, with many creators complaining about overbroad takedown efforts. </p>
<p>The protests have become more vocal in recent months, even though the issues themselves are far from new. </p>
<p>We first signaled problems with YouTube&#8217;s Content-ID system more than <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/youtubes-content-id-piracy-filter-wreaks-havoc-110908/">seven years ago</a>. Since then, many examples have followed. </p>
<p>Most of these are the result of overbroad flagging, where YouTube finds a copyright match where it shouldn&#8217;t. The filters have previously flagged randomly generated audio, for example, or bird chatter. </p>
<p>This week we stumbled upon a video with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dZoMF2Y8NY">50 hours of rain sounds</a> which has been flagged by no less than <a href="media/18ee6cdd.rainflags.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/rainflags.png">five separate</a> rightsholders. Admittedly, the rain in the video sounds very familiar, as does most rain, but it clearly is unique.   </p>
<p>While some mistakes are expected to happen, things only seem to be getting worse. Over the past several days alone, dozens of new examples of YouTube copyright problems have appeared. Many of these were brought to the forefront by creators themselves. </p>
<p>Last week the popular musician TheFatRat <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisIsTheFatRat/status/1072933046939193344">found out</a> that &#8216;someone&#8217; had claimed his own song as theirs, effectively diverting the ad-revenue to someone else. For a song with millions of views, that&#8217;s not a trivial issue. </p>
<p><center><strong>Kidding?</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/5e80de94.fattweet.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/fattweet.png" alt="" width="600" height="400" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165905"></center></p>
<p>YouTube does allow users to file a &#8220;dispute,&#8221; which TheFatRat did. However, the claimant rejected it. The musician could appeal the claim but YouTube warned that he would then risk a strike. If that fails, there&#8217;s another appeal option at which point it enters DMCA territory. </p>
<p>If a Content-ID claim is appealed the claimant will have to file a regular takedown request. This will result in a strike. The YouTube account holder can then file a counter-notice and if the claimant doesn&#8217;t file a lawsuit within two weeks, the video is eventually restored. </p>
<p>That&#8217;s quite a hassle, to say the least.</p>
<p>What doesn&#8217;t help is that YouTube keeps referring to false claimants as the &#8220;copyright owners&#8221;. This also <a href="https://twitter.com/itsDanBull/status/1073232348743917569">happened to Dan Bull</a>, who was hit with a similar false claim last week.</p>
<p><center><strong>I&#8217;m right.</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/4a84ff90.bullright.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/bullright.png" alt="" width="600" height="269" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165908"></center></p>
<p>It&#8217;s not always clear where the problem lies. In TheFatrat&#8217;s case, his song was reportedly infringing a track from Andres Galvis, who apparently doesn&#8217;t know Power Records LLC or Ramjets, which YouTube lists as the claimant. </p>
<p>This may sound bizarre, but things can get even worse. In November YouTuber Drew Gooden was hit by a copyright claim from&#8230; <a href="https://twitter.com/drewisgooden/status/1063520114371375104">Drew Gooden</a>.</p>
<p><center><strong>?</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/4d924808.drew.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/drew.png" alt="" width="600" height="360" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165904"></center></p>
<p>It doesn&#8217;t seem unimaginable that some people are abusing YouTube&#8217;s copyright policy to generate revenue by claiming videos of others. At the very minimum, these examples show that YouTube&#8217;s claiming process is a mess, which can seriously hurt legitimate users.</p>
<p>This frustration was nicely illustrated by YouTuber Gus Johnson, who provides even more examples. </p>
<p>Johnson shows that not all false claims are made through automatic recognition, there are plenty of inaccurate &#8216;manual&#8217; claims as well. It appears that just mentioning the title of an artist or song can result in a claim, even though the audio itself isn&#8217;t used in the video. </p>
<p><center><strong>Out of control..</strong><br></br></center><center></p>
<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }</style>
<div class='embed-container'><iframe src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Tqj2csl933Q' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p></center></p>
<p>As Techdirt <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20181214/17272041233/youtubes-100-million-upload-filter-failures-demonstrate-what-disaster-article-13-will-be-internet.shtml">points out</a>, this mess doesn&#8217;t bode well for the EU&#8217;s Article 13, which may result in even more filters. That said, at YouTube things are already spiraling out of control.</p>
<p>We can easily continue to point out mistakes and false claims day after day after, but perhaps it&#8217;s time for a change?</p>
<p>During a hearing on Canada&#8217;s copyright reform plans, Liberal MP <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_de_Burgh_Graham">David Graham</a> rightfully noted that YouTube currently operates a &#8220;guilty until proven innocent&#8221; system. YouTube&#8217;s representative didn&#8217;t dispute this assertion but gave no indication that this could be reversed. </p>
<p>While &#8220;innocent until proven guilty&#8221; sounds better for creators, copyright holders are not going to like that one bit. </p>
<p>TorrentFreak spoke to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) who have been critical of YouTube&#8217;s system for years. According to EFF&#8217;s Legal Director Corynne McSherry, the copyright strikes are particularly problematic. </p>
<p>Through these &#8220;strikes&#8221;, channel owners risk losing their livelihoods after three complaints. These strikes are only applied after direct copyright takedown requests, not through Content-ID flags, but it&#8217;s a major concern.</p>
<p>What might help is if copyright holders who repeatedly abuse the Content-ID system are penalized as well. </p>
<p>&#8220;YouTube could improve its handling of copyright complaints by actively identifying and excluding from Content ID rightsholders that abuse it,&#8221; McSherry says.</p>
<p>In addition, YouTube could also protect channels which are known to be good actors. </p>
<p>For search takedown requests Google already appears to work with a whitelist of non-infringing domain names. YouTube could do the same with its channels, protecting these from broad takedown requests. </p>
<p>It&#8217;s clear that YouTube is in a difficult spot with major rightsholders asking for tougher measures and YouTubers complaining about the same. At the very least, the company could take a good look at its policies and systems to see if clear abuse can be addressed and prevented.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, Team YouTube said that it was <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamYouTube/status/1072612162856722433">looking into the issues</a>, but thus far not much has changed. </p>
<p>For TheFatRat the recent trouble was the final straw. Yesterday he launched a petition urging YouTube to <a href="https://secure.avaaz.org/en/community_petitions/YouTube_fix_the_copyright_protection_system">fix the copyright protection system</a> which 22,000 people have signed already, </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165951
title: Selling Pirate Movies & Putting the Money in a Personal PayPal Account is Insane
uri: Selling-Pirate-Movies-Putting-the-Money-in-a-Personal-PayPal-Account
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/0wR5xjrE4yo/
content:
<p><a href="media/4446f028.moneybanned.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/moneybanned.jpg"><img src="media/3932f7e0.moneybanned.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/moneybanned.jpg" alt="" width="180" height="171" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86198"></a>On December 12, the US Department of Justice revealed that a federal grand jury had indicted five men in four countries on charges that they distributed or offered for sale hundreds of movies and TV shows in advance of their official release.</p>
<p>While none of the men has yet to be proven guilty in a court of law, the details revealed thus far indicate that this could be one of the biggest piracy prosecutions in recent memory.</p>
<p>The background to the case can be found <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/doj-indicts-five-men-for-pre-release-movie-tv-show-piracy-181213/">here</a>, but it&#8217;s alleged that the five men illegally accessed servers belonging to movie production and distribution companies, grabbed movies and TV shows, and then sold and/or distributed them online.</p>
<p>No one needs to have it pointed out to them that this is a seriously risky business. Given that much of the content was also pre-release material, the sweat levels should have been rising at a ridiculous rate. However, if the allegations are to be believed, many crazy errors of judgment led to the men&#8217;s demise.</p>
<p>First of all, it&#8217;s alleged that the men used a number of aliases. This is common in the online space but it appears at least two were seriously short of ideas. One of the men, named by the DoJ as Sam Nhance, reportedly used the alias &#8216;Sam NhaNc3&#8217;. Another, Jitesh Jadhav, used the alias &#8216;Jadhav&#8217;. </p>
<p>While these aliases could&#8217;ve done with a bit more thought, it&#8217;s the financial aspects of the indictment that provide the most eyebrow-raises.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s alleged that at least some of the defendants &#8211; Aditya Raj, Sam Nhance, Ghobhirajah Selvarajah, Jitesh Jadhav, and Malik Luqman Farooq &#8211; used a PayPal account registered in Selvarajah&#8217;s name. This account was allegedly used to accept payments when the defendants sold pirated movies and to pay for the server where the content was hosted.</p>
<p>While this is a big enough error in itself (PayPal is an easily accessible US company), the indictment weaves many threads together when it reveals how other defendants were allegedly prepared to link their own finances in.</p>
<p>For example, on July 31, 2013, its claimed that Farooq transferred his own money into the PayPal account to pay for a server. During August, he allegedly sold a &#8216;cammed&#8217; copy of The Smurfs 2, not to Joe Public, but to an undercover investigator hired by the MPAA.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s further alleged that a year later, Farooq transferred part of the funds from the sale of “The Amazing SpiderMan 2” from the shared PayPal account mentioned above to his very own PayPal account. </p>
<p>Not long later, Jadhav allegedly got paid his share of the money following the sale of “X-Men: Days of Future Past” from the same shared PayPal account. Only adding to the mounting evidence, Farooq allegedly responded to complaints that he hadn&#8217;t been contributing to payments for the group&#8217;s server by sending money to the shared account from his own PayPal account.</p>
<p>There are numerous other examples of super-risky PayPal transactions, with some involving Farooq&#8217;s own account following the sale of pirated movies to the investigator. At least one of the defendants was happy to transfer money from the main PayPal account into his own bank account.</p>
<p>Rounding things off in a manner that seems fitting given the above disasters, it&#8217;s further alleged that the group&#8217;s server was rented from OVH in defendant Raj&#8217;s own name.</p>
<p>As pointed out earlier, the men are yet to be tried on the basis of the claims in the indictment. Indeed, to date only Farooq has been arrested (in the UK) and the others are all supposedly at large in India, UAE, and Malaysia.</p>
<p>Maybe this physical distance from the United States proved a factor in the attitudes of the men. It&#8217;s certainly possible that these kinds of alleged offenses are considered less important in these parts of the world than they are in Europe and the US. That being said, Farooq &#8211; a UK resident &#8211; should have been aware of the current climate.</p>
<p>The moral of the story though (if there is one) is that selling copies of copyrighted works in the manner alleged in the indictment is likely to end not only in disaster, but also in a beautifully convenient paper trail that ties everything together in a nice little package.</p>
<p>Follow the money? Of course they do.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165631
title: Pirate IPTV Subscriptions Remain Rampant in North America
uri: Pirate-IPTV-Subscriptions-Remain-Rampant-in-North-America
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/-RnibdSXK1U/
content:
<p><img src="media/8a86db31.iptv.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/iptv.jpg" alt="" width="234" height="155" class="alignright size-full wp-image-135034">Increasingly, people are cancelling their expensive cable subscriptions, opting to use cheaper or niche-based Internet TV instead.</p>
<p>While there are plenty of legal options available, there&#8217;s also a broad offer of easy-to-use set-top boxes which are specifically configured to receive pirated content.</p>
<p>These pirate IPTV boxes are often sold bundled with a monthly or yearly subscription. This created an industry worth more than a billion dollars worldwide, perhaps even more.</p>
<p>Canadian broadband management company <a href="https://www.sandvine.com/">Sandvine</a> recently put a spotlight on this activity, revealing how popular these boxes are. The company gathered data in 16 states and provinces in the US and Canada, monitoring traffic across multiple fixed access tier-1 networks.</p>
<p>Following an analysis of the data, the company was able to pinpoint how many households were accessing pirate IPTV networks. It&#8217;s a revisit of a similar study last year which found that <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/iptv-piracy-generates-more-internet-traffic-than-torrents-171101/">6.5% of the households</a> used illegitimate subscription-based services.</p>
<p>The new results are somewhat lower. Sandvine reports that 5.5% of households could be linked to pirate IPTV subscriptions but this doesn&#8217;t mean that interest is waning. </p>
<p>The most recent study looked at a broader and more diverse population than before. Last year&#8217;s sample was concentrated in urban areas with a population over a million, which skewed the findings.</p>
<p>The recent study shows that 7.3% of the households in high-density urban areas have pirate IPTV subscriptions, compared to 4.3% in lower populated areas. This means that the overall reach may have actually grown.</p>
<p><center><strong>US/Canada households accessing pirated live television services</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/524aef63.kodina.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kodina.png" alt="" width="600" height="297" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165870"></center></p>
<p>The findings clearly show that pirate TV subscriptions are more popular in big cities, which is an interesting fact in itself. </p>
<p>&#8220;There is a huge variability in the demographics of those using pirated video services from region to region,&#8221; Sandvine&#8217;s Veroljub Mihajlovic <a href="https://www.sandvine.com/blog/global-internet-phenomena-spotlight-video-piracy-in-north-america">notes</a>.</p>
<p>The scope of the activity also remains intriguing. As previously revealed, pirate IPTV traffic generated more bandwidth than many other piracy tools and services, such as BitTorrent. </p>
<p>Also, it doesn&#8217;t even factor in other types of set-top box piracy, such as pirate boxes that access OTT streaming sites to play movies and TV-series &#8220;on demand.&#8221; This means that the overall piracy box landscape is even larger.</p>
<p>All in all it is safe to conclude that IPTV piracy makes up a large part of the pirate ecosystem. This hasn’t gone unnoticed to copyright holders of course. Over the past year, we have seen <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/bell-videotron-file-criminal-complaint-against-iptv-provider-181212/">enforcement</a> actions <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-group-brein-stopped-75-pirate-iptv-sellers-this-year-181128/">against</a> several <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/settv-iptv-service-ordered-to-pay-dish-90000000-in-piracy-damages-181113/">providers</a> and if this trend continues, more are likely to follow. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=166092
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week on BitTorrent – 12/24/18
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-on-BitTorrent-12-24-18
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/xN3qWarEijE/
content:
<p><img src="media/3a288ea1.jengl.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/jengl.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="180" class="alignright size-full wp-image-166095">This week we have three newcomers in our chart.</p>
<p>Johnny English Strikes Again is the most downloaded movie.</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 Web-DL/Webrip/HDRip/BDrip/DVDrip unless stated otherwise.</p>
<p><a href="http://TorrentFreak.com/category/dvdrip/feed/"><strong>RSS feed</strong></a> for the articles of the recent weekly movie download charts.</p>
<h5>This week&#8217;s most downloaded movies are:</h5>
<table class="css hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="12%"><strong>Movie Rank</strong></th>
<th width="15%"><strong>Rank <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-pirated-movies-week-bittorrent-12-17-18/">last week</a></strong></th>
<th><strong>Movie name</strong></th>
<th width="18%"><strong>IMDb Rating / Trailer</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="4">Most downloaded movies via torrents</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6921996/">Johnny English Strikes Again</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6921996/">6.4</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qv6p6pTz5I">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1477834/">Aquaman</a> (HDTC)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1477834/">7.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmqJJqFX_CU">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(1)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1213641/">First Man</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1213641/">7.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSoRx87OO6k">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1270797/">Venom</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1270797/">7.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLCn88bfW1o&#038;t=3s">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(4)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7040874/">A Simple Favor</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7040874/">7.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAqMlh0b2HU">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1502407/">Halloween</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1502407/">6.9</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek1ePFp-nBI">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2388771/">Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2388771/">6.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVBjPpUlQrE">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(7)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4123430/">Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4123430/">6.9</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bYBOVWLNIs">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(5)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3829266/">The Predator</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3829266/">5.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAJ2LVVgqVo">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(6)</td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6781982/">Night School</a> </td>
<td><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6781982/">5.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9QtXGirWf0">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165944
title: Domain Registrar Can be Held Liable for Pirate Site, Court Rules
uri: Domain-Registrar-Can-be-Held-Liable-for-Pirate-Site-Court-Rules
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/CDMvnzL9sIw/
content:
<p><img src="media/c5959f46.h33t1-300x125.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/h33t1-300x125.png" alt="" width="300" height="125" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-71070">in September 2013, H33T.com, one of the Internet’s most-visited torrent sites at the time, disappeared from the web . </p>
<p>Although the downtime was initially <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/mysterious-domain-seizure-takes-h33t-com-down-but-not-out-130906/">shrouded in mystery</a>, it later became clear that the site had been targeted in a copyright infringement action.</p>
<p>In order to stop the distribution of a copy of Robin Thicke’s album Blurred Lines, Universal Music had <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/universal-music-behind-h33t-com-domain-seizure-130914/">obtained an injunction</a> against Key-Systems, a German-based registrar where the H33t.com domain name was registered.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.key-systems.net/en/homepage">Key-Systems</a> wasn&#8217;t happy with the ruling and the precedent it set but had no other option than to comply. However, the company informed us at the time that it would appeal the verdict, hoping to have it lifted.</p>
<p>This was the start of a drawn-out <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/domain-registrars-face-piracy-liability-after-court-ruling-141106/">legal battle</a> from which the latest ruling was just released. </p>
<p>The Higher Regional Court of Saarbrücken concluded Key-Systems can be held secondarily liable for the infringing actions of a customer if it fails to take action if rightsholders point out “obvious” copyright infringing activity online. </p>
<p>This means that, if a site owner is unresponsive to takedown requests, Key-Systems and other registrars can be required to take a domain name offline, even when the infringing activity is limited to a single page.</p>
<p>The local music group <a href="http://www.musikindustrie.de/startseite/">BVMI</a> is happy with the outcome of the case. They believe it will help copyright holders to take action against infringing activity.</p>
<p>“This is a further important clarification in the legal space of the internet, helping it to become clearer and fairer for creatives and their partners,&#8221; says René Houareau, BVMI&#8217;s Managing Director Legal &#038; Political Affairs.</p>
<p>&#8220;The [court] affirms, with clearly outlined criteria, the responsibility of so-called registrars and thus gives affected rightsholders an important legal tool to defend themselves against the unlawful use of their content on the internet.&#8221; </p>
<p>For H33T the case is no longer relevant. The site did make a comeback after the initial problems, first at H33T.eu and later at H33t.to. However, two years later it <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/h33t-to-mysteriously-disappears-but-can-be-found-150526/">disappeared</a> for good. </p>
<p>That said, the German ruling can affect other sites and registrars as well. In fact, in a similar legal battle, domain registrar 1 API lost a case <a href="https://www.justiz.nrw.de/nrwe/olgs/koeln/j2018/6_U_4_18_Urteil_20180831.html">earlier this year</a>, which required it to disconnect several Pirate Bay-related domains. </p>
<p>The domains in question include thepiratebay.gd, thepiratebay.la, thepiratebay.mn, and thepiratebay.vg. These were already <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/registrar-shuts-down-pirate-bay-domain-names-151228/">disabled years ago</a>, and are no longer in use, but it confirms that registrars can be required to take action against pirate sites.</p>
<p>Lawyer Mirko Brüß <a href="https://www.justiz.nrw.de/nrwe/olgs/koeln/j2018/6_U_4_18_Urteil_20180831.html">notes</a> that, in this case, the court clarified that registrars not only have to take a domain offline, they should also prevent it from being transferred to another company.</p>
<p>Pirate Bay&#8217;s former registrar 1 API was not allowed to appeal the case any further, but Key-Systems still has the option to take the case to the German Federal Court. This means that the H33T case may not be over yet.</p>
<p>TorrentFreak reached out to Key-Systems for a comment and to ask if it plans to fight the issue at the highest court, but we have yet to hear back. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165746
title: New UK ‘Live’ Sports Injunction Will Target Pirate Streams Until 2020
uri: New-UK-Live-Sports-Injunction-Will-Target-Pirate-Streams-Until-2
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/8IFr4Ar1qlo/
content:
<p><img src="media/bf5b1cdb.boxing.png" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/boxing.png" width="240" height="258" class="alignright size-large">A decade ago the vast majority of &#8216;pirate&#8217; content was consumed after the fact but there has been a significant shift towards live TV programming in recent years, largely through IPTV and similar unlicensed services.</p>
<p>This phenomenon has proven a real thorn in the side of sports broadcasters who are desperate to preserve their live programming revenues. The Premier League, for example, has been hit by easy availability of unlicensed live streams, offered either for free or at a fraction of the official rates.</p>
<p>To counter this problem, in March 2017 the League <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/new-uk-kodi-piracy-blocking-injunction-is-a-pretty-scary-beast-170314/">obtained</a> a blocking injunction from the High Court which compelled ISPs including BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media to block unauthorized streams under Section 97a of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act.</p>
<p>A second <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/premier-league-wins-new-stream-blocking-injunction-to-fight-piracy-170727/">order</a> was handed down by the High Court in July 2017, which ran from August 12, 2017 to May 13, 2018. An extension <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/premier-league-obtains-piracy-blocking-order-for-2018-19-season-180719/">was granted</a> by the Court in July 2018.</p>
<p>This didn&#8217;t go unnoticed by other organizations in the same position. As <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/illegal-anthony-joshua-v-alexander-povetkin-boxing-streams-will-be-blocked-180921/">reported</a> here in September, sports promoter Matchroom Sport also obtained a similar High Court injunction enabling it to block illegal streams of fights for the next two years.</p>
<p>It now transpires that Queensbury Promotions, the home of Tyson Fury and legendary promoter Frank Warren, have followed Matchroom Sport by obtaining a similar order.</p>
<p>Granted on November 28, 2018, by Mr Justice Arnold with zero fanfare, the order requires BT, EE, Plusnet, Sky, TalkTalk, and Virgin Media to block live streams of forthcoming Queensbury promotions events in a similar manner to that outlined in the Matchroom Sport and Premier League cases.</p>
<p>While ISPs initially opposed blocking orders when they were first touted years ago, it&#8217;s notable that the first defendant in this case, BT, actually supported the blocking application. The other ISPs simply didn&#8217;t oppose, which made the order a relatively simple one to grant, albeit with a technical matter or two to address.</p>
<p>According to Justice Arnold, Showtime Networks entered into agreements with Queensberry and other third parties which saw Showtime as the broadcaster and copyright owner of the feed. Under the arrangement, however, he did not consider Queensbury to have an exclusive license. Ultimately this was overcome when Queensbury took an assignment of the right to bring proceedings from Showtime.</p>
<p>The order came into force ready for the Deontay Wilder v Tyson Fury fight which took place on December 1, 2018 and ended in a controversial split draw. Interestingly, however, widespread reports of blocking didn&#8217;t make an appearance, on the contrary in fact.</p>
<p>According to piracy-tracking firm MUSO, unauthorized streams of the fight were <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/youtube-was-the-top-source-for-pirated-fury-vs-wilder-streams-181204/">viewed ten million times</a> &#8211; 1.1 million in the UK alone &#8211; with YouTube coming out on top as the leading provider. It is not clear whether those doing the blocking made any effort to target the Google-owned company but it seems likely that if they had, severe collateral damage would have ensued.</p>
<p>Moving forward, it appears that the ability of Queensbury to tackle piracy of events in this manner will continue until December 1, 2020, meaning that illegal Wilder v Fury rematch streams might&#8230;.<em>might</em>&#8230;.find themselves affected.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=166101
title: Bahnhof: The ISP That Fights For Privacy and a Free Internet
uri: Bahnhof-The-ISP-That-Fights-For-Privacy-and-a-Free-Internet
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/FDG8VloX_Ho/
content:
<p><a href="media/1043c1fd.bahnhof.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/bahnhof.png"><img src="media/0439e552.bahnhof.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/bahnhof.png" alt="" width="222" height="150" class="alignright size-full wp-image-128056"></a>Back in 1991, when the World Wide Web (WWW) first became publicly available, few people knew what an impact it would have on the planet. Today, more than 27 years later, a world without the Internet is a prospect that even fewer people are prepared to consider.</p>
<p>There can be little doubt that the Internet is becoming greater by the day. Billions now rely on the network to fulfill what have become our most basic needs, with the free-flow of information enabling some of our greatest achievements in discovery, research, and education.</p>
<p>In 1994, when the Internet became publicly available in Sweden, it&#8217;s unlikely that even the people behind fledgling ISP Bahnhof could have envisioned what the web has become today. However, as one of Sweden&#8217;s first service providers, the company has since weathered many storms, particularly as the freedom of the Internet clashed with those who favor more restrictions, especially in respect of copyright enforcement.</p>
<p>For example, back in 2005 &#8211; when the war against file-sharing had really taken hold in Sweden &#8211; Bahnhof was effectively shut down as part of an anti-piracy raid. As a result, the company had harsh words for those involved, accusing the infamous Antipiratbyrån anti-piracy group of indirectly planting copyright-infringing content on servers connected to the company. </p>
<p>&#8220;How can Antipiratbyrån, which in the form of a lobby organization that works to curb the file-sharing culture, actively pay a person to upload tens of thousands of copyrighted files to a server that is then seized by the authorities?&#8221; CEO Jon Karlung <a href="https://www.aftonbladet.se/teknik/a/ngyAQQ/antipiratbyran-anklagas-for-piratverksamhet">asked</a> at the time.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s like distributing matches and petrol to a famous pyromaniac, then reporting him for a fiery fire when he&#8217;s heating a house.&#8221;</p>
<p>From this event, a pattern began to emerge. Bahnhof became an opponent of file-sharing crackdowns and a supporter of privacy, in 2009 famously refusing to store the IP addresses of customers so they could be pursued by the authorities.</p>
<p>A year later, Bahnhof became the proud host of Wikileaks, a controversial move given the organization&#8217;s efforts to expose secrets connected to the war raging in Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks. But it would be the company&#8217;s efforts to protect the privacy of its own subscribers that would grab most of the headlines.</p>
<p>In 2014, a landmark ruling from the European Court of Justice declared Europe’s Data Retention Directive a violation of Internet users’ privacy and therefore invalid.</p>
<p>The Directive had required ISPs to store data on the activities of their subscribers, including who they communicate with and at what times, plus other identifying information such as IP addresses. Bahnhof announced that it would stop capturing data with immediate effect.</p>
<p>Soon after, however, Swedish telecoms regulator PTS ordered Bahnhof to start storing communications data again under local data retention laws, warning the ISP that non-compliance would result in hefty fines. Bahnhof <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/wikileaks-isp-anonymizes-all-customer-traffic-to-beat-spying-110127/">responded</a> by offering its customers a free, no-logging VPN.</p>
<p>Ever since, Bahnhof has made headlines with its efforts to protect the privacy of its subscribers. The company also became an outspoken enemy of copyright trolls (<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/swedish-isp-attacks-copyright-trolls-over-trademark-infringement-160905/">1</a>,<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/bahnhof-trolls-copyright-trolls-160922/">2</a>), labeling those who engage in the practice as <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/isp-piracy-extortion-letters-benefit-greedy-companies-not-poor-artists-180622/">greedy extortionists</a>.</p>
<p>With the fight set to continue, Bahnhof CEO Jon Karlung says the company&#8217;s stance has its roots in being one of the longest-standing ISPs and a desire to keep the Internet open. </p>
<p>&#8220;I assume that our long-time fight comes from that we, once upon the time, were one of the first ISP&#8217;s existing. That era somehow represented a positive and genuine delight over what the big internet could be,&#8221; he tells TorrentFreak.</p>
<p>&#8220;I still remember those days. It&#8217;s not that everything was better before (I don&#8217;t think it was) but unfortunately many dark forces have taken over &#8211; or we are close to them doing so.&#8221;</p>
<p>It&#8217;s clear from Karlung&#8217;s comments that he sees his company as playing a role in defending the organic nature of the Internet against what he sees as a movement to sterilize the experience, often at the expense of privacy.</p>
<p>&#8220;One could reflect on this: What would happen if the Internet turned out to become a big cable-TV landscape controlled by Big Media, or if various and more and more commercial interests could &#8216;log in&#8217; to your privacy?</p>
<p>&#8220;Or, if everything develops into a big totalitarian Truman Show where global cloud companies and states join forces in a nightmarish hunt against freedom of speech with Sauron like surveillance while investing in controlling the most profitable thoughts through social media, even if these thoughts enhance hate?&#8221;</p>
<p>As these and similar thoughts resonate with millions of freedom-loving individuals worldwide, Karlung clearly understands that he is in business too. The stance he&#8217;s taken means his company is not only seen as somewhat unique in the marketplace, it also earns plenty of merit points with current and future customers.</p>
<p>&#8220;As strange as it may sound, there is also a business idea in defending customers and their privacy. In the old days this could be described as the job of the mailman,&#8221; he concludes.</p>
<p>Somewhat ironically, Bahnhof itself is now the subject of a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/isp-faces-net-neutrality-investigation-for-pirate-site-blocking-retaliation-181217/">net-neutrality investigation</a> in Sweden. After a court <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/swedish-isp-protest-site-blocking-by-blocking-rightsholders-website-and-more-181102/">ordered</a> the ISP to block websites related to Sci-Hub following a complaint from Elsevier, Bahnhof retaliated by partially blocking the academic publisher&#8217;s website.</p>
<p>Like many of Bahnhof&#8217;s moves in recent years, the aim is to defend the free Internet with the side-effect of provoking debate. Karlung says he&#8217;s looking forward to the discussions and has sent thanks to Sweden&#8217;s telecoms regulator for the opportunity.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=152047
title: Top 3 Copyright ‘Owners’ Sent Google a Billion Takedown Requests
uri: Top-3-Copyright-Owners-Sent-Google-a-Billion-Takedown-Requests
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/eMN0FqIGZw8/
content:
<p><img src="media/3c5b1a66.googlepiratebay.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/googlepiratebay.png" alt="" width="267" height="257" class="alignright size-full wp-image-128445">Day in and day out copyright holders are flooding Google with DMCA takedown notices, pointing out links to pirated content.</p>
<p>While the volume has <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/google-search-receives-fewer-takedown-notices-than-before-180414/">started to decrease </a>over the past year or two, the numbers are still dazzling. </p>
<p>In 2018, copyright holders have reported around 700 million allegedly infringing links to the search engine. Most of these are processed swiftly, making the URLs unfindable in search results. </p>
<p>Since Google started counting in 2011, more than 160,000 copyright owners have used Google&#8217;s takedown tool. Together, they submitted more than 3.8 billion URLs. However, on closer inspection, it becomes clear that a small number of rightsholders are responsible for a lot of the action.</p>
<p>The UK music industry group BPI tops the list of most prolific &#8216;copyright owners&#8217;. It reported 425 million URLs over the years, which is more than 10% of all the reported pages. </p>
<p>The music groups APDIF Mexico and APDIF Brazil are listed in second and third place, with 252 million and 247 million reported links respectively. This means that the top three copyright owners are good for more than a billion reported links. </p>
<p><center><strong>Top 3 &#8220;copyright owners.&#8221;</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/c19d2a18.copyowners.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/copyowners.png" alt="" width="600" height="165" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-165977"></center></p>
<p>It&#8217;s clear that the high number of reported URLs is mostly driven by a small group of rightsholders. </p>
<p>To illustrate that, we found that the top 0.0001% of the most active copyright owners, which are 16 organizations, have reported more than 50% of all URLs.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s important to note that many of the reported links are not even in Google&#8217;s search results. Google <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/google-blocks-pirated-search-results-prophylactically-180103/">processes non-indexed links</a> and puts them on a blacklist, so they won&#8217;t be added in the future.</p>
<p>According to Google, the three reporting organizations (not copyright owners) that submitted the most URLs in 2017, all had non-index rates of more than 98%. As such, the billions of reported URLs don&#8217;t necessarily say something about the number of infringing links in Google&#8217;s index.</p>
<p>&#8220;While we will continue to act on these notices, they suggest that the volume of URLs we block is not a good proxy for the number of allegedly infringing links we serve,&#8221; Google previously noted. </p>
<p>It will be interesting to see how the takedown request volume evolves over time. Will the downward trend continue, or could the number of reported URLs start to grow again?</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=166111
title: Even TorrentFreak Gets ‘Pirated’ On a Daily Basis
uri: Even-TorrentFreak-Gets-Pirated-On-a-Daily-Basis
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/XFIygrur_ok/
content:
<p><a href="media/ada54466.tf-logo-1.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/tf-logo-1.png"><img src="media/ec1a221e.tf-logo-1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tf-logo-1.png" alt="" width="220" height="220" class="alignright size-full wp-image-166114"></a>Since 2005, TorrentFreak has been a fairly popular source for file-sharing, piracy, and copyright-related news. It&#8217;s a project that takes up most of our lives and many hundreds of hours every month.</p>
<p>We love what we do and we&#8217;re grateful to every single one of our readers who help us by taking the time to read our articles and send us tips. Thanks folks, it really means a lot and we couldn&#8217;t do it without you.</p>
<p>As is obvious, everything we write is available on our website, for free, with no intrusive advertising, under a consumer-friendly <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/copyright/">Creative Commons license</a>. Or, if one prefers, everything can be obtained via our regular mailings.</p>
<p>Over the past couple of years, however, TorrentFreak&#8217;s news has been made available via a couple of dozen other websites. Many operating in the relatively new &#8216;Kodi news&#8217; niche, these sites take our articles the second they&#8217;re published and present them on their own platforms for the benefit of their own readers.</p>
<p>Under our CC license, anyone can do this for non-commercial purposes providing they link back to the source, but the vast majority are doing so for business reasons. Oddly enough, most of these are happy to link and politely quote the source.</p>
<p>In some cases, however, sites remove all references to TF from our articles while deliberately passing them off as written by their own &#8220;authors&#8221;. One site even goes as far as to run our pieces through word-replacement filters that chaotically obfuscate both the news and the source. That, admittedly, is really, really irritating.</p>
<p>This type of &#8216;piracy&#8217; (we&#8217;ll use the term for convenience) presents an interesting thought exercise for us. Effectively, TorrentFreak wouldn&#8217;t exist if it wasn&#8217;t for piracy. Indeed, if the piracy issue was solved tomorrow, we&#8217;d have nothing left to report.</p>
<p>So, with that being said, it&#8217;s &#8216;fun&#8217; to have a little taste of what the entertainment industries have been dealing with for the past couple of decades. But, how we deal with this, is far removed from many of the popular strategies.</p>
<p>More than anyone and particularly in view our daily reporting, we know that there is plenty that can be done when people take your work and copy it online. Perhaps more importantly, however, just because you can do something, it doesn&#8217;t mean you should.</p>
<p>Lawsuits solve nothing other than making lawyers rich. Trolling and settlement strategies are generally disgusting while acting tough on the Internet isn&#8217;t attractive for branding or image. And takedown notices &#8211; well &#8211; that game of whac-a-mole isn&#8217;t something we&#8217;d even consider as a solution.</p>
<p>What we do know, however, is that most people like to do the right thing. When people politely ask if they can use our content, the answer is always &#8216;yes&#8217;. We also know that when people take our pieces and place them on their own sites, we reach a wider audience &#8211; whether or not the operator of that site has linked to the source as we humbly request. Getting the news out there by any means has always been our number one priority.</p>
<p>But, more importantly, we would never like to be viewed in the same light as those who threaten and posture in order to get what they want. Piracy is here to stay and there is little to nothing anyone can do about it. Whether its movies, music or news articles, someone, somewhere will clone it and offer it to the public.</p>
<p>So, despite this article briefly focusing on what it&#8217;s like to be on the &#8216;other side&#8217; of the piracy world for once, we can let everyone into a small secret: <em>this article took longer to write than the whole time we&#8217;ve spent &#8216;worrying&#8217; about the &#8216;piracy&#8217; of our articles.</em></p>
<p>Sure, there are some objectionable sites republishing our stories that we would prefer our content not to be associated with, period, but life is too short for these kinds of distractions.</p>
<p>Our advice to people troubled by low-level piracy is to focus on what you do best and get on with it. Every second spent worrying about piracy is time that could&#8217;ve been spent creating something new. Sure, some people will come along and take a few views here and there but is it really worth kicking up a huge fuss over when it only distracts from the job? </p>
<p>Hardly.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=165281
title: ‘The Walking Dead’ Most Torrented TV-Show of 2018
uri: The-Walking-Dead-Most-Torrented-TV-Show-of-2018
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/n4ts0JokpXA/
content:
<p><img src="media/4a2b6209.twd-1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/twd-1.jpg" alt="" width="256" height="221" class="alignright size-full wp-image-165500">At the end of every year we take a look at the most-downloaded TV-episodes among torrenting pirates. </p>
<p>The list was headed by Game of Thrones for six years in a row, but this reign has now come to an end. </p>
<p>With no new GoT episodes in 2018, the title was up for grabs and The Walking Dead has seized this opportunity. </p>
<p>This doesn&#8217;t come as a complete surprise, as the AMC series was already the runner-up since 2014. </p>
<p>Episodes of The Walking Dead are downloaded millions of times. The show has a steady following and is currently in its ninth season. The series may continue for a few more years as the producers previously said that they have enough material to keep it alive for <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140615054326/http://www.hitfix.com/news/the-walking-dead-producers-have-story-plans-through-season-12">several more seasons</a>.</p>
<p>Apart from the change at the top, there are a few small changes. Most of the entries in the top ten have been featured in the list at least once before in previous years. Titans is the best-ranked newcomer in fifth place.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s worth noting that BitTorrent traffic only makes up a small portion of the piracy landscape. A lot of people use streaming sites and services nowadays, which generally do not report viewing stats.</p>
<p>Finally, while Game of Thrones is excluded this year it doesn&#8217;t mean that the show isn&#8217;t being pirated. GoT torrents remain the most sought-after season bundles on torrent sites. </p>
<p>In fact, if all downloads from previous episodes and seasons would count, GoT would likely still be on top. This is also what IKnowWhatYouDownload <a href="https://iknowwhatyoudownload.com/en/stat/annual">suggests</a>. We, therefore, have no doubt that it will return for a grand finale next year when the final season airs.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p><em>Below we have compiled a list of the most torrented TV-shows worldwide (most shared single episode). The ranking is compiled by TorrentFreak based on several sources, including statistics reported by public BitTorrent trackers and the DHT network. Full season downloads are not included.</em></p>
<table class="css hover" summary="Most downloaded TV-shows on BitTorrent">
<caption><strong>Most downloaded TV-shows on BitTorrent, 2018<br></br></strong></caption>
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="12%"><strong>rank</strong></th>
<th width="12%"><strong>last year</strong></th>
<th width="76%"><strong>show</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="3">torrentfreak.com</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walking_Dead_(TV_series)">The Walking Dead</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flash_(2014_TV_series)">The Flash</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(4)</td>
<td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Bang_Theory">The Big Bang Theory</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(8)</td>
<td align="left"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikings_(TV_series)">Vikings</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titans_(2018_TV_series)">Titans</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(10)</td>
<td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrow_(TV_series)">Arrow</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernatural_(U.S._TV_series)">Supernatural</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westworld_(TV_series)">Westworld</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legends_of_Tomorrow">DC&#8217;s Legends of Tomorrow</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(9)</td>
<td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suits_(U.S._TV_series)">Suits</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/">TF</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2018-180107/">torrent sites</a> and more. We also have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-keep-anonymous-2018/">VPN reviews, </a><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-discount-coupon-offer-torguard-nordvpn-expressvpn-pia/">discounts, offers and coupons</a>.</p>
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