# articles

feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=103904
title: ISP Pulls VPN Service After Geo-Unblocking Legal Threats
uri: ISP-Pulls-VPN-Service-After-Geo-Unblocking-Legal-Threats
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/fe96BJoNxHg/
content:
<p><img src="media/4060a5d5.youtube_copyright_sadface-150x150.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/youtube_copyright_sadface-150x150.png" alt="youtube_copyright_sadface" width="150" height="150" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-63102">While VPN services have always been associated with privacy, in recent years they have bloomed into tools providing much more than a simple way to stay cloaked online.</p>
<p>For a relatively small fee, users of the most popular VPN services can tunnel out of their country of origin and reappear in any one of dozens of countries around the world. This opens up a whole new world of media consumption opportunities. </p>
<p>Citizens of the United States, for example, can access BBC iPlayer just like any other Brit might, while those in the UK looking to sample the widest possible Netflix offering can easily tunnel right back into the U.S.</p>
<p>This cross-border content consumption is not popular with entertainment companies and distributors. It not only undermines their ability to set prices on a per-region basis, but also drives a truck through hard-negotiated licensing agreements.</p>
<p>Tired of dealing with ISPs including Slingshot who offer a dedicated &#8216;<a href="https://www.slingshot.co.nz/global-mode/overview">global mode</a>&#8216; VPN service for customers, last week media companies in New Zealand ran out of patience.</p>
<p>&#8220;We pay considerable amounts of money for content rights, particularly exclusive content rights. These rights are being knowingly and illegally impinged, which is a significant issue that may ultimately need to be resolved in court in order to provide future clarity for all parties involved,&#8221; Lightbox, MediaWorks, SKY, and TVNZ said in a joint statement.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is not about taking action against consumers; this is a business-to-business issue and is about creating a fair playing field.&#8221;</p>
<p>Before being granted limited local access to Netflix just last month, Kiwis were required to level their own playing fields by paying for a VPN service and an account at an overseas supplier in order to legally obtain a decent range of premium content. However, the media companies now want to bring an end to that free choice via legal action. Today they claimed their first scalp.</p>
<p>This morning <a href="http://unlimitedinternet.co.nz/">Unlimited Internet</a> became the first ISP to respond to media company pressure by pulling its geo-unblocking service known as &#8220;TV VPN&#8221; after receiving a warning letter from a lawfirm. </p>
<p>The letter, which has been sent out to several local ISPs, informs Unlimited Internet that its VPN service infringes the Copyright Act of 1994.</p>
<p>Unlimited Internet director Ben Simpson says that while his company doesn&#8217;t necessarily agree with that assertion, it has taken down the service nonetheless.</p>
<p>“Geo-unblocking services are a direct result of consumer demand for access to content that is not made available to the New Zealand market,” Simpson <a href="http://netguide.co.nz/story/one-down-first-isp-bows-geo-block-pressure/">says</a>.</p>
<p>“To be on the safe side, we have taken legal advice on this matter and I have made a firm call that we will sit on the sideline until a legal precedent has been set.”</p>
<p>Currently there are no signs that other ISPs intend to cave in to the media companies&#8217; demands but even if all Kiwi companies cease their VPN activities, the problem will persist. International VPN providers, such as those <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">listed here</a>, will be more than happy to provide services to New Zealanders enabling them to tunnel into any country they choose.</p>
<p>The other possibility is that consumers will shun paying for content and turn back to file-sharing networks instead. If they do those VPNs will still come in handy but for entirely different reasons, ones that will see entertainment companies missing out on the spoils altogether.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=103969
title: Google Removes FrostWire BitTorrent App From Play Store
uri: Google-Removes-FrostWire-BitTorrent-App-From-Play-Store
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/-WE_SNQeJ5c/
content:
<p><img src="media/4f983889.fwlogo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/fwlogo.jpg" alt="fwlogo" width="236" height="236" class="alignright size-full wp-image-100480">FrostWire has become a well-known file-sharing brand over the past decade. </p>
<p>The application was first released in 2004 as a LimeWire fork, but underwent several changes over the years. Today it&#8217;s mostly a BitTorrent client, but it also offers the option to access content from YouTube.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.frostwire.com/">FrostWire</a> is available on all major operating systems and does particularly well on Android where it has 2.9m active installs. Yesterday, however, the popular app was <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.frostwire.android&#038;hl=en">rendered unavailable</a>.</p>
<p>FrostWire developer Angel Leon informs TF that Google pulled the application citing a violation of the Developer Distribution Agreement. Unlike the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/amazon-bans-bittorrent-app-frostwire-over-piracy-concerns-150128/">recent ban by Amazon</a>, the removal has nothing to do with torrents but was triggered by FrostWire&#8217;s YouTube integration. </p>
<p>&#8220;After a regular review, we have determined that your app downloads, monetizes, or otherwise accesses YouTube videos in violation of the YouTube Terms of Service or YouTube API Terms of Service,&#8221; Google informed FrostWire while cautioning over the possibility of a permanent disconnection.</p>
<p>&#8220;All removals are tracked. Repeated removals will result in app suspension, at which point this app will count as a strike against the good standing of your developer account and no longer be available on Google Play.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/ad767cbe.googleplayfw.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/googleplayfw.png" alt="googleplayfw" width="837" height="240" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-103970"></center></p>
<p>After the first warning last Friday FrostWire submitted a YouTube-less app to get it re-listed. This worked, as the app was put back in the store by Saturday, but yesterday it was removed again citing the &#8220;YouTube&#8221; violation.  </p>
<p>To please these users the developers made a separate version with YouTube functionality that can be installed directly from the <a href="http://www.frostwire.com/android">FrostWire site</a>. However, installing an .apk file isn&#8217;t that straightforward as the default Chrome browser on Android can&#8217;t open them directly.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re pretty pissed by how Google is acting all bully on app developers,&#8221; Leon tells us in response to the recent troubles. The app&#8217;s users are not happy either. Many were happy to have the YouTube integration and berated FrostWire for removing it.</p>
<p><img src="media/5745b390.fwyout.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/fwyout.png" alt="fwyout" width="250" height="444" class="alignright size-full wp-image-103986">&#8220;Our solution to pissed off users after Google forced us to remove YouTube integration from FrostWire, was to simply build another version of the app which didn&#8217;t disable the feature, and tell users to get the installer directly from our website,&#8221; Leon says.</p>
<p>The YouTube situation was explained in the FrostWire client and more than a million people saw the notification over the weekend. </p>
<p>Interestingly, Google doesn&#8217;t allow developers to promote apps outside the market so this notification had to go too. </p>
<p>Facing these and other restrictions, the FrostWire team is growing increasingly frustrated but without solid competition there&#8217;s not much they can do.</p>
<p>&#8220;Google is acting too much like a bully lately, they need to be put on the spot, and they deserve some serious competition in the mobile space,&#8221; Leon says. </p>
<p>At the time of writing FrostWire is still unavailable in the Play store. If everything goes well, however, the app should be reinstated in the near future.  </p>
<p><strong>Update April 9:</strong> The FrostWire app was reinstated.</p>
<p>&#8220;We appreciate the opportunity to review your appeal. Upon further review, we&#8217;ve accepted your appeal and have reinstated your app. You will need to log back into your Google Play Developer Console to re-publish the application so it is available again on Google Play.&#8221;</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=103900
title: Aussies Set For 200,000 Piracy Notices Per Year Under New Code
uri: Aussies-Set-For-200-000-Piracy-Notices-Per-Year-Under-New-Code
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/6ZAlRvPs8UU/
content:
<p><img src="media/d0591cc5.aus-150x150.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/aus-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" class="alignright">Just 24 hours ago Australia was <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/iinet-loses-dallas-buyers-club-piracy-case-150407/">abuzz</a> with the news that U.S.-based Voltage Pictures will now be allowed to launch a so-called &#8216;speculative invoicing&#8217; scheme Down Under.</p>
<p>The company will obtain the names of people behind ISP accounts linked to the unlawful sharing of their works online and pursue them for cash settlements. It&#8217;s a business model with a grubby reputation, one that mainstream rightsholders have largely steered away from in recent years.</p>
<p>Instead, the world&#8217;s largest entertainment companies are focusing their efforts on schemes designed to educate citizens, those in Australia included, in the hope that they will voluntarily change their online media consumption habits.</p>
<p>The local result is today&#8217;s publication of &#8216;Industry Code C653:2015, Copyright Notice Scheme&#8217;<em>(<a href="media/f0ca6986.C653-Copyright-Notice-Scheme-Industry-Code-FINAL.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.commsalliance.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/48551/C653-Copyright-Notice-Scheme-Industry-Code-FINAL.pdf">pdf</a>)</em>, the anti-piracy framework hammered out by telecoms companies and key entertainment industry companies including ARIA, Australia Screen Association, Foxtel, Music Rights Australia, News Corporation and Village Roadshow.</p>
<p>A draft was <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/aussie-isps-advocate-three-strikes-solution-to-piracy-150220/">presented in February</a> but today&#8217;s paper represents its final form following more than 370 public submissions.</p>
<p>While there have been some tweaks and clarifications, the majority of the core policies outlined in the earlier publication remain the same. ISPs providing fixed access services to 1,000 account holders or more will take part, which amounts to roughly 70 local service providers.</p>
<p><strong>Vision</strong></p>
<p>According to telecoms body the Communications Alliance, the scheme will have &#8220;a strong emphasis on public education&#8221; and does not contain &#8220;explicit sanctions against internet users&#8221;. While it does have &#8216;teeth&#8217; (we&#8217;ll come to that shortly), informing subscribers comes first.</p>
<p><strong>Notices</strong></p>
<p>The three-step notice process remains, with account holders receiving &#8216;educational&#8217;, &#8216;warning&#8217; and then &#8216;final&#8217; notices each subsequent time their IP addresses are connected to infringing activity online. Only users of P2P systems such as BitTorrent are affected.</p>
<p>&#8220;Any Account Holder who receives three Notices within a 12 month period will have the option to seek a review conducted by an independent Adjudication Panel,&#8221; the paper reads. </p>
<p><strong>Appeals against notices, consumer protection</strong></p>
<p>One significant change is the elimination of a fee if a subscriber feels he or she has been wrongly issued with a notice. While subscribers can appeal against any notice, so-called &#8216;Challenge Notices&#8217; can only be sent to the adjudication panel upon receipt of a &#8216;Final&#8217; notice.</p>
<p>Rightsholders will pick up the tab on appeals for now but if any abuse of the appeal process is observed, fees could be reintroduced.</p>
<p>There will also be &#8220;stronger consumer representation&#8221; on the Copyright Information Panel, the body that will oversee the notice scheme and operate the website setup to educate the public.</p>
<p><strong>The sting in the tail</strong></p>
<p>There are no disconnections or suspensions for subscribers who don&#8217;t get the message after three warnings but the scheme does have a potentially tougher lesson up its sleeve.</p>
<p>By accommodating a ‘facilitated preliminary discovery’ process, ISPs will be expected to assist (not challenge) copyright holders who decide to take legal action against persistent infringers.</p>
<p>&#8220;Where an Account Holder has received three Notices within a 12 month period and a Rights Holder files an application for preliminary discovery in a prescribed court seeking access to the Account Holder’s details, ISPs will act reasonably in relation to the preliminary discovery application,&#8221; the paper reads.</p>
<p>&#8220;It remains a matter for the Court to decide whether preliminary discovery should be granted. An Account Holder’s details will not be provided by ISPs to Rights Holders in the absence of a court order.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>Notice volume and who will pay</strong></p>
<p>Considering that the issue of costs has been derailing anti-piracy discussion between ISPs and rightsholders for many years, the speed at which this code has been agreed after government issued an ultimatum last year is somewhat surprising.</p>
<p>However, it appears that who will pay is not only still undecided, but could also remain a secret even when it is.</p>
<p>“There are still some commercial details, including elements of the scheme funding arrangements, to be finalized and the finished product must meet the approval of the ACMA,&#8221; says Communication Alliance CEO, John Stanton.</p>
<p>The current agreement allows for up to 200,000 notices to be processed and sent by all ISPs during each 12 months of the scheme&#8217;s operation. However, if rightsholders subsequently deem that number to be insufficient to achieve their objectives, further financial negotiations can take place with ISPs with a view to them sending more.</p>
<p>&#8220;Any funding arrangements must be designed to ensure that smaller ISPs are not unduly burdened by the requirements of the scheme,&#8221; the code adds.</p>
<p>The Australian Communications and Media Authority will now consider whether to register the code. Once put into place, the effectiveness of the scheme will independently evaluated 18 months after launch.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=103991
title: Major Labels Sue Music Leaker After FBI Investigation
uri: Major-Labels-Sue-Music-Leaker-After-FBI-Investigation
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/aC2j3C9mNDE/
content:
<p><img src="media/26ef29a7.nicki.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/nicki.jpg" alt="nicki" width="190" height="170" class="alignright size-full wp-image-103995">If there is one issue guaranteed to incense recording labels and artists alike it&#8217;s the premature public availability of pre-release music.</p>
<p>Over the years leaks from popular artists have featured in countless online piracy cases, painted by the labels as some of the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/sony-hits-beyonce-file-sharer-with-233000-damages-lawsuit-130304/">most damaging</a> forms of unauthorized distribution.</p>
<p>While some believe that leaks are useful for <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/band-leaks-track-to-bittorrent-blames-pirates-080731/">creating buzz</a>, labels often argue that availability amounts to unfair competition and the undermining of an artist&#8217;s decision as to when and where content should be heard.</p>
<p>Pre-release leaks can happen anywhere in the supply chain, usually towards the retail environment, but a case set to be heard next month is unusual in several respects, not least the point at which the music was obtained.</p>
<p>Between 2010 and 2013 it&#8217;s alleged that unreleased music began leaking from industry-affiliated email accounts based in the United States. Tracks from some of the world&#8217;s biggest stars was targeted, including those from Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown and Mary J Blige.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s claimed that the music began turning up in public after being sold to DJs worldwide, events which heralded the involvement of the FBI and a trail to Sweden.</p>
<p>&#8220;In the United States an investigation was launched into the stolen songs. The tracks led to Sweden through bank accounts and IP addresses. Therefore, we were contacted,&#8221; <a href="http://www.svt.se/kultur/varldens-storsta-skivbolag-stammer-svensk-man">says</a> prosecutor Fredrik Ingblad.</p>
<p>Further investigation led Swedish authorities to a 25-year-old local man who is said to have hacked the email accounts, obtained the music, and sold it on for a profit.</p>
<p>&#8220;He hacked into the email accounts and got hold of unreleased songs, and songs that might have never been released. That makes this case unusual,&#8221; Ingblad adds.</p>
<p>The prosecution claims that the man, who denies the charges, made around $12,000 from sales of the tracks. He will go on trial in Sweden next month and will face fines and up to two years in prison. Labels including Sony, Warner and Universal are suing the man and will be seeking damages.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104051
title: EFF Seeks DMCA Exemption to Preserve Abandoned Games
uri: EFF-Seeks-DMCA-Exemption-to-Preserve-Abandoned-Games
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/mpv_13KVrP0/
content:
<p><img src="media/2aa8451f.eff.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/eff.jpg" alt="eff" width="190" height="129" class="alignright size-full wp-image-31200">While video gaming used to be a strictly offline affair, in the current market many titles require continued access to custom online resources in order to function.</p>
<p>Updates, patches and multi-player support aside, some titles simply cease to function when their developers or publishers decide that the game has outlived its usefulness.</p>
<p>While this is convenient for companies looking to promote the latest titles to their customer bases, those who have invested in software are regularly abandoned along with their now-useless games.</p>
<p>In attempt to remedy this situation the Electronic Frontier Federation (EFF) has teamed up with law student Kendra Albert to seek legal protections from the Copyright Office for those who modify gaming code in order to keep titles playable.</p>
<p>The problem lies in the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (Section 1201) which create legal uncertainty for those digging into code for such purposes. To create clarity, provide protection and allow for the functional preservation of videogame art, the EFF is seeking an exemption to the Act.</p>
<p>&#8220;Section 1201 is often used by the entertainment industries not to prevent copyright infringement but to control markets and lock out competition. So it’s not surprising that ESA (the trade association for the largest game producers), along with MPAA and RIAA, have written to the Copyright Office to oppose this exemption,&#8221; EFF attorney Mitch Stoltz <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/04/videogame-publishers-no-preserving-abandoned-games-even-museums-and-archives">explains</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;They say that modifying games to connect to a new server (or to avoid contacting a server at all) after publisher support ends—letting people continue to play the games they paid for—will destroy the video game industry. They say it would &#8216;undermine the fundamental copyright principles on which our copyright laws are based&#8217;.&#8221;</p>
<p>Indeed, the testimony of ESA Senior Vice-President and General Counsel Christian Genetski before the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet last year <em>(<a href="media/4d81728d.09.17.14-testimony-esa.pdf" data-original-source="http://judiciary.house.gov/_cache/files/8596bbac-6b4b-4b21-a795-d5e2bff890b3/09.17.14-testimony-esa.pdf">pdf</a>)</em>, outlines the software group&#8217;s position clearly. </p>
<p>&#8220;[W]hile addressing copyright infringement is one important objective of Section 1201, it is not its only objective,&#8221; Genetski said.</p>
<p>&#8220;[A] prohibition on the hacking of technological protection measures controlling <em>access</em> to protected works (even if the hacking does not result in any copyright infringement) [is] necessary in order to encourage innovation in the online distribution of copyrighted works.&#8221;</p>
<p><img src="media/c185d573.mario64.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/mario64.jpg" alt="mario64" width="180" height="180" class="alignright size-full wp-image-103564">While the ESA appears to have at least drawn a distinction between piracy and non copyright-infringing activity in its 2014 submission, the EFF says that the software group is now using language that closes the gap somewhat.</p>
<p>Any exception to Section 1201&#8217;s blanket ban on circumvention would send a message that “hacking — an activity closely associated with piracy in the minds of the marketplace — is lawful”, the ESA says, adding that the same would “undermine the fundamental copyright principles on which our copyright laws are based.”</p>
<p>It&#8217;s fair to say that the EFF remains unimpressed by this interpretation.</p>
<p>&#8220;Imagine the havoc that could result if people believed that &#8216;hacking&#8217; was ever legal! Of course,  &#8216;hacking&#8217; is legal in most circumstances,&#8221; Stoltz says.</p>
<p>&#8220;Most of the programmers that create games for Sony, Microsoft, EA, Nintendo, and other ESA members undoubtedly learned their craft by tinkering with existing software. If &#8216;hacking,&#8217; broadly defined, were actually illegal, there likely would have been no video game industry.&#8221;</p>
<p>In its submission to the U.S. Copyright Office <em>(<a href="https://www.eff.org/document/eff-gaming-exemption-request">pdf</a>)</em>, the EFF lists dozens of server shutdowns in 2014 alone, affecting titles such as Age of Empires Online, various Battlefield, Command and Conquer and Crysis titles, several FIFA, Madden and Mario games, plus more than a dozen Pokemon editions.</p>
<p>While these titles have been committed to the graveyard for now, the EFF hopes that an exemption to the DMCA will allow them to enjoy new life. They are supported by T.L. Taylor, Associate Professor of Comparative Media Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.</p>
<p>&#8220;The preservation of computer games includes not only making sure we can see their graphics or hear their sounds, but understand the complexity of their mechanics. Given the market life-cycle of most games, protection is needed to ensure research can continue on these artifacts even after developers have moved onto other ventures,&#8221; Taylor writes.</p>
<p>&#8220;I believe the exemption proposed here offers a critical path to supporting a range of work that, far from harming any stakeholders, fosters the lively use, development, and scholarship of digital gaming.&#8221; </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104011
title: Pirate Bay’s Fredrik Neij Appeals Denial to Print In Prison
uri: Pirate-Bay-s-Fredrik-Neij-Appeals-Denial-to-Print-In-Prison
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/JatddOp1TPw/
content:
<p><a href="media/6ae5a612.fredrik-neij.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/fredrik-neij.jpg"><img src="media/6ae5a612.fredrik-neij.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/fredrik-neij.jpg" alt="fredrik-neij" width="250" height="236" class="alignright size-full wp-image-99649"></a>Fredrik Neij, also known as Tiamo, was one of the key operators of The Pirate Bay. </p>
<p>In 2010 Fredrik received a prison sentence for his involvement with the notorious site, which he initially avoided.</p>
<p>After being on the run for several years he was eventually arrested by Thai immigration authorities <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-founder-fredrik-neij-arrested-in-asia-141104/">late last year</a>, and later transferred to a prison in Skänninge, Sweden.</p>
<p>While reportedly doing well, prison life has many limitations. Access to technology is limited, for example, but Fredrik recently managed to get a tablet so he could read the details of a preliminary investigation.</p>
<p>According to Fredrik, he was also given verbal approval to write text documents on the device and make printouts for personal use, but the prison administration now denies this.</p>
<p>In a response the former Pirate Bay operator has now <a href="http://www.idg.se/2.1085/1.620553/pirate-bay-grundare-nekas-gora-utskrifter-i-fangelset">filed an appeal</a> at the Administrative Court. </p>
<p>&#8220;When I received the e-reader I specifically asked if I could use it to write letters and make notes in the tablet&#8217;s word processing programs. I was told that it would be okay,&#8221; Fredrik writes.</p>
<p>In addition to writing he was also promised that he could make several printouts.</p>
<p>&#8220;The answer I got was that there wouldn&#8217;t be a problem,&#8221; Neij notes. </p>
<p>Printing three files doesn&#8217;t seem to be a major issue, especially if the same documents are already available digitally. However, in prison things rarely come easy.</p>
<p>The good news for Fredrik is that his prison sentence is half done, and he&#8217;s scheduled to be released later this year. </p>
<p>Worryingly, however, there are more problems on the horizon. The former Pirate Bay operator is also facing <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bays-fredrik-neij-now-wanted-for-hacking-141224/">hacking allegations</a> as well as a criminal referral of his ISP, DCP Networks. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104067
title: Judge: IP-Address Doesn’t Identify a Movie Pirate
uri: Judge-IP-Address-Doesn-t-Identify-a-Movie-Pirate
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/897tl0sYniM/
content:
<p><img src="media/f7a82faa.ip-address.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ip-address.png" alt="ip-address" width="225" height="153" class="alignright size-full wp-image-50438">While relatively underreported, many U.S. district courts are still swamped with lawsuits against alleged film pirates. </p>
<p>One of the newcomers this year are the makers of the action movie <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1778931/">Manny</a>. Over the past few months &#8220;Manny Film&#8221; has filed 215 lawsuits across several districts.</p>
<p>Like all copyright holders, the makers of the film rely on IP-addresses as evidence. They then ask the courts to grant a subpoena, forcing Internet providers to hand over the personal details of the associated account holders.</p>
<p>In most cases the courts sign off on these requests, but in Florida this isn&#8217;t as straightforward. </p>
<p>When District Court Judge <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_Mancusi_Ungaro">Ursula Ungaro</a> was assigned a Manny Film case she asked the company to explain how an IP-address can pinpoint the actual person who downloaded a pirated film. In addition, she asked them to show that geolocation tools are good enough to prove that the alleged pirate resides in the Court&#8217;s district.</p>
<p>In a detailed reply the filmmakers argued that IP-addresses can identify the defendant and that a refusal to grant a subpoena would set a &#8220;dangerous precedent.&#8221; Manny Film further stated that “all other courts” disagreed with the notion that an IP-address is not a person.</p>
<p>This last remark didn&#8217;t go down well with Judge Ungaro. In an order handed down this week she cites various cases where courts ruled that IP-addresses don&#8217;t always identify the alleged offenders.</p>
<p>&#8220;Due to the risk of ‘false positives,’ an allegation that an IP address is registered to an individual is not sufficient in and of itself to support a claim that the individual is guilty of infringement,&#8221; wrote the Judge citing a 2012 case, one of many examples.</p>
<p><center><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/261439695/content?start_page=1&#038;view_mode=scroll&#038;access_key=key-FgTjlrZ1X35QkPTYjb0S&#038;show_recommendations=false" data-auto-height="false" data-aspect-ratio="0.7729220222793488" scrolling="no" id="doc_48370" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0"></iframe></center></p>
<p>The referenced cases clearly refute Manny Film&#8217;s claim that all other courts disagreed with the Judge Ungaro&#8217;s concerns, and the Judge is not convinced by any of the other arguments either.</p>
<p>&#8220;As in those cases, Plaintiff here fails to show how geolocation software can establish the identity of the Defendant. Specifically, there is nothing linking the IP address location to the identity of the person actually downloading and viewing the copy righted material and nothing establishing that the person actually lives in this district,&#8221; Judge Ungaro writes. </p>
<p>&#8220;Even if this IP address is located within a residence, geolocation software cannot identify who have access to that residence’s computer and who would actually be using it to infringe Plaintiff’s copyright,&#8221; she adds. </p>
<p>As a result, the Court refused to issue a subpoena and dismissed the case against IP-address 66.229.140.101 for improper venue. </p>
<p>While not all judges may come to the same conclusion, the order makes it harder for rightholders to play their &#8220;copyright troll&#8221; scheme in the Southern District of Florida. At the same time, it provides future defendants with a good overview to fight similar claims elsewhere.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104104
title: Stallone Thanks Piracy Police For New Expendables 3 Arrest
uri: Stallone-Thanks-Piracy-Police-For-New-Expendables-3-Arrest
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/h8Dn5ImYXDk/
content:
<p><img src="media/31176dbb.cityoflondonpolice.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cityoflondonpolice.jpg" alt="cityoflondonpolice" width="200" height="82" class="alignright size-full wp-image-71397">Last year the movie The Expendables 3 <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/expendables-3-leaks-online-100k-copies-down-in-hours-140725/">leaked</a> in extremely high-quality several weeks before its theatrical debut, sparking huge Hollywood controversy.</p>
<p>The fully finished DVD Screener copy of the action movie featuring Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared late July 2014 and was downloaded millions of times before its official release mid August 2014.</p>
<p>Three months later came the first news of arrests in connection with the case.</p>
<p>During November 2014 the Intellectual Property Crime Unit of City of London Police (PIPCU) <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/piracy-police-arrest-two-for-the-expendables-3-movie-leak-141125/">announced</a> that two men aged 33 and 36 had been taken into custody after being arrested in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, and Upton, Wirral.</p>
<p>This morning the same police unit announced the arrest of a third man, again in the UK.</p>
<p>In what is being described as a joint investigation with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), City of London Police arrested the 26-year-old at his workplace in Leeds yesterday morning. He was taken to a local police station for questioning.</p>
<p>&#8220;The suspect is believed to be involved in obtaining high-quality films, which are either only available at the cinema or are unfinished movies which have yet to be released, and then leaking them on to the internet. It is estimated his actions are costing the industry millions of pounds,&#8221; PIPCU said in a statement.</p>
<p>&#8220;Officers from PIPCU and HSI searched the man’s home in Halifax where several computers and mobile devices were seized.&#8221;</p>
<p>News of the arrest was welcomed by Sylvester Stallone himself, who expressed gratitude to the authorities for their work in apprehending the man.</p>
<p><img src="media/d8c73069.expendables2.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/expendables2.jpg" alt="expendables" width="300" height="206" class="alignright size-full wp-image-91653">&#8220;I’d like to thank the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at the City of London Police for working with US Homeland Security Investigations to apprehend the suspect in this case. It is important to protect the rights of creatives around the world from theft,&#8221; Stallone said.</p>
<p>Commenting in the arrest, City of London Police Detective Inspector, Mick Dodge, said that the operation was indicative of the international reach of the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU).</p>
<p>&#8220;PIPCU has a remit to protect the UK’s creative industries but we are also committed to ensuring the UK is not a safe haven for criminals seeking to attack international businesses from our shores,&#8221; Dodge said.</p>
<p>“Working with law enforcement partners across the world, PIPCU is coming down hard on criminals exploiting intellectual property for their own financial gain and today’s action should serve as a warning to online pirates.</p>
<p>“This joint investigation also demonstrates our close working relationship with the US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) which was recently marked with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding.”</p>
<p>Matthew Etre, U.S. Embassy London&#8217;s Attaché for US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) said that dealing with the issue of online piracy remains a top priority for law enforcement, despite the perception that infringement is a victimless crime.</p>
<p>“Too often these types of crimes are regarded as immaterial because they are seemingly without victims; however, when a business suffers a loss, it is felt at all levels, from the C-suite to the mailroom,&#8221; Etre said.</p>
<p>&#8220;In cases such as this, preventing piracy is akin to protecting people’s livelihoods. This arrest is yet another success story highlighting what strong, collaborative relationships between law enforcement agencies can accomplish. HSI London values its relationship with the PIPCU and continues to work closely with them to battle against intellectual property crime.”</p>
<p>According to PIPCU, yesterday&#8217;s arrest stems from a tipoff received by Homeland Security in July 2014 regarding movie piracy. To date, no arrests in the United States in connection with the case have been made public.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104070
title: Sentenced to Jail, Warez Operator Faces $30m Damages Claim
uri: Sentenced-to-Jail-Warez-Operator-Faces-30m-Damages-Claim
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/xtTq0WgKhKY/
content:
<p><img src="media/0fdc72be.warez.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/warez.jpg" alt="warez" width="200" height="139" class="alignright size-full wp-image-45883">Every year the RIAA and MPAA submit their overviews of so-called “notorious markets” to the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR). Sites detailed in these reports are branded &#8220;rogue&#8221;, a label reserved for the supposed worst-of-the-worst in the piracy landscape.</p>
<p>In the RIAA&#8217;s most recent <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/riaa-pirate-bay-attacks-fundamental-human-rights-141028/">submission</a> all the usual suspects were present, including The Pirate Bay, KickassTorrents and Goear, the site <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/spanish-court-orders-first-pirate-music-site-block-150407/">blocked</a> in Spain this week. Also present was <a href="http://forum.wawa-mania.ec/">Wawa-Mania</a>, a popular &#8216;warez&#8217; forum specializing in a broad range of &#8216;pirate&#8217; content.</p>
<p>Founded in 2006 by Dimitri Mader, Wawa-Mania became the biggest local site of its type with more than 2,000,000 registered members. </p>
<p>Unsurprisingly this success attracted the attention of rightsholders and in 2009 Mader was detained after the Association Against Audiovisual Piracy (ALPA) identified more than 3600 films being made available via the site without permission.</p>
<p>Mader, known online as Zac, received an unusual level of support from sympathizers, some of whom scaled Alpa&#8217;s headquarters and <a href="http://www.nextinpact.com/archive/57218-wawamania-alpa-atild-pirate-warez.htm">placed banners</a> in support of the site operator.</p>
<p><img src="media/d13ad64d.wawa-mania.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/wawa-mania.jpg" alt="wawa-mania" width="650" height="181" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-104076"></p>
<p>This week more than five years later, it was announced that Mader had been handed a year in jail and fined 20,000 euros for his role on the site. According to a statement issued by the Civil Society of Phonogram Producers (SCPP), the 26-year-old was sentenced in absentia, having fled to the Philippines some time ago.</p>
<p>The court also ordered Wawa-Mania to be <a href="http://www.numerama.com/magazine/32720-wawa-mania-un-an-de-prison-pour-le-createur-en-fuite.html">shut down</a> but it currently remains fully operational using an Ecuadorian TLD and the same Moldovan host previously used by The Pirate Bay.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/7f090b85.mader-tv5.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/mader-tv5.jpg" alt="mader-tv5" width="550" height="305" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-104081"></center></p>
<p>But for Mader the bad news doesn&#8217;t end here. Some of the world&#8217;s largest movie companies including Columbia Pictures, Disney, Paramount, Tristar, Universal, Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros. are now seeking huge damages amounting to around $30 million.</p>
<p>A hearing on the matter is scheduled for late May. According to unconfirmed reports Mader is considering a return to France to face proceedings. Meanwhile, supporters are discussing ways to keep Wawa-Mania alive after any shutdown.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104192
title: First Episodes of Game of Thrones Season 5 Leak Online
uri: First-Episodes-of-Game-of-Thrones-Season-5-Leak-Online
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/nVyu1qcmoI0/
content:
<p><img src="media/0bc92b46.got5.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/got5.jpg" alt="got5" width="250" height="168" class="alignright size-full wp-image-102724">Starting a few hours ago several episodes of the new Game of Thrones season started to appear online. </p>
<p>The copies were first spotted on the private torrent tracker IPT, but they soon made their way to more public sites such as The Pirate Bay, RARBG and KickassTorrents.  </p>
<p>At the time of writing the first four episodes of the new season have been posted online. One source informs TF that the leak most likely originates from review copies sent to the press.</p>
<p>The leaks are a huge blow to HBO. In an effort to <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/game-thrones-will-still-pirated-tv-show-150328/">decrease piracy</a> the company  worked hard to ensure that the fifth season of Game of Thrones would premiere in 170 countries simultaneously. </p>
<p>Today, however, pirates have scooped up the exclusive, releasing four episodes worldwide. </p>
<p>While it came unexpected, many Game of Thrones fans have already spotted the early leak. During the first three hours the episodes were downloaded more than 100,000 times and this number is expected to increase to more than a million later today.</p>
<p>The episodes that were posted online thus far are in standard-definition (SD) quality. Interestingly, some commenters note that they rather wait until HD copies become available, as they are used to watching the show in a better resolution.</p>
<p>Over the past three years Game of Thrones has been the <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/most-pirated-tv-show-of-2014-141225/">most pirated TV-show</a>. Based on the popularity of today&#8217;s leaks, this will be no different in 2015. </p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> After 18 hours there were <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/leaked-game-of-thrones-episodes-trigger-piracy-craze-150412/">more than a million downloads</a> for the first episode. </p>
<p><center><strong>Game of Thrones Leaked S05E01</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/97409037.GOTleak.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/GOTleak.jpg" alt="GOTleak" width="721" height="346" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-104193"></center></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104095
title: Anti-Piracy Threats Trigger Massive Surge in VPN Usage
uri: Anti-Piracy-Threats-Trigger-Massive-Surge-in-VPN-Usage
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/GMiwt1QXk8g/
content:
<p><img src="media/dbb74c88.aus.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/aus.jpg" alt="aus" width="250" height="159" class="alignright size-full wp-image-96798">This week news broke that the makers of Dallas Buyers Club have the court&#8217;s approval to <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/iinet-loses-dallas-buyers-club-piracy-case-150407/">go after 4,726 alleged movie pirates</a> in Australia, opening the door to many more copyright lawsuits.</p>
<p>Around the same time the country&#8217;s largest Internet providers submitted their online anti-piracy code, announcing that <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/aussies-set-for-200000-piracy-notices-per-year-under-new-code-150408/">200,000 piracy warnings</a> will be sent out each year.</p>
<p>Facing increased monitoring and potential legal action many file-sharers have taken counter measures, hiding their IP-addresses so their sharing activities can no longer be linked to their ISP account.</p>
<p>Early March, the initial announcement of the warning letters <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/aussie-anti-piracy-plans-boost-demand-vpns-150308/">already increased</a> interest in <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">VPNs</a> and other anonymizing services, but this week&#8217;s surge broke new records. </p>
<p>Data from Google trends <a href="https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=vpn&#038;geo=AU&#038;date=today%203-m&#038;cmpt=date&#038;tz=">reveals</a> that interest in anonymizing services has soared, with searches for “VPN” quadrupling in recent weeks. This effect, shown in the graph below, is limited to Australia and likely a direct result of the recent anti-piracy threats.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/5f80a25e.aussievpn1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/aussievpn1.png" alt="aussievpn" width="631" height="266" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-104109"></center></p>
<p>The effects are clearly noticeable at VPN providers as well, in both traffic and sales. TorGuard, a VPN and BitTorrent proxy provider, has seen the number of Australian visitors spike this week, for example.</p>
<p>“Over the past week TorGuard has seen a massive jump in Australian subscribers. Traffic from this region is currently up over 150% and recent trends indicate that the upsurge is here to stay,” TorGuard’s Ben Van der Pelt tells us.</p>
<p>&#8220;VPN router sales to Australia have also increased significantly with AU orders now representing 50% of all weekly shipments.&#8221; </p>
<p><center><strong>TorGuard traffic from Australia</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/8be40092.TorGuardAU.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/TorGuardAU.png" alt="TorGuardAU" width="734" height="230" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-104143"></center></p>
<p>The recent events are expected to drive tens of thousands of new users to anonymizing services. However, it appears that even before the surge they were already commonly used Down Under. </p>
<p>A survey among 1,008 Australians early March showed that 16% of the respondents already used VPNs or Tor to increase privacy. The <a href="http://essentialvision.com.au/privacy-on-the-internet">Essential survey</a> shows that anonymizing tools are most prevalent among people aged 18-34.</p>
<p>While copyright holders don&#8217;t like the increased interest in these evasion tools, it may not all be bad news. </p>
<p>In fact, to a certain degree it shows that pirates are spooked by the new initiatives. Where some decide to go underground, others may choose to pirate less. And for the &#8220;trolls&#8221; there are still plenty of unsecured file-sharers out there.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104093
title: Media Must Protect Dallas Buyers Club’s Innocent Victims
uri: Media-Must-Protect-Dallas-Buyers-Club-s-Innocent-Victims
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/0RLK_nmZja0/
content:
<p><img src="media/16781744.papers.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/papers.jpg" alt="papers" width="190" height="143" class="alignright size-full wp-image-104184">Dealing with people who receive threatening letters from so-called copyright trolls can be a draining experience. On the one hand there are those who are arrogant about their offending (and that&#8217;s their prerogative) but it&#8217;s the innocent parties that make things so difficult.</p>
<p>For at least seven years TorrentFreak has been receiving sometimes heartbreaking emails from people who just don&#8217;t know where to turn. Most received aggressive cash demands to make supposed lawsuits go away and some were threatened with the loss of their homes if they didn&#8217;t pay up. </p>
<p>These are multi-million dollar corporations bullying the little man simply because they can, and it&#8217;s a horrible thing to behold.</p>
<p>This week, in what can only be described as a massive effort by the Australian press, dozens of outlets informed us that U.S.-based Voltage Pictures had <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/iinet-loses-dallas-buyers-club-piracy-case-150407/">won its case</a> against ISPs including iiNet. This means that close to 5,000 Aussies will shortly receive letters demanding cash settlements and all the misery they entail.</p>
<p>Many publications did note a positive, however. In a move designed to limit Voltage&#8217;s ability to abuse the vulnerable, Justice Perram stated the following:</p>
<p>&#8220;Having regard to the likely identity of many account holders and their potential vulnerability to what may appear to be abusive practices I propose to impose conditions on [Voltage Pictures] that will prevent speculative invoicing,&#8221; he wrote.</p>
<p>This means that Voltage will be required to send a draft of the letter it intends to send to alleged downloaders for the Judge to approve. Sadly, no matter how well intentioned, this &#8216;safeguard&#8217; will likely do absolutely nothing to change the outcome or business model of this notorious copyright troll.</p>
<p>As pointed out by Justice Perram in his ruling, the same approach was ordered in <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/?s=goldeneye">Golden Eye (International) Ltd v Telefonica UK Ltd [2012]</a>, another trolling case in the UK. Judicial oversight in that case stopped Golden Eye from citing any precise monetary claim whatsoever in their initial letter, thus removing their &#8216;invoicing&#8217; value.</p>
<p>While great in theory, no subsequent correspondence was monitored by the court and the topic of money was raised immediately after the court turned its back. The same thing also happened in the recent case involving a company <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/virgin-customers-targeted-in-new-porn-piracy-shakedown-150314/">called Mircom</a>. As required, no money was claimed in the initial letter but as soon as people wrote back, all protestations of innocence were ignored and cash demands were forthcoming alongside threats of financial ruin.</p>
<p>Make no mistake, the Speculative Invoice WILL come to Australia. Justice Perram (for all his good intentions) has just delayed it by one envelope, at most. It&#8217;s possible he will read this piece and decide to do more, but it&#8217;s unlikely.</p>
<p>So, presuming no further protection will be forthcoming from the Federal Court, the responsibility for looking after the interests of the innocent &#8211; and there will be plenty of them &#8211; will fall into the laps of the only people with the power to bring this under control &#8211; the ladies and gentlemen of the media.</p>
<p>Aussie publications large and small need to step up to the mark, listen to the people being targeted and tell their stories. Sure, some will have brought this on themselves, but there will be others &#8211; such as account holders identified as infringers merely by virtue of them paying the Internet bill &#8211; who will have done absolutely nothing wrong. They deserve a voice.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s also worth noting that Voltage has indicated awareness over potential <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/voltage-pics-suing-disabled-kids-for-piracy-is-bad-pr-150218/">negative media coverage</a> but take those comments with two large pinches of salt. This company knows exactly what it&#8217;s doing and in the United States they have had a very easy ride, no matter who they sued. That easy ride has only encouraged them to expand elsewhere, including Europe, Australia and more recently, Singapore.</p>
<p>That said, Voltage are not immune from criticism. Their claims &#8211; that they will not target the one time downloader, those on welfare, the disabled, or those in the military &#8211; should be closely monitored, and when they wrongfully pressure innocent account holders to give up the identities of those around them so that they can be pursued too, the public should hear about these tactics.</p>
<p>Their inevitable demands for many hundreds, possibly several thousands  of dollars from regular citizens based on mere allegations that have never been taken to a fully contested trial, should be publicized too. </p>
<p>But the people can&#8217;t do this alone, they need the assistance of an inquisitive and persistent media determined to monitor Voltage&#8217;s behavior every step of the way. It won&#8217;t be pretty and there will be plenty of misdirection, but allow this company free reign in Australia and they will be only the first of many trolls to land Down Under.</p>
<p>There&#8217;s no question that copyright holders should have the ability to protect their content, but trolling is a business that only thrives because of its success in intimidating the weak and vulnerable. Any company engaged in these practices that claims otherwise is taking us all for fools, and should be held to account &#8211; publicly and in print.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104232
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 04/13/15
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-04-13-15
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/2VLEBFR_Q_8/
content:
<p><img src="media/0986e1b9.furi7.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/furi7.jpg" alt="furi7" width="300" height="187" class="alignright size-full wp-image-104235">This week we have five newcomers in our chart.</p>
<p>Furious 7 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 BD/DVDrips unless stated otherwise.</p>
<p><a href="http://TorrentFreak.com/category/dvdrip/feed/"><strong>RSS feed</strong></a> for the weekly movie download chart.</p>
<table class="css hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="12%"><strong>Ranking</strong></th>
<th width="15%"><strong>(<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-pirated-movies-of-the-week-040615/">last week</a>)</strong></th>
<th><strong>Movie</strong></th>
<th width="18%"><strong>IMDb Rating / Trailer</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="4">torrentfreak.com</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>(5)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/furious_7/">Furious 7</a> (CAM/TS)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2820852/">8.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yISKeT6sDOg">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(1)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/taken_3/">Taken 3</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2446042/">6.1</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuU0M2xBasc">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/interstellar_2014/">Interstellar</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816692/">8.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vxOhd4qlnA">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wedding_ringer/">The Wedding Ringer</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0884732/">6.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG5CnCgnplU">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/last_knights/">Last Knights</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2493486/">6.2</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e44QilQbvB0">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hot_tub_time_machine_2/">Hot Tub Time Machine 2</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2637294/">5.1</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNJ-UxlKXGY">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/inherent_vice/">Inherent Vice</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1791528/">6.9</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZfs22E7JmI">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(4)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_gambler_2015/">The Gambler</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2039393/">6.1</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8rCHUjjqnU">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(9)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/careful_what_you_wish_for_2014/">Careful What You Wish For</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1629242/">5.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ibgWtcvj5A">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(8)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/into_the_woods_2014/">Into The Woods</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2180411/">6.2</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pjy5MK1X70">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104226
title: The Pirate Bay Suffers Downtime (Updated)
uri: The-Pirate-Bay-Suffers-Downtime
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/_P8YqNnTDcc/
content:
<p><img src="media/2a43984f.pirate-bay.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/pirate-bay.jpg" alt="pirate bay" width="200" height="207" class="alignright size-full wp-image-53470">After weeks of relative smooth sailing, the Pirate Bay has become unreachable since a few hours.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s currently not clear what&#8217;s causing the problems. There might be a hardware issue, routing problem or a software glitch, issues that have occurred many times in the site&#8217;s history.</p>
<p>Or perhaps there&#8217;s a surge in traffic from <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/first-episodes-of-game-of-thrones-season-5-leak-online-150412/">Game of Thrones fans</a>?</p>
<p>Finally, with <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/swedish-police-raid-the-pirate-bay-site-offline-141209/">the raid</a> of a few months ago still fresh in memory some fear that the problems may be of a more serious nature.</p>
<p>The above is all speculation, but what we do know is that the site&#8217;s domain name is currently working properly. The nameservers appear to be setup correctly too, so those variables can be ruled out.</p>
<p>The Pirate Bay currently displays a CloudFlare error message suggesting that TPB&#8217;s servers are (partially) unresponsive.</p>
<p><center><a href="media/7e7c56a6.tpbcferror.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tpbcferror.png"><img src="media/7e7c56a6.tpbcferror.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tpbcferror.png" alt="tpbcferror" width="600" height="368" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-101493"></a></center></p>
<p>Interestingly, some users report that they can still access the site via the Tor network, including the popular Pirate Browser.</p>
<p>TorrentFreak reached out to The Pirate Bay&#8217;s admin for a comment on the situation and we will update this article if we hear back. </p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> The TPB admin informed TF that there was a kernel panic on one of the boxes. It&#8217;s been fixed now. The Tor version of the site still worked as it bypassed the affected box.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104207
title: Leaked Game of Thrones Episodes Trigger Piracy Craze
uri: Leaked-Game-of-Thrones-Episodes-Trigger-Piracy-Craze
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/4GOCHwOLtK4/
content:
<p><img src="media/0bc92b46.got5.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/got5.jpg" alt="got5" width="250" height="168" class="alignright size-full wp-image-102724">Today&#8217;s pre-release <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/first-episodes-of-game-of-thrones-season-5-leak-online-150412/">leak of four Game of Thrones episodes</a> is without doubt one of the most prominent leaks in TV history. </p>
<p>The first copies, leaked from a review screener, appeared less than 24 hours ago on the private tracker IPT and quickly spread across public torrent sites. </p>
<p>During the first few hours there weren&#8217;t too many downloads, but that quickly changed after the news reached the mainstream press. </p>
<p>At the time of writing more than 135,000 people are sharing a single torrent of the first episode of season 5, which has already been downloaded over a million times since its release 18 hours ago.</p>
<p>The other three episodes are hovering around a million downloads as well, and that&#8217;s only via public torrent sites. The piracy totals will most likely double if the totals of streaming and direct download sites are added.</p>
<p><center><strong>The most shared leaked GoT episodes</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/2f2ae0ea.gotleak.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/gotleak.png" alt="gotleak" width="546" height="307" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-104210"></center></p>
<p>While there&#8217;s certainly a piracy craze, with the four leaked episodes being the most pirated files globally at the moment, there&#8217;s no record to report just yet. </p>
<p>The unexpected release appears to have scattered the downloads throughout the day. As a result, last year&#8217;s record of <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/game-thrones-season-finale-sets-piracy-record-140616/?">254,114 people sharing </a>a single file at the same time is out of reach.</p>
<p>Still, more than a million downloads for a single episode in less than a day is quite impressive.</p>
<p>A snapshot of IP-addresses sharing the most downloaded episode shows that most originate from the UK and US, followed by India, Canada and France.</p>
<p>While all those pirates are surely having a great weekend now, the hangover will probably come later with the realization that it will take more than a month before the next episode comes online. </p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<table class="css hover" summary="Game of Thrones Downloads">
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="10%"><strong>#</strong></th>
<th width="22%"><strong>Country</strong></th>
<th width="22%"><strong>%</strong></th>
<th width="22%"><strong>City</strong></th>
<th width="22%"><strong>%</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="5">torrentfreak.com</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>United Kingdom</td>
<td>9.8%</td>
<td>London</td>
<td>3.3%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>United States</td>
<td>9.1%</td>
<td>Athens</td>
<td>2.4%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>India</td>
<td>7.8%</td>
<td>Lisbon</td>
<td>1.9%</td>
</tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>Canada</td>
<td>5.4%</td>
<td>Stockholm</td>
<td>1.8%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>France</td>
<td>4.2%</td>
<td>Bucharest</td>
<td>1.7%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>Greece</td>
<td>3.3%</td>
<td>Madrid</td>
<td>1.7%</td>
</tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>The Netherlands</td>
<td>3.1%</td>
<td>Mumbai</td>
<td>1.4%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>Australia</td>
<td>3.1%</td>
<td>Dubai</td>
<td>1.3%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>Brazil</td>
<td>3.0%</td>
<td>New Delhi</td>
<td>1.3%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>Philippines</td>
<td>3.0%</td>
<td>Toronto</td>
<td>1.1%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><em>Note: The numbers are based on a sample of 21,445 IP-addresses collected over part of the day, which means that there&#8217;s a geographical bias. Also, downloaders who <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">use VPNs</a> may appear to be in a different country.</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104065
title: Hollywood Seeks Net Neutrality Exceptions to Block Pirates
uri: Hollywood-Seeks-Net-Neutrality-Exceptions-to-Block-Pirates
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/KpNJHo4uogU/
content:
<p><img src="media/269797aa.throttle.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/throttle.jpg" alt="throttle" width="200" height="200" class="alignright size-full wp-image-8967">The Brazilian Civil Rights Framework for the Internet (Marco Civil da Internet) is legislation that governs the use of the Internet in Brazil. Under development since 2009, among other key issues the Marco Civil is aimed at protecting online privacy rights and net neutrality principles.</p>
<p>The law, which passed last April, was fast-tracked in the wake of revelations from Edward Snowden indicating that the U.S. had been spying on President Dilma Rousseff&#8217;s emails and phone calls, those of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/09/nsa-spying-brazil-oil-petrobras">Brazil&#8217;s biggest oil company</a>, and the communications of millions of citizens.</p>
<p>After being in place for a year, Brazil is now rolling out the Marco Civil’s <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/02/marco-civil-devil-detail">secondary legislation</a>, with the Ministry of Justice announcing a public consultation process allowing stakeholders to contribute to the development of the law.</p>
<p>One of the organizations getting involved is the Motion Picture Association, the international big brother to the United States&#8217; MPAA. According to the MPA, which counts all the big movie studios among its members, the Marco Civil&#8217;s net neutrality provisions present an obstacle to rightsholders seeking to protect their content online.</p>
<p>In a submission to Justice Minister José Eduardo Cardozo, the Motion Picture Association expresses concern that the legislation&#8217;s current wording is too tight and that exceptions need to be introduced in order to deal with online piracy.</p>
<p>&#8220;[Our] position is that the regulation should contain cases of exception to the general rule of net neutrality, enabling the judiciary to determine that traffic to a given illegal repository can be blocked,&#8221; the MPA writes.</p>
<p>&#8220;The aforementioned suggestion is based on the premise that an adequate service must be in harmony with the possibility of allowing the judiciary to block access to content that, based on judicial scrutiny, is illegal for any reason, from a case of child pornography and trafficking of illegal substances, to the case of systematic disregard for the consumer and violation of intellectual property rights.&#8221;</p>
<p>The MPA notes that due to the borderless nature of the Internet anyone can access content from any location. This presents challenges on a national level when undesirable content is made available from other parts of the world, the group says.</p>
<p>&#8220;For content hosted within a national territory a judge may issue a removal order, or in the case of breaches in the copyright field, the rightsholder can send a takedown notice to the ISP, requesting that the content is rendered unavailable,&#8221; the MPA states.</p>
<p>&#8220;However, when the content is hosted in a foreign nation, the Brazilian court order may [not have jurisdiction] or produce the expected results for months, perhaps years, after the court order has been issued.&#8221;</p>
<p>According to the MPA there is only one way to remedy this kind of impotence but the way the law is currently worded, the solution remains elusive.</p>
<p>&#8220;In these cases the Brazilian courts only have only one option: to order service providers to implement technical measures to block Internet traffic when it has been established that services are illegal,&#8221; the MPA notes.</p>
<p>&#8220;Without a clear provision for these techniques, in the midst of regulations, the current wording of the Marco Civil deprives courts of this possibility, leaving them unable to address such threats.&#8221;</p>
<p>The net neutrality debate is a sensitive one and one that has the potential to seriously affect Hollywood&#8217;s interests. With that in mind the MPA and MPAA will be keen to ensure that any new legislation, whether overseas or on home turf, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-lobbies-lawmakers-internet-tax-net-neutrality-141101/">won&#8217;t hinder</a> the pursuit and monitoring of online pirates.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104072
title: uTorrent Hopes to Regain Trust After Bitcoin Mining Controversy
uri: uTorrent-Hopes-to-Regain-Trust-After-Bitcoin-Mining-Controversy
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Ozs-7N6NiXk/
content:
<p><img src="media/f1b12f99.utorrent-logo-new.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/utorrent-logo-new.jpg" alt="utorrent-logo-new" width="222" height="148" class="alignright size-full wp-image-55606">Last month many uTorrent users were surprised to see that their favorite BitTorrent client came <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/utorrent-quietly-installs-riskware-bitcoin-miner-users-report-150306/">bundled with the &#8220;Epic Scale&#8221; Bitcoin miner</a>. </p>
<p>What made things worse was that, according to some, the application was installed silently without asking for explicit permission. uTorrent&#8217;s parent company BitTorrent Inc. denied these allegations but took the complaints seriously. </p>
<p>The Bitcoin miner was quickly <a href="http://blog.utorrent.com/2015/03/08/epic-scale-offer-on-hold-uninstall-instructions/">suspended</a> until further notice. Based on the negative backlash from users it was recently announced that the &#8220;offer&#8221; would not be reinstated.  </p>
<p>The uTorrent team offered a public apology and said it misjudged how users would respond. </p>
<p>&#8220;We acknowledge again that we misjudged how this offer would be received, and we apologize to users who have objected to it or who had trouble uninstalling that software. We understand this has already eroded some users’ trust in μTorrent,&#8221; BitTorrent Inc. Jory Berson said.</p>
<p>To further clarify the situation the uTorrent development team decided to release a new version this week. The bump from 3.4.2 to 3.4.3 should help to steer people away from the tainted version. </p>
<p>&#8220;This new release is in part to make it easy for our users to identify which version of μTorrent to pursue,&#8221; <a href="http://blog.utorrent.com/2015/04/09/now-available-%c2%b5torrent-version-3-4-3/">Berson notes</a>.</p>
<p>While the official site no longer offers downloads that include the bundled Epic Scale Bitcoin miner, BitTorrent Inc. warns that third-party sites may still include it with the older release. </p>
<p>&#8220;It is important to note that if you are not downloading μTorrent software directly from us, that some third party distributors may have the older version with the Epic Scale offer, Berson says.</p>
<p>&#8220;This would only be a very small number, but to be sure you are installing the version you want, look for 3.4.3 or download directly from us,&#8221; he adds.</p>
<p>The BitTorrent <a href="http://www.bittorrent.com/">mainline client</a>, which included the same Bitcoin miner, has been updated from version 7.9.2 to version 7.9.3. The latest releases of both uTorrent and BitTorrent can be downloaded through the <a href="http://www.utorrent.com/">official</a> <a href="http://www.bittorrent.com/">sites</a>.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104015
title: Inspector General Exposes Pirating Prison Staffers
uri: Inspector-General-Exposes-Pirating-Prison-Staffers
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/BbKqjyboHRU/
content:
<p><img src="media/552fc1f9.ohioreport.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ohioreport.png" alt="ohioreport" width="250" height="173" class="alignright size-full wp-image-104079">Last year we received a well documented report from the former operator of USAWarez.com and USATorrents.com, who <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/u-s-prisons-play-pirated-movies-inmates-140513/">accused prison staff</a> of showing pirated films to inmates. </p>
<p>The pirate screenings allegedly took place in Lorain Correctional Institution in Ohio and soon after the news broke the case was referred to the <a href="http://watchdog.ohio.gov/">Ohio inspector general</a>. </p>
<p>The inspector general launched an investigation and a back-up of the entire file server was made to search for traces of pirated films. In a report <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/261699983/torrentfreak-ohioigreport">released</a> last week the inspector general concludes that no pirated files were present on the server, although there were some movie traces present.</p>
<p>&#8220;The one movie file previously identified was no longer present on the server back-up. However, the analysis identified an additional 23 forensic artifacts of movie files, portions of movie files, or movie trailers that once existed within two other LorCI employee user profiles,&#8221; the report reads. </p>
<p>&#8220;&#8230;it was not possible to determine what the original files within the user profiles were, based on the artifacts found. As such, this information is being referred back to ODRC for any administrative action deemed appropriate.&#8221;</p>
<p>The analysis further notes that there&#8217;s no evidence that the two correction officers who allegedly showed the pirated movies had unauthorized movie copies (digital or physical) in their possession at the time of the investigation. As a result, no further action will be taken by the inspector general.</p>
<p>In addition to the pirated movies claim, the Ohio inspector general investigated a separate case after a complaint suggested that dozens of staffers of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (<a href="http://www.drc.ohio.gov/">ODRC</a>) shared pirated music files on a work server. </p>
<p>In this case, a technical analysis found that there were indeed hundreds of files made available through the local network. In total, the report names 16 employees who shared between 33 and 463 audio files. </p>
<p>The files in question were stored on the prison&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.jpay.com/">JPay</a>&#8221; system and were available to anyone with access to the network. According to the inspector general&#8217;s report, most staffers didn&#8217;t realize that they were breaking the law by doing so.</p>
<p>&#8220;The majority of the 16 employees interviewed believed the folder containing the JPay audio files was visible to everyone who had access to the system, and it was permissible to play the audio files it contained,&#8221; the report reads. </p>
<p>&#8220;Many did not feel this was or might be a violation of copyright laws and noted that had they been aware it was a violation, they would not have accessed the folder and played or copied the files.&#8221;</p>
<p>CO Jayme Weber acknowledged copying several audio files after he overheard others talking about a shared folder on the system, but didn&#8217;t realize he was doing anything wrong. </p>
<p>“. .. I mean if somebody would have told me it was an issue, I would have deleted all the music and I would have never went into the folder. I mean, I just thought by word of mouth, that it was okay to do,” he said.</p>
<p>The Office of the Ohio Inspector General took the matter very seriously and contacted <a href="http://www.ice.gov/">Homeland Security&#8217;s ICE unit</a> to ask if they would pursue the matter.</p>
<p>Since there was no indication that any of the employees shared the copyrighted files to make a profit, ICE decided to let it slide.</p>
<p>&#8220;After being briefed of the allegations, investigators were told by the ICE duty officer that based on the allegations, barring any significant changes or evidence of sale-for-profit of the copied audio files, ICE would not pursue charges through the United States Attorney’s Office,&#8221; the report reads. </p>
<p>In both cases, the inspector general decided not to take any further steps against the accused employees. Instead, the report ends with a set of recommendations for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, to ensure that the same mistakes aren&#8217;t made in the future.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104291
title: Music Industry Wants Cross Border Pirate Site Blocks
uri: Music-Industry-Wants-Cross-Border-Pirate-Site-Blocks
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/1-bXZI7xUyo/
content:
<p><img src="media/07db73b3.stop-blocked.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/stop-blocked.jpg" alt="stop-blocked" width="200" height="168" class="alignright size-full wp-image-72076">In recent years blockades of “pirate” websites have spread across Europe and elsewhere. In the UK, for example, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/uk-blocking-more-than-100-pirate-sites-after-new-court-order-150324/">more than 100 websites</a> are currently blocked by the major ISPs.</p>
<p>In recent weeks alone several new countries adopted similar measures, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-friendly-aussie-pirate-site-blocking-draft-unveiled-150326/">Australia</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/block-pirate-bay-in-72-hours-spanish-court-tells-isps-150327/">Spain</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-will-blocked-portugal-150302/">Portugal</a> included. </p>
<p>Opponents of this censorship route often argue that the measures are <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/censoring-the-pirate-bay-is-futile-research-shows-130822/">ineffective</a>, and that people simply move to other sites. However, in its latest <a href="http://www.ifpi.org/digital-music-report.php">Digital Music Report</a> music industry group IFPI disagrees, pointing at research conducted in the UK.</p>
<p>“Website blocking has proved effective where applied,” IFPI writes, noting that the number of UK visits to &#8220;all BitTorrent&#8221; sites dropped from 20 million in April 2012 to 11 million two years later.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/30d9db70.effblock.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/effblock.png" alt="effblock" width="600" height="226" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-104293"></center></p>
<p>The key to an effective blocking strategy is to target not just one, but all leading pirate sites. </p>
<p>&#8220;While blocking an individual site does not have a significant impact on overall traffic to unlicensed services, once a number of leading sites are<br>
blocked then there is a major impact,&#8221; IFPI argues.</p>
<p>For now, however, courts have shown to be among the biggest hurdles. It can sometimes take years before these cases reach a conclusion, and the same requests have to be made in all countries. </p>
<p>To streamline the process, copyright holders now want blocking injunctions to apply across borders, starting in the European Union.</p>
<p>&#8220;The recording industry continues to call for website blocking legislation where it does not already exist. In countries where there is already a legal basis for blocking, procedures can be slow and burdensome,&#8221; IFPI writes. </p>
<p>&#8220;For example, within the EU, blocking The Pirate Bay has meant taking multiple legal actions in different member states and rights holders are calling for injunctions to have cross-border effect.&#8221;</p>
<p>In addition to website blockades the music industry also stresses that other stakeholders should do more to help fight piracy. Search engines should prioritize legal services, for example, and advertisers and payment processors should cut their ties with pirate sites. </p>
<p>While IFPI&#8217;s numbers suggests that BitTorrent piracy has decreased globally, it still remains a significant problem. The group estimates that there are still four billion pirated music downloads per year on BitTorrent alone. </p>
<p>In other words, there&#8217;s plenty of blocking to be done before it&#8217;s no longer an issue, if that point will ever be reached. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104283
title: Megaupload Canada Servers Battle Reignites
uri: Megaupload-Canada-Servers-Battle-Reignites
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/21vx5Yjfn6E/
content:
<p><img src="media/188c56d9.megacan.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/megacan.jpg" width="180" height="154" class="alignright">The dramatic events of January 2012 in which the gigantic Mega empire of Kim Dotcom was brought to its knees are now more than three years old. Legal argument has dogged the case from day one, with each passing month presenting yet more points of contention.</p>
<p>One of the oldest issues surrounds the hardware seized as part of the global operation to close down what was once the world&#8217;s largest centralized file-sharing operation.</p>
<p>The U.S. Government seized 1,103 servers at Carpathia’s hosting facility in the United States, equipment that is currently <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/1103-megaupload-servers-still-gather-dust-virginia-warehouse-140404/">gathering dust</a> in a Virginia storage facility. Also at issue is a lesser-discussed batch of servers seized in Canada.</p>
<p>On January 18, 2012, a judge in Ontario issued a warrant to seize the 32 servers located in an Equinix datacenter. As the case continued to build against Megaupload, Kim Dotcom and his associates, the U.S. government asked Canadian authorities to hand the hardware over, claiming that an internal Megaupload email revealed them to be &#8220;database / number crunching machines.” </p>
<p>A year later in January 2013, Megaupload protested the handing over of the hardware to U.S. authorities claiming that the servers contained a lot of information irrelevant to the case. Megaupload said an independent forensic examiner could examine the servers and determine their contents before any handover. </p>
<p>An Ontario court <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/canada-refuses-to-hand-over-megaupload-servers-to-the-us-130117/">sided with Megaupload</a> and refused to send the servers&#8217; data to the United States. Instead, both sides were ordered to find a way to filter out irrelevant content.</p>
<p>Now, more than two years later, the issue of just how much of this seized content can be sent to the United States remains an issue. The matter reappeared before a Toronto court Monday, with fresh ideas on how progression can be made.</p>
<p>Crown attorney Moiz Rahman, acting on behalf of the U.S. government, suggested the appointment of an independent group of forensic examiners to inspect the data and determine which data is relevant to the case, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/kim-dotcom-megaupload-case-falters-over-sharing-canadian-data-1.3030991">CBC</a> reports. </p>
<p>However, Megaupload lawyer Scott Hutchison raised concerns that once back in the United States, the so-called &#8220;clean team&#8221; might disclose non-relevant information they&#8217;d discovered on the servers. Any ruling in Canada to seal their lips would not be enforceable in the U.S., Hutchinson said.</p>
<p>&#8220;Once they return to the United States, that&#8217;s nothing more than a promise,&#8221; the lawyer said.</p>
<p>While conceding that the &#8220;vast majority&#8221; of the data was likely to be media uploaded by Megaupload&#8217;s users, Hutchinson suggested that it would be preferable to hire an independent Canada-based investigator to carry out the work.</p>
<p>But speaking for the Crown on behalf of the U.S., Rahman said that a U.S. team could present the results of its investigation to a Canadian court, which could then decide what information would be allowed back to the United States under current treaty protocol.</p>
<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s a little bit of cold comfort to me,&#8221; said Justice Michael Quigley.</p>
<p>After Rahman claimed that an independent Canadian investigator would prove too expensive, the Judge ordered the parties to present their respective costings to the court before any decision on the fate of the data is made.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104049
title: Microsoft Takes Pirated Windows NT 4.0 Source Code Offline
uri: Microsoft-Takes-Pirated-Windows-NT-4-0-Source-Code-Offline
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/N51ovUPMtLY/
content:
<p><img src="media/b4f20436.microsoft-pirate.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/microsoft-pirate.png" alt="microsoft-pirate" width="225" height="137" class="alignright size-full wp-image-51663">In February 2004 large portions of Microsoft&#8217;s Windows 2000 and Windows <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_NT_4.0">NT 4.0</a> source code leaked onto the Internet. </p>
<p>In a statement issued at the time, Microsoft said <a href="http://news.microsoft.com/2004/02/12/statement-from-microsoft-regarding-illegal-posting-of-windows-2000-source-code/">the breach</a> didn&#8217;t come from inside. The company worked closely with the FBI to track down the source but these efforts were fruitless.</p>
<p>Hoping to keep the leak under control, Microsoft also started issuing takedown notices to sites and P2P file-sharers, urging them to stop offering the code.</p>
<p>However, like anything that leaks onto the Internet it&#8217;s pretty much impossible to remove something for good. Even today, several NT 4.0 copies are still floating around in the dark corners of the web. </p>
<p>Up until a few days ago there was even a copy hosted on the popular developer platform <a href="https://github.com">GitHub</a>. Posted by &#8220;njdragonfly&#8221; the leaked source code has been available there since 2011. </p>
<p>Microsoft initially didn&#8217;t spot the infringing copy but it recently took action by sending GitHub a DMCA takedown notice.</p>
<p><center><strong>Microsoft&#8217;s takedown notice</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/d3ae9e3b.mstd.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/mstd.png" alt="mstd" width="795" height="275" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-104130"></center></p>
<p>&#8220;We have received information that the domain listed above, which appears to be on servers under your control, is offering unlicensed copies of, or is engaged in other unauthorized activities relating to, copyrighted works published by Microsoft Corporation,&#8221; the company writes</p>
<p>The notice proved to be successful. A few hours after its arrival the repository was <a href="https://github.com/njdragonfly/WinNT4/">made inaccessible</a>. Those who try to access it now are redirected to GitHub&#8217;s standard takedown page.</p>
<p>While it&#8217;s understandable that Microsoft doesn&#8217;t want its source code out in the open, it&#8217;s not as much as a security threat as it was a decade ago. Today, more than 10 years after it was first published, pretty much all exploits have been patched.</p>
<p>That said, it&#8217;s worth nothing that after all these years Microsoft is trying to contain the leak. But perhaps that&#8217;s just for sentimental value.</p>
<p><center><strong>Windows NT 4.0</strong><br></br></center><center><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_NT_4.0"><img src="media/32c110b6.Windows_NT_4.0.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/Windows_NT_4.0.png" alt="Windows_NT_4.0" width="640" height="480" class="alignright size-full wp-image-104128"></a></center></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104328
title: EZTV Goes on Hiatus For an Operational Security Audit
uri: EZTV-Goes-on-Hiatus-For-an-Operational-Security-Audit
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/UdS_SGQrZs0/
content:
<p><img src="media/a9c13900.eztv-logo-small1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/eztv-logo-small1.png" alt="eztv-logo-small" width="229" height="96" class="alignright size-full wp-image-99927"><a href="http://eztv.ch/">EZTV</a>, the go-to place for many torrenting TV fans, has suffered its fair share of troubles in recent months.</p>
<p>It started early December when the group&#8217;s site was <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/swedish-police-raid-the-pirate-bay-site-offline-141209/">knocked offline</a> as collateral damage in the Pirate Bay raid. A month later the group <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/eztv-ditches-it-domain-after-italian-intervention-150115/">lost its .it domain name</a>, which was then taken over by <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/eztv-impostors-hope-to-cash-in-on-eztv-it-150403/">impostors</a> in March.</p>
<p>To get back online and stay there, EZTV has had to move things around quite a bit. </p>
<p>In response to these recent issues the EZTV team has decided to go on a small hiatus, so the current setup can be carefully inspected. This means that in the short term no new releases will go up on the site. </p>
<p>&#8220;We are not releasing any new content at the moment due to a security audit of all our servers,&#8221; EZTV&#8217;s Novaking informs TF.</p>
<p>&#8220;We just want to put things on hold to see where everything is at and make sure everything is running optimally,&#8221; he adds.</p>
<p>The latest torrents were released on Monday and there is no ETA yet for when new ones will appear. The group is taking its time to carry out a proper audit and will do some code cleanup at the same time. </p>
<p>As part of the security audit registered users have also received a request for a password reset. Initially this resulted in some issues where users were unable to login but Novaking notes that people who experienced this problem can get in touch via IRC.</p>
<p>If all goes well EZTV may also reopen registrations again, which is something people have requested for a long time.</p>
<p>Fueled by the lack of new content and the recent domain troubles, some users were suspicious when they saw a link to the Bitx video player in the torrent list. However, this is a new streaming player the group is testing and nothing to worry about. </p>
<p>In a few days EZTV hopes to start releasing new content again. Until then, the group advises TV fans to turn to the &#8216;competition&#8217; for their daily fix.</p>
<p>&#8220;There are several other distribution groups people can use while we&#8217;re doing the audit,&#8221; Novaking says.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104327
title: Crisis as HBO Laments ‘Dozens’ of Awful Game of Thrones Streams
uri: Crisis-as-HBO-Laments-Dozens-of-Awful-Game-of-Thrones-Streams
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/IKqTrzv091o/
content:
<p><img src="media/0bc92b46.got5.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/got5.jpg" alt="got5" width="250" height="168" class="alignright size-full wp-image-102724">After years of controversy over illegal downloads of Game of Thrones, the premiere of the new season this past weekend was never likely to come and go without a few piracy headlines.</p>
<p>What no one expected was for the <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/first-episodes-of-game-of-thrones-season-5-leak-online-150412/">first four episodes to leak</a> in their entirety Saturday evening, triggering a pre-release <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/leaked-game-of-thrones-episodes-trigger-piracy-craze-150412/">piracy frenzy</a> and a binge viewing bonanza on a never-seen-before scale .</p>
<p>But despite what some believed might be pending doom following millions of unauthorized downloads, HBO&#8217;s response was relatively calm, with the company saying it was &#8220;actively assessing&#8221; how the breach had occurred. However, an event from another unexpected quarter elicited a much more strongly worded response.</p>
<p>On Monday, Aussie news outlet Mumbrella <a href="http://mumbrella.com.au/twitter-threatens-to-suspend-periscope-users-live-streaming-game-of-thrones-286833">reported</a> that in the wake of gazillions of weekend BitTorrent downloads, literally &#8220;dozens&#8221; of people live-streamed the first episode of Game of Thrones to their friends as it aired in Australia.</p>
<p>Their weapon of choice was Twitter-owned <a href="https://www.periscope.tv/">Periscope</a>, an app that allows anyone to point a smartphone at anything and stream that content live to the world. As expected, Twitter was quick to respond, saying Periscope would terminate the user accounts of anyone &#8220;determined to be a repeat infringer.”</p>
<p>Considering the extremely low number of reportedly poor quality streams and the unstoppable piracy extravaganza already underway elsewhere, it seemed unlikely the story would gain much traction. But for reasons best known to HBO, the company has now issued a more strongly worded statement on the Periscope streams than it did for the torrent leak on Saturday.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are aware of Periscope and have sent takedown notices,&#8221; an HBO spokeswoman <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hbo-criticizes-periscope-game-thrones-788734">confirmed</a> in a statement. But then the twist.</p>
<p>&#8220;In general, we feel developers should have tools which proactively prevent mass copyright infringement from occurring on their apps and not be solely reliant upon notifications,&#8221; HBO added.</p>
<p>When targeted at a live streaming app like Periscope with a relatively tiny userbase, this is a head-scratching statement.</p>
<p>While a couple of handful of users were admittedly streaming the same content to their followers, Periscope would&#8217;ve needed to be advised in advance of what content to look out for in order to censor any streams. Even then it would&#8217;ve been tricky to pick out a particular TV show from what were presumably pretty wobbly smartphone streams.</p>
<p>But even if streams went ahead, would they even prove a crowd pleaser with those looking to view leaked shows? Periscope co-founder Kayvon Beykpour doesn&#8217;t believe so.</p>
<p>&#8220;I just don&#8217;t think that Periscope, as much as I love it, is a compelling way to watch a theatrical premiere of a movie, a Game of Thrones release, a soccer match, an NBA match,&#8221; Beykpour <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/show-your-boobs-periscope-cofounder-explains-how-videostreaming-app-plans-to-tackle-abuse-20150415-1ml78o.html">says</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;Of course someone is going to open up their phone and stream this stuff, but that&#8217;s not a compelling way for people to engage.&#8221;</p>
<p>What makes this situation even more curious is why HBO would pick on Periscope at all when there are much bigger targets? Within minutes of Game of Thrones appearing online Saturday evening HBO would&#8217;ve known the hash values of the episodes. Why then aren&#8217;t they calling on BitTorrent Inc, for example, to implement a hash filtering system in its uTorrent client?</p>
<p>It&#8217;s hard to know what&#8217;s going through the media giant&#8217;s collective mind, but neither BitTorrent nor Periscope appear to have hurt the Game of Thrones premiere. Despite four episodes already being widely available online, Sunday’s opener proved to be a series-best in the United States with <a href="http://deadline.com/2015/04/game-of-thrones-logs-series-best-opener-despite-leak-of-first-four-episodes-1201408949/">7.99 million viewers</a>.</p>
<p>However, it is certainly possible that HBO has something else on its mind.</p>
<p>Sure, Periscope&#8217;s Beykpour feels that his app isn&#8217;t &#8220;compelling&#8221; for streaming sports, but will HBO feel the same way come May 2 when people start flooding into the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Mayweather,_Jr._vs._Manny_Pacquiao">Mayweather vs Pacquiao</a>?</p>
<p>HBO and rare partner Showtime will be charging a whopping $89.95 for a PPV pass, 40% more than the previous record set for a Mayweather fight in 2013. Plus, there won&#8217;t be a way to torrent the event until the final bell has long gone.</p>
<p>Expect a lot more than &#8220;dozens&#8221; to point their periscopes and <a href="http://meerkatapp.co/">meerkats</a> screenwards for the biggest fight in boxing history in just two weeks&#8217; time. Proactively taking down those streams will be game of whac-a-mole that not even the men in the main event will be quick enough to keep up with.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104366
title: Dotcom Speeding Offense Could Lead to Deportation “In Weeks”
uri: Dotcom-Speeding-Offense-Could-Lead-to-Deportation-In-Weeks
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/WoZcrSEYeXg/
content:
<p><img src="media/559c6a23.dotcomboat.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/dotcomboat.jpg" alt="dotcomboat" width="180" height="137" class="alignright size-full wp-image-77247">He&#8217;s one of the most famous people in the online space and the founder of the site at the heart of the world&#8217;s largest ever copyright infringement lawsuit, yet a relatively minor indiscretion has the potential to derail Kim Dotcom in a matter of weeks.</p>
<p>It all stems back to September 10, 2009 when a police radar gun logged speed-loving Dotcom doing 149km/h (92mph) in a 50km/h (30mph) zone. According to the authorities police gave chase, eventually catching up with Dotcom&#8217;s 3.6-liter AMG Mercedes 1.7km (1 mile) later close to his Coatesville mansion.</p>
<p>Explaining his three times over-the-limit endeavor as a &#8220;stupid mistake&#8221;, Dotcom later pleaded guilty by letter four days later. During the hearing the court heard that the entrepreneur had been &#8220;testing&#8221; a new car. </p>
<p>&#8220;When spoken to by police the defendant stated he had seen an 80km/h sign. He further stated that he stepped on the gas for 3-4 seconds and then braked and reduced his speed to the speed limit. He also stated he wanted to test the acceleration of the vehicle,&#8221; the records state.</p>
<p>Despite Dotcom expressing regret for his actions, the judge fined him $500 plus $130 costs and banned him from driving for six months. Now, almost five years later, the case is coming back to haunt Dotcom after he failed to declare the motoring conviction on his New Zealand residency application eight months after the offense.</p>
<p>In the (blurred) image below released under the Official Information Act, item three shows a &#8216;No&#8217; response to the question &#8220;Have you or any of your family members included in your application, ever been: Convicted of an offense including traffic offenses committed within the last five years, involving dangerous driving [or] driving having consumed excessive alcohol.</p>
<p><img src="media/213919f8.dotcom-declaration.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/dotcom-declaration.png" alt="dotcom-declaration" width="569" height="255" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-104376"></p>
<p>The same immigration records reveal that Dotcom disclosed both his 1994 hacking conviction and a 2001 suspended sentence for insider trading, but both were disregarded having been dealt with under Germany&#8217;s &#8220;clean slate&#8221; legislation. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, it now appears that Dotcom&#8217;s position as a New Zealand resident is under threat due to his dangerous driving conviction and subsequent non-disclosure. According to <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&#038;objectid=11433708">NZHerald</a>, Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse could decide within the month whether Dotcom will be allowed to remain in New Zealand or be kicked out of the country.</p>
<p>Dotcom insists that the omission was the result of a misunderstanding with his advisors but the discovery was considered serious enough to prompt a high-level deportation inquiry.</p>
<p>&#8220;In the interests of fairness and natural justice, Mr Dotcom and his advisers have been asked to make submissions on the matter by 4 May,&#8221; Immigration NZ said in a statement.</p>
<p>&#8220;Once that process is complete a decision will then be made by the Minister of Immigration on whether Mr Dotcom is liable for deportation.&#8221;</p>
<p>The potential for deportation (albeit to either Finland or Germany, not the United States) only adds to Dotcom&#8217;s woes.</p>
<p>Last month the United States <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/u-s-government-wins-dozens-of-millions-from-kim-dotcom-150326/">seized</a> dozens of millions of dollars worth of the Megaupload founder&#8217;s assets and in June he&#8217;ll face an extradition hearing having had a request for postponement denied.</p>
<p>Whether Dotcom will be able to deflect ejection from New Zealand on either or both counts remains to be seen, but the tycoon certainly sees himself being backed into a corner.</p>
<p>&#8220;Dear Mr. Dotcom,&#8221; he <a href="https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/588558509219807233">wrote</a> this morning on Twitter.</p>
<p>&#8220;Here are your options: Extradition or Deportation. Regards, The New Zealand Government.&#8221;</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104410
title: Netflix Sets Pricing Based on Local Piracy Rates
uri: Netflix-Sets-Pricing-Based-on-Local-Piracy-Rates
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/djHEjmGzQm4/
content:
<p><img src="media/78778e9e.netf-300x136.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/netf-300x136.png" alt="netf" width="300" height="136" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-104411">With nearly 60 million subscribers globally, Netflix is a giant in the world of online video entertainment.</p>
<p>In terms of providing access to popular TV-shows and movies the company&#8217;s biggest competitor is piracy. Just a few weeks ago Netflix described the BitTorrent-powered Popcorn Time <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/netflix-sees-popcorn-time-as-a-serious-competitor-150121/">as a major threat</a>. </p>
<p>Interestingly, piracy also offers critical business intelligence to the company. For example, it uses local piracy statistics to determine <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/netflix-uses-pirate-sites-to-determine-what-shows-to-buy-130914/">what content it should offer</a> in various regions. </p>
<p>That&#8217;s not all though. During this week&#8217;s earnings <a href="http://ir.netflix.com/results.cfm">interview</a> Nexflix&#8217;s Chief Financial Officer David Wells said that a country&#8217;s piracy rate is a main factor in determining the service&#8217;s local price.</p>
<p>&#8220;Piracy is a governor in terms of our price in high piracy markets outside the US,&#8221; Wells explained. </p>
<p>&#8220;We wouldn&#8217;t want to come out with a high price because there&#8217;s a lot of piracy, so we have to compete with that,&#8221; Wells added.</p>
<p>Another recurring issue is Netflix policies against VPN usage. While the terms of use have prohibited this for a long time already, the big <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/netflix-cracks-down-on-vpn-and-proxy-pirates-150103/">crackdown on VPN users</a> has yet to begin. </p>
<p>According to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, VPNs are used by paying customers, which isn&#8217;t such a big problem as piracy. </p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s certainly less bad than piracy,&#8221; Hastings said, quickly adding that it&#8217;s not something the company encourages.  </p>
<p>Ted Sarandos, head of content at Netflix, noted that the company continues to work with the studios to address the VPN issue but that it&#8217;s &#8220;kind of a whack a mole.&#8221;</p>
<p>Instead, Sarandos prefers to focus on the positive battle against piracy, which he believes Netflix is winning.</p>
<p>&#8220;The real great news is that in the piracy capitals of the world Netflix is winning. We&#8217;re pushing down piracy in those markets by getting access.&#8221; Sarandos noted. </p>
<p>With the right pricing Netflix has indeed converted many pirates. The next step is to make <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/netflix-wants-to-make-vpn-piracy-obsolete-150325/">VPNs obsolete</a>, by offering content globally without any geographical restrictions.</p>
<p>&#8220;The best way to make the VPN issue a complete non issue is through global licensing that we&#8217;re continuing to pursue with our partners,&#8221; Sarandos said.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104466
title: TV Companies Will Sue VPN Providers “In Days”
uri: TV-Companies-Will-Sue-VPN-Providers-In-Days
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/gwOOuXobZV0/
content:
<p><img src="media/4060a5d5.youtube_copyright_sadface-150x150.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/youtube_copyright_sadface-150x150.png" width="150" height="150" class="alignright">As Internet users demand more freedom online alongside an ability to consume media in a manner of their choosing, tools allowing them to do so are gaining in popularity.</p>
<p>Notable has been the rise of <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">VPN services</a>, which not only provide an increased level of privacy but also allow users to appear in any country they choose. This opens up a whole new world of content availability &#8211; such as better service from Netflix &#8211; often at better prices than those offered on home turf.</p>
<p>While popular with consumers, this behavior is frowned upon by distribution companies that spend huge sums of money on content licensing deals specific to their regions of coverage. Losing customers to overseas providers isn&#8217;t part of their plan and now some are doing something about it.</p>
<p>Earlier this month media companies SKY, TVNZ, Lightbox and MediaWorks <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/isp-pulls-vpn-service-after-geo-unblocking-legal-threats-150407/">told several Kiwi ISPs</a> that if they don&#8217;t stop providing VPN services to their subscribers, legal trouble would be on the horizon.</p>
<p>Within days one of their targets, Unlimited Internet, pulled its VPN service after receiving a letter from a lawfirm claiming breaches of the Copyright Act. However, CallPlus and Bypass Network Services have no intention of caving in to the media giants&#8217; demands.</p>
<p>&#8220;To receive without warning a grossly threatening legal letter like that from four of the largest companies in New Zealand is not something we are used to,&#8221; wrote Bypass CEO Patrick Jordan-Smith in a letter to the media companies.</p>
<p>&#8220;It smacks of bullying to be  honest, especially since your letter doesn’t  actually say why you think we are breaching copyright.&#8221;</p>
<p>Pulling no punches and describing his adversaries as a &#8220;gang&#8221;, Jordan-Smith likens the threats to those employed by copyright trolls in the United States.</p>
<p>&#8220;Your letter gets pretty close to the speculative invoicing type letters that lawyers for copyright owners sometimes send in the US &#8216;pay up or shutdown or else were are going to sue you&#8217;! Not fair,&#8221; he writes.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have been providing the Global Mode facility for 2 years.  In all that time, none of your Big Media Gang have ever written to us.  We assumed they were OK with Global Mode and we continued  to  spend  money  innovating  the  facility and providing  innovative  NZ  ISPs  with  a service that their customers were telling them they wanted – a service that lets people pay for content rather than pirate it.&#8221;</p>
<p>The response from Bypass hasn&#8217;t been well received by the media companies who now say they will carry through with their threats to sue over breaches of copyright.</p>
<p>&#8220;Our position has not changed and unless they remove the unlawful service we will begin court action in the next few days,&#8221; <a href="http://tvnz.co.nz/business-news/defending-value-content-rights-tvnz-joins-other-media-in-court-action-6292305">says</a> TVNZ chief executive, Kevin Kenrick.</p>
<p>&#8220;Each of our businesses invests significant sums of money into the rights to screen content sourced legitimately from the creators and owners of that copyrighted material. This is being undermined by the companies who profit from promoting illegitimate ways to access that content.&#8221;</p>
<p>Claiming that the action is aimed at defending the value of content rights in the digital world, Kenrick says that the legal action is not consumer focused.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is not about taking action against individual consumers or restricting choice, indeed each of our businesses are investing heavily in more choice so New Zealanders can have legitimate access to the latest TV shows and movies,&#8221; the CEO concludes.</p>
<p>While the commercial position of the TVNZ chief is understandable, his claim that this legal action isn&#8217;t aimed at reducing choice simply doesn&#8217;t stack up. Kiwis using Netflix locally get access to around 220 TV series and 900 movies, while those using a VPN to tunnel into the United States <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/hometech/how-the-australian-netflix-differs-from-the-us-service-20150323-1m60g8.html">enjoy</a> around 940 TV series and 6,170 movies, something which Bypass Networks believes is completely legal.</p>
<p>&#8220;[We provide our service]  on  our  understanding  that  geo-unblocking  to  allow  people  to  digitally  import content purchased overseas is perfectly legal.  If you say it is not, then we are going to need a lot  more  detail  from  you  to  understand  why,&#8221; Jordan-Smith informs his adversaries.</p>
<p>&#8220;Simply  sending  us  a  threatening  letter,  as frightening as that may be, does not get us there and is not a fair reason for us to shut down our whole business.&#8221;</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104368
title: Pirate Bay’s Fredrik Neij Can’t Play Nintendo Classics In Prison
uri: Pirate-Bay-s-Fredrik-Neij-Can-t-Play-Nintendo-Classics-In-Prison
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/ZxY5SUG7ck4/
content:
<p><a href="media/6ae5a612.fredrik-neij.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/fredrik-neij.jpg"><img src="media/6ae5a612.fredrik-neij.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/fredrik-neij.jpg" alt="fredrik-neij" width="250" height="236" class="alignright size-full wp-image-99649"></a>Fredrik Neij, also known as Tiamo, was one of the key operators of The Pirate Bay and often referred to as one of the site&#8217;s co-founders. </p>
<p>In 2010 Fredrik received a prison sentence for his involvement with the notorious site, which he initially avoided. </p>
<p>Last November he was eventually <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-founder-fredrik-neij-arrested-in-asia-141104/">arrested</a> by Thai immigration authorities and later transferred to a prison in Skänninge, Sweden.</p>
<p>Under the circumstances, Fredrik has been doing relatively well. However, prison life lacks distraction and entertainment, not to mention a digital connection to the outside world. </p>
<p>To kill time The Pirate Bay&#8217;s former operator put in a request to play games on an old Nintendo 8-bit console. Not the most advanced gaming experience, but a real treat for someone with virtually no access to entertainment.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, however, Fredrik&#8217;s request was outright denied by the prison administration. While gaming isn&#8217;t against the rules, they state that there&#8217;s no way to open the box to check it for concealed items.</p>
<p>&#8220;The console is sealed in such a way that it can not be opened without the machine being destroyed,&#8221; the prison <a href="http://www.expressen.se/gt/pirate-bay-grundaren-far-inte-ha-nintendo/">wrote</a> in a reply.</p>
<p>In light of this, the institution can&#8217;t implement the necessary control of the game console and it is therefore impossible to ensure that it does not contain prohibited items.&#8221;</p>
<p>Fredrik doesn&#8217;t agree with the decision decided to appeal the case before the administrative court. </p>
<p>Pirate Bay&#8217;s former operator doesn&#8217;t believe that a game console from the 80s without any network connectivity poses a threat, and points out that the prison only has to buy a simply screwdriver to check the box.</p>
<p>&#8220;That the institution lacks a screwdriver which costs 100 kroner can not be considered reasonable,&#8221; Fredrik writes. </p>
<p>&#8220;One has to wonder how many other victims there are when all video-game units of the brand Nintendo have the same screwdriver,&#8221; he adds.</p>
<p>This isn&#8217;t the first time that Fredrik has appealed a decision from the prison. Earlier this month he filed an appeal after the institution denied a request to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bays-fredrik-neij-appeals-denial-to-print-in-prison-150409/">print three documents</a>.</p>
<p><em>TF note: The Nintendo case can actually be opened with a <a href="http://chipmusic.org/forums/topic/143/how-to-snesnes-security-screws-without-screwdriver/">pen and a cigarette lighter</a></em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104478
title: MPAA Wants Private Theaters in U.S. Embassies to Lobby Officials
uri: MPAA-Wants-Private-Theaters-in-U-S-Embassies-to-Lobby-Officials
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/b8io_4_L_ww/
content:
<p><img src="media/62e4980b.screening.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/screening.jpg" alt="screening" width="300" height="200" class="alignright size-full wp-image-104521">Yesterday Wikileaks published a <a href="https://wikileaks.org/sony/docs/">searchable database</a> of the emails and documents that were released from the Sony hack.</p>
<p>While a lot of ground was already covered after the initial breach, some new information is now bubbling up to the surface. </p>
<p>One of the conversations that caught our eye mentions a request from MPAA boss and former U.S. senator Chris Dodd. </p>
<p>In an effort to get foreign policy makers onside, the movie group asked its member studios to help fund an upgrade of the screening rooms in various U.S. embassies around the world. </p>
<p>In an email from Sony Pictures Entertainment Head of Worldwide Government Affairs Keith Weaver to CEO Michael Lynton last March, Weaver explains that the studio had been asked for rather a sizable contribution.</p>
<p>&#8220;I wanted to make you aware of a recent MPAA request, as Senator Dodd may contact you directly,&#8221; Weaver&#8217;s <a href="https://wikileaks.org/sony/emails/emailid/110589">email</a> begins.</p>
<p>&#8220;Essentially, the request is for the member companies to consider upgrading screening rooms at U.S. Embassies in various countries (Germany, Spain, Italy, UK, and Japan)&#8230;&#8221; </p>
<p>These rooms could then be used by the ambassadors to show off Hollywood content to invited high-level officials.</p>
<p>&#8220;&#8230;the idea being that these upgraded screening rooms would allow American ambassadors to screen our movies to high level officials (and, thus, inculcate a stronger will to protect our interests through this quality exposure to our content),&#8221; Weaver adds. </p>
<p>In other words, the MPAA wants to pay for an upgrade of the embassies&#8217; private theaters, to indirectly protect the interests of U.S. movie studios abroad.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s a rather interesting lobbying effort and one that doesn&#8217;t come cheap. The estimated cost for the project is $165,000 per studio, which means the total budget for the project is close to a million dollars.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for the MPAA, Weaver suggested giving the project a miss and in a reply <a href="https://wikileaks.org/sony/emails/emailid/110589">Lynton agreed</a>. </p>
<p>&#8220;While studios have supported efforts like this in the past, my inclination is that we pass on this financial commitment at this time (of course, applauding the idea/effort),&#8221; Weaver noted. </p>
<p>In an email a few months later the issue was <a href="https://wikileaks.org/sony/emails/emailid/108342">addressed again</a> with additional details.   </p>
<p>In this conversation Weaver notes that the request is &#8220;not unusual&#8221; and that the studio supported a similar request years ago. &#8220;Apparently, donations of this kind are permissible,&#8221; Weaver writes. </p>
<p>Again, Lynton replied that he was not inclined to support the project. It&#8217;s unclear whether any of the other members chipped in, or if the plan has been canceled due to a lack of financial support. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104391
title: GTA V Plunders More Data Than Game of Thrones Pirates
uri: GTA-V-Plunders-More-Data-Than-Game-of-Thrones-Pirates
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/WziFSt8GUz0/
content:
<p><img src="media/46fecebb.gtav-cov.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/gtav-cov.jpg" alt="gtav-cov" width="150" height="210" class="alignright size-full wp-image-104438">Grand Theft Auto V is one of the most eagerly anticipated PC game releases of 2015 and this week the tension was finally over. For most the wait for desktop version of the 2013/2014 smash hit was totally worth it, with overwhelmingly <a href="http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/grand-theft-auto-v/critic-reviews">positive reviews</a> circulating online.</p>
<p>For others, however, the week has been one of tooth-gnashing, nail-biting tension, largely spent worrying over whether the mighty DRM-defeating piracy overlords would find it in their hearts to throw a cracked version to the masses.</p>
<p>And in parts it was a pretty ugly thing to behold.</p>
<p>Endless warez and torrent forums (and more public affairs such as Reddit) were flooded with requests for a cracked version of the iconic game, leading to anger over the umpteenth duplicate thread among those who&#8217;d answered the same questions dozens of times already.</p>
<p>But the real desperation was to be found in numerous chat channels occupied by people hoping to get an early heads-up on where to find the first free (and functioning) online copies.</p>
<p>On the day of the game&#8217;s release TF spent time in a few of them and for the most part it was an absolute car crash, largely due to people posting links to all manner of bogus content.</p>
<p>While the pictures of crack (cocaine) and the odd meme weren&#8217;t particularly hostile, the links to renamed .exe files and people running them there and then, with no apparent concern for the well being of their computers, was something to behold.</p>
<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t forget to disable your anti-virus before running,&#8221; was the sterling advice given on a number of occasions.</p>
<p>At least twice people claimed to have received errors on their screen after running what they thought was a genuine crack, only to immediately disappear from chat, never to return. With the air thick with schadenfreude, much dark hilarity ensued among the link spammers.</p>
<p>By Wednesday it became clear that Chinese group 3DM would probably be the first to put out a crack for the popular title and sure enough a few hours later the much-anticipated code began to propagate. Suitable only for Windows 7 machines in the first instance, a later version claimed to cater for Windows 8 installations too.</p>
<p><img src="media/e16e8e64.3dm-crack-v2.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/3dm-crack-v2.png" alt="3dm-crack-v2" width="650" height="276" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-104436"></p>
<p>But for some the few hours wait between official GTA V launch and the subsequent crack release had been too much. With a level of impatience not often seen in the gaming world, countless users publicly declared &#8220;enough is enough&#8221; and reported buying the game on Steam instead. They&#8217;re probably still stuck in Los Santos now, robbing and killing their way to infamy.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, many thousands more with either more patience, less disposable income, or both, proceeded to obtain the game and its crack through less official channels. By very early Thursday at least 20,000 people had obtained the game using BitTorrent, a not inconsiderable feat considering the huge size of the files involved.</p>
<p>While the updates and cracks weighed in at less than 400mb, the game files themselves were changing hands in archives ranging from 40GB to 60GB, with warnings that the compressed version could take four hours or more to decompress and install, even after the mammoth download.</p>
<p>But despite the waiting and hoop jumping, by early Thursday a staggering one petabyte of data had been exchanged on the most popular GTA V torrents, an amount equal to all U.S. Internet traffic during a single day in 2000. Or, to put it another way, more data than was consumed by the million Game of Thrones pirates who downloaded the first leaked episode in the hours following last week&#8217;s <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/first-episodes-of-game-of-thrones-season-5-leak-online-150412/">surprise release</a>.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, even after all the head-scratching, waiting, downloading, decompressing and other shenanigans, many users are still having problems running the cracked version of the game. Others, on the other hand, report no problems at all and have heaped praise on 3DM for their amazing work.</p>
<p>&#8220;I love this game! Is there any way to donate to 3DM?&#8221; a user on one site asked.</p>
<p>&#8220;How about sending money to the Rockstar devs instead?&#8221; came a dry response.</p>
<p>And indeed, some pirates intend to do just that.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s definitely impressive [to have cracked the game] in such a short time. I appreciate the efforts a lot,&#8221; <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/PiratedGTA/comments/32se5s/3dm_appreciation_thread/cqecn85">wrote</a> one.</p>
<p>&#8220;My only real goal was to gauge how well it runs on my PC before I plunk down $60 for it. Now that I know it runs fine I&#8217;ll be buying it after work today.&#8221;</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104357
title: Pirate Bay Reopens Registrations, Months After Raid
uri: Pirate-Bay-Reopens-Registrations-Months-After-Raid
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/z4R-9Ih_kRc/
content:
<p><img src="media/2a43984f.pirate-bay.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/pirate-bay.jpg" alt="pirate bay" width="200" height="207" class="alignright size-full wp-image-53470">Slowly but surely things are returning back to normal at the beleaguered Pirate Bay. </p>
<p>After weeks of downtime the site came back online late January, recovering from a raid that hit the site hard. The notorious torrent site has burned through <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-caught-up-in-a-hosting-whac-a-mole-150217/">several hosting companies</a> since its return but the site is now relatively stable.</p>
<p>With many of the old moderators <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-mods-are-back-on-board-for-massive-cleanup-150220/">back on board</a> the spam problems are under control as well. All this time, however, there was still one major feature missing from the site. Users were not able to register an account so they can publish content. </p>
<p>This last barrier was removed a few hours ago when TPB formally reopened <a href="https://thepiratebay.se/register">user registrations</a>.  </p>
<p>&#8220;The registrations remained closed as a security precaution. But now that the mods are back and stable, new accounts won&#8217;t flood the site with fakes,&#8221; Pirate Bay&#8217;s Winston tells TF</p>
<p><center><strong>Registrations are open</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/178e0f99.tpbreg1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tpbreg1.png" alt="tpbreg" width="685" height="281" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-104359"></center></p>
<p>Over the past couple of months the moderator team undertook a thorough cleanup of all suspicious user accounts. Pretty much all fakers and scammers were removed, a number that ran into the thousands. </p>
<p>&#8220;A lot of the dormant accounts have been used up now,&#8221; long time TPB moderator Agricola tells TF, noting that fakers and scammers are more prevalent than most people believe.</p>
<p>&#8220;In my time on The Pirate Bay I have 30,000+ kills on my name, which is how we refer to deleted accounts. You are talking hundreds of accounts a day.&#8221;</p>
<p>So while the reopened registration feature is good news for users who want to join the six million strong army of Pirate Bay users, it means all hands on deck for the moderator team.</p>
<p>According to Agricola this isn&#8217;t necessarily a bad thing. After all, that&#8217;s what they have been doing all along. </p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re pretty much going back to the way it was before the raid,&#8221; Agricola says.</p>
<p>Looking back at the past few months we can conclude that things have pretty much returned to normal at TPB. The site took a hit in terms of traffic and is no longer the <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">most used torrent site</a>, but the ship is still afloat.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104476
title: HBO Targets Torrent Users Over Game of Thrones Leak
uri: HBO-Targets-Torrent-Users-Over-Game-of-Thrones-Leak
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/gt5ppjfJkWA/
content:
<p><img src="media/0bc92b46.got5.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/got5.jpg" alt="got5" width="250" height="168" class="alignright size-full wp-image-102724">Last week&#8217;s pre-release <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/first-episodes-of-game-of-thrones-season-5-leak-online-150412/">leak of four Game of Thrones episodes</a> is one of the most prominent piracy cases in TV history. </p>
<p>The first copies, leaked from a review screener, quickly spread across public torrent sites and were downloaded <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/leaked-game-of-thrones-episodes-trigger-piracy-craze-150412/">millions of times</a>.</p>
<p>While most piracy occurred through BitTorrent, HBO seemed <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/crisis-as-hbo-laments-dozens-of-awful-got-streams-150415/">mostly concerned</a> with a few dozen people who watched a shoddy stream via Twitter&#8217;s Periscope. Behind the scenes, however, BitTorrent pirates were targeted as well. </p>
<p>Over the past week HBO sent out a flurry of takedown notices to those who shared the controversial leaks in public. TF has seen several notices, which all come in the standard format.</p>
<p>Through its anti-piracy partner IP-Echelon, HBO instructs Internet providers to relay the alerts to the account holder associated with the infringing IP-address. </p>
<p><em>&#8220;1. Contact the subscriber who has engaged in the conduct described above and take steps to prevent the subscriber from further downloading or uploading HBO content without authorization.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>In addition, ISPs may want to take additional measures such as disconnecting the accounts of repeat infringers.</p>
<p><em>&#8220;2. Take appropriate action against the account holder under your Abuse Policy/Terms of Service Agreement.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>As is always the case with DMCA notices, HBO doesn&#8217;t know the identity of the alleged pirates, so there are no legal strings attached.</p>
<p><img src="media/bdbfd1ff.gotpirate-300x139.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/gotpirate-300x139.png" alt="gotpirate" width="300" height="139" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-104496">Nonetheless, HBO hopes that the warnings will deter some from downloading future episodes. And indeed, some users may panic when they see that their downloads were flagged.  </p>
<p>Not all warnings are effective though. Some DMCA notices were directed at <a href="https://my.liquidvpn.com/knowledgebase/487/California---Notice-of-Claimed-Infringement-Case-8-Cases.html">VPN users</a> who can&#8217;t be identified and never get to see the <a href="https://proxy.sh/panel/knowledgebase/2544/16or04or2015-DMCA-HOME-BOX-OFFICE-INC--at-US-California-18-54103.html">warnings</a> in question. </p>
<p>It&#8217;s clear that containing the Game of Thrones leaks is important for HBO, but the DMCA notices themselves are nothing new. The company has been sending these out for various shows over the years, they just never got much attention.  </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104514
title: Leaked: The MPAA’s iPad Piracy Potential Analysis
uri: Leaked-The-MPAA-s-iPad-Piracy-Potential-Analysis
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/SNzXAQYay7g/
content:
<p><img src="media/a8ebfa5a.ipad.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ipad.jpg" alt="ipad" width="180" height="224" class="alignright size-full wp-image-104523">After years of numerous hardware companies flirting and largely failing with the format, half a decade ago the revolution the tablet market had been waiting for finally arrived.</p>
<p>With a huge fanfare of publicity on April 3, 2010 Apple launched its now iconic iPad. The convenient, functional and practical era of tablets had well and truly arrived and for millions of consumers around the globe the device became the computing weapon of choice.</p>
<p>With new hardware came new opportunities and for the major Hollywood studios the iPad and its beautiful screen had the potential to be both friend and foe. An analysis made available following last year&#8217;s Sony hack and Wikileaks&#8217; refreshed publication yesterday provides a sneak insight into the MPAA&#8217;s assessment of the device.</p>
<p>Titled &#8220;The iPad – From a Content Protection Perspective&#8221; the document lists the positive and potential negatives for the device.<br>
<strong><br>
The positives</strong></p>
<p>On the plus side the MPAA was predictably pleased with Apple&#8217;s &#8216;walled-garden&#8217; approach to DRM-protected premium content supply.</p>
<p>&#8220;Novice user will opt for ‘iTunes and App store’ type of use,&#8221; the document reads, noting that the iPad &#8220;allows for some technical protection measures as well as e-Commerce environments that allow for digital rights management.&#8221;</p>
<p>The MPAA was also impressed with the educational potential of the iPad and App Store, noting that the pair together promote the notion that content needs to be paid for.</p>
<p>&#8220;The iPad essentially acts as a digital wallet (a multifunctional credit card) so users will be much more aware that digital content can have a value,&#8221; the report notes.</p>
<p>Of course, Apple&#8217;s notoriously tough security also achieved a tick in the plus column but not without a reminder that things can be undone by the determined hacker.</p>
<p>&#8220;The iPad, like the iPhone may not be too appealing to the pirate type due to its closed (technological) environment. On the other hand, the iPhone has been ‘jailbroken’ and the iPad will share the same fate,&#8221; the report correctly predicts.</p>
<p><strong>The negatives</strong></p>
<p>Most of the negatives listed by the MPAA center around the conversion of media obtained in one format and then converted for use on the iPad. With relatively generous storage capacity by 2010 standards, that could amount to a few dozen pirate films on a device.</p>
<p>&#8220;Converting existing movies (Pirated, Blu-ray or DVD) to the .m4v format suitable for the iPad will take about 1 hr per movie using application such as ‘Handbrake’,&#8221; the report reads.</p>
<p>&#8220;The typical ripped Blu-ray file, made ready for the iPad, will take up 1.5 Gigabyte of disk space. On average a 64 GB iPad will be able to carry 40 high quality rips.&#8221;</p>
<p>But the MPAA feared the risks wouldn&#8217;t end there. Once obtained on one device, pirate content could then spread to another.</p>
<p>&#8220;Although the above steps may only be taken by those accustomed to pirating content, the nature of this platform will smoothen large-scale exchanges of clusters of movies (iPad to iPad),&#8221; the report reads.</p>
<p>&#8220;Although most pirates will tend to go and download content illegally, to first put it on desktop computer and only then convert it to the iPad, it is not difficult to foresee a future wherein they may go and enable inter-iPad file sharing or file streaming.&#8221;</p>
<p>In addition to concerns that iPad owners might start adding &#8220;PVR type&#8221; TV broadcasting recordings to their devices, the MPAA was also developing fears over the iPad&#8217;s ability to connect to large screen devices.</p>
<p>&#8220;Although quite cumbersome (at least three different video adapters are<br>
available and each has different functionalities) it is possible to display content on external devices such as projectors and TVs. It is also possible to both display and stream content from a desktop computer to an iPad,&#8221; the report adds.</p>
<p>And with Airplay video landing later in 2010, the MPAA correctly predicted it would take off.</p>
<p>&#8220;The wired and wireless streaming of iPad data to external (remote) screens is expected to become very popular,&#8221; the report notes.</p>
<p><strong>Finally &#8211; the big positive and big negative, all in one</strong></p>
<p>The very first positive point in the MPAA&#8217;s piracy assessment of the iPad is the type of video delivery system the device is optimized for.</p>
<p>&#8220;Device aimed at users of streaming services,&#8221; the number one plus point reads.</p>
<p>While undoubtedly excellent for viewing streaming content (the Netflix iPad app debuted on the iTunes App Store at the device&#8217;s launch in April 2010), little did the MPAA know that almost exactly five years later it would be greeted with the following headline:</p>
<p>&#8220;<a href="http://torrentfreak.com/popcorn-time-releases-jailbreak-free-ios-app-150407/">Popcorn Time Releases iOS App Tomorrow, No Jailbreak Needed</a>.&#8221;</p>
<p>Five years is definitely a long time in technology terms&#8230;.</p>
<p><em>Further reading on the studios&#8217; iPad studies courtesy of Wikileaks, <a href="https://wikileaks.org/sony/docs/05/docs/Apple/Follow-Up%20Test%20Report%20for%20iPad%20A1219%20-%20100624.docx">here</a> and <a href="media/1186296b.iPad_Content20Protection20from20the20MPAA.ppt.pdf" data-original-source="https://wikileaks.org/sony/docs/05/docs/Apple/iPad_Content%20Protection%20from%20the%20MPAA.ppt.pdf">here</a>.</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104551
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 04/20/15
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-04-20-15
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/k3_-nW2mz2g/
content:
<p><img src="media/0986e1b9.furi7.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/furi7.jpg" alt="furi7" width="300" height="187" class="alignright size-full wp-image-104235">This week we have four newcomers in our chart.</p>
<p>Furious 7 is the most downloaded movie for the second week in a row.</p>
<p>The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. All the movies in the list are BD/DVDrips unless stated otherwise.</p>
<p><a href="http://TorrentFreak.com/category/dvdrip/feed/"><strong>RSS feed</strong></a> for the weekly movie download chart.</p>
<table class="css hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="12%"><strong>Ranking</strong></th>
<th width="15%"><strong>(<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-pirated-movies-of-the-week-041315/">last week</a>)</strong></th>
<th><strong>Movie</strong></th>
<th width="18%"><strong>IMDb Rating / Trailer</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="4">torrentfreak.com</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>(1)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/furious_7/">Furious 7</a> (CAM/TS)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2820852/">8.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yISKeT6sDOg">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/interstellar_2014/">Interstellar</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816692/">8.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vxOhd4qlnA">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/taken_3/">Taken 3</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2446042/">6.1</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuU0M2xBasc">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_boy_next_door_2015/">The Boy Next Door</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3181822/">4.4</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgbBwovOOoc">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/camp_x_ray/">Camp X-Ray</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2994190/">7.2</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1MDrwqjeGo">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(8)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_gambler_2015/">The Gambler</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2039393/">6.1</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8rCHUjjqnU">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mortdecai/">Mortdecai</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3045616/">5.4</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh6nYOhItOM">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_water_diviner/">The Water Diviner</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3007512/">7.4</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-hU96CwWHI">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(5)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/last_knights/">Last Knights</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2493486/">6.2</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e44QilQbvB0">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(4)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wedding_ringer/">The Wedding Ringer</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0884732/">6.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG5CnCgnplU">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104408
title: Beating Internet Censors With BitTorrent’s Maelstrom Browser
uri: Beating-Internet-Censors-With-BitTorrent-s-Maelstrom-Browser
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/wu_ofoZHULQ/
content:
<p><img src="media/3ad9e9e1.bittorrent-logo.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/bittorrent-logo.png" alt="bittorrent-logo" width="266" height="99" class="alignright size-full wp-image-88887">San Francisco-based BitTorrent Inc. already has a few popular applications in its catalog, including uTorrent and Sync. However, with its new &#8220;people-powered&#8221; browser it hopes to spark another revolution.   </p>
<p>Project <a href="http://project-maelstrom.bittorrent.com/">Maelstrom</a>, as it’s called, is still in the early stages of development but the company has decided to push a Beta out to the public so developers can start building tools and services around it. </p>
<p>In short, Maelstrom takes Google&#8217;s <a href="http://www.chromium.org/Home">Chromium</a> framework and stuffs a powerful BitTorrent engine under the hood, meaning that torrents can be played directly from the browser. More excitingly, however, Maelstrom also supports torrent-powered websites that no longer have to rely on central servers. </p>
<p>By simply publishing a website in a torrent format the website will be accessible if others are sharing it. This can be assisted by web-seeds but also completely peer-to-peer. </p>
<p>For example, earlier this week Wikileaks <a href="https://wikileaks.org/sony/docs/">published</a> a controversial archive of documents and emails that leaked after the Sony hack. If the hosting provider was forced to take the files down they would disappear but with Maelstrom-supported sites, users would be able to keep it online.</p>
<p>The same is true for torrent sites such as The Pirate Bay, which suffered weeks of downtime recently after the site&#8217;s servers were raided. </p>
<p><center><strong><strong>BitTorrent powered page</strong></strong><br></br></center><center><a href="media/0bdeb9d1.meal.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/meal.jpg"><img src="media/d1294540.meal-1024x639.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/meal-1024x639.jpg" alt="meal" width="694" height="433" class="alignright size-large wp-image-104471"></a></center></p>
<p>At the moment there are very few websites that support Maelstrom. There is an early <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/bittorrent/">WordPress plugin</a> and others are <a href="http://justinmccandless.com/blog/Getting+a+Distributed+Static+Website+Running+with+Maelstrom">experimenting</a> with it as well, but wider adoption will need some time. </p>
<p>That said, traditional <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/bittorrents-future-dht-pex-and-magnet-links-explained-091120/">magnet links</a> work too, so people can play video and audio from regular torrent sites directly in the browser. </p>
<p>BitTorrent Inc. informs TF that the main goal is to provide a new and open publishing platform. It&#8217;s now up to developers to use it to their advantage. </p>
<p>&#8220;We believe in providing an alternative means for publishing that is neutral and that gives ownership back to those publishers. But one of our biggest goals with this release is just to get it out and into the hands of developers and see what emerges,&#8221; Maelstrom&#8217;s project lead Rob Velasquez says.</p>
<p>And in that respect momentum is building. BitTorrent Inc. says that a community of more than 10,000 developers and 3,500 publishers has already been established, with tools to bring more on board <a href="https://github.com/bittorrent/torrent-web-tools">now available via Github</a>.</p>
<p>While Maelstrom can bypass Internet censors, it&#8217;s good to keep in mind that all shared files are visible to the public. Maelstrom is caching accessed content to keep it seeded, so using a VPN might not be a bad idea. After all, users leave a trail of their browsing history behind.  </p>
<p>On the upside, Maelstrom can be more private for publishers as they don&#8217;t have to share any personal details with hosting companies or domain registrars.</p>
<p>&#8220;The BitTorrent protocol remains the same, but it does mean that you no longer have to hand over personal, private data to domain registrars or hosting companies to put up a simple website,&#8221; Velasquez notes. </p>
<p>The idea for a BitTorrent-powered browser is not new. The Pirate Bay started work on a related project <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/how-the-pirate-bay-plans-to-beat-censorship-for-good-140105/">last year</a> with the aim of keeping the site online even if its servers were raided.</p>
<p>It will be interesting to see if Maelstrom can get some traction. There&#8217;s still a long way to go, but the idea of an open and censorship-free web does sound appealing.</p>
<p>With a Mac version still under a development, Project Maelstrom (beta) can be downloaded for Windows <a href="http://project-maelstrom.bittorrent.com/">here</a>.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104586
title: Major Record Labels Sue MP3Skull Over Mass Piracy
uri: Major-Record-Labels-Sue-MP3Skull-Over-Mass-Piracy
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Q0d6OATesm0/
content:
<p><img src="media/f6100d5b.skull1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/skull1.jpg" alt="skull" width="180" height="71" class="alignright size-full wp-image-104587">Unauthorized MP3 download sites have been a thorn in the side of the music industry for many years, and a group of well-known labels are now targeting one of the biggest players in the market.</p>
<p>The coalition of record labels including Capitol Records, Sony Music, Warner Bros. Records and Universal Music Group have filed a lawsuit against MP3Skull, currently operating from the Tonga based .to domain name. </p>
<p>In the complaint filed at a Florida District Court (<a href="media/7fd33aeb.mp3skullcompl.pdf" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/mp3skullcompl.pdf">pdf</a>) the studios describe MP3Skull as a business that&#8217;s designed and operated to promote copyright infringement on a commercial scale.</p>
<p>&#8220;MP3Skull is a website that is devoted to the infringement of copyrighted sound recordings on a massive scale, from which Defendants derive substantial revenue every year,&#8221; the complaint reads. </p>
<p>&#8220;At the core of MP3Skull is a database that, according to Defendants, contains millions of links to MP3 music files from around the Internet,&#8221; it adds.</p>
<p>MP3Skull has been around for several years and lists links to popular music tracks scattered around the web, free of charge. The operators of the site are not publicly known but the labels note that the Russian Monica Vasilenko was previously listed in the site&#8217;s Whois information.</p>
<p>Besides offering a comprehensive database of links to music tracks, the labels also accuse the site&#8217;s operators of actively promoting piracy through social media. Among other things, MP3Skull helped users to find pirated tracks after a takedown notice purge.</p>
<p>&#8220;MP3Skull’s official Twitter and Facebook pages contain several communications from Defendants openly encouraging users to download obviously infringing files, links to which were removed following takedown requests from copyright owners,&#8221; the labels write.</p>
<p>&#8220;On several occasions, Defendants outlined various workarounds that users could employ to download MP3 files because the site was &#8216;forced&#8217; to &#8216;remove a huge amount of our searches&#8217; following takedown requests from copyright organizations,&#8221; the add.</p>
<p>As a result of its allegedly infringing activities the site has gathered a broad audience of millions of users, resulting in significant losses from the record labels.</p>
<p>&#8220;As a direct result of Defendants’ widespread and brazen infringement of Plaintiffs’ copyrighted works, MP3Skull has become one of the most popular illicit music download sites on the Internet, attracting millions of users from the United States and generating significant revenue for Defendants.&#8221; </p>
<p>The complaint list more than 100 popular tracks that are freely available on MP3Skull. This means that the site&#8217;s operators face over $15 million in statutory damages. </p>
<p>Perhaps more importantly, given the anonymous nature of the site&#8217;s operators, is the broad preliminary injunction the record labels request. </p>
<p>Among other things, the proposed measures would prevent domain registrars, domain registries, hosting companies, advertisers and other third-party outfits from doing business with the site. If granted, the MP3Skull operators will have a hard time keeping the site afloat in its current form.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104561
title: HBO Cracks Down on Paying VPN “Pirates”
uri: HBO-Cracks-Down-on-Paying-VPN-Pirates
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/wlq7tCouiQc/
content:
<p><img src="media/21578873.hbo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/hbo.jpg" alt="hbo" width="250" height="167" class="alignright size-full wp-image-104564">In an effort to gain more subscribers HBO <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HBO_Now">launched</a> its standalone &#8220;HBO Now&#8221; service earlier this year.</p>
<p>The subscription allows Americans to access HBO&#8217;s content, including Game of Thrones, without the need to have a television subscription. </p>
<p>With the offer HBO hopes to drive people away from pirate sites, but it also created a new form of unauthorized use. As with Netflix and Hulu, many people outside the U.S. signed up for the service through VPNs and other geo-unblocking tools. </p>
<p>Although they are paying customers, using HBO Now from outside the U.S. is not permitted under the company&#8217;s terms of use. </p>
<p>While Netflix is still <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/netflix-sets-pricing-based-on-local-piracy-rates-150416/">fairly lax</a> about geo-unblocking, HBO is now cracking down on the practice. A few days ago thousands of VPN and proxy &#8220;pirates&#8221; started to receive worrying email warnings.</p>
<p>&#8220;It has come to our attention that you may have signed up for and viewed video content on the HBO NOW streaming service from outside of the authorized service area (the United States, including D.C. and certain US territories),&#8221; HBO writes.</p>
<p>&#8220;We would like to take this opportunity to remind you that the HBO NOW streaming service is only available to residents of the United States, for use within the United States. Any other access is prohibited by our Terms of Use.&#8221;</p>
<p><center><strong>HBO Now warning</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/fa078cf8.HBO-disco.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/HBO-disco.jpg" alt="HBO-disco" width="534" height="533" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-104562"></center></p>
<p>The emails in question target users all over the world, including <a href="http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r30002116-HBO-NOW-Threatens-to-cancel-account-for-accessing-outside-of-USA">Canada</a>, the <a href="http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=21030364&#038;postcount=27">UK</a>, <a href="http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=2379560&#038;p=36#r719">Germany</a> and <a href="http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=2379560&#038;p=24">Australia</a>. Unless they were flagged by mistake, HBO will terminate the accounts of affected subscribers within days and without the option of a refund. </p>
<p>HBO is cracking down on VPN and proxy pirates to protect the value of their licensing deals. If millions of foreigners use the U.S. version, local partners in these countries are going to complain. </p>
<p>However, since legal options are often lacking there&#8217;s little doubt that many &#8216;unauthorized&#8217; viewers will find less official ways to access the shows they love to watch. This time, however, HBO will not get a dime.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104556
title: VPN and Site Blocking Attacked By Consumer Group
uri: VPN-and-Site-Blocking-Attacked-By-Consumer-Group
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/zGz8uFePVis/
content:
<p><img src="media/d0591cc5.aus-150x150.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/aus-150x150.jpg" alt="aus" width="150" height="150" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-96798">After Attorney-General George Brandis and Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull asked the Australian Cabinet to approve the development of a new legal mechanism allowing rightsholders to obtain site-blocking injunctions, legislation was <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/vpn-friendly-aussie-pirate-site-blocking-draft-unveiled-150326/">introduced to parliament</a> last month.</p>
<p>What followed is a still-current six-week consultation period for additional submissions, with various groups invited to voice their opinions and concerns.</p>
<p>While the site-blocking elements of the Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill 2015 are likely to please rightsholders, concerns remain that not only will the legislation fail to achieve its aims, but may also have unintended consequences that could stifle consumer choice.</p>
<p>In its submission the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), the body that represents the interests of consumers on communications issues including broadband and emerging Internet services, three key issues are raised &#8211; VPN use, efficacy and cost of blocking, plus consumer interests.</p>
<p><strong>The VPN problem</strong></p>
<p>ACCAN is concerned over some of the wording employed in the amendments. Instead of referencing &#8220;website blocking&#8221;, the legislation speaks about &#8220;online locations&#8221;. While this appears to be an effort to future-proof the Bill, it also has the potential for additional consequences should rightsholders decide to exploit the ambiguity.</p>
<p>&#8220;Our first concern relates to the scope of activities that may be picked up by an interpretation of an ‘online location’ which ‘facilitates an infringement’ of copyright,&#8221; ACCAN writes.</p>
<p>&#8220;Without  clear  legal  precedent, there  is  ambiguity  under  the Copyright  Act about  what  constitutes  infringement  in  relation  to  the use  of  a  Virtual  Private  Network  (VPN)  to  gain  access  to  geo-blocked  products  and  services.  If  this ambiguity  is  not  cleared  up, this  amendment  may  have  the  unintended  consequence  of  blocking these services and in turn harm competition and consumer choice.&#8221;</p>
<p>And confusion does exist. On his <a href="http://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/policy-faqs/online-copyright-infringement-faqs#VPN">website</a> Minister for Communications Malcolm Turnbull says that the Copyright Act does not make it illegal to use a VPN to access overseas content. On the other hand, the Australian  Copyright  Council believes that using a VPN to download content licensed overseas is &#8220;likely to be an infringement of copyright in Australia.”</p>
<p>While it was previously reported that the Bill had been delayed due to modifications aimed at protecting VPN-like services, ACCAN says that it would prefer clarity on the matter.</p>
<p>&#8220;While this ambiguity exists there is a risk that rights holders will attempt to use this injunctive power to block VPN websites and limit consumer access to paid content overseas,&#8221; the group writes.</p>
<p>And the threat is real. As <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/tv-companies-will-sue-vpn-providers-in-days-150417/">reported last week</a>, New Zealand based media companies report that they are on the verge of suing local ISPs who provide VPN services designed to unlock overseas content. Avoiding the same thing Down Under is a priority for ACCAN.</p>
<p><strong>Protecting the public interest</strong></p>
<p>In most countries where rightsholders have demanded site blocking on copyright grounds, ISPs have refused to block voluntarily and have insisted on a court order. This has resulted in processes where movie and recording industry companies become the plaintiffs and ISPs the defendants. The sites themselves aren&#8217;t involved in the process, and neither are their users.</p>
<p>&#8220;[We] remain concerned  that  a  judge  in  an ex  parte hearing will  not  have  the  requisite  evidence  at  hand  to  weigh  the  public interest  against  those  of  rights holders,&#8221; ACCAN writes.</p>
<p>&#8220;The  amendment  creates  no  right  for  legitimate  users  of  a  site  to  present evidence  on  any  adverse consequences  of  an  injunction. There should be a presumption in the Bill in favor of allowing parties to become interveners or amicus curiae in the context of these injunction applications.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>Efficacy and costs of blocking</strong></p>
<p>Like many other similarly focused groups, ACCAN is concerned that not only will site / online location blocking prove ineffective when it comes to stopping infringement, but the bill for the exercise will ultimately fall at the feet of the consumer.</p>
<p>Citing <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/isps-no-longer-have-to-block-the-pirate-bay-dutch-court-rules-140128/">Dutch studies</a> which found that blocking The Pirate Bay enjoyed only short-lived success, ACCAN voices concerns that once one site is blocked, users will simply migrate elsewhere.</p>
<p>&#8220;This research confirmed the  findings  in  other  studies  which  found  that  legal  action  against  file  sharing  often  has  an immediate effect, but this typically fades out after a period of six months as new sources for pirated content emerge. ACCAN’s concern is that this website blocking bill may devolve into an expensive game of ‘whack-a-mole’, which consumers will end up paying for through higher internet bills,&#8221; the group <a href="media/cebdaab0.ght20Amendment20Online20Infringement20Bill20201520submission.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.accan.org.au/files/Submissions/Copyright%20Amendment%20Online%20Infringement%20Bill%202015%20submission.pdf">writes</a>.</p>
<p>Similar fears over consumers picking up costs for online infringement enforcement have been voiced across Europe and in the United States, but in no cases has that caused a court to deny rightsholders the opportunity to protect their copyrights. It is guaranteed that one way or another &#8211; via their Internet bill or through the cost of media &#8211; Aussies will eventually pay for the proposed enforcement measures</p>
<p>The Bill is currently under review by the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, with a report due in a little under a month.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104603
title: Dotcom Appeals Extradition Delay Ruling, Colleague Lawyerless
uri: Dotcom-Appeals-Extradition-Delay-Ruling-Colleague-Lawyerless
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/jLalf7y1ChM/
content:
<p><img src="media/9a9629f5.megaupload-logo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/megaupload-logo.jpg" alt="megaupload-logo" width="250" height="208" class="alignright size-full wp-image-95191">The now three-year cases of Kim Dotcom versus the New Zealand and United States governments have developed into a massive legal grind.</p>
<p>Almost every adverse decision affecting either side finds itself subjected to appeal wherever possible, with neither of the opposing parties prepared to concede defeat.</p>
<p>For Dotcom, the purposes of the battles are obvious. While trying to recoup as much of his seized wealth as possible, the Megaupload founder is determined to avoid extradition to the United States where he faces the largest copyright-focused case in history.</p>
<p>On four occasions the German-born businessman has succeeded in having his extradition hearing delayed but last month his luck appeared to have run out. With a June 2015 hearing looming, Dotcom&#8217;s legal team asked the North Shore District Court for an adjournment until October, claiming that the time remaining was not enough to prepare for such a complicated case.</p>
<p><img src="media/0328bda9.dotcom-laptop-150x150.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/dotcom-laptop-150x150.jpg" alt="dotcom-laptop" width="150" height="150" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-76556">In the event the court refused to grant a delay to a hearing that will decide whether Dotcom and co-defendants Mathias Ortmann, Finn Batato and Bram van der Kolk should be sent to the United States to stand trial. The decision led to Dotcom&#8217;s lawyers applying for a judicial review.</p>
<p>This morning the parties were back in court yet again, arguing that a four-month delay is necessary in order for Dotcom and his associates to prepare their cases. Led by top lawyer Ron Mansfield, the High Court welcomed the German&#8217;s legal team to hearing set to last two days</p>
<p>At least for now, Dotcom&#8217;s <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/destitute-kim-dotcom-begs-high-court-for-millions-150226/">cash situation</a> doesn&#8217;t appear to be <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/u-s-government-wins-dozens-of-millions-from-kim-dotcom-150326/">hindering his defense</a>. According to <a href="http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/kim-dotcoms-lawyers-in-court-seeking-delay-2015042112#axzz3XvEjOCk2">3News</a> the German had a 10-strong legal team behind him this morning. The same could not be said about Megaupload co-defendant Finn Batato, however.</p>
<p><img src="media/f73a8106.batato.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/batato.jpg" alt="batato" width="200" height="124" class="alignright size-full wp-image-104609">A fellow German and former chief marketing officer at Megaupload, Batato arrived at the High Court this morning without a lawyer in tow. Famously <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf3bjKwwlMM">filmed</a> tearing around the Nürburgring circuit with Dotcom and racing driving Kimi Raikkonen, Batato told the court he would be representing himself.</p>
<p>After allowing Batato to move from the public gallery to sit among Dotcom&#8217;s lawyers, the Court heard that Batato had made an application for legal aid, a system of government funding designed to ensure people aren&#8217;t denied justice because they can&#8217;t afford a lawyer.</p>
<p>Grant Illingworth, QC, a 30-year legal veteran with more than 30 Court of Appeal cases under his belt, argued that the complexity of the extradition and Batato&#8217;s legal position meant that the hearing should be delayed.</p>
<p>&#8220;Mr Batato is waiting on a legal aid application. He has no lawyer and won&#8217;t have one unless legal aid is granted,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&#038;objectid=11436106">NZHerald</a>, Illingworth told the Court that not enough information had been supplied relating to how charges from the US matched with crimes under New Zealand law .</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re in a hopeless position as far as complying with the timetable&#8230; we can&#8217;t comply with it,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>If the appeal is successful it will be the fifth time that the extradition hearing has been delayed since the now-infamous Megaupload shutdown of 2012. In the meantime Dotcom awaits a decision on whether an undisclosed dangerous driving offense will <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-speeding-offense-could-lead-to-deportation-150416/">affect his residency </a>in New Zealand.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104615
title: Fate of Pirate Bay Domains Hang in the Balance
uri: Fate-of-Pirate-Bay-Domains-Hang-in-the-Balance
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/vS_irulA8Mk/
content:
<p><img src="media/5adb048c.IIS-SE.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/IIS-SE.jpg" width="191" height="112" class="alignright">Some of the key strategies employed by anti-piracy groups around the world involve attacking the infrastructures of so-called pirate sites.</p>
<p>Pressuring hosting companies to cut off sites is one of the oldest and perhaps easiest method of disrupting activities, but finding a new host &#8211; even for the most blatant of infringers &#8211; is usually countered in a few hours. It&#8217;s a nuisance, but one that can be handled relatively easily.</p>
<p>Blocking domains at the ISP level presents more of a problem for sites but actually seizing a domain or rendering it entirely useless really takes things to the next level. It&#8217;s a strategy being actively pursued in a number of cases, most recently by the RIAA in an important case against MP3Skull <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/major-record-labels-sue-mp3skull-150420/">reported here</a> yesterday.</p>
<p>Next week in a separate action, a Swedish court will be required to decide whether The Pirate Bay will be allowed to keep control of two of its most important domains. </p>
<p>ThePirateBay.se (the site&#8217;s main domain) and PirateBay.se (a lesser used alternative) are being targeted by Prosecutor Fredrik Ingblad, the man behind the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/swedish-police-raid-the-pirate-bay-site-offline-141209/">now-famous operation</a> that took the site down in December.</p>
<p>Filed back in 2013 at the District Court of Stockholm, the motion targets Punkt SE, the organization responsible for Sweden’s top level .SE domain.</p>
<p>Ingblad&#8217;s position is that since The Pirate Bay has been deemed an illegal site, its domain names are assisting in those crimes and should be subject to action, just like a tool used in any other crime</p>
<p>In a case against both the .SE registry and former Pirate Bay operator Fredrik Neij, Ingblad wants the Court to order the domains to be forfeited.</p>
<p>&#8220;That is, in practice, that the state should take them over, or at least that .SE should not rent them out again, Ingblad <a href="http://www.bt.se/sverige-varlden/piraten-som-vagrar-do/">says</a>.</p>
<p>In parallel The Pirate Bay is also facing its first web blocking action in Sweden. Last November, Universal Music, Sony Music, Warner Music, Nordisk Film and the Swedish Film Industry <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/copyright-holders-want-pirate-bay-blocked-in-sweden-141111/">filed a lawsuit</a> against Swedish service provider Bredbandsbolaget. The ISP <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/swedish-isp-refuses-to-block-the-pirate-bay-141217/">intends to fight</a> the demand.</p>
<p>In the meantime the blocking case is certainly one to watch, with Punkt SE CEO Danny Aerts framing the action as unique in Europe.</p>
<p>“There are no previous cases of states suing a registry for abetting criminal activity or breaching copyright law,” Aerts notes.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104325
title: Court: Google Can See Emails About MPAA’s Secret ‘SOPA Revival’
uri: Court-Google-Can-See-Emails-About-MPAA-s-Secret-SOPA-Revival
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/sBIygcDsmco/
content:
<p><img src="media/1286ec59.mailg.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/mailg.png" alt="mailg" width="222" height="168" class="alignright size-full wp-image-104625">In backroom meetings the MPAA and Mississippi State Attorney General Jim Hood <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/google-mpaa-publicly-slam-each-other-over-piracy-141219/">discussed</a> a plan to bring website blocking and search engine filtering back to the table after the controversial SOPA law failed to pass.</p>
<p>The plan, dubbed &#8220;<a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/12/7382287/project-goliath">Project Goliath</a>,&#8221; became public through various emails that were released during the Sony Pictures leaks. In a response Google said that it was “<a href="http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.nl/2014/12/the-mpaas-attempt-to-revive-sopa.html">deeply concerned</a>” about the developments.</p>
<p>To counter the looming threat Google filed a complaint against Hood last December, asking the court to prevent Hood from enforcing a subpoena that addresses Google’s failure to take down or block access to illegal content, including pirate sites.</p>
<p>This resulted in <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/google-mpaa-censorship-150303/">a victory for Google</a> with District Court Judge Henry Wingate putting the subpoena on hold. At the same time Google requested additional details from the Attorney General on his discussions with Hollywood. </p>
<p>During an oral hearing earlier this month Google requested various documents including an email conversation between MPAA&#8217;s Senior Vice President State Legislative Affairs Vans Stevenson and the Attorney General. </p>
<p>In addition, Google asked for copies of Word files titled <em>Google can take action</em>, <em>Google must change its behavior</em>, <em>Google’s illegal conduct</em>, <em>CDA</em>, and any documents gathered in response to a request <a href="https://www.muckrock.com/foi/mississippi-231/communications-between-mississippi-attorney-general-and-mpaa-15537/">previously submitted</a> by Techdirt&#8217;s Mike Masnick .</p>
<p>After a careful review District Court Judge Henry Wingate sided with Google, ordering Attorney General Hood to hand over the requested information before the end of the month.</p>
<p><center><strong>Judge Wingate&#8217;s order</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/d4a0f0c3.hoodorder.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/hoodorder.png" alt="hoodorder" width="600" height="488" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-104627"></center></p>
<p>The documents will help Google to get to the bottom of the censorship efforts and to determine what role the MPAA played and what its contributions were. </p>
<p>Various emails that leaked after the Sony hack already <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/12/7382287/project-goliath">revealed</a> that the MPAA&#8217;s long-standing law firm Jenner &#038; Block had drafted a subpoena and other communication the Attorney General could use against Google. </p>
<p>Many of the &#8220;Project Goliath&#8221; emails and documents are readily available after Wikileaks <a href="https://search.wikileaks.org/advanced?q=&#038;words_title_only=&#038;words_content_only=&#038;publication_type[]=26&#038;sort=0">released them</a> late last week, but nearly all details had already been made public after the leaks first surfaced. </p>
<p>Interestingly, in one email the MPAA&#8217;s Vans Stevenson linked to a New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/29/us/lobbyists-bearing-gifts-pursue-attorneys-general.html">piece</a> on how lobbyists court State Attorneys to advance their political agendas.</p>
<p>&#8220;FYI, first is a series of articles,&#8221; <a href="https://wikileaks.org/sony/emails/emailid/114252">Stevenson wrote</a> to several high level executives involved, not knowing that <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/17/technology/googles-critics-enlist-state-attorneys-general-in-their-fight.html">a follow-up</a> would include &#8220;Project Goliath.&#8221;</p>
<p>Perhaps <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/04/investigative-reporting-mpaas-sopa-revival-effort-wins-pulitzer">fittingly</a>, New York Times&#8217; journalist Eric Lipton <a href="http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2015-Investigative-Reporting">won a Pulitzer prize</a> for the series yesterday, for reporting &#8220;how the influence of lobbyists can sway congressional leaders and state attorneys general, slanting justice toward the wealthy and connected.&#8221;</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104654
title: Hollywood Anti-Piracy Initiative Requires a VPN Outside the U.S.
uri: Hollywood-Anti-Piracy-Initiative-Requires-a-VPN-Outside-the-U-S
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/FK-xLjKG4no/
content:
<p><img src="media/925ff127.wheretowatch.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/wheretowatch.png" width="236" height="134" class="alignright">At the same time as the Hollywood studios complain endlessly about piracy, the counter argument that they simply haven&#8217;t done enough to make content available legally online persists.</p>
<p>Without a similarly complex system of release windowing and geo-restriction, the music industry has largely overcome those obstacles. Meanwhile, however, Hollywood appears largely hamstrung by its own business model, leaving itself open to criticism that it hasn&#8217;t done enough to provide legal alternatives to torrent and streaming sites.</p>
<p>In an attempt to dispel claims that content simply isn&#8217;t available, the MPAA came up with WhereToWatch, a searchable database listing where movies and TV-shows can be watched legally. <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/fail-mpaa-makes-legal-content-unfindable-google-141122/">Due to poor coding</a> the site initially proved impossible for Google and Bing to index, a situation that has improved somewhat since last November.</p>
<p>Yesterday during a speech at CinemaCon, MPAA chief Chris Dodd again urged theater owners and customers alike to spread the word that in order in to protect the industry and its workers, consumers need to access content from legal resources. </p>
<p>&#8220;That’s why we at the MPAA created WhereToWatch.com – a one-stop shop, guiding your audiences to content quickly, simply, and – most importantly – legally. And if what they’re looking for is online, WhereToWatch.com will show which sites and at what prices that film is available,&#8221; Dodd said.</p>
<p>&#8220;On a broader level, this effort is also a crucial recognition of the changing technological landscape, and the need to continue evolving to meet the demands of our consumers,&#8221; he continued.</p>
<p>&#8220;That will mean finding new ways to enable audiences to see movies where and how they want, while maintaining the magic and unrivaled appeal of the theater-going experience that has been this industry’s driving force for well over a century.&#8221;</p>
<p>But while recognizing that consumers should be able to see content at a time and place of their choosing &#8211; a major complaint that has persisted for well over a decade &#8211; consumers wanting to find out where to watch that content legally are also faced with a dilemma.</p>
<p>Since its triumphant launch in November last year, the operators of WheretoWatch have now chosen to give it the same treatment that Hollywood bestows on its movies &#8211; by geo-restricting it.</p>
<p><img src="media/4411a896.wheretowatch1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/wheretowatch1.png" alt="wheretowatch" width="650" height="400" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-104658"></p>
<p>For the hundreds of millions of citizens outside the United States who are also expected to consume film and TV content legally, the above message is nothing less than they&#8217;ve come to expect. Free and equal access to content is not something the major studios and their distributors are good at, and that is now reflected by the very resource that former senator Dodd spent so long championing yesterday.</p>
<p>But never fear. Thanks to the wonders of tunneling technology, last evening TF was able to find a VPN exit node in Seattle that enabled us to sneak past the MPAA guard dogs. Once on WhereToWatch.com we were able to search for a number of films and find out where we could obtain them legally. The irony was headache inducing.</p>
<p>Overall it&#8217;s a ridiculous situation. The music industry largely managed to solve these issues years ago but for as long as users are forced to jump through hoops to obtain or even learn about the availability of legal content (not to mention waiting for extended periods, Australian style), piracy will persist.</p>
<p>And when other MPAA strategies such as site-blocking and &#8220;three strikes&#8221; systems are already being exported to all corners of the globe at huge expense, one has to wonder why the obvious solution isn&#8217;t being taken first.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104404
title: Game of Thrones Piracy Surges to New High
uri: Game-of-Thrones-Piracy-Surges-to-New-High
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/-e2MQZcC0UI/
content:
<p><img src="media/0bc92b46.got5.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/got5.jpg" alt="got5" width="250" height="168" class="alignright size-full wp-image-102724">More than a week after the opening episode of the new Game of Thrones season aired it&#8217;s evident that piracy is still rampant.</p>
<p>The good news for HBO is that the official broadcast broke <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-ratings-game-thrones-return-788658">ratings records</a>. However, pirated releases have also done the same.</p>
<p>TorrentFreak received some extensive data from media intelligence firm <a href="http://www.truoptik.com/game-of-thrones-S5-infographic">Tru Optik</a>, covering both public and private BitTorrent trackers. </p>
<p>With the <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/first-episodes-of-game-of-thrones-season-5-leak-online-150412/">four leaked episodes</a> and the &#8220;<a href="http://www.hbo.com/schedule/detail/Game+of+Thrones%3A+A+Day+in+the+Life/607218/780297">A Day in the Life</a>&#8221; documentary included, the company found that there were 32 million downloads across 18 million IP-addresses during the first week. </p>
<p>The first episode generated most interest and was downloaded over 13 million times, which is significantly more than last year. Interestingly, the data for the post broadcast torrent also shows that most downloaders grabbed high quality copies. </p>
<p>The 720p version was most popular with 43.5 percent of post broadcast downloads, followed by the 480p and 1080p copies with 35.1% and 31.4 percent respectively. </p>
<p>In part, this tendency towards high quality content can be explained by the fact that many fans of HD content skipped the lower  quality pre-release leak.</p>
<p><center>Image courtesy of <a href="http://www.truoptik.com/game-of-thrones-S5-infographic">Tru Optik</a><br></br></center><center><img src="media/c62faec2.GOTqual.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/GOTqual.jpg" alt="GOTqual" width="600" height="146" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-104669"></center></p>
<p>Looking at countries from where the downloads were actioned we see that the United States comes out on top. More than 10 percent came from the U.S. followed by France, Brazil, China, Russia, UK, India, Canada, Australia and Spain. </p>
<p>Australia has the most downloaders per capita from that list, and it also has a relatively high piracy ratio compared to legal views. </p>
<p>Of all &#8216;viewers&#8217; in Australia during the first three days, 32 percent are pirates. In the U.S. the rates are much lower at 8 percent, and the UK and Canada are in the middle with 22 and 19 percent respectively. </p>
<p><figure id="attachment_104670" style="width: 250px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img src="media/c622a09c.gotcountries.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/gotcountries.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Tru Optik" width="250" height="156" class="size-full wp-image-104670"><figcaption id="figcaption_attachment_104670" class="wp-caption-text">Image courtesy of Tru Optik</figcaption></figure>Commenting on the findings, Tru Optik notes that there are a lot of potential customers out there, if HBO can connect with them.  </p>
<p>&#8220;In the US alone, nearly one million consumers downloaded Episode 1, which translates to $44 million in unmonetized demand potential if each of these viewers subscribed to HBO Now for the 3-month duration of GoT Season 5.&#8221; </p>
<p>&#8220;Many of these viewers are prime prospects for unbundled services like HBO Now,&#8221; the company adds.</p>
<p>Over the past three years Game of Thrones has been the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/most-pirated-tv-show-of-2014-141225/">most pirated TV-show</a>. Based on the number of downloads over the past week, the same result will be achieved in 2015.</p>
<p>Now let&#8217;s see if they can break the &#8220;<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/game-thrones-season-finale-sets-piracy-record-140616/">quarter million&#8221; swarm record</a> of last year&#8217;s season finale. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104750
title: KickassTorrents Moves to Isle of Man Domain Name
uri: KickassTorrents-Moves-to-Isle-of-Man-Domain-Name
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/bDrJAWnkVRM/
content:
<p><img src="media/2279eece.kickasstorrents_500x5001-300x300.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001-300x300.png" alt="kickasstorrents_500x500" width="200" height="200" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-99785">With millions of unique visitors per day KickassTorrents (KAT) has become the <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">most-used torrent site</a> on the Internet, even beating the almighty Pirate Bay. </p>
<p>Over the years KAT has moved from domain to domain on a few occasions. First to evade law enforcement and pressure from the entertainment industries, and later as a yearly &#8216;<a href="http://torrentfreak.com/kickasstorrents-moves-kickass-so-domain-name-141117/">tradition</a>.&#8217; </p>
<p>Continuing this domain shuffle the site moved to the Somalian .so TLD earlier this year, but this domain name was soon <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/kickasstorrents-taken-domain-name-seizure-150209/">suspended</a> forcing the site to switch back to Kickass.to.</p>
<p>Starting today, KAT is redirecting to yet another domain name. The site is now serving its pages from the Isle of Man TLD <a href="http://kickasstorrents.im">KickassTorrents.im</a>. </p>
<p>Wondering whether the site may have run into issues with the .to registry we contacted the KAT team for further details. We were told that the change was &#8220;planned&#8221; and not a response to any registry problems. </p>
<p>&#8220;The domain name change is a planned move which KickassTorrents does every six months. Nothing special,&#8221; the KAT team tells TF.</p>
<p>The.to domain name is currently redirecting and remains available, so the site can switch back if needed.</p>
<p>The site&#8217;s operators gave no particular reason why they chose the .im domain name, or if it&#8217;s considered a safe haven. </p>
<p>Commenting on the prominent move, the <a href="https://www.nic.im/home.mth">IM Registry</a> informs us that they can&#8217;t respond to individual cases. The registry doesn&#8217;t suspend or terminate domain names proactively. Instead, possible <a href="http://www.nic.im/public/disputeresolution.mth">disputes</a> are reviewed by a representative of the local Government.</p>
<p>However, the organization stresses that it has a &#8220;zero tolerance&#8221; policy regarding copyright infringement.</p>
<p>&#8220;&#8230; each case is reviewed separately by the Designated Official within the Isle of Man Government. It should be noted though that we have a zero tolerance policy on copyright infringement,&#8221; a IM Registry spokesperson says.</p>
<p>Potential registry troubles aside, in the short-term the domain change will also have positive consequences in terms of accessibility. For example, the site will become accessible again in most countries where it has been blocked previously. </p>
<p>In addition all the URLs that were blocked by Google through DMCA notices, <a href="http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/removals/copyright/search/?q=kickass.to">nearly 2 million</a>, will become accessible again under the new domain. This also means that Google&#8217;s <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/googles-new-downranking-hits-pirate-sites-hard-141023/">new downranking algorithm</a> will be bypassed, at least for a while. </p>
<p>In recent months many &#8220;pirate&#8221; sites have lost a significant amount of traffic due to Google&#8217;s new anti-piracy algorithm. So it&#8217;s not unlikely that we will see more regular domain name rotations in the future.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104704
title: Cinema Staff Catch Movie Cammers, Pick Up Cash Rewards
uri: Cinema-Staff-Catch-Movie-Cammers-Pick-Up-Cash-Rewards
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/JcW1bPzw2Lg/
content:
<p><img src="media/bfbc3855.cammer1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cammer1.jpg" width="210" height="122" class="alignright">While the Internet provides an unrivaled distribution mechanism for illicit digital goods, cinemas themselves are often depicted as the front line against pre-release piracy.</p>
<p>Just as the latest blockbusters air for the first time to an eager public, in their midst are individuals who aim to record movies and place them online for the enjoyment of others. And even as discerning consumers seek out pristine high-definition content, third-rate &#8216;cammed&#8217; copies of movies are still gobbled up online.</p>
<p>In an effort to mitigate the number of titles that end up on the Internet from UK sources, the Hollywood-funded Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) promotes the Take Action initiative. In place since 2006, this anti-piracy scheme is funded by UK film distributors via the Film Distributors’ Association (FDA) and encourages local cinema staff to catch &#8216;cammers&#8217; in the act.</p>
<p>In its latest report, FACT says that staff from four of the UK&#8217;s largest cinema chains &#8211; Cineworld, Odeon, Vue and Showcase cinemas &#8211; stepped in during the past six months to interrupt those suspected of recording movies including The Hunger Games, Fifty Shades of Grey and The Theory of Everything.</p>
<p>In all 11 cinema employees were involved in a total of 11 incidents. Police reportedly attended on all occasions, leading to four cautions and three arrests.</p>
<p><img src="media/785f2f15.cambusters1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cambusters1.jpg" alt="cambusters" width="230" height="153" class="alignright size-full wp-image-104728">For their efforts the cinema staff pictured right were invited to a ceremony hosted by Universal Pictures where they were presented with certificates and cash rewards. The precise amounts aren&#8217;t being released but for the period the maximum is £500 per person.</p>
<p>However, FACT now reports that for a limited time more money is on the table. Any cinema staff who prevent and report unauthorized recording between 20th April and 30th June 2015 can expect to get paid a maximum of £1000.</p>
<p>“FACT’s strategy, funded by the film distributors and put into action by cinema staff across the UK, seeks to identify and prevent the initial recording that seeds piracy globally,&#8221; says FACT Director General Kieron Sharp.</p>
<p>&#8220;We continue to work together with UK cinema operators to support the success of the cinema experience and to allow continued investment by FACT’s members in exciting entertainment for all audiences.”</p>
<p>Despite the successes, the number of incidents in the current reporting period is up on the previous set of figures published last year.</p>
<p>Stats released in September 2014 reveal that there were seven &#8220;incidents&#8221;, all of which were attended by the police. In five incidents the alleged cammers accepted police cautions, with just one incident leading to an arrest. Nine cinema staff picked up rewards.</p>
<p>During the reporting period April 2013 to December 2013, a dozen alleged cammers of major movies were spotted in UK cinemas resulting in five arrests but no prosecutions. A total of 15 cinema workers picked up rewards.</p>
<p>Although groups like FACT have a vested interest in publicizing the <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/fast-furious-6-pirate-sentenced-33-months-prison-140821/">negative fates</a> of alleged cammers, those with less than favorable outcomes are largely avoided. The most recent involved the November 2013 arrest and early 2014 trial of a man accused of attempting the world&#8217;s first in-cinema 3D recording of the movie Gravity. It didn&#8217;t go well.</p>
<p>The case <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/student-not-guilty-in-first-3d-movie-piracy-case-150114/">fell apart</a>, with the judge commenting that &#8220;It ought to have been absolutely clear there was no legal basis for it.&#8221; Although the defendant, a Birmingham-based student, did enter a cinema with camera equipment, he did not record a moment of the film. Nevertheless, he was reported by cinema staff who called in the police. It&#8217;s not clear whether any reward was paid in that case.</p>
<p>Also of interest is a December 2014 <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/uk-cinema-calls-police-on-kids-with-iphones-over-piracy-concerns-141223/">incident</a> when staff at a Cineworld cinema dialed the national 999 emergency number after spotting a group of 12-year-old girls with iPhones and iPads at a showing of The Hunger Games, a movie mentioned in the most current rewards report.</p>
<p>After a police search at the scene turned up nothing incriminating the girls were allowed back in. However, the teens waited outside, reportedly in tears, until their parents came to pick them up. It is not clear whether any cinema staff were given a reward for this incident either.</p>
<p>While a little extra cash will no doubt be welcomed by some cinema staff and effective hindering of real pirates greatly appreciated by the studios, there is always a risk that the money available will cloud judgement. Nevertheless, police seem ever more willing to get involved.</p>
<p>Documents previously obtained by TorrentFreak revealed that in 2008 there were 50 UK camming incidents, with police attending on just two occasions. If current figures are to be believed, in today&#8217;s climate they are almost guaranteed to respond.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104818
title: Pirate Bay’s Peter Sunde Kills NSA-Proof Messenger App
uri: Pirate-Bay-s-Peter-Sunde-Kills-NSA-Proof-Messenger-App
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/rtCF6qUQj-o/
content:
<p><img src="media/cb31e765.hemlis-logo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/hemlis-logo.jpg" alt="hemlis-logo" width="190" height="137" class="alignright size-full wp-image-104830">During the summer of 2013 the Internet was abuzz with the revelations of Edward Snowden. The PRISM scandal exploded and suddenly everyone had confirmation that everything they do online can be stored and monitored on a staggering scale.</p>
<p>As a direct result of this massive privacy breach, people around the world became motivated to fight back against what has developed into one of the biggest technology scandals of recent times.</p>
<p>One of those groups consisted of former Pirate Bay spokesman Peter Sunde, who together with friends and Flattr allies Linus Olsson and Leif Högberg began <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-founder-announces-encrypted-nsa-proof-communication-apps-130710/">working on Hemlis</a>, a messaging app for both iOS and Android. The aim of the game was for Hemlis (&#8216;secret&#8217; in Swedish) to provide absolute secrecy, with only the sender and recipient able to read messages &#8211; not middle men like prying governments.</p>
<p>“People act differently if they think someone is listening in to their conversation. That’s what Stasi taught us for instance. It’s one of many reasons why privacy is so vital,” Sunde told TF at the time.</p>
<p>But with hundreds of news articles behind them and the two-year anniversary of the project&#8217;s birth just around the corner, the Hemlis team have now delivered the ultimate in bad news.</p>
<p>&#8220;Lately we have been awfully quiet. The reasons are many, sad and non important right now. They have though made this project drag along and that made us understand a thing we feared for quite a while but neglected to accept. New messengers fail miserably,&#8221; the team said in a statement.</p>
<p>&#8220;Each new attempt has made us understand that our goal of creating a mass market messenger just based on the fact that it is private, secure and beautiful, is not nearly enough. As the only reason we are doing this is to give you viable huge scale alternative to the existing systems there is really only one thing to do at this stage. Accept our current roadmap and goals as defunct.&#8221;</p>
<p>While there were many reasons for the project to succeed, the challenges faced by the Hemlis team proved insurmountable.</p>
<p>At least initially, financing wasn&#8217;t a problem, with around $150,000 raised via a short crowd-funding campaign. Then disaster struck when around $30,000 disappeared after a bitcoin wallet was stolen from Hemlis&#8217; bitcoin supplier. Keeping up with the budgets of the competition also took its toll.</p>
<p>&#8220;We decided to hire some people to help us out with the things we are not experts in. The process was slow and hit with lots of realizations that certain things would not work. The ideas were too complex and sometimes just too expensive,&#8221; Peter Sunde explains.</p>
<p>&#8220;We had a lot of money, but far away [from] the same amount (we’re talking millions or billions) that our competitors had access to&#8230; They’ve had more progress and financial support so they could speed up their process to the level that they’re now really good. Better than our messaging app could become right now. Ok, they’re missing on features but they have the ability and cash to resolve those issues. And our goal was always to ensure that the everyday users would be protected.&#8221;</p>
<p>But financial and technical issues aside, personal issues also played a big part in the project&#8217;s demise.</p>
<p>&#8220;In the middle of it all one of our team members got a kid and had to focus on that of course. I personally had other issues as I <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-founder-peter-sunde-arrested-sweden-140531/">got kidnapped</a> by the Swedish government and locked up for my work with another project – The Pirate Bay. In the middle of the kidnapping, my <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/humanity-peter-sunde-attends-funeral-without-handcuffs-140920/">father died</a>,&#8221; Sunde <a href="http://blog.brokep.com/2015/04/22/update-on-heml-is/">explains</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;I had no way of working on anything, and I’ve had a hard time with how I personally need to handle things. This project – as well as the other projects I’m involved in – were hit massively by my absence. And they still are, since I have not been able to get 100% on my feet yet. I’m getting there but just as with other things, it takes a lot of time.&#8221;</p>
<p>A few weeks ago Sunde said the team took a step back to assess its position. While decent apps for both iOS and Android exist semi-completed, Hemlis is far from a market-ready product. More time and money would be need to be pumped in for it to succeed.</p>
<p>&#8220;We decided that we could go two ways. We could ask for more money (a lot), either from the community or some investors. Or we could close down. Since we already got money from the community with way too little to show back from the expectations that felt wrong,&#8221; Sunde explains.</p>
<p>&#8220;And we don’t think that it would be a good idea to ask investors for money since we’d lose control over the project. So in the end, closing it down felt like the least bad thing to do.&#8221;</p>
<p>While many supporters of the project are supportive of the brave decision to close Hemlis down, others have been more critical. Some, having pumped money into the project and received nothing, are downright angry. Nevertheless, one of the big takeaways is that in some shape or form, Heml.is will be handed back to its backers.</p>
<p>&#8220;We’ll release the usable parts of the code as free software with the most free license we can. It belongs to the community (and the community paid for it),&#8221; Sunde says, adding that there may be other ways to achieve similar aims.</p>
<p>&#8220;I’m personally trying to influence people and politicians to make sure we don’t need systems like Heml.is. We should be protected by the governments instead of trying to protect ourselves from them. It’s a multi-angle attack needed, technology, political work and transparency,&#8221; Sunde concludes.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104696
title: Pirate Bay Blockade Censors CloudFlare Customers
uri: Pirate-Bay-Blockade-Censors-CloudFlare-Customers
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/ulQfH-qbRkI/
content:
<p><img src="media/4a535cc9.cloudflare.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cloudflare.png" alt="cloudflare" width="275" height="188" class="alignright size-full wp-image-96401">Like any form of censorship web blockades can sometime lead to overblocking, targeting perfectly legitimate websites by mistake. </p>
<p>This is also happening in the UK where Sky&#8217;s blocking technology is inadvertently blocking sites that have nothing to do with piracy. </p>
<p>In addition to blocking domain names, Sky also blocks IP-addresses. This allows the site to <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/secure-pirate-bay-unblocked-by-most-uk-isps-150316/">stop https connections</a> to The Pirate Bay and its proxies, but when IP-addresses are shared with random other sites they&#8217;re blocked too. </p>
<p>This is happening to various customers of the CDN service <a href="https://www.cloudflare.com/">CloudFlare</a>, which is used by many sites on the UK blocklist. Every now and then this causes legitimate sites to be blocked, such as CloudFlare customers who shared an IP-address with Pirate Bay proxy ilikerainbows.co.uk.</p>
<p>Although the domain is merely a redirect to <a href="https://ilikerainbows.co/">ilikerainbows.co</a>, it&#8217;s <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/uk-isps-quietly-block-lists-of-pirate-bay-proxies-150310/">listed in Sky&#8217;s blocking system</a> along with several CloudFlare IP-addresses. Recently, the CDN service received complaints from users about the issue and alerted the proxy owner. </p>
<p>&#8220;It has come to our attention that your website &#8212; ilikerainbows.co.uk &#8212; is causing CloudFlare IPs to be blocked by SkyB, an ISP located in the UK. This is impacting other CloudFlare customers,&#8221; CloudFlare wrote.</p>
<p>The CDN service asked the proxy site to resolve the matter with Sky, or else it would remove the site from the network after 24 hours.</p>
<p>&#8220;If this issue does not get resolved with SkyB though we will need to route your domain off CloudFlare&#8217;s network as it is currently impacting other CloudFlare customers due to these blocked IP addresses.&#8221;</p>
<p><center><img src="media/87f6094e.cfemail.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cfemail.png" alt="cfemail" width="569" height="342" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-104701"></center></p>
<p>The operator of the &#8220;Rainbows&#8221; TPB proxy was surprised by Sky&#8217;s overbroad blocking techniques, but also by CloudFlare&#8217;s response. Would CloudFlare also kick out sites that are blocked in other countries where censorship is common?</p>
<p>&#8220;What do they do when Russia starts blocking sites under their system? Are they going to kick users off CloudFlare because there&#8217;s a Putin meme that the Russians don&#8217;t like?&#8221; Rainbows’ operator tells TF.</p>
<p>Instead of waiting for the domain to be switched off by CloudFlare he reverted it back to the domain registrar&#8217;s forwarding services. The main .co domain still uses CloudFlare&#8217;s services though, as does the official Pirate Bay site.</p>
<p>This is <a href="http://helpforum.sky.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?allow_punctuation=true&#038;filter=labels%2Clocation&#038;location=forum-board%3Aarchived-discussions&#038;q=cloudflare+blocked">not the first time</a> that CloudFlare customers have been blocked by mistake. Earlier this year the same thing happened to sites that shared an IP-address with The Pirate Bay. At the time we contacted Sky, who informed us that they do all they can to limit collateral damage.</p>
<p>“We have a process in place to monitor requested site blocks to limit the chances of inadvertently blocking sites, and in addition to this if we are advised by a site owner or Sky customer that a site is being inadvertently blocked we take the necessary steps to remove any unintended blocks,&#8221; a Sky spokeswoman said.</p>
<p>In addition to Sky we also contacted CloudFlare about the issue multiple times this year, but the company has yet to reply to our inquiries. </p>
<p>It&#8217;s clear though that despite cheers from copyright holders, website blocking is not all rainbows and unicorns. Without any significant change to Sky&#8217;s blocking setup, more of these inadvertent blocks are bound to happen in the future. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104840
title: KickassTorrents Domain Seized Within 24 Hours, Next Stop .CR
uri: KickassTorrents-Domain-Seized-Within-24-Hours-Next-Stop-CR
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/V_uDwXcBrLU/
content:
<p><img src="media/2279eece.kickasstorrents_500x5001-300x300.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kickasstorrents_500x5001-300x300.png" alt="kickasstorrents_500x500" width="200" height="200" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-99785">Since KickassTorrents (KAT) became the most visited torrent site on the Internet, various anti-piracy groups have been keeping a close eye on the site&#8217;s movements. </p>
<p>So when the KAT team announced a <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/kickasstorrents-moves-to-isle-of-man-domain-name-150423/">move to the new KickassTorrents.im domain</a> yesterday, it&#8217;s likely that several copyright holders sprang into action.</p>
<p>The new domain belongs to the Isle of Man authorities and wasn&#8217;t an ideal choice for the torrent site since the local registry employs a “zero tolerance” policy towards copyright infringement. </p>
<p>Just a few hours after the switch the domain was taken down, forcing the KAT team to prepare a new move, this time to the Costa Rican .cr TLD. </p>
<p>&#8220;We have been seized by the Isle of Man domain registry. The new domain will be Kat.cr,&#8221; KAT admin Mr. Pink informs TF, adding that the new <a href="http://kat.cr">kat.cr</a> domain is expected to go live soon. </p>
<p>It&#8217;s unclear if any copyright holder group or groups filed an official dispute, but the IM Registry confirms that the site violates its terms.</p>
<p>&#8220;The domain was in breach of the .im rules and has accordingly been revoked. I cannot correspond any further in relation to this domain name,&#8221; an IM registry spokesperson tells TF.</p>
<p>The KAT team wasn&#8217;t completely unprepared and has several domain names in reserve just in case. And so the Whac-a-Mole continues for now, until the site docks in a safe haven. </p>
<p>While the Isle of Man registry was quick to take action, others including the Icelandic .IS and the Swedish .SE registry will not revoke any domain names without a court order. </p>
<p>TF reached out to the .CR registry to find out what their policies are regarding domain name revocations, but at the time of publication we were yet to receive a response (update: response added below).</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> Kat.cr is now up and running. </p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> The .CR registry informs us that they do not screen the content of websites proactively. &#8220;NIC Costa Rica, like most of the registries does not regulate the content of the pages under .cr,&#8221; a spokesperson informed us.</p>
<p>The registry does reserve the right to revoke domain names <a href="https://www.nic.cr/en/policies/6?language=en">under certain conditions</a>, when it receives a local or international court order for example.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104891
title: BitTorrent Inc. Lays Off Close to a Third of its Workforce
uri: BitTorrent-Inc-Lays-Off-Close-to-a-Third-of-its-Workforce
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/D6Ki9-1YJEc/
content:
<p><img src="media/0fe14042.bittorrent-new-logo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/bittorrent-new-logo.jpg" alt="bittorrent-new-logo" width="200" height="120" class="alignright size-full wp-image-30205">During the past few years BitTorrent Inc. has grown at a surprising rate, taking on increasing numbers of employees to fill various roles at the expanding company.</p>
<p>On Thursday, however, things took a turn for the worse. Rumors began to spread that BitTorrent Inc. had laid off dozens of staff in its biggest shake up <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-fires-20-of-its-employees-080806/">since 2008</a>, yet no official statement was forthcoming from the company.</p>
<p>Then on Friday two separate sources, at least one of whom was a former employee at the San Franciso-based company, revealed the scale of the layoffs.</p>
<p>&#8220;About 40-45 people in their US office just got laid off which represents a large percentage of the US workforce,&#8221; one of the sources revealed. Another described the cutting of &#8220;around a third&#8221; of an estimated 150 U.S.-based employees.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Ads team has been gutted as have several other groups &#8211; more development work is being sent to the BitTorrent team in Minsk. Only one person from senior management was let go, as is often the case in these types of things,&#8221; an insider told TF.</p>
<p>In comments to Buzzfeed, BitTorrent Inc. put a positive spin on events, describing the layoffs as a &#8220;realignment&#8221; of the business.</p>
<p>“We’ve recently realigned resources based on a regular evaluation of the business,” a spokesperson <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/johnpaczkowski/big-layoffs-at-bittorrent#.mkzQJ3E9o">said</a>. “Regrettably, this did include some employee departures. The business however, remains healthy, profitable and growing.”</p>
<p>A source close to the company painted a slightly different picture, however.</p>
<p>&#8220;The whole point is to save money and to try and return the company to profitability since it expanded its headcount way too fast and based on very unrealistic revenue projections. The morale, as you can imagine, is pretty low just now,&#8221; the source said.</p>
<p>One person presumed to be safe is Christian Averill, who was <a href="http://www.prweek.com/article/1341960/bittorrent-promotes-averill-vp-global-communications-brand">promoted</a> to Vice President, Communications &#038; Brand last month.</p>
<p>&#8220;My efforts will be focused on having our brands such as Bundle and Sync stand on their own and have a strong mind share in the market,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>Averill&#8217;s promotion suggests that BitTorrent intends to continue efforts to put <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-sync-1-4-140826/">Sync</a> and its <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-inc-now-allows-all-artists-to-get-paid-141118/">content distribution deals</a> front and center of its business. Meanwhile, its uTorrent and BitTorrent clients will continue to generate most of the company&#8217;s revenues.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104879
title: EZTV Domain Name Falls Into New Hands
uri: EZTV-Domain-Name-Falls-Into-New-Hands
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/X_itcnVgNpU/
content:
<p><img src="media/a9c13900.eztv-logo-small1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/eztv-logo-small1.png" alt="eztv-logo-small" width="191" height="80" class="alignright size-full wp-image-99927"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EZTV">EZTV</a>, the go-to place for many torrenting TV fans, has suffered its fair share of troubles in recent months.</p>
<p>In January the group <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/eztv-ditches-it-domain-after-italian-intervention-150115/">lost its .it domain name</a>, which was then taken over by <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/eztv-impostors-hope-to-cash-in-on-eztv-it-150403/">impostors</a> in March.</p>
<p>The torrent distribution group meanwhile continued to operate from the new EZTV.ch domain name, but during the past few hours this new home went through some changes as well.</p>
<p>Instead of hosting official EZTV torrents the .CH domain now links to the same content as the &#8216;unofficial&#8217; EZTV.it site. While there are plenty of TV-torrents available, these are sourced externally from RARBG.</p>
<p>And there are more signs pointing to a takeover. Users are not able to login for example, and the scam warning that was previously listed on the .ch domain in gone as well. In addition the site now serves various ads including popunders.</p>
<p>Upon close inspection it appears that the domain name was taken over at the registrar level. The WHOIS information was updated and now lists the UK-based &#8220;EZCLOUD LIMITED&#8221; as owner, which is the same company that registered the .it domain.</p>
<p>TF reached out to ETZV&#8217;s Novaking to find out more about the apparent takeover, but we have yet to receive a reply. EZCLOUD director Hernandez Dominguez Emmanuel hasn&#8217;t responded to our inquiries either.</p>
<p><em>Breaking news, more updates may follow.</em></p>
<p><center><img src="media/ca7a3d50.eztvdomain.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/eztvdomain.png" alt="eztvdomain" width="556" height="266" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-104881"></center></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104810
title: New Russian Anti-Piracy Law Could Block Sites “Forever”
uri: New-Russian-Anti-Piracy-Law-Could-Block-Sites-Forever
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/F9F5M2fOQJs/
content:
<p><img src="media/2f9e6cf4.pirate-card.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/pirate-card.jpg" width="250" height="210" class="alignright">Following massive pressure from both local and international rightsholders, 21 months ago Russia took steps to improve its reputation of going soft on piracy.</p>
<p>On August 1, 2013, the country introduced a brand new intellectual property law which provided a mechanism through which sites could be blocked by intermediaries should they not comply with rightsholder takedown requests within 72 hours.</p>
<p>A year later telecoms watchdog Roscomnadzor revealed that during the law&#8217;s first year of operation the Moscow City Court imposed preliminary interim injunctions against 175 sites following copyright complaints. It went on to block just 12 file-sharing domains for being unresponsive to takedowns, many of them BitTorrent trackers.</p>
<p>With complaints from copyright holders continuing to mount, Russia decided to make further amendments to the legislation. Initially only video content was covered by the law but with an expansion scheduled for May 1, 2015, all multimedia content (photographs excluded) will receive protection. Furthermore, the law also amends the provisions on preliminary injunctions.</p>
<p>Although it remains unclear how the new system will work in practice, the theory is that intermediaries (ISPs and webhosts) can be ordered by the Court to permanently block websites that continually host or provide access to infringing content. At least at this early stage it appears to be the kind of system U.S. copyright holders are pushing for elsewhere, one in which content that is taken down, stays down.</p>
<p>With the new law just over a week away, State Duma Deputy Speaker Sergei Zheleznyak has been underlining the legislation&#8217;s reach.</p>
<p>&#8220;The anti-piracy legislation that created the ability to block access to sites that distribute copyright-infringing films and TV shows entered into force on 1 August 2013. On May 1, 2015 amendments to the Act will come into force that apply to music, books and software,&#8221; Zheleznyak says.</p>
<p>&#8220;This development will mean that the systematic violation of intellectual property rights will result in sites providing access to stolen content being blocked forever.&#8221;</p>
<p>Putting operators of torrent and similar sites on notice, Zheleznyak issued a stern warning.</p>
<p>&#8220;I would like to warn those who are still abusing piracy: you have until May 1 to try to and enter into constructive dialogue with rightsholders. They are open to cooperation,&#8221; he <a href="https://news.mail.ru/politics/21820743">said</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;Our common goal is to ensure that all work is adequately rewarded and that the benefit from successful books, music and wonderful computer programs is enjoyed by those who created them, and not those who stole them. If [site owners] are not interested in legal business, the response of the state will become quite obvious.&#8221;</p>
<p>Russia&#8217;s first attempt at site blocking legislation failed to produce the apocalyptic conclusion many predicted. Only time will tell what the results of these latest tweaks will mean for local sites.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104768
title: Leaked Piracy Report Details Fascinating Camcording Investigations
uri: Leaked-Piracy-Report-Details-Fascinating-Camcording-Investigations
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/o9N8-JG3VG0/
content:
<p><img src="media/3d881413.spy.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/spy.jpg" alt="spy" width="200" height="177" class="alignright size-full wp-image-39770">This week the UK&#8217;s Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) released its <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/cinema-staff-catch-movie-cammers-pick-up-cash-rewards-150423/">latest report</a> detailing the rewards presented to cinema workers who disrupt so-called movie &#8220;cammers&#8221;. FACT is the main group to release this kind of report and no equivalent is regularly made available from any other English speaking countries.</p>
<p>While the insight is useful to build a picture of &#8220;anti-camming&#8221; activity in the UK, FACT is obviously selective about the information it releases. While big successes receive maximum publicity, relative failures tend to be brushed under the carpet. Something else the group would like to keep a secret are presentations made to Sony Pictures in 2010, but thanks to a <a href="https://wikileaks.org/sony/docs/">trove of leaked emails</a> that is no longer possible.</p>
<p>The presentation begins with FACT stating that it&#8217;s the &#8220;best known and most respected industry enforcement body of its kind in the UK&#8221; and one that has forged &#8220;excellent relationships with &#8220;public enforcement agencies and within the criminal justice system&#8221;.</p>
<p><img src="media/4120c7df.fact1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/fact1.png" alt="fact1" width="650" height="365" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-104776"></p>
<p>FACT goes on to give Sony several examples of situations in which it has been involved in information exercises sharing with the authorities. The exact details aren&#8217;t provided, but somewhat surprisingly FACT says they include murder, kidnap and large-scale missing persons investigations.</p>
<p>But perhaps of most interest are the details of how the group pursues those who illegally &#8216;cam&#8217; and then distribute movies online. The presentation focuses on the &#8220;proven&#8221; leak of five movies in 2010, the total from UK cinemas for that year.</p>
<p><strong>Vue Cinemas, North London</strong></p>
<p>First up are &#8216;cams&#8217; of Alice in Wonderland and Green Zone that originated from a Vue Cinema in North London. Noting that both movies had been recorded on their first day using an iPhone (one during a quiet showing, the other much more busy), the presentation offers infra-red photographic evidence of the suspect recording the movies.</p>
<p><center><br>
<h5>Alice in Wonderland camming</h5>
<p></center><img src="media/1c03da61.fact-3.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/fact-3.png" alt="fact-3" width="650" height="400" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-104790"></p>
<p><center><br>
<h5>Green Zone camming</h5>
<p></center><img src="media/26211d05.fact-2.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/fact-2.png" alt="fact-2" width="650" height="401" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-104789"></p>
<p><strong>Cineworld &#8211; Glasgow</strong></p>
<p>The documentation behind this Scotland-based investigation is nothing short of fascinating. FACT determined that their suspect was the holder of a Cineworld Unlimited pass which at the time he had used 14 times.</p>
<p>On three occasions the suspect had viewed the movie Kick-Ass, including on the opening day. The &#8216;cammed&#8217; copy that leaked online came from that viewing. The suspect also viewed Clash of the Titans, with a camcorded version later appearing online from that session. The man also attended three Iron Man 2 viewings at times which coincided with watermarks present on the online &#8216;cammed&#8217; copies.</p>
<p>Working in collaboration with the cinema, FACT then obtained CCTV footage of the man approaching a cash desk.</p>
<p><img src="media/bc6d1775.fact-4.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/fact-4.png" alt="fact-4" width="650" height="364" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-104795"></p>
<p><strong>Putting it all together</strong></p>
<p>The most interesting document in the entire presentation is without doubt FACT&#8217;s investigative chart. It places the holder of the Cineworld Unlimited pass together with a woman found as a friend on his Facebook page. Described as IC1 (police code for white/caucasian), FACT note that the pair attended the Cineworld Cinema together on at least one occasion.</p>
<p>The unnamed female is listed at a property in Glasgow and from there things begin to unravel. An IP address connected with that residence uploaded a copy of Kick-Ass which was later made available by an online release group. The leader of that group was found to have communicated with the unknown cammer of the movie but who FACT strongly suspected to be the man in the images taken at the cinema. He was later arrested and confessed to his crimes.</p>
<p><img src="media/8ed4ad93.fact-5.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/fact-5.png" alt="fact-5" width="650" height="358" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-104797"></p>
<p>The full document provides a fascinating insight into FACT&#8217;s operations, not only in camming mitigation but also in bringing down websites. Another notable chart shows the operations of an unnamed &#8220;video streaming&#8221; site. </p>
<p><img src="media/98803bf8.fact-6.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/fact-6.png" alt="fact-6" width="650" height="365" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-104800"></p>
<p>While no names are mentioned, a later edition of the same presentation blanks out key details, suggesting a level of sensitivity. However, after examining the chart it appears likely that it refers to Surf the Channel, the site <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/surfthechannel-owner-sentenced-to-four-years-in-jail-120814/">previously run</a> by Anton Vickerman.</p>
<p>Considering the depth and presentation of the above investigations it will come as no surprise to most that many FACT investigators are former police officers. For the curious, the full document can be found <a href="media/7ecbcd2c.FACT20PRESENTATION20MAY201020highly20confidential.pdf" data-original-source="https://wikileaks.org/sony/docs/05/docs/Anti-Piracy/FACT%20PRESENTATION%20MAY%2010%20highly%20confidential.pdf">here on Wikileaks</a>.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104821
title: Experts Urge Canada to Stop Threatening Piracy Notices
uri: Experts-Urge-Canada-to-Stop-Threatening-Piracy-Notices
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/AxAgOVdL-vc/
content:
<p><img src="media/f2bfe741.pirate-running.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/pirate-running.jpg" alt="pirate-running" width="222" height="204" class="alignright size-full wp-image-78717">Due to a recent change i Canada’s copyright law, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/canadian-isps-vpns-now-alert-pirating-customers-150102/">ISPs are now required</a> to forward copyright infringement notices to their customers.</p>
<p>As a result, hundreds of thousands of Internet subscribers have received warnings in their mailboxes since the start of the year, with some asking for cash settlements.</p>
<p>The so-called notice-and-notice system aims to reduce local piracy rates but this hasn&#8217;t been without controversy. From the start, copyright holders have <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/canadian-piracy-notices-from-benign-to-ridiculous-150109/">taken advantage of the system</a> to send subscribers settlement offers, or threaten them with inaccurate legal penalties.</p>
<p>Hoping to fix these &#8216;abuses&#8217; copyright experts and advocacy groups have this week written a letter to Canada&#8217;s Minister of Industry, James Moore.</p>
<p>Signed by the University of Ottawa, OpenMedia, Project Gutenberg Canada, Consumers Council of Canada, Electronic Frontier Foundation and many others, the letter warns over abuse while proposing several changes.</p>
<p>&#8220;As we feared, copyright trolls have in fact taken advantage of the Notice and Notice system to ramp up their abusive practices in Canada,&#8221; the groups write to the Minister.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have seen notices claiming infringement of foreign law, misrepresenting the scope of damages recipients potentially face, omitting mention of defenses, and failing to identify the notice as a mere allegation of infringement.&#8221; </p>
<p>In the short-term the Minister should use his regulatory powers to correct abuses, the groups suggest. For example, notices should make clear that they represent an allegation, not a clear determination of infringement. </p>
<p>The popular settlement demands or offers, which can amount to hundreds of dollars per notice, should also be banned. In addition, notices should include a mention of copyright exceptions such as fair use.</p>
<p>The groups further propose various penalties for copyright holders. For example, senders of notices with false or misleading information should be held liable and punished appropriately.</p>
<p>In the long-term the letter recommends that the Government should adopt new legislation to tackle copyright trolls and various other forms of abuse.</p>
<p>&#8220;Canada requires a legislative response to the abusive and deceitful tactics of a minority of copyright owners and their agents. The emergence of a cottage industry of copyright trolls and their migration to Canada is just one example of how copyright can be abused,&#8221; the groups write. </p>
<p>&#8220;The next round of copyright reform must include a copyright misuse provision to curb such wrong-doing,&#8221; they add. </p>
<p>The full letter, which includes more recommendations, is <a href="media/9e56e466.CIPPIC-OM_noticeandnotice-letter.pdf" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/CIPPIC-OM_noticeandnotice-letter.pdf">available here</a>. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104907
title: Farmers Unable to Repair Tractors Because Copyright: Never a Side Effect, But Core Intention of Law
uri: Farmers-Unable-to-Repair-Tractors-Because-Copyright-Never-a-Side-Effe
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Rs39p13Qnx4/
content:
<p>This week, there have been stories about farmers who can&#8217;t legally repair their John Deere tractors, as copyright monopoly legislation prohibits tampering with computer code in something you own. This has been described as an &#8220;unexpected side effect&#8221; of the copyright monopoly legislation in general and the DMCA/EUCD in particular.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s wrong. It&#8217;s not a side effect and it&#8217;s not unexpected. That is <em>exactly</em> what those laws intended to accomplish. Being locked out of your own possessions is not a side effect &#8211; it was the central point of the legislation and its core purpose.</p>
<p>As usual, the geeks who understood the deeper repercussions of this cried murder over the legislation at the time, and were summarily ignored by policymakers. Perhaps only now, when it becomes clear that it&#8217;s not just geek toys that are affected but everything in our everyday life, will more people become aware of how the copyright monopoly limits property rights.</p>
<p>This development, eroding property rights of everything, has been driven by the cartoon industry &#8211; by which I mean the copyright industry in general and Disney Corporation in particular.</p>
<p>It started with DRM, Digital Restriction Measures. Somebody thought it was both possible and a good idea to control how playback of video and audio could take place at people&#8217;s homes after they bought music and movies. (Imagine that translated to books, by the way, that publishers thought it possible to control how a book would be read &#8211; where, when and how.)</p>
<p>Digital Restriction Measures (DRM) were never about preventing copying, even though they were frequently presented as &#8220;copy protection&#8221;, mostly for PR purposes. They did absolutely nothing to prevent copying. They prevented playback. They controlled playback. They permitted or didn&#8217;t permit playback.</p>
<p>However, the technology didn&#8217;t work. The technology couldn&#8217;t work. It wasn&#8217;t broken at the technical level, or needed a little bit of improvement: it was broken at the conceptual level. It relied on the cartoon industry&#8217;s ability to prevent the owner of an object to tinker with their own property. (This is where tractors and cars come in.)</p>
<p>Obviously, if a computer is able to decode and decrypt a cartoon, then the owner of that computer is also able to instruct their own computer computer to decode and decrypt it (presumably a copy they bought and therefore also own), even against the cartoon industry&#8217;s desire for that possibility.</p>
<p>This is why DRM is broken at the conceptual level.</p>
<p>In this respect, there is no difference between a copy of a car or tractor &#8211; one of many identical sold objects off a production line &#8211; and a CD or DVD. You hold the receipt, you own it. The manufacturer doesn&#8217;t get to say what you do with your own property.</p>
<p>Or didn&#8217;t, at least.</p>
<p>The cartoon industry &#8211; copyright industry &#8211; realized that they needed to attack the core concept of the ability to hold property in order to prop up their crumbling copyright monopoly, and pushed for legislation that turned out as something called the DMCA in the US and the EUCD/InfoSoc in Europe. It &#8220;fixes&#8221; the conceptual problem with DRM by simply making it illegal to tinker with your own property when the original manufacturer, who <em>sold</em> the object to you, doesn&#8217;t want it tinkered with even <em>after</em> it&#8217;s been sold to you.</p>
<p>Yes, that&#8217;s a blatant intrusion into the very core concept of property rights. It also illustrates how the copyright monopoly, a governmentally-granted private monopoly, was always firmly in opposition to property rights (despite the copyright industry&#8217;s insistent attempts to reframe it as &#8220;property&#8221; for PR purposes, which is one of many lies from that cartoon industry).</p>
<p>As computers are spreading through society, into every aspect of our lives, so are the effects of the law that the copyright industry rammed through legislative corridors fifteen years ago.</p>
<p><strong>John Deere claiming that farmers aren&#8217;t allowed to tinker with their tractors and other farming equipment is not an &#8220;unfortunate side effect&#8221; of copyright monopoly legislation. It was the core idea, all the time, to prevent owners of property to exercise their normal property rights. That was the only possible way the copyright monopoly was even slightly maintainable into a digital environment.</strong></p>
<p>One has to ask whether it was, and continue to be, worth that price.</p>
<p>In any case, now that it&#8217;s not just geeks and nerds being affected by the cartoon industry&#8217;s wholesale slaughter of civil liberties but car owners and farmers and most ordinary people, one can hope that understanding of the fundamental idiocy of these laws can start to surface a little wider.</p>
<p><center>
<div class="alignfull" style="border:2px solid #3F3F3F;width:100%;padding:15px;padding-top:8px;padding-bottom:4px;margin-top:20px;margin-bottom:10px;border-radius:10px">
<h3 style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:10px">
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<p><span style="color:#3F3F3F;font-size:125%">About The</span> <span style="color:#FF3C78;font-size:125%">Author</span></p>
</h3>
<p style="font-family:PTSansRegular,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-weight:400;line-height:150%;margin-bottom:14px"><small>Rick Falkvinge is a regular columnist on TorrentFreak, sharing his thoughts every other week. He is the founder of the Swedish and first Pirate Party, a whisky aficionado, and a low-altitude motorcycle pilot. His blog at <a href="http://falkvinge.net">falkvinge.net</a> focuses on information policy.</small></p>
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<p><small>Book Falkvinge <a href="http://falkvinge.net/keynotes/">as speaker</a>?</small></p>
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<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104690
title: Police Arrest Potential Mayweather / Pacquiao Pirate
uri: Police-Arrest-Potential-Mayweather-Pacquiao-Pirate
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/0bEy-mXsWfc/
content:
<p><img src="media/aeaf2ba5.maypa.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/maypa.jpg" alt="maypa" width="250" height="204" class="alignright size-full wp-image-104932">The highly anticipated  Mayweather / Pacquiao fight later this week is destined to become the most pirated live sports event in history. </p>
<p>Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of fans, will tune into various pirated streams to avoid paying for the &#8220;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight_of_the_Century_(disambiguation)">fight of the century.</a>&#8221;</p>
<p>This prospect has many rightsholders worried. Sports streaming sites can expect an avalanche of takedown notices as soon as the broadcast starts, but TV outfit ABS-CBN is also taking a more proactive stance. </p>
<p>The company filed a complaint with the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) which led to the arrest of Jonathan Dela Cruz, an IT professor at a local university. </p>
<p>The professor, described as one of the most wanted movie and TV pirates, is the alleged operator of pinoy-tv-replay.com.</p>
<p>In addition to triggering the local investigation, ABS-CBN filed a lawsuit at a federal court in the United States (<a href="media/532a24f9.may.pdf" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/may.pdf">pdf</a>). In the complaint the company mentions various trademark and copyright infringements as well as Dela Cruz&#8217;s plan to stream the Mayweather / Pacquiao fight. </p>
<p>&#8220;Defendant Dela Cruz’s pinoy-tv-replay.com website also promises to offer a live stream channel of the upcoming Floyd Mayweather v. Manny Pacquiao boxing match, which will be offered by  ABS-CBN and other legitimate entertainment companies through various platforms,&#8221; ABS-CBN writes. </p>
<p>The TV company added a screencap of the advertisement for the unofficial broadcast which Dela Cruz allegedly used to lure in visitors.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/9bd18363.mannymay.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/mannymay.jpg" alt="mannymay" width="600" height="423" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-104934"></center></p>
<p>To stop any further infringements ABS-CBN asked the Florida court for a temporary restraining order, which was granted a few days ago.</p>
<p>Dela Cruz is now forbidden from operating any site that infringes ABS-CBN&#8217;s rights and the TV-company also gets control over his domain name. In addition, the professor faces millions of dollars in damages.</p>
<p>At the time of writing pinoy-tv-replay.com is not responding, although a cached version is still available through CloudFlare&#8217;s &#8220;Always Online&#8221; service.</p>
<p>ABS-CBN&#8217;s Elisha Lawrence is happy that the &#8220;pirate&#8221; has been taken off the streets and <a href="http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/04/21/15/professor-nabbed-pirating-abs-cbn-shows">encourages</a> the public to avoid sketchy websites that offer free streams.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are enforcing against these sites to protect our viewers. But in the meantime as we go after each and every one of these sites, protect yourself and your family and stay away from free sites and free streaming sites. Don&#8217;t pay the high price for free,&#8221; Lawrence said.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104706
title: Grooveshark Faces $736 Million in Copyright Damages
uri: Grooveshark-Faces-736-Million-in-Copyright-Damages
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/oAWrRFAyl-c/
content:
<p><img src="media/4489416f.groove2.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/groove2.jpg" alt="groove2" width="190" height="89" class="alignright size-full wp-image-47909">Streaming music service Grooveshark has been through some turbulent times in its relatively short history, but events this week could determine the company&#8217;s future.</p>
<p>The dispute with the world&#8217;s largest recording labels in <em>UMG Recording Inc et al v. Escape Media Group Inc et al</em> is without doubt Grooveshark parent company Escape Media&#8217;s biggest challenge yet. At its heart is a copyright infringement claim that could run into hundreds of millions of dollars.</p>
<p>While the suit itself is complex, at its core is the complaint that Grooveshark co-founders and employees historically uploaded more than 150,000 infringing tracks to Grooveshark in order to increase its popularity.</p>
<p>&#8220;Please share as much music as possible from outside the office, and leave your computers on whenever you can,&#8221; wrote co-founder Josh Greenberg in an email to staff. &#8220;This initial content is what will help to get our network started—it’s very important that we all help out!&#8221; </p>
<p>As a result, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/labels-win-grooveshark-copyright-infringement-case-140930/">last September</a> U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Griesa ruled that the company&#8217;s two co-founders were directly and secondarily liable for infringing the copyrights of nine large recording labels.</p>
<p>Ahead of the trial which is due to begin today in the Federal Courthouse, New York, Judge Thomas P. Griesa delivered yet another blow to Grooveshark parent company Escape Media.</p>
<p>Noting that the case now involves &#8216;just&#8217; 4,907 recordings (2,963 tracks plus 1,944 &#8220;employee uploads&#8221;) Judge Griesa said that the label plaintiffs have chosen to pursue statutory damages, meaning that if infringements are found to be &#8220;willful&#8221;, Grooveshark could be on the hook for $150,000 per track.</p>
<p>In the event the ruling notes that the court has already determined that Grooveshark acted both &#8220;willfully&#8221; and &#8220;in bad faith&#8221; although some defense will be allowed.</p>
<p>&#8220;Defendants may present proof as to the degree and extent of their willfulness or bad faith,&#8221; the Judge writes.</p>
<p>Among other things, Escape will argue that between 2007 and 2009 it showed good faith by approaching a number of the record company plaintiffs in an attempt to negotiate licensing deals.</p>
<p>&#8220;[The] court will permit defendants to present evidence at trial concerning the general factual background &#8211; but not the substantive financial terms &#8211; of the<br>
parties&#8217; negotiations for future licensing. Such evidence or argument must be tethered to defendants&#8217; state of mind or conduct in infringing the Works in Suit,&#8221; Judge Griesa adds.</p>
<p>If the jury doesn&#8217;t buy the arguments of Escape / Grooveshark and decides it appropriate to award the top rate, Escape Media could be forced to pay in excess of $736 million in damages. The jury could also award much less, but it&#8217;s difficult to envision an affordable outcome to the case for the streaming music service.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104910
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 04/27/15
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-04-27-15
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/CJW1pMr_5LE/
content:
<p><img src="media/f734ffa0.jupiter.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/jupiter.jpg" alt="jupiter" width="300" height="169" class="alignright size-full wp-image-104919">This week we have five newcomers in our chart.</p>
<p>Jupiter Ascending 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 BD/DVDrips unless stated otherwise.</p>
<p><a href="http://TorrentFreak.com/category/dvdrip/feed/"><strong>RSS feed</strong></a> for the weekly movie download chart.</p>
<table class="css hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="12%"><strong>Ranking</strong></th>
<th width="15%"><strong>(<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-pirated-movies-of-the-week-042015/">last week</a>)</strong></th>
<th><strong>Movie</strong></th>
<th width="18%"><strong>IMDb Rating / Trailer</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
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<td colspan="4">torrentfreak.com</td>
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<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jupiter_ascending_2014/">Jupiter Ascending</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1617661/">5.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4ZzMkDLjWI">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(1)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/furious_7/">Furious 7</a> (CAM/TS/R6)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2820852/">8.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yISKeT6sDOg">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fifty_shades_of_grey/">Fifty Shades of Grey</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2322441/">4.2</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfZWFDs0LxA">trailer</a></td>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/interstellar_2014/">Interstellar</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816692/">8.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vxOhd4qlnA">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cobbler_2015/">The Cobbler</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3203616/">5.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMVGScC0vDA">trailer</a></td>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/avengers_age_of_ultron/">Avengers: Age of Ultron</a> (CAM)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2395427/">8.3</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAUoeqvedMo">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/taken_3/">Taken 3</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2446042/">6.1</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuU0M2xBasc">trailer</a></td>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(6)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_gambler_2015/">The Gambler</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2039393/">6.1</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8rCHUjjqnU">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/superfast/">Superfast!</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2933474/">3.9</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqwDB7N6ujA">trailer</a></td>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(4)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_boy_next_door_2015/">The Boy Next Door</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3181822/">4.4</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgbBwovOOoc">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104991
title: Court Orders UK ISPs to Block Popcorn Time Sites
uri: Court-Orders-UK-ISPs-to-Block-Popcorn-Time-Sites
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/3yiEhT_vaC8/
content:
<p><img src="media/3b9dbdf1.popcornt.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/popcornt.png" alt="popcornt" width="237" height="106" class="alignright size-full wp-image-101106">Following a series of blocking orders issued by the High Court, UK Internet providers Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin, BT and EE are currently required to restrict access to many of the world’s largest torrent sites and streaming portals.</p>
<p>More than <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/uk-blocking-more-than-100-pirate-sites-after-new-court-order-150324/">100 websites</a> have been blocked in recent years and today the court issued the first injunction against domains that offer no direct links, but only software. </p>
<p>The order, obtained today by Hollywood&#8217;s Motion Picture Association, targets five popular <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/tag/popcorn-time/">Popcorn Time</a> forks: popcorntime.io, flixtor.me, popcorn-time.se, and isoplex.isohunt.to.</p>
<p>In his order Judge Birss notes that the Popcorm Time software has little to no legal use. Instead, he mentions that it&#8217;s mostly used to download and stream pirated movies and TV-shows.</p>
<p>“It is manifest that the Popcorn Time application is used in order to watch pirated content on the internet and indeed it is also manifest that that is its purpose. No-one really uses Popcorn Time in order to watch lawfully available content,” Judge Birss writes.</p>
<p>“The point of Popcorn Time is to infringe copyright. The Popcorn Time application has no legitimate purpose,&#8221; he adds.</p>
<p>Over the past year Popcorn Time has become a major threat to Hollywood so it doesn&#8217;t come as a complete surprise that the applications are now being targeted. Previously the movie studios <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-pulls-popcorn-time-off-github-140711/">took down</a> code repositories on Github, for example.</p>
<p>In addition to the five Popcorn Time domains the order also lists the torrent and streaming sites watchonlineseries.eu, axxomovies.org, afdah.com and g2g.fm. All sites will be blocked under Section 97A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act.</p>
<p>After the ISPs gave up on defending their position in court, it is now a mere formality for copyright holders to have a pirate site banned. However, the blocking efforts are not without cost.</p>
<p>Leaked information previously revealed that even an unopposed application for a blocking order costs copyright holders around <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/the-soaring-financial-cost-of-blocking-pirate-sites-141019/">£14,000 per website</a>. This brings the total costs of the blocking efforts to well over a million pounds.</p>
<p>All of the sites listed in today&#8217;s order are still accessible at the time of writing. It&#8217;s expected that the Internet providers will add them to their respective blocklists during the coming weeks.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p>The full list of sites to be blocked in the UK is now as follows:</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p><em><strong>New:</strong> popcorntime.io, flixtor.me, popcorn-time.se, and isoplex.isohunt.to, watchonlineseries.eu, axxomovies.org, afdah.com and g2g.fm.</p>
<p><strong>Previously blocked:</strong> Bursalagu, Fullsongs, Mega-Search, Mp3 Monkey, Mp3.li, Mp3Bear, MP3Boo, Mp3Clan, Mp3Olimp, MP3s.pl, Mp3soup, Mp3Truck, Musicaddict, My Free MP3, Plixid, RnBXclusive, STAFA Band, watchseries.lt, Stream TV, Watchseries-online, Cucirca, Movie25, watchseries.to, Iwannawatch, Warez BB, Ice Films, Tehparadox, Heroturko, Scene Source,, Rapid Moviez, Iwatchonline, Los Movies, Isohunt, Torrentz.pro, Torrentbutler, IP Torrents, Sumotorrent, Torrent Day, Torrenting, BitSoup, TorrentBytes, Seventorrents, Torrents.fm, Yourbittorrent, Tor Movies , Demonoid, torrent.cd, Vertor, Rar BG, bittorrent.am, btdigg.org, btloft.com, bts.to, limetorrents.com, nowtorrents.com, picktorrent.com, seedpeer.me, torlock.com, torrentbit.net, torrentdb.li, torrentdownload.ws, torrentexpress.net, torrentfunk.com, torrentproject.com, torrentroom.com, torrents.net, torrentus.eu, torrentz.cd, torrentzap.com, vitorrent.org.Megashare, Viooz, Watch32, Zmovie, Solarmovie, Tubeplus, Primewire, Vodly, Watchfreemovies, Project-Free TV, Yify-Torrents, 1337x, Bitsnoop, Extratorrent, Monova, Torrentcrazy, Torrentdownloads, Torrentreactor, Torrentz, Ambp3, Beemp3, Bomb-mp3, Eemp3world, Filecrop, Filestube, Mp3juices, Mp3lemon, Mp3raid, Mp3skull, Newalbumreleases, Rapidlibrary, EZTV, FirstRowSports, Download4all, Movie2K, KickAssTorrents, Fenopy, H33T and The Pirate Bay.</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104945
title: Demonoid Blocks Adblock Users – Fair or Fail?
uri: Demonoid-Blocks-Adblock-Users-Fair-or-Fail
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/suLlTSCHDyY/
content:
<p><img src="media/24f1ba2b.demonoid.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/demonoid.jpg" width="131" height="131" class="alignright">There&#8217;s no such thing as a free lunch, or the so the saying goes. Nevertheless, every day millions of people use online services such as Google without paying a penny. It&#8217;s a situation the Internet generation has become very accustomed to.</p>
<p>For millions of BitTorrent users, things move to the next level. After using any of the thousands of available torrent sites for free, content such as music, movies, TV shows, software and games flood into homes around the world, without cash directly forming part of any transaction.</p>
<p>Of course, none of these mechanisms are truly free and for most public torrent sites it is advertising that provides the fuel to keep things running smoothly. While torrent site users don&#8217;t usually pay for access directly, by being a viewer of torrent site advertising and therefore a potential consumer, a convenient business arrangement allows &#8216;free&#8217; access to &#8216;free&#8217; content.</p>
<p>Unless you&#8217;re a user of the semi-private tracker Demonoid, that is.</p>
<p>In recent days Demonoid, once one of the most popular sites on the Internet, implemented new terms of access. If users don&#8217;t wish to contribute to revenue streams by viewing embedded advertising, they are now completely barred from the site.</p>
<p><img src="media/90c13cb2.demon-block.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/demon-block.jpg" alt="demon-block" width="613" height="246" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-104956"></p>
<p>Disabling the popular Ad-Block browser plug-in does re-enable access to Demonoid but of course with that comes the reappearance of sometimes intrusive advertising, something which users of Ad-Block wish to avoid.</p>
<p>Aside from familiar &#8216;fake&#8217; buttons emblazoned with the words &#8220;Play&#8221; and &#8220;Download&#8221;, a strip of gaming focused ads adorn the site&#8217;s main page. While these aren&#8217;t too bad, annoying and rotating full-screen pop-under ads also make an appearance.</p>
<p>For Demonoid and the majority of other similar sites, having users view ads is a vital part of site operations. Even if there is no intention to turn a profit, servers and other infrastructure still has to paid for and advertising is the number one way to make that happen. Just lately, however, even that hasn&#8217;t been as easy as it once was.</p>
<p>There is a concerted effort around the world to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/city-of-london-police-launches-pirate-site-blacklist-for-advertisers-140331/">stop major brands from advertising</a> on so-called &#8216;pirate&#8217; sites, so the pool of agencies willing to place ads on sites like Demonoid is dwindling. Solutions are still being found (Demonoid ads include well-known gaming outfits and large betting companies) but with site blocking around Europe and measures by Google to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/googles-new-downranking-hits-pirate-sites-hard-141023/">downrank sites</a>, overall traffic is dwindling.</p>
<p>With reduced traffic comes reduced revenue, a situation that may have prompted Demonoid to introduce its &#8220;No Ad-Block&#8221; policy in order to maximize returns, but even that has its unintended side effects.</p>
<p>One of the pages that doesn&#8217;t carry ads is the &#8220;upload page&#8221; where Demonoid users can upload content to the site &#8211; content that arguably keeps the site going more than the ads do. Whether that&#8217;s intentional is unknown, but at least one user with 500 plus torrents to his name tells TF that he won&#8217;t be using the site or seeding while the Ad-Block policy is in place.</p>
<p>&#8220;Some of us support the site by uploading content. Now I haven&#8217;t uploaded in a while, but I still support some 535 of my past Demonoid lossless torrents with a fast connection. Torrents I uploaded some three to six years ago,&#8221; the user says.</p>
<p>&#8220;For now I think I will boycott the site. The few lossless people that post only on Demonoid aren&#8217;t posting right now. So I can get content from KickAss.&#8221;</p>
<p>Of course, there is another large can of worms to be opened. By blocking non-contributing users because they aren&#8217;t &#8216;paying&#8217; for content, some might argue that Demonoid is submitting to similar methods currently employed by the studios and labels when they apply for ISP site blocking injunctions.</p>
<p>In both cases perceived content free-loaders are being barred from the system. Granted, both can overcome blocks relatively easily, but it&#8217;s nevertheless interesting how torrent sites and their arch enemies feel compelled to take similar steps to protect revenues when the going gets tough.</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> Demonoid informs TF that ad revenue has decreased a lot plus the site has had difficulty collecting money from affiliates. The site can accept donations via Bitcoin but Demonoid says that users are reluctant to use it.</p>
<p>&#8220;We need to implement some measures, or we face closure,&#8221; the site concludes.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=105017
title: Music Industry ‘Shuts Down’ Top Torrent Trackers
uri: Music-Industry-Shuts-Down-Top-Torrent-Trackers
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Hm6u8xPDKJc/
content:
<p><a href="media/ce09ad7f.opentracker.png" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/opentracker.png"><img src="media/4a01ccea.opentracker.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/opentracker.png" alt="opentracker" width="198" height="144" class="alignright size-full wp-image-57349"></a>OpenBitTorrent, PublicBT and Istole.it have long been the three largest BitTorrent trackers on the Internet, coordinating the downloads of 30 million people at any given point in time. </p>
<p>This means that these non-commercial services, powered by the open source Opentracker software, handled a staggering three billion connections per day &#8211; each. </p>
<p>We say handled, because the trackers have been offline since mid-January. The trio mysteriously disappeared, but the German music industry group BVMI now takes credit for the shutdowns. </p>
<p>According to BVMI&#8217;s lawfirm <a href="http://www.raschlegal.de/news/filesharing-netzwerk-schwer-angeschlagen-rasch-rechtsanwaelte-erreichen-abschaltung-der-drei-groessten-bittorrent-tracker-der-welt/">Rasch</a>, the hosting company took the tracker offline after they were ordered identify the operators. However, the host initially refused to disclose the personal details.</p>
<p>In an injunction released this week a <a href="http://justiz.hamburg.de/landgericht-hamburg/">Hamburg court</a> ordered that the hosting company now has to hand over the personal details of the tracker operators. </p>
<p>The ruling follows a complaint from BVMI and is the first against so-called standalone BitTorrent trackers. These trackers do not host or process any infringing material themselves and are a content neutral part of the BitTorrent ecosystem.</p>
<p>According to BVMI CEO Florian Drücke the music industry has recently expanded its focus beyond traditional torrent sites such as The Pirate Bay, to include these standalone trackers.</p>
<p>&#8220;Without the Tracker, it will be much more difficult for those who offer and seek illegal content to make the first connection,&#8221; Drücke says. </p>
<p>The downside, however, is that legal torrents also use these trackers to coordinate connections. </p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.wbs-law.de">Christian Solmecke</a>, a German IT lawyer who has experience with file-sharing cases, the verdict comes a a surprise.</p>
<p>&#8220;The court ruling amazes me. Apparently the court assumes that BitTorrent trackers are by definition something illegal. This is not the case,&#8221; he says.</p>
<p>The lawyer doesn&#8217;t deny that the trackers play a role in both legal and illegal transfers, but they are content neutral and merely passing on metadata, similar to a DNS provider. </p>
<p>&#8220;By the same argument these BitTorrent trackers are switched off you might ultimately forbid an ISP to continue to provide Internet access to end users, if copyright violations are committed,&#8221; Solmecke adds.</p>
<p>While the three targeted trackers have been offline for months already, the ruling means that these type of services had better avoid Germany as their home base in future.</p>
<p>&#8220;Apparently, the music industry sees the entire BitTorrent network as &#8216;evil&#8217;,&#8221; Solmecke concludes.</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> The article was updated to state that the court order only requires the host to identify the operators. </p>
<p>Rasch lawyer Mirko Brüß further notes that this case should not be compared with and ISP who provides Internet access to consumers.</p>
<p>&#8220;It appears Mr. Solmecke is not familiar with the BitTorrent technology. He is obviously not aware of the fact that the “opentracker” software comes with a blacklist. The tracker operators were asked to add certain info-hashes to this blacklist but failed to do so within a reasonable period of time,&#8221; Brüß says.</p>
<p>&#8220;After their ISP was made aware of this situation, he shut the servers down in order to prevent his own liability. This is basically the same as the established notice-and-takedown proceedings under the DMCA and cannot be compared to an ISP providing internet access to end users.&#8221;</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=105051
title: Showtime and HBO Sue Over ‘Pre-Piracy’
uri: Showtime-and-HBO-Sue-Over-Pre-Piracy
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/kXf9-ZLrpfo/
content:
<p><img src="media/aeaf2ba5.maypa.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/maypa.jpg" alt="maypa" width="250" height="204" class="alignright size-full wp-image-104932">HBO and Showtime are no stranger to online piracy. Their TV-shows are pirated millions of times each month. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, both companies are not known for suing pirates or website owners, until now. </p>
<p>Yesterday the two companies filed <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/263525367/Hbo-Showtime-Fight">a complaint</a> at a federal court in Florida targeting the websites boxinghd.net and sportship.org. Both are accused of planning to stream the upcoming Mayweather v Pacquiao fight.</p>
<p>In a unique pre-piracy case, the companies accuse the sites&#8217; owners of various copyright related offenses of an event that has yet to take place. </p>
<p>The suing parties have invested many millions of dollars which they hope to earn back in part through pay-per-view sales. But instead of the $89 to $100 people in the U.S. have to pay, both sites promise free access. </p>
<p>&#8220;There are no authorized online streams of the Coverage for delivery to United States audiences,&#8221; the complaint clarifies, adding that the defendants &#8220;are seeking to benefit from this high profile, live Fight by infringing the rights of Plaintiffs.&#8221;</p>
<p>The site&#8217;s owners would then profit from these free streams though various advertisements. The example below includes a screenshot of the boxinghd.net site, which has since been <a href="http://boxinghd.net/">removed</a>.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/8a6fe06f.streamingmanny.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/streamingmanny.jpg" alt="streamingmanny" width="600" height="506" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-105053"></center></p>
<p>HBO and Showtime argue that the anticipated stream of the fight will infringe on their rights and cause irreparable damage. </p>
<p>To stop the sites&#8217; operators from linking to streams of the event the companies have asked the court for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. In addition, HBO and Showtime demand damages to compensate for the expected losses.</p>
<p>The lawsuit has already had some effect as boxinghd.net has thrown in the towel and is no longer advertising the fight. Time will tell whether sportship.org will be knocked down too.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=105015
title: TV Show ‘Empire’ a UK Hit Thanks to Pirates, Star Says
uri: TV-Show-Empire-a-UK-Hit-Thanks-to-Pirates-Star-Says
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/BWiQxbGR-5A/
content:
<p><img src="media/f23074ab.empire-small.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/empire-small.jpg" alt="empire-small" width="180" height="250" class="alignright size-full wp-image-105035">Following its debut in the United States in January, TV show Empire certainly made its mark on its home audience. Pulling in close to a season average of <a href="http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/empire-season-one-ratings-35198/">13 million viewers</a>, the hip-hop focused drama exceeded expectations.</p>
<p>Indeed, by the time the first season finished on Fox mid March, 23 million were tuning in, with the New York Times <a href="http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/19/tv-review-empire-ends-its-perfect-first-season-with-a-fervid-finale/">describing</a> the show as both &#8220;sizzling&#8221; and &#8220;pretty perfect.&#8221;</p>
<p>Of course, like the vast majority of U.S. productions, home audiences were always going to get the opportunity to enjoy Empire first. However, thanks to the Internet and a network of unofficial online distributors, Empire was soon being exposed to a much wider audience.</p>
<p>Within hours of its premiere January 7, 2015, Empire S01E01 was circulating on torrent and streaming sites, an attractive proposition for potential viewers elsewhere who had heard about the show&#8217;s popularity in the United States yet had no legitimate way to get in on the action.</p>
<p>According to stats gathered by TorrentFreak, on average the show was being downloaded more than 250,000 times per episode via BitTorrent, a number that doesn&#8217;t include many thousands of additional views on various streaming sites worldwide.</p>
<p>But while distributor 20th Century Fox wasn&#8217;t particularly keen on Empire being seen outside the United States (the company sent dozens of complaints to Google for the show to be delisted from search results), Empire star Taraji P Henson sees things quite differently.</p>
<p>&#8220;The only way that it [Empire] got over to the UK is because people were streaming it [illegally]. They [UK television companies] wouldn&#8217;t have known the show was that important, or that people wanted to see it, if they weren&#8217;t streaming it,&#8221; Henson told the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/32415363/empire-star-thanks-uk-fans-for-illegally-streaming-show">BBC</a>.</p>
<p>The actress, who plays the role of &#8216;Cookie&#8217; in the show, echoes the position of Netflix, which notes the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/netflix-uses-pirate-sites-to-determine-what-shows-to-buy-130914/">popularity of content with pirates</a> and uses that as an indicator of whether it should invest in shows.</p>
<p>&#8220;You guys were streaming, and I know it&#8217;s a bad thing, but when the material is good people will find it. Thank you. Thank you everybody. People didn&#8217;t think it would do well over here,&#8221; Henson added.</p>
<p>After its success in the U.S., Empire was <a href="http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a640192/us-hip-hop-drama-empire-to-air-on-e4-in-the-uk.html">picked up</a> by UK TV channel E4. Nick Lee, a buyer for the channel, didn&#8217;t reveal whether the show&#8217;s piracy &#8216;successes&#8217; were a factor in snapping up the drama but did note that there was plenty of interest.</p>
<p>&#8220;We just think it fits so well on the channel,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There was huge competition. I think most channels in the UK wanted it.</p>
<p>And after Empire enjoyed its premiere in the UK last night, it became clear why. The show was well received by <a href="http://metro.co.uk/2015/04/28/its-official-everyone-is-hooked-on-tv-series-empire-5172114/">critics and fans alike</a>.</p>
<p>Downloads of Empire are now at much more modest levels than they were in January but that situation should change when the show&#8217;s second season premieres in the United States during the fall. A US-UK simultaneous release will almost certainly be too much to ask.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=105089
title: Movie Studios Give ‘Pirate’ Sites a 24h Shutdown Ultimatum
uri: Movie-Studios-Give-Pirate-Sites-a-24h-Shutdown-Ultimatum
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/So2v8aQpeOE/
content:
<p><img src="media/f2bfe741.pirate-running.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/pirate-running.jpg" alt="pirate-running" width="222" height="204" class="alignright size-full wp-image-78717">In recent years Hollywood has tried several tactics to deal with so-called pirate sites. </p>
<p>Through lawsuits against isoHunt, Hotfile and Megaupload, for example, or by targeting intermediaries such as search engines, Internet providers and hosting companies. </p>
<p>The most direct option, however, is to simply contact the site owners directly. This is what the MPAA&#8217;s European branch has been doing lately. </p>
<p>During recent weeks various sources have informed TorrentFreak about emails received from Jan van Voorn, the MPA&#8217;s Vice-President Global Content Protection, Internet Operations. The emails all use standardized language and have been sent to a wide variety of services ranging from some of the biggest torrent indexes, to linking sites and hosting services. </p>
<p>The MPA mail puts the site operators on notice and alerts them to European jurisprudence under which they may be held liable for linking to pirated movies and TV-shows.</p>
<p>&#8220;Without prejudice to our contention that you are already well aware of the extensive infringements of copyright, this Notice fixes you with actual knowledge of facts and circumstances from which illegal activities [&#8230;] are apparent,&#8221; Van Voorn writes.</p>
<p>Among other things the email mentions that Article 14 of the E-Commerce Directive requires sites to stop offering infringing material. In addition, the Hollywood group cites other recent cases supporting their claim.</p>
<p>Without making a specific threat, the MPA demands that site operators stop offering infringing material within 24 hours. </p>
<p>&#8220;This Notice requires you to immediately (within 24 hours) take effective measures to end and prevent further copyright infringement. All opportunities provided by the Website to download, stream or otherwise obtain access to the Entertainment Content should be disabled permanently,&#8221; the email reads.</p>
<p>Interestingly, the movie studios are not just worried about pirated films. Towards the end of the email they also point out that some sites are using movie posters without permission.</p>
<p>&#8220;Finally, we draw your attention that any use of the artwork of the Entertainment Content (e.g. movie or TV show posters) (&#8216;Artwork&#8217;) is prohibited without authorization of the rights holder. Since the MPA Members haven’t authorized the Website to publish the Artwork, the Website is infringing copyright on that basis as well,&#8221; Van Voorn writes. </p>
<p>For now the threats haven&#8217;t made too much of an impact. Only one site that we know of has shut down after receiving the email recently, and that&#8217;s the relatively unknown link site micromkv.com.</p>
<p>TF contacted the movie industry group for more details on the efficiency of the campaign. The MPA didn&#8217;t provide any details but informed us that the emails are standard notices sent to websites that carry infringing content.  </p>
<p>&#8220;These notices ask respectfully that effective measures be taken to stop further infringement,&#8221; an MPA spokesperson says.</p>
<p>&#8220;This activity is part of the MPA’s ongoing strategy to curb copyright infringement, encourage consumers to use legal sources of content and increase the viability and quality of those services that actually pay creators for their work.&#8221;</p>
<p>It remains unclear whether the MPA will take legal action against the warned sites, or if the group will focus its anti-piracy efforts elsewhere.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p>One of MPA&#8217;s emails is posted in full below.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/20a56cad.mpamail.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/mpamail.png" alt="mpamail" width="571" height="590" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-105101"></center></p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104913
title: Historic Pirate Bay Domain Decision Will Arrive Early May
uri: Historic-Pirate-Bay-Domain-Decision-Will-Arrive-Early-May
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/R1BlEhBzpwA/
content:
<p><img src="media/4e243e8b.tpb-logo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tpb-logo.jpg" alt="tpb-logo" width="222" height="198" class="alignright size-full wp-image-67837">A small Scandinavian country in Northern Europe, Sweden has become a key battleground for international copyright holders looking to stamp their authority on millions of BitTorrent users. Attacking the sites they populate is a key strategy and above all others the destruction of The Pirate Bay is paramount.</p>
<p>Born and developed in Sweden, the now notorious site is no longer the most popular in the world (that crown is <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">currently worn</a> by KickassTorrents) but its profile ensures it remains a target with massive propaganda value. When The Pirate Bay is crushed a corner will have been turned, Hollywood and the record labels believe.</p>
<p>Over the years the site has been squeezed out of Sweden, and Sweden has been squeezed out of the site. Numerous court orders and raids have ended its physical presence in the country and its Swedish management have long since gone.</p>
<p>Indeed, as far as its operations at this moment are concerned, the only big connection the site has with Sweden is its domain name &#8211; ThePirateBay.se &#8211; and authorities are now doing whatever they can to break that most visible link.</p>
<p>ThePirateBay.se (the site’s main domain) and PirateBay.se (a lesser used alternative) are being targeted by Prosecutor Fredrik Ingblad, the man behind the operation that <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/swedish-police-raid-the-pirate-bay-site-offline-141209/">took the site down</a> in December. Filed back in 2013 at the District Court of Stockholm, the motion targets Punkt SE, the organization responsible for Sweden’s top level .SE domain.</p>
<p>This week the parties met in the Stockholm District Court, each putting forward their side of the argument. Ingblad didn&#8217;t respond to TorrentFreak&#8217;s offer to contribute to this article, but we know that he believes that Pirate Bay domains are criminal tools that enable copyright infringement, tools that should be confiscated by the state.</p>
<p>Punkt SE, on the other hand, maintains that holding a registry responsible for infringement has no basis in law. Furthermore, disabling domains is an ineffective way to deal with infringement.</p>
<p>&#8220;We believe it is wrong to pursue legal action against a top-level administrator like .SE to take away a service from the internet,&#8221; Punkt SE&#8217;s Maria Ekelund informs TF.</p>
<p>&#8220;To confiscate a domain name is ineffective and disproportionate to achieve the impact of the earlier judgment, that is, to suspend access to the service itself.&#8221;</p>
<p>In 2009, Swedish ISP Black Internet <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/the-pirate-bay-taken-offline-by-swedish-authorities-090824/">was ordered</a> to stop providing Internet access to The Pirate Bay. The ISP initially declined to appeal the ruling but appeared to change its mind after its infrastructure was subjected to a <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/ex-pirate-bay-isp-sabotaged-calls-in-police-090825/">huge cyber-attack</a>.</p>
<p>While the appeal was <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/ex-supplier-of-pirate-bay-bandwidth-given-leave-to-appeal-091109/">granted</a>, the ISP <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/hollywood-lands-triple-strike-on-pirate-bay-openbittorrent-100522/">failed</a> to have the original decision overturned and subsequently blocked all traffic into and out of the IP addresses used by The Pirate Bay. For The Pirate Bay, the dream of trouble-free hosting in Sweden was largely over.</p>
<p>But still, the site has found a way to stay online, no matter where in the world it has thrown anchor. Punkt SE believes that taking away Pirate Bay&#8217;s domain will do little to change that.</p>
<p><img src="media/224a97db.IIS-SE.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/IIS-SE.jpg" alt="IIS SE" width="191" height="112" class="alignright size-full wp-image-70506">&#8220;To remove a domain name can be likened to taking away a sign that shows the address to a store operating illegally. Just because the sign disappears, does not mean the business disappears,&#8221; Ekelund adds.</p>
<p>&#8220;However, we think it is good that the issue should be examined because the legal situation is unclear. This case differs from previous cases because it is not only directed against the holder, but also directly against .SE.&#8221;</p>
<p>So now the waiting begins. In less than two weeks the Stockholm District Court will hand down its decision. Victory for Punkt will underpin the registry&#8217;s stance on limited liability and will buy The Pirate Bay more time. A win for the prosecutor will deliver a fairly serious blow to the site and draw a line in the sand for others looking to embark on similar adventures.</p>
<p>But, perhaps more importantly, in the event the Court sides with the prosecution, Sweden will at last rid itself of the site that put the country in the crosshairs of the United States. No longer serviced from Swedish soil, with hardware or domain names, The Pirate Bay will be cut adrift to float at sea.</p>
<p>Where will it dock next? That will remain a secret, at least for now.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=105141
title: Grooveshark Shuts Down & Apologizes to the RIAA
uri: Grooveshark-Shuts-Down-Apologizes-to-the-RIAA
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/tARfQeUOMVI/
content:
<p><img src="media/4489416f.groove2.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/groove2.jpg" alt="groove2" width="190" height="89" class="alignright size-full wp-image-47909">Owned and operated by Florida and New York based Escape Media, Grooveshark has been a fly in the recording industry&#8217;s ointment for almost a decade.</p>
<p>Founded in 2006, the company had an abrasive relationship with the world&#8217;s largest record labels, one that led it into legal conflict on a number of occasions.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Grooveshark built an extremely popular product. With a reported 35 million users per month (Spotify has around 60 million), the company attracted high-profile advertisers including Mercedes Benz. It also managed to pull of limited licensing deals with big labels.</p>
<p>But for some time the writing has been on the wall. With a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/labels-win-grooveshark-copyright-infringement-case-140930/">defense under the DMCA in tatters</a> (it was revealed the site&#8217;s founders and staff had uploaded copyrighted music to the site themselves), a case brought by the major labels (UMG Recording Inc et al v. Escape Media Group Inc et al) was bound to come to a sad end this week.</p>
<p>With <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/grooveshark-faces-736-million-in-copyright-damages-150427/">$736 million in potential damages</a> floating around on the horizon, the conclusion was never likely to be good. And, as expected, a few hours ago the upstart music venture delivered the bad news.</p>
<p>&#8220;Today we are shutting down Grooveshark,&#8221; the company announced.</p>
<p>&#8220;We started out nearly ten years ago with the goal of helping fans share and discover music. But despite best of intentions, we made very serious mistakes. We failed to secure licenses from rights holders for the vast amount of music on the service.</p>
<p>&#8220;That was wrong. We apologize. Without reservation,&#8221; the company said.</p>
<p>Revealing a consent judgment arrangement with the RIAA, Grooveshark confirmed what many observers had feared. There would be no chance of a resurrection.</p>
<p>&#8220;As part of a settlement agreement with the major record companies, we have agreed to cease operations immediately, wipe clean all of the record companies’ copyrighted works and hand over ownership of this website, our mobile apps and intellectual property, including our patents and copyrights,&#8221; Grooveshark said.</p>
<p>The statement represents a huge change in attitude from a company that built its business on perceived protections offered by the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. But in the end, however, the legislation offered no safe harbor.</p>
<p>Instead, and probably through gritted teeth, Grooveshark&#8217;s farewell notes that although it was indeed a pioneer in an under-served market, obtaining permission from the labels (rather than forgiveness) is the right way to approach the market.</p>
<p>&#8220;At the time of our launch, few music services provided the experience we wanted to offer &#8211; and think you deserve. Fortunately, that’s not longer the case. There are now hundreds of fan friendly, affordable services available for you to choose from, including Spotify, Deezer, Google Play, Beats Music, Rhapsody and Rdio, among many others,&#8221; the company said.</p>
<p>&#8220;If you love music and respect the artists, songwriters and everyone else who makes great music possible, use a licensed service that compensates artists and other rights holders. You can find out more about the many great services available where you live here: http://whymusicmatters.com/find-music.&#8221;</p>
<p>Although short, the RIAA&#8217;s statement gets straight to the point.</p>
<p><img src="media/971b8479.riaa-logo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/riaa-logo.jpg" alt="riaa-logo" width="170" height="173" class="alignright size-full wp-image-15326">&#8220;Escape Media today entered into a consent judgment with a permanent injunction with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group.</p>
<p>&#8220;Under terms of the settlement, Grooveshark founders Josh Greenberg and Sam Tarantino admit to creating and operating an infringing music service and Escape Media agrees to significant financial penalties if the terms of the settlement are not followed,&#8221; the RIAA said.</p>
<p>“This is an important victory for artists and the entire music industry. For too long, Grooveshark built its business without properly compensating the artists, songwriters and everyone else who makes great music possible. This settlement ends a major source of infringing activity,” the RIAA said.</p>
<p>For Grooveshark the show is certainly over and in final words to its loyal fans, the company thanked them for their commitment.</p>
<p>&#8220;It has been a privilege getting to know so many of you and enjoying music together. Thank you for being such passionate fans. Yours in music, Your friends at Grooveshark April 30, 2015.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> As part of the settlement Grooveshark (<a href="media/adf48d73.groovesettle.pdf" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/groovesettle.pdf">pdf</a>) has to pay $50 million to the record labels.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=105153
title: Kim Dotcom Avoids U.S. Clutches For Three More Months
uri: Kim-Dotcom-Avoids-U-S-Clutches-For-Three-More-Months
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/EjLv90-Tgoc/
content:
<p><img src="media/65e30289.dotcom-laptop-150x150.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/dotcom-laptop-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" class="alignright">While trying to recoup as much of his seized wealth as possible, Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom is determined to avoid being sent to the United States where he faces the largest copyright case in history.</p>
<p>On four previous occasions the German-born businessman has been granted delays to his inevitable extradition hearing but in March his luck appeared to run out.</p>
<p>Through his legal team Dotcom asked the North Shore District Court for an adjournment until October, claiming that more time was need to prepare his case and those of co-defendants Mathias Ortmann, Finn Batato and Bram van der Kolk. The request was denied.</p>
<p>Last month the parties returned to court with <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/dotcom-appeals-extradition-delay-ruling-colleague-lawyerless-150421/">a request</a> for a judicial review.</p>
<p>Today and with some reservations, Justice Sarah Katz at the High Court granted the application, sending the matter back to the District Court to set a new hearing to take place no earlier than September 1.</p>
<p>Justice Katz said that she believed that the delay was necessary for Dotcom and his associates to prepare their cases and have a fair hearing.</p>
<p>“I have therefore concluded, with some reluctance (given the time that has elapsed since the plaintiffs were first brought before the courts) that the interests of natural justice require an adjournment of the 2 June 2015 extradition hearing date,” Justice Katz said.</p>
<p>Previously, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/dotcom-loses-lawyers-then-they-erase-all-history-of-him-141113/">legal team issues</a> and associated financing problems have prompted Dotcom to seek delays to his extradition hearing, but this morning the Judge indicated that the current delay shouldn&#8217;t herald additional claims.</p>
<p>“This [adjournment] should not be taken by the plaintiffs, however, as a signal that any ongoing funding or representation difficulties (if they arise) would be likely to justify further adjournments,” Justice Katz said.</p>
<p>&#8220;On  the  contrary,  the  plaintiffs  must  take  full  responsibility  for preparing  for  their  extradition  hearing  on  whatever  new  date  is  allocated,  with whatever  level  of  legal  support  they  are  able  to  secure.&#8221;</p>
<p>The United States has been particularly vocal on Dotcom&#8217;s financial position with claims that the entrepreneur “improperly divested himself&#8221; of shares in cloud-hosting service Mega when that money could have been used for his defense. The Judge addressed those claims in today&#8217;s ruling.</p>
<p>“[Dotcom&#8217;s] Trust Me Trust is said to be a sham and Mr Dotcom’s conduct in relation to it is said to amount to equitable fraud,&#8221; the judgment notes, adding that if such an allegation was true, further delays to any trial would not be tolerated.</p>
<p>In the event, Justice Katz said the validity of the U.S. government&#8217;s claims would be determined in separate proceedings.</p>
<p>&#8220;For present purposes I must give Mr Dotcom the benefit of the doubt on the issue.  Further, the assets of the Trust Me Trust, whoever may ultimately be entitled to them, are currently subject to freezing orders,&#8221; Justice Katz wrote.</p>
<p>Finally, Dotcom co-defendant Finn Batato, who previously applied for legal aid due to a poor financial situation, will now have to defend himself after that application was turned down. However, that is not viewed as a problem by the Judge.</p>
<p>&#8220;Mr  Batato  will  be  able  to  derive  significant  benefit  from  the  work undertaken by his former legal team prior to their withdrawal. He will also derive significant benefit from the fact that the other three plaintiffs are legally represented and the plaintiffs are taking a collaborative approach to extradition issues,&#8221; the judgment reads.</p>
<p>While today&#8217;s judgment appears to rule out further delays to Dotcom&#8217;s extradition hearing, the history of this case has shown us to expect the unexpected.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=105131
title: Torrents Are Good for a Quarter of All Encrypted Traffic
uri: Torrents-Are-Good-for-a-Quarter-of-All-Encrypted-Traffic
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/-LtwyH7Zvzo/
content:
<p><img src="media/3d881413.spy.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/spy.jpg" alt="spy" width="200" height="177" class="alignright size-full wp-image-39770">In recent years it has become apparent that BitTorrent users are increasingly <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/the-pirate-bay-users-long-for-anonymity-111021/">searching for options</a> to hide their download footprints. </p>
<p>Thus far, however, there was little information available on how much of all encrypted traffic is file-sharing related. A new <a href="https://www.sandvine.com/trends/encryption.html">report</a> published by Sandvine now provides some insight into this.</p>
<p>To find out how much of all Internet traffic is encrypted, and what the most popular sources are, last month the company gathered data in collaboration with a North American fixed access network.</p>
<p>The findings reveal that nearly 30% of all downstream traffic is encrypted. The majority of the traffic remains unencrypted (65%), and the small remainder has yet to be identified. </p>
<p><center><img src="media/e55626a6.sand.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/sand.png" alt="sand" width="536" height="373" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-105159"></center></p>
<p>Looking at the individual sources of encrypted traffic we see that YouTube currently accounts for most of it. More than 11% of all downstream traffic comes from encrypted YouTube data, which is nearly 40% of all encrypted traffic.</p>
<p>BitTorrent transfers come in second place with 7.2% of the total downstream traffic, which is good for nearly a quarter of all encrypted data. </p>
<p>It&#8217;s worth noting that the report only looks at downstream traffic. BitTorrent&#8217;s share of upstream traffic is usually much higher, so the total percentage of all encrypted traffic will be well over 25 percent.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/c9b925e3.sandenc.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/sandenc.png" alt="sandenc" width="481" height="159" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-105160"></center></p>
<p>Another fact worth mentioning is that before YouTube made the transition to support secure data transfers, BitTorrent was the number one source of encrypted traffic according to Sandvine. </p>
<p>With Netflix poised to move to encryption by default, the relative share of BitTorrent will probably drop even further in the near future. Absolute traffic is expected to keep growing, however.</p>
<p>In response to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/aussie-anti-piracy-plans-boost-demand-vpns-150308/">various anti-piracy initiatives</a> and monitoring schemes around the world, BitTorrent users are increasingly turning to anonymizing services such as <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">encrypted VPNs</a>. </p>
<p>It will be interesting to see how this trend develops during the years to come.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104739
title: Why ISPs Should Stop Forwarding Piracy Settlement Demands
uri: Why-ISPs-Should-Stop-Forwarding-Piracy-Settlement-Demands
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/fIQitrpZizg/
content:
<p><img src="media/05460420.rightscorp-real.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/rightscorp-real.jpg" alt="rightscorp-real" width="222" height="151" class="alignright size-full wp-image-84007">There are many ways copyright holders approach today’s “online piracy problem.”</p>
<p>Some prefer to do it through innovation, while others prefer educational messages, warnings or even lawsuits. Another group is aiming to generate revenue by obtaining lots of small cash settlements.</p>
<p>Rightscorp and CEG TEK have chosen the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/expendables-3-downloaders-told-to-pay-up-or-else-140918/">latter model</a>. Their emails are sent as regular DMCA notices which many ISPs then forward to their customers, often with a settlement demand included.</p>
<p>Both companies send <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/us-internet-providers-receive-1-1-million-piracy-settlements-per-week-140726/">millions of warnings</a> to U.S. Internet providers every year, but how these are handled varies per ISP. Some, including Charter, forward the entire notice, while others such as Comcast strip out the settlement details. </p>
<p>To find out more about the legality of these notices, and the options Internet providers and subscribers have, TorrentFreak sat down with Electronic Frontier Foundation (<a href="https://www.eff.org/">EFF</a>) staff attorney Mitch Stoltz.</p>
<p>According to Stoltz, Internet providers should carefully review what they&#8217;re forwarding to their users. Under U.S. law they are not required to forward DMCA notices and stripping out settlement demands is in the best interest of the consumer.</p>
<p>&#8220;In the U.S., ISPs don&#8217;t have any legal obligation to forward infringement notices in their entirety. An ISP that cares about protecting its customers from abuse should strip out demands for money before forwarding infringement notices. Many do this,&#8221; he says. </p>
<p>&#8220;An ISP can also choose not to forward notices at all if they are deficient, misleading, or inaccurate,&#8221; Stoltz adds.</p>
<p><strong>Misleading notices</strong></p>
<p>The notices these companies send are designed to threaten and pressure the recipient, who is often not the person who downloaded the allegedly infringing material.</p>
<p>&#8220;The problem with notices demanding money from ISP subscribers is that they&#8217;re often misleading,&#8221; Stoltz notes.</p>
<p>&#8220;They often give the impression that the person whose name is on the ISP bill is legally responsible for all infringement that might happen on the Internet connection, which is simply not true.&#8221; </p>
<p>Some of the notices mention disastrous consequences, such as excessively large jury verdicts against file sharers who previously had to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. </p>
<p>However, they forget to mention that these type of piracy cases almost never go to court. Similarly, ISPs rarely disconnect casual copyright infringers.</p>
<p>&#8220;Rightscorp, for one, has never sued an accused file sharer. Having an ISP forward a demand for money also makes it seem like the ISP will cut off the subscriber if they don&#8217;t pay, which is also not true&#8211; most ISPs don&#8217;t ban customers just because a penny-stock outfit in Santa Monica asks them to,&#8221; Stoltz says.</p>
<p><strong>Legal repercussions?</strong></p>
<p>As a result of the threatening language many subscribers fear that they might be made bankrupt. The reality, however, is that nothing usually happens if they opt to ignore the threats.</p>
<p>Stoltz advises people who receive a notice not to reach out to the sender. Instead, they should carefully consider their options and consult a lawyer if needed. </p>
<p>&#8220;Circumstances vary, and it&#8217;s always a good idea to talk to a lawyer about your specific situation. Be cautious about communicating with any company or lawyer that accuses you of copyright infringement &#8211; they will use anything you say against you. Stop, think, and read carefully before you decide to send money or information.&#8221;</p>
<p>In theory ISPs do have the right to disconnect an account after a subscriber receives multiple notices, but this is relatively rare. The same is true for lawsuits. As far as we know neither Rightscorp nor CEG TEK have taken a file-sharer to court.</p>
<p>&#8220;They would rather scare a hundred people into paying $20 than spend thousands on a lawsuit against one person,&#8221; Stoltz says.</p>
<p>The problem remains that even a minuscule chance of getting in trouble is enough for some to pay up. Some people just want the whole thing to go away, that&#8217;s what the settlement model is based on. </p>
<p>The only way to make this threat disappear is for Internet providers to either strip the settlement demands, or simply toss all notices in the trash. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=105217
title: Kim Dotcom Awarded Millions For Legal Bills and Living Expenses
uri: Kim-Dotcom-Awarded-Millions-For-Legal-Bills-and-Living-Expenses
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/mS5cDRvGcFg/
content:
<p><img src="media/66633aca.dotcom-laptop.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/dotcom-laptop.jpg" alt="dotcom-laptop" width="233" height="170" class="alignright size-full wp-image-76556">How much does it cost to enjoy a reasonable standard of living in the modern world? A couple of thousand dollars a month? Three thousand? Four?</p>
<p>For Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom, none of these amounts scratch the surface, a problematic situation considering all of his assets were previously seized by the U.S. and New Zealand governments.</p>
<p>In February a &#8220;broke&#8221; and &#8220;destitute&#8221; Dotcom <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/destitute-kim-dotcom-begs-high-court-for-millions-150226/">appeared</a> before Justice Patricia Courtney, asking for living expenses and a massive cash injection to pay historical and current legal fees. Dotcom was previously granted around US$15,000 per month to live on but high costs had left him “penniless”.</p>
<p>Following the hearing Justice Courtney&#8217;s ruling is largely good news for Dotcom, with the Judge taking into consideration claims by authorities that the entrepreneur has funds in a trust that could help pay his expenses.</p>
<p>&#8220;The trust’s major asset is its shareholding in Mega Ltd, said to be worth more than $30m (US$22.6m). In evidence Mr Dotcom said that there were difficulties in selling Mega shares because they were blocked from being sold until the planned listing of Mega, which is now scheduled for late May 2015 (though it is possible that this date will be pushed back). There was no evidence to the contrary,&#8221; the Judge&#8217;s ruling reads.</p>
<p>&#8220;I have concluded that Mr Dotcom does not have the ability to meet his legal and reasonable living expenses from trust assets because, on the evidence, those assets are not sufficiently liquid.&#8221;</p>
<p>Noting that he still owes former lawyers around US$1.5m, the Judge said that Dotcom&#8217;s estimate for financing his legal battle <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-avoids-u-s-clutches-for-three-more-months-150501/">against extradition</a> is between US$1.5m and US$3m. This amount will be released from currently restrained government bonds.</p>
<p>Next up was the Dotcom family&#8217;s accommodation costs. Rent on the now-famous mansion amounts to US$754,000 per annum under a lease Dotcom signed in February 2013 and which expires in the same month 2016. The Judge decided that terminating that lease would result in additional costs.</p>
<p>&#8220;If [Dotcom] were to terminate the lease in order to find a more modest home, he would immediately be exposed to a significant contractual liability for the existing rental in addition to the costs of any new accommodation,&#8221; the Judge writes.</p>
<p>&#8220;Little would be saved by requiring Mr Dotcom to move into more modest<br>
accommodation pending the expiry of the lease; it is more likely that the total amount required to house Mr Dotcom and his children and meet his lease commitment would actually prove greater than simply remaining where he is.</p>
<p>&#8220;I therefore accept that, in the particular circumstances of this case, a figure of $80,000 (US$60,300) per month is reasonable for accommodation.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Judge also considered Dotcom&#8217;s claims for items like security, staff wages and other general expenses.</p>
<p>Dotcom currently has eight staff but the Judge felt that five would be sufficient to assist with cleaning, cooking, shopping, managing the grounds and caring for Dotcom&#8217;s children.</p>
<p>&#8220;I allow $25,000 ($18,850) per month for staff,&#8221; the Judge said.</p>
<p>Turning to Dotcom&#8217;s request for $20,000 (US$15,000) for groceries, fuel and maintenance etc, the Judge said this was a little high considering Dotcom&#8217;s estranged wife Mona could be expected to chip in.</p>
<p>&#8220;On the basis that the children’s mother can be expected to contribute to<br>
some of these costs I consider that the figure of $20,000 (US$15,000) is a little high and would reduce that to $15,000 (US$11,300) per month,&#8221; the Judge added.</p>
<p>In addition to the legal fees mentioned earlier, in total Dotcom was awarded $170,000 (US$128,000) per month to cover living expenses.</p>
<p>&#8220;Mr Dotcom may have access to that figure each month pending the expiry of the lease on the property,&#8221; the Judge said. &#8220;At that point I would expect that the position will be reviewed.&#8221;</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104743
title: MPAA Funds Pro-Copyright Scholars to Influence Politics
uri: MPAA-Funds-Pro-Copyright-Scholars-to-Influence-Politics
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Ecb-WEZ96NI/
content:
<p><img src="media/fdb36aee.mpaa-logo.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/mpaa-logo.png" alt="mpaa-logo" width="259" height="170" class="alignright size-full wp-image-89856">Last year the MPAA started a new <a href="http://www.mpaaresearchgrants.org/">grants program</a> inviting academics to pitch their research proposals. </p>
<p>Researchers are being offered a $20,000 grant for projects that address various piracy related topics, including the impact of copyright law and the effectiveness of notice and takedown regimes.</p>
<p>Last month marked the silent start of a new round of grant applications for the fall of 2015. </p>
<p>There&#8217;s no public announcement but MPAA boss Chris Dodd previously said there&#8217;s a need for better and unbiased copyright related research to find out how recent developments are affecting the film industry. </p>
<p>“We need more and better research regarding the evolving role of copyright in society. The academic community can provide unbiased observations, data analysis, historical context and important revelations about how these changes are impacting the film industry&#8230;,” Dodd noted.</p>
<p>While Dodd&#8217;s comments about unbiased research are admirable, there also appears to be a hidden agenda which until now hasn&#8217;t seen the light of day. </p>
<p>In an email leaked in the Sony hack MPAA General Counsel Steven Fabrizio <a href="https://wikileaks.org/sony/emails/emailid/111948">explains</a> to the member studios that they&#8217;re soliciting pro-copyright papers. The April 2014 email further reveals that the MPAA hopes to identify pro-copyright scholars who can be used to influence future copyright policies.</p>
<p>&#8220;As you know, as one component of our Academic Outreach program, the MPAA is launching a global research grant program both to solicit pro-copyright academic research papers and to identify pro-copyright scholars who we can cultivate for further public advocacy,&#8221; Fabrizio writes. </p>
<p>Needless to say, soliciting pro-copyright papers and spotting pro-copyright scholars for public advocacy doesn&#8217;t sound very unbiased. </p>
<p>Perhaps for this reason the MPAA has decided not to publicize the initiative too much. There was no press release on the official site regarding the grants and it&#8217;s also unknown which scholars received last year&#8217;s grants. </p>
<p>While $20,000 is relatively modest, the MPAA is also funding scholars outside of the grant program with much more. Last November we revealed that the MPAA had donated over a million dollars to Carnegie Mellon University in support of its piracy research program.</p>
<p>Thus far the Carnegie Mellon team has published a few papers. Among other things the researchers found that the <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-shutdown-boosted-movie-revenues-130307/">Megaupload shutdown worked</a>, that piracy mostly <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2132153">hurts revenues</a>, and that censoring search engine results can <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/search-engines-can-diminish-online-piracy-research-finds-140916/">diminish piracy</a>. </p>
<p>As expected, these results are now used by the MPAA as a lobbying tool to sway politicians and influence public policy.  </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=105074
title: Anti-Piracy Measures Putting Internet Users at Risk
uri: Anti-Piracy-Measures-Putting-Internet-Users-at-Risk
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/bOCpG3ABuKo/
content:
<p><img src="media/66cb7491.danger-p2p.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/danger-p2p.png" alt="danger-p2p" width="200" height="163" class="alignright size-full wp-image-72185">While it&#8217;s not entirely clear when the theory first appeared, the notion that cutting the head off one file-sharing site results in the creation of several others has been in circulation for many years.</p>
<p>The analogy, regularly referred to as the file-sharing &#8216;hydra&#8217;, is often deployed in response to action taken by entertainment companies and local authorities. Tripping off tongues somewhat easily, the defensive reaction paints anti-piracy measures as a futile waste of time.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the outrage these measures often provoke suggest that they do have some impact, if only the raising of blood pressure and gnashing of teeth among site users. Whether or not they reduce overall piracy rates long-term remains to be seen, but right now these strategies are almost certainly undermining the safety of Internet users.</p>
<p><strong>Domain attacks &#8211; blocks</strong></p>
<p>Attacks against site domains come in various shapes and sizes but all are designed to limit a site&#8217;s ability to remain operational. While they are undoubtedly an annoyance to site owners, they also cause problems for site users.</p>
<p>For example, many leading &#8216;pirate&#8217; sites are <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/court-orders-uk-isps-to-block-popcorn-time-150428/">blocked by ISPs in the UK</a>. The blocks are easily circumvented <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">using a VPN</a> but in the case of some of the bigger sites, hundreds of proxy and mirror sites have appeared to facilitate access. </p>
<p>The end result is that there are now dozens of Pirate Bay and KickassTorrents clones, lookalikes, mirrors and proxies. Long live the hydra, right? Well not quite.</p>
<p>We&#8217;ve already seen the chaos and confusion these sites can cause and the situation isn&#8217;t getting any better. It is now very likely that hundreds of thousands of casual users think they are using a relatively trustworthy known site when they are not. Sadly, many clones are filled with aggressive and sometimes malicious ads not present on the original site.</p>
<p><strong>Domain attacks &#8211; suspensions and seizures</strong></p>
<p>As documented on many previous occasions, a key strategy of the entertainment industries is to put pressure on domain companies and registries to stop them providing domains to pirate sites. One of the sites hit on a number of occasions is KickassTorrents (KAT). </p>
<p>KAT has lost several domains in recent years including KAT.ph (<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kickasstorrents-domain-seized-after-music-industry-complaint-130614/">music industry action</a>), Kickass.so (<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kickasstorrents-taken-domain-name-seizure-150209/">unconfirmed</a>) and more recently <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kickasstorrents-domain-seized-within-24-hours-next-stop-cr-150424/">KickassTorrents.im</a>.</p>
<p>Currently the site is operating from KAT.cr (Costa Rica) but ever since the last switch a steady stream of apparently confused site users have been writing to TF and posting on sites including Reddit.</p>
<p>&#8220;I never had to sign up for KAT before, why is it asking me to now?&#8221; one asked.</p>
<p>&#8220;Why is Kickass asking for my credit card details?&#8221; questioned another.</p>
<p>Obviously one of these questions is more serious than the other, but both have straightforward explanations. Some users are so confused about which domain the site is operating from they are using any number of fake sites instead, some of which are asking for credit card details.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s a horrible situation provoked entirely by action against the official site&#8217;s domains, but are so many casual users being affected?</p>
<p><strong>Search engine downranking</strong></p>
<p>For years Hollywood and the recording industry have been placing immense pressure on Google to stop presenting &#8216;pirate&#8217; sites in its search results. After resisting for some time, Google began tweaking it algorithms to downrank sites that have the most copyright complaints logged against them.</p>
<p>In October 2014, Google made its biggest changes yet which resulted in traffic to torrent and other file-sharing sites <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/googles-new-downranking-hits-pirate-sites-hard-141023/">taking a nosedive</a>. And now, thanks to decisions made by Google, a simple search for KickassTorrents presents listings that do not include the real site at all, but fake sites looking for money instead.</p>
<p><img src="media/2b443ecc.kick-goog1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kick-goog1.jpg" alt="kick-goog1" width="643" height="464" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-105122"></p>
<p><strong>Deliberate disruption &#8211; but at what cost?</strong></p>
<p>While blocks are easily circumvented, it is clear that forcing sites from domain to domain undermines their reputation with users. To those not keeping up with the news on a regular basis, disappearing sites seem unreliable due to their own incompetence. When they are &#8216;found&#8217; using Google but then start asking for credit card details, users must really begin to think the worst.</p>
<p>While this must be music to the ears of Hollywood and the music industry, one has to question how many innocent victims are getting caught up in this mess.</p>
<p>&#8220;I registered for a free trial to obtain pdf of washing machine manual but ended up with free trial of Fat Games which is all games, so had to ring this number to cancel trial,&#8221; <a href="http://www.tellows.co.uk/num/02033000135">said</a> a user of the <a href="https://www.tacomedia.net/signup?sf=media">dubious service</a> running hand-in-hand with fake site KickassTorrents.to.</p>
<p><strong>Living in the ghetto</strong></p>
<p>The instances detailed above are just the tip of the iceberg. With every new seizure, suspension and blockade, more scammers will see opportunities to make money by tricking users to sign up to bogus services while obtaining their credit card details by deception.</p>
<p>Of course, none of these problems can be blamed directly on the music or movie companies since they aren&#8217;t the ones running the scams. That being said, whenever concern is expressed for the well-being of Internet users supposedly <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-reports-top-pirate-sites-u-s-government-141027/">exposed to malware</a> on pirate sites, at some point that concern should be extended to those subjected to malware and identity fraud as a result of anti-piracy strategies.</p>
<p>Yeah, don&#8217;t hold your breath.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=105211
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 05/04/15
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-05-04-15
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/PLyyfvRWXmI/
content:
<p><img src="media/c73165d3.kingsman.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/kingsman.jpg" alt="kingsman" width="300" height="211" class="alignright size-full wp-image-105227">This week we have four newcomers in our chart.</p>
<p>Kingsman: The Secret Service 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 BD/DVDrips unless stated otherwise.</p>
<p><a href="http://TorrentFreak.com/category/dvdrip/feed/"><strong>RSS feed</strong></a> for the weekly movie download chart.</p>
<table class="css hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th width="12%"><strong>Ranking</strong></th>
<th width="15%"><strong>(<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-pirated-movies-of-the-week-042715/">last week</a>)</strong></th>
<th><strong>Movie</strong></th>
<th width="18%"><strong>IMDb Rating / Trailer</strong></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td colspan="4">torrentfreak.com</td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><strong>1</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kingsman_the_secret_service/">Kingsman: The Secret Service</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2802144/">8.1</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl8F-8tR8to">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/seventh_son/">Seventh Son</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1121096/">5.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXiNkOjM7oM">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/furious_7/">Furious 7</a> (CAM/TS/R6)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2820852/">8.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yISKeT6sDOg">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/american_sniper/">American Sniper</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2179136/">7.4</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MItGoIxoVGk">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/get_hard/">Get Hard</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2561572/">6.2</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEqrpuU9fYI">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(1)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jupiter_ascending_2014/">Jupiter Ascending</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1617661/">5.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4ZzMkDLjWI">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fifty_shades_of_grey/">Fifty Shades of Grey</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2322441/">4.2</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfZWFDs0LxA">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(6)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/avengers_age_of_ultron/">Avengers: Age of Ultron</a> (CAM)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2395427/">8.3</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAUoeqvedMo">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(4)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/interstellar_2014/">Interstellar</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816692/">8.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vxOhd4qlnA">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(5)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cobbler_2015/">The Cobbler</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3203616/">5.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMVGScC0vDA">trailer</a></td>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=105133
title: Microsoft Logs IP Addresses to Catch Windows 7 Pirates
uri: Microsoft-Logs-IP-Addresses-to-Catch-Windows-7-Pirates
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/-Q9sEn1DTyM/
content:
<p><img src="media/b4f20436.microsoft-pirate.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/microsoft-pirate.png" alt="microsoft-pirate" width="225" height="137" class="alignright size-full wp-image-51663">Due to the fact that one needs to be present on most computers in order for them to work at all, operating systems are among the most pirated types of software around.</p>
<p>There can be little doubt that across its range in its 29 year history, Microsoft&#8217;s Windows operating systems have been pirated countless millions of times. It&#8217;s a practice that on some levels Microsoft has <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/microsoft-weve-always-had-freemium-its-called-piracy-141021/">come to accept</a>, with regular consumers largely avoiding the company&#8217;s aggression.</p>
<p>However, as one or perhaps more pirates are about to find out, the same cannot be said of those pirating the company&#8217;s products on a commercial scale.</p>
<p>In a lawsuit filed this week at a district court in Seattle, Microsoft targets individuals behind a single Verizon IP address &#8211; 74.111.202.30. Who he, she or they are is unknown at this point, but according to Microsoft they&#8217;re responsible for some serious Windows pirating.</p>
<p>&#8220;As part of its cyberforensic methods, Microsoft analyzes product key activation data voluntarily provided by users when they activate Microsoft software, including the IP address from which a given product key is activated,&#8221; the lawsuit reads.</p>
<p>Microsoft says that its forensic tools allow the company to analyze billions of activations of Microsoft software and identify patterns &#8220;that make it more likely than not&#8221; that an IP address associated with activations is one through which pirated software is being activated.</p>
<p>&#8220;Microsoft’s cyberforensics have identified hundreds of product key activations<br>
originating from IP address 74.111.202.30&#8230;which is presently assigned to<br>
Verizon Online LLC. These activations have characteristics that on information and belief, establish that Defendants are using the IP address to activate pirated software.&#8221;</p>
<p>Microsoft says that the defendant(s) have activated hundreds of copies of Windows 7 using product keys that have been &#8220;stolen&#8221; from the company&#8217;s supply chain or have never been issued with a valid license, or keys used more times than their license allows.</p>
<p>In addition to immediate injunctive relief and the impounding of all infringing materials, the company demands profits attributable to the infringements, treble damages and attorney fees or, alternatively, statutory damages.</p>
<p>This week&#8217;s lawsuit <em>(<a href="media/20a66c85.gov.uscourts.wawd.214013.1.0.pdf" data-original-source="http://ia601507.us.archive.org/10/items/gov.uscourts.wawd.214013/gov.uscourts.wawd.214013.1.0.pdf">pdf</a>)</em> follows <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/microsoft-sues-does-for-activating-pirated-software-141208/">similar action</a> in December 2014 in which Microsoft targeted the user behind an AT&#038;T account.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=104735
title: Hollywood Urged Cameron to Keep DVD Ripping Illegal
uri: Hollywood-Urged-Cameron-to-Keep-DVD-Ripping-Illegal
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/tgL9prLSGbw/
content:
<p><img src="media/4d28e669.uk-flag.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/uk-flag.jpg" alt="uk-flag" width="200" height="179" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86005">To most consumers it’s common sense that they can make a backup copy of media they own, but in the UK this was illegal until late last year.</p>
<p>After consulting various stakeholders the Government decided that it would be in the best interests of consumers to legalize copying for personal use.</p>
<p>Perhaps unsurprisingly, not all copyright holders were in favor of the legal changes. In fact, emails published from the Sony Pictures Entertainment hack reveal that Hollywood wanted to stop the plans by urging UK Prime Minister David Cameron to keep Hollywood&#8217;s interests in mind. </p>
<p>The first email mentioning the issue was sent January last year. Here, Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton was informed that MPAA boss Chris Dodd wanted him to give Cameron a call.</p>
<p>&#8220;Essentially, Dodd thinks (and we agree) it would be helpful for you to call Prime Minister Cameron if you are willing in order to ensure our position is fully considered,&#8221; <a href="https://wikileaks.org/sony/emails/emailid/106890">the email</a> from Sony&#8217;s Keith Weaver reads.</p>
<p>According to Weaver it was still uncertain whether Hollywood&#8217;s concerns would be properly heard in Parliament.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is because prior interactions with the U.K. government over the last few months have left us with no certainty that our concerns will be addressed in the proposal that will be presented to Parliament for an up or down vote in February,&#8221; he explained.</p>
<p>Hollywood&#8217;s stance is that copying for private use should remain illegal if there are legal options available. </p>
<p>&#8220;A private copy exception must not apply in the event there are commercially available services that achieve the same need,&#8221; Weaver wrote. </p>
<p>Examples such as <a href="https://www.myuv.com/">UltraViolet</a> show that there is no market failure in the UK, and that private copying exceptions aren&#8217;t needed, in Hollywood&#8217;s view.</p>
<p>On the contrary, technical protections and restrictions are needed for legal services to flourish. </p>
<p>&#8220;We need to rely upon a legal framework that respects the technical protections necessary launch new consumer-oriented commercial services – this is key to our ability to make investments in films and great new TV shows,&#8221; Weaver added.</p>
<p>From the emails it&#8217;s not clear whether or not Sony&#8217;s CEO called Prime Minister Cameron at the time. </p>
<p>However, a few months later in June 2014 Lynton and Cameron had a meeting where the issue was prominently listed <a href="https://wikileaks.org/sony/emails/emailid/111867">on the agenda</a>, along with other anti-piracy issues. </p>
<p>Despite the lobbying efforts at the highest level, the protests of the MPAA and Sony Pictures were not successful. After a brief delay the private copying exceptions eventually <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/uk-government-legalizes-cd-ripping-cloud-backups-today-141001/">became law in October</a>.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=105240
title: The Pirate Bay Is Down (updated)
uri: The-Pirate-Bay-Is-Down-(updated)
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/0ZmAjMX7Eb4/
content:
<p><img src="media/2a43984f.pirate-bay.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/pirate-bay.jpg" alt="pirate bay" width="200" height="207" class="alignright size-full wp-image-53470">After weeks without any significant outages, the Pirate Bay has become unreachable since a few hours.</p>
<p>With <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/swedish-police-raid-the-pirate-bay-site-offline-141209/">the raid</a> of a few months ago still fresh in memory some fear that the problems may be of a more serious nature.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s currently not clear what&#8217;s causing the problems. What we do know is that the site&#8217;s domain name is currently working properly.</p>
<p>The Pirate Bay currently displays a CloudFlare error message suggesting that TPB has an invalid SSL certificate.</p>
<p>This may be the result of a misconfigured or expired SSL certificate, which causes problems for sites that use CloudFlare&#8217;s full (strict) SSL feature.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/403ed4b7.tpbssl.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/tpbssl.jpg" alt="tpbssl" width="855" height="433" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-105242"></center></p>
<p>Interestingly, some users report that they can still access the site via the Tor network, including the popular Pirate Browser. </p>
<p>The Tor traffic goes through a separate server, and it appears that this part of the site&#8217;s infrastructure is not going through CloudFlare.</p>
<p>TorrentFreak reached out to The Pirate Bay team for a comment on the situation and we will update this article if we hear back.</p>
<p>Update: The site is back for most people now.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=105048
title: Popcorn Time Conquers iOS, Now With a Mac Installer
uri: Popcorn-Time-Conquers-iOS-Now-With-a-Mac-Installer
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/9bXmo2ZWePQ/
content:
<p><img src="media/3b9dbdf1.popcornt.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/popcornt.png" alt="popcornt" width="237" height="106" class="alignright size-full wp-image-101106">A few weeks ago the <a href="http://popcorn-time.se/">Popcorn-Time.se</a> fork surprised friend and foe by <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/popcorn-time-releases-jailbreak-free-ios-app-150407/">releasing</a> a hack that allows anyone with an iPhone or iPad to install the iOS version of the popular app. </p>
<p>Popcorn Time was already available on jailbroken iOS devices. However, the developers say that the app really took off when they released the Windows installer for non-jailbreak iOS devices.</p>
<p>&#8220;On April 8th, the day of the release, Popcorn Time broke all previous records and was installed on more than 100,000 iOS devices in one day,&#8221; the Popcorn Time teams informs us. </p>
<p>&#8220;None of the other releases we had since we picked up Popcorn Time evoked such a reaction. We literally stared at the numbers for hours,&#8221; they add.</p>
<p>Today comes another big push as the Mac version of the installer <a href="http://www.popcorn-time.se/ios.html">has just been released</a>. It works in a  similar manner to the Windows version and allows people to install the Popcorn Time app in just a few clicks. </p>
<p>With a Mac installer the Popcorn Time team soon hopes to welcome their millionth download for iOS. </p>
<p>Despite the iOS surge Android remains the most popular platform for the fork at the moment. For a brief moment iOS was in second place, but it&#8217;s now back in third after Windows.</p>
<p>The Popcorn Time developers think that after the <a href="http://iosinstaller.com">iOSInstaller</a> becomes public, so it can also be used for other apps, the popularity will rise again.</p>
<p>&#8220;Now it&#8217;s #3 but we expect this figure to change once again when the iosinstaller.com team officially launches their app store which will be a &#8216;must use&#8217; for all iOS users out there,&#8221; the Popcorn Time team says. </p>
<p>With the iOS installers Popcorn Time is becoming an even bigger target. For Apple, but mostly for the movie studios who don&#8217;t want people to watch their content without paying for it. </p>
<p>Last week the UK High Court <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/court-orders-uk-isps-to-block-popcorn-time-150428/">ordered</a> local ISPs to block the websites of several Popcorn Time forks including popcorn-time.se. This renders the application useless locally, at least for those who haven&#8217;t found a workaround yet. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=105255
title: Demonii Tracker Pauses After Breaking Torrent Records
uri: Demonii-Tracker-Pauses-After-Breaking-Torrent-Records
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/oU4V5uUYmxM/
content:
<p><img src="media/3c71d30b.demonii.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/demonii.png" width="190" height="185" class="alignright">In order to operate at their peak the majority of public torrent indexes need the invaluable assistance of so-called tracker sites. Trackers use the IP addresses in their databases to direct users&#8217; torrent clients to where content can be found.</p>
<p>In recent years OpenBitTorrent, PublicBT and Istole.it became three of the most important trackers in the BitTorrent ecosystem but have largely remained offline since January. As reported last Wednesday, all had <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/music-industry-shuts-down-top-torrent-trackers-150429/">legal issues</a> in Germany.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the BitTorrent system hasn&#8217;t collapsed. Aside from the wonders of <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/bittorrents-future-dht-pex-and-magnet-links-explained-091120/">DHT and PEX</a>, a rising star in the tracking scene has been shouldering much of the load. Founded less than two years ago, Demonii has become the largest and most reliable tracker on the Internet today.</p>
<p>In February the tracker broke records by smashing through the 30 million simultaneous peer barrier, a <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-torrent-tracker-hits-record-breaking-30-million-peers-150208/">landmark achievement</a> representing a staggering two billion connections every day. But the site wasn&#8217;t finished producing big numbers.</p>
<p>As can be seen in the image below, during periods last month the site was serving more than 36 million peers, a new record for the increasingly popular tracker.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/6bb24dee.demonii-peers.png" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/demonii-peers.png" alt="demonii-peers" width="527" height="249" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-105258"></center></p>
<p>Given the increase in number of peers, it perhaps comes as no surprise that the number of torrents being tracked by Demonii has also increased. Back in February when the tracker broke the previous record, Demonii was tracking in excess of 4.2 million torrents, more than the top three trackers were serving in 2013, combined.</p>
<p>As can be seen from the image below, 4.2 million torrents is now history, with Demonii already having reached the 4.8 million torrent milestone.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/89c47d64.demonii-torrents.png" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/demonii-torrents.png" alt="demonii-torrents" width="525" height="218" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-105259"></center></p>
<p>Today, however, Demonii is not running on all cylinders. Speaking with TorrentFreak the site&#8217;s operator confirms that the service is currently running in maintenance mode.</p>
<p>&#8220;Nothing too dramatic is happening, we just turned some things off while we try to sort out internal issues/maintenance,&#8221; he reports.</p>
<p>While the downtime could last another 12 to 24 hours (or more) the site is definitely coming back.</p>
<p>&#8220;The downtime is always lame, but rest assured all is being done so that the Demonii tracker will be online for long term,&#8221; TF is informed.</p>
<p>While that will be welcome news to the site&#8217;s supporters, breaking more records with the current setup probably won&#8217;t be possible until changes have been made. Noting that bandwidth costs are high &#8220;but worth every cent for the torrent community&#8221;, Demonii&#8217;s operator says growth is being limited by software.</p>
<p>&#8220;The tracker software has been starting to reach its limits in terms of connections. We have been working with different groups of developers<br>
who have created their own implementation of a torrent tracker software. But we are not there just yet unfortunately,&#8221; he notes.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the records achieved recently were well received, particularly those connected to newer technology. Although tiny in comparison to IPv4, Demonii&#8217;s IPv6 stats have increased 100% in just six months.</p>
<p><img src="media/b94f30e8.demonoii-ipv6.png" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/demonoii-ipv6.png" alt="demonoii-ipv6" width="525" height="551" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-105273"></p>
<p>&#8220;The growth I am most impressed with is the IPv6 stats. Doubling in less than half a year. Shows where the residential internet is headed. An IPv6 world will be a great world,&#8221; Demonii&#8217;s operator concludes.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=105291
title: Mega’s Bid For Stock Exchange Listing Falls Through
uri: Mega-s-Bid-For-Stock-Exchange-Listing-Falls-Through
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/oxuKjD6QrX8/
content:
<p><img src="media/7bd905c6.mega_logo.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/mega_logo.png" width="200" height="109" class="alignright">During the first quarter of 2014, cloud-storage service Mega.co.nz announced its intention to hit the New Zealand stock exchange.</p>
<p>After being launched by Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom just a year earlier, the news was well received. However, in keeping with the complex life of the entrepreneur, the mission would not be straightforward.</p>
<p>In a process that began last March, Mega said it would aim for a backdoor listing on the New Zealand stock exchange via a reverse takeover of an existing company, TRS Investments.</p>
<p>In tandem, TRS said it had reached agreement to buy Mega Ltd through a share issue to Mega shareholders. Documents filed with the stock exchange put Mega&#8217;s value at NZ$210 million (US$155.7m). </p>
<p>Once the acquisition had been completed TRS planned to change its name to Mega but after several delays in previous months it became evident this morning that the deal would not be going ahead.</p>
<p>&#8220;As previously advised to the market, the proposed acquisition of Mega was conditional upon shareholder approval being obtained on or before 29 May 2015. It has become evident that this condition will not be satisfied within this time frame,&#8221; TRS said in a notice to the market.</p>
<p>&#8220;TRS has been advised overnight by Mega that the shareholders of Mega will not agree to an extension of the conditional date. As a consequence it will be the case that on 29 May, the conditions to the acquisition will not be satisfied, the share sale deed entered into between TRS and the Mega shareholders will terminate, and the proposed acquisition of Mega will not proceed.&#8221;</p>
<p>Speaking with TorrentFreak, Mega CEO Graham Gaylard acknowledged the development as a disappointment but insisted that the company had not been disadvantaged as a result.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s disappointing that we could not make it work, given the amount of time and effort that Mega put into the transaction, but it is not seen as a setback for Mega. The company continues on as a private company,&#8221; Gaylard said.</p>
<p>The Mega CEO also confirmed that the company wouldn&#8217;t give up on its stock market aspirations.</p>
<p>&#8220;An exchange listing is definitely still on the horizon, but plans for this have not been worked on,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>In the meantime Mega continues to grow. Gaylard informs TF that the company now has 18 million registered users, with an additional one million users signing up every month. The majority are on the company&#8217;s extremely generous free tier, so the challenge moving forward will be to upgrade as many as possible to premium subscription status.</p>
<p>That has not been without difficulty, however. While feedback from Mega&#8217;s customers is generally positive, action taken against the site in the United States has proved somewhat of a hindrance.</p>
<p>According to Mega, Senator Patrick Leahy put payment processors under pressure to stop providing services to certain file-hosting companies listed in a <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/report-brands-dotcoms-mega-a-piracy-haven-140918/">Netnames report</a> published last year.</p>
<p>Following <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/under-u-s-pressure-paypal-nukes-mega-for-encrypting-files-150227/">Leahy’s intervention</a>, Visa and MasterCard then pressured PayPal to cease providing payment processing services to Mega, ostensibly on the basis that since content on Mega is encrypted, no one can confirm whether it is legitimate or not.</p>
<p>Following a period in which Mega could accept no payments, it is now able to do so through resellers. It&#8217;s a less than ideal situation but considering the levels of service offered by the company, it will be one that it hopes customers will take in their stride.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=105302
title: ‘Resurrected’ Grooveshark is Actually an MP3Juices Clone
uri: Resurrected-Grooveshark-is-Actually-an-MP3Juices-Clone
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/h7_BO1E-8CE/
content:
<p><img src="media/35e208ca.groove2.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/groove2.jpg" alt="groove2" width="190" height="89" class="alignright size-full wp-image-47909">As dozens of headlines <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/grooveshark-shuts-down-apologizes-to-the-riaa-150501/">relayed</a>, last week was the final chapter in the Grooveshark story.</p>
<p>A fly in the major recording labels&#8217; ointment for almost a decade, Grooveshark eventually collapsed under lawsuit that could have seen it liable for more than $736 million in damages. Instead, the company settled with its rivals for a reported $50 million.</p>
<p>Part of the deal saw the streaming music upstart hand over just about everything to the labels, including its website, mobile apps and intellectual property such as patents and copyrights. Without offering any warning to its millions of users (including many who paid to use the service), on April 30 Grooveshark closed its doors. And that was that. </p>
<p>Well, not quite.</p>
<p>Yesterday, in a surprise twist to the tale, someone claiming connections with the now-defunct Grooveshark site sent out a number of emails to news sites (this one included) announcing that the famous streaming service was being brought back online.</p>
<p>“Well, I started backing up all the content on the website when I started suspecting that Grooveshark’s demise is close and my suspicion was confirmed a few days later when they closed,&#8221; &#8216;Shark&#8217; wrote.</p>
<p>&#8220;By the time they closed I have already backed up 90% of the content on the site and I’m now working on getting the remaining 10%.”</p>
<p>The purpose of this back-up bonanza was to bring Grooveshark back online through a brand new <a href="http://grooveshark.io">Grooveshark.io</a> domain.</p>
<p>Considering the profile of the original Grooveshark and its recent demise at the hands of an aggressive RIAA, the story is definitely exciting, hence the dozens of reports doing the rounds today in the tech press. That being said, the story would have been even better had it passed the sniff-test.</p>
<p><img src="media/2e57e737.groove-io.png" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/groove-io.png" alt="groove-io" width="650" height="418" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-105315"></p>
<p>At first glance the site shown above does look a bit like Grooveshark, no doubt about that, but anyone familiar with the original service knows that the similarities end there.</p>
<p>All the community features that made Grooveshark so popular are absent and searches for content show that the .IO variant has nowhere near the depth of library. Admittedly the site&#8217;s operators say they are working on bringing those back to life, but the issues run deeper than that.</p>
<p>Sensing a similarity with other sites already exploiting the unofficial, unlicensed MP3 market, we decided to find out the truth behind this supposed Grooveshark replacement. Armed with Google and few clips of the site&#8217;s terms and conditions, it didn&#8217;t take long to find a very similar site indeed.</p>
<p><img src="media/9744c76e.groove-terms.png" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/groove-terms.png" alt="groove-terms" width="650" height="594" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-105317"></p>
<p>In fact, every other text section on MP3Juices.se (not to be confused with MP3Juices.com which was previously <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/uk-police-shut-down-mp3-search-engine-mp3juices-140911/">seized</a> by UK police only to return under <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/mp3juices-recovers-from-uk-police-shutdown-with-new-domain-141103/">MP3Juices.to</a>) matches up with the corresponding section on Grooveshark.io.</p>
<p>Of course, the Grooveshark.io people may have cut-and-paste that site&#8217;s text to save time, so we wanted some proof of dynamic similarities. They were easy to find.</p>
<p><img src="media/8f749e7e.groove-search.png" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/groove-search.png" alt="groove-search" width="650" height="255" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-105318"></p>
<p>A search for any term, any artist or any song, returns exactly the same results &#8211; in exactly the same order &#8211; on both sites. On that basis it&#8217;s probably safe to presume that they are either (i) the same sites behind the scenes or that (ii) they use the same search engine and/or the same source content, wherever that may be hosted.</p>
<p>We concede that to some the idea of a reincarnated Grooveshark will be a somewhat romantic one but as we highlighted at the weekend, the practice of passing one site off as another is now really <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-measures-putting-internet-users-at-risk-150503/">getting out of hand</a>.</p>
<p>Only time will tell if Grooveshark.io will magically transform into a proper replacement for the now defunct site, complete with playlist and community features for example, but it seems unlikely.</p>
<p>As things stand Grooveshark.io appears to be just a re-badged/re-skinned clone of MP3Juices.se, a low-traffic clone of the original MP3Juices. In the scheme of things it&#8217;s hardly likely to be an important target for the RIAA, except for one small detail. The labels now own all of Grooveshark&#8217;s intellectual property &#8211; brand names and trademarks included&#8230;..</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://torrentfreak.com">TorrentFreak</a>, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">torrent sites</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">anonymous VPN services</a>.</p>
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