# articles

feed_id: http://torrentfreak.com/?p=114136
title: No Copyright Trolls, Your Evidence Isn’t Flawless
uri: No-Copyright-Trolls-Your-Evidence-Isn-t-Flawless
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/yC21FYMV898/
content:
<p><img src="media/850af792.xmastroll.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/xmastroll.jpg" alt="xmastroll" width="180" height="204" class="alignright size-full wp-image-81338">Earlier this month TF <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/sky-warns-subscribers-of-more-piracy-threats-incoming-151116/">broke the news</a> that Sky Broadband in the UK were sending letters out to some of their customers, warning them they&#8217;re about to be accused of downloading and sharing movies without permission.</p>
<p>When they arrive the threats will come from Golden Eye International (GEIL), the company behind the ‘Ben Dover’ porn brand that has already targeted hundreds of people with allegations of Internet piracy.</p>
<p>“It’s likely that Golden Eye International will contact you directly and may ask you to pay them compensation,” the ISP warned.</p>
<p>In fact, GEIL will definitely ask for money, largely based on their insistence that the evidence they hold is absolutely irrefutable. It&#8217;s the same tune they&#8217;ve been singing for years now, without ever venturing to back up their claims in court. Sadly, other legal professionals are happy to sing along with them.</p>
<p>“Don’t do anything illegal and you won’t get a letter,” intellectual property specialist Iain Connor told The Guardian <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/nov/18/sky-broadband-customers-warned-porn-company-pay-up-or-else-letters">last week</a>.</p>
<p>“Golden Eye will only have gotten details of people that they can prove downloaded content and so whether the ‘invoice’ demand is reasonable will depend on how much they downloaded that infringed copyright material.”</p>
<p>Quite aside from the fact that none of these cases are about downloading copyrighted material (they&#8217;re about uploading), one has to presume that Connor isn&#8217;t personally familiar with details of these cases otherwise he would&#8217;ve declared that interest. Secondly, he is absolutely wrong.</p>
<p>Companies like GEIL sometimes get it wrong, the anti-piracy trackers they use get things wrong, and ISPs get things wrong too. An IP address is NOT a person but innocent parties have to go to huge lengths to prove that. IT worker Harri Salminen did just that and this week finally managed to publicly clear his family&#8217;s name.</p>
<p>It started two years ago when his wife &#8211; the Internet account payer &#8211; was accused by an anti-piracy outfit (unconnected to GEIL) of pirating on a massive scale.</p>
<p>&#8220;They claimed that thousands of music tracks had been illegally distributed from our Internet connection,&#8221; Salminen <a href="http://yle.fi/uutiset/syyton_perhe_uhattiin_haastaa_oikeuteen_tuhansien_kappaleiden_lataamisesta_nettiin/8478535">told</a> local media.</p>
<p>&#8220;The letter came addressed to my wife and she became very anxious, since she didn&#8217;t understand what this was all about. According to the letter, the matter was going to the court and we were advised to make contact to agree on compensation.&#8221;</p>
<p>Sound familiar? Read on.</p>
<p>The Salminen family has two children so took time to ensure they hadn&#8217;t uploaded anything illegally. Harri Salminen, who works in the IT industry, established that they had not, so began to conduct his own investigation. Faced with similar &#8220;irrefutable&#8221; IP address-based evidence to that presented in all of these &#8216;troll&#8217; cases, what could&#8217;ve possibly gone wrong?</p>
<p>Attached to the letter of claim was a page from Salminen&#8217;s ISP which detailed the name of his wife, the IP address from where the piracy took place, and a date of infringement. This kind of attachment is common in such cases and allows trolls to imply that their evidence is somehow endorsed by their target&#8217;s ISP. </p>
<p>Then Salminen struck gold. On the day that the alleged infringement took place the IT worker was operating from home while logged into his company&#8217;s computer systems. Knowing that his company keeps logs of the IP addresses accessing the system, Salminen knew he could prove which IP address he&#8217;d been using on the day.</p>
<p>&#8220;I looked into my employer&#8217;s system logs for IP-addresses over several weeks and I was able to show that our home connection&#8217;s IP address at the time of the alleged act was quite different from the IP address mentioned in the letter,&#8221; he explained.</p>
<p>So what caused Salminen&#8217;s household to be wrongly identified? Well, showing how things can go wrong at any point, it appears that there was some kind of screw-up between the anti-piracy company and Salminen&#8217;s ISP.</p>
<p>Instead of identifying the people who had the IP address at the time of the actual offense, the ISP looked up the people using the address when the inquiry came in.</p>
<p>&#8220;The person under employment of the ISP inputs a date, time, and IP-address to the system based on a court order,&#8221; anti-piracy group TTVK now <a href="http://www.digitoday.fi/yhteiskunta/2015/11/25/ttvk-kiistaa-virheen-operaattori-mokasi/201515582/66">explains</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;And of course, when a human is doing something, there is always a possibility for an error. But even one error is too much.&#8221;</p>
<p>Saliminen says that it was only his expertise in IT that saved him from having to battle it out in court, even though his family was entirely innocent. Sadly, those about to be accused by Golden Eye probably won&#8217;t have access to similar resources.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have only written to those account holders for whom we have evidence of copyright infringement,&#8221; Golden Eye&#8217;s Julian Becker said confidently last week.</p>
<p>Trouble is, Golden Eye only has an IP address and the name of the account holder. They have no evidence that person is the actual infringer, even presuming there hasn&#8217;t been a screw-up like the one detailed above.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have written to account holders accusing them of copyright infringement, even though it&#8217;s entirely possible they personally did nothing wrong and shouldn&#8217;t have to pay us a penny,&#8221; is perhaps what he should&#8217;ve said.</p>
<p>But that&#8217;s not only way too frank but a sure-fire way of punching a huge hole in GEIL&#8217;s bottom line. And for a troll like GEIL, that would be a disaster.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114139
title: Cox Can’t Describe Rightscorp As “Extortionists” and “Trolls” During Trial
uri: 2015-11-29-
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/HWROBU3zGCU/
content:
<p><img src="media/17a592c8.trollsign.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/trollsign.jpg" alt="trollsign" width="250" height="167" class="alignright size-full wp-image-108977">Next week marks the start of a crucial trial that may define how U.S. Internet providers deal with pirating subscribers in the future. </p>
<p>Internet provider Cox Communications is facing a lawsuit from <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/cox-communications-sued-for-not-disconnecting-pirates-141128/"> BMG Rights Management and Round Hill Music</a>, who accuse the company of failing to terminate the accounts of subscribers who frequently pirate content.</p>
<p>This week the court ruled on several requests and concerns about the upcoming trial. Several of these motions relate to Rightscorp, the company which sends out infringement notices with settlement demands for the rightsholders.</p>
<p>In previous filings Cox described Rightscorp as a copyright-trolling outfit that uses <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/rightscorp-offered-internet-provider-a-cut-of-piracy-settlements-150525/">extortion and blackmail-like</a> practices to pressure alleged pirates into settling. This language concerned the music companies, who asked the court to exclude it from trial. </p>
<p>This week Judge O&#8217;Grady agreed, ordering that Cox is prohibited from introducing irrelevant information about Rightscorp (<a href="media/be676eec.motionorders.pdf" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/motionorders.pdf">pdf</a>). </p>
<p>Among other things, the proposed order specifies that the Internet provider can&#8217;t reference Rightscorp&#8217;s business practices after 2011, including evidence from phone scripts or call recordings. </p>
<p>Rightscorp&#8217;s <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/rightscorp-burns-4-for-every-dollar-pirates-pay-in-fines-151117/">precarious financial position</a> is also off-limits, as well as any allegations that the company violates debt collection or private investigation laws.</p>
<p>Finally, the aforementioned extortion and troll references are banned during trial as well.</p>
<p>&#8220;Defendants are prohibited from using derogatory terms such as &#8216;troll,&#8217; &#8216;blackmailer,&#8217; and &#8216;extortionist&#8217; in reference to Rightscorp or Plaintiffs and are prohibited from using terms like &#8216;extortion&#8217; or &#8216;blackmail&#8217; to describe the companies’ communications or business practices,&#8217; the order reads.   </p>
<p>In addition to this order, Cox faced another setback. </p>
<p>The ISP previously asked the court to prevent the copyright holders from using any material claiming that BitTorrent equals piracy. According to Cox, BitTorrent has <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-usage-doesnt-equal-piracy-cox-tells-court-151115/">plenty of legitimate uses</a>, but the motion was denied by Judge O&#8217;Grady.</p>
<p>On the upside, the court agreed with Cox that Rightscorp <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/destroyed-piracy-tracking-code-should-end-lawsuit-cox-says-151110/">destroyed crucial evidence</a> by deleting older versions of its piracy tracking code.</p>
<p>While this is not enough to dismiss the entire case, sanctions are appropriate and Cox is allowed to reference the destroyed evidence during its opening statement (<a href="media/745c7402.spoilor.pdf" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/spoilor.pdf">pdf</a>). </p>
<p>These new developments, as well as the earlier order declaring that Cox is <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/cox-has-no-dmca-safe-harbor-protection-judge-rules-151124/">not entitled to</a> DMCA safe-harbor protections, show how much is at stake for both sides. The trial is expected to start in a few days and will be closely followed by other copyright holders and Internet providers.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114246
title: Copyright Industry Still Doesn’t Understand This Fight Isn’t About Money, But Liberty
uri: Copyright-Industry-Still-Doesn-t-Understand-This-Fight-Isn-t-About
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/34Z2Ky36SBU/
content:
<p><img src="media/db7b975c.copyright-branded.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/copyright-branded.jpg" alt="copyright-branded" width="250" height="164" class="alignright size-full wp-image-56211">In 2010, I got a <a href="http://www.gp.se/nyheter/sverige/1.320966-falkvinge-arets-it-person">prize</a> from the Swedish IT Industry as <em>&#8220;IT person of the year&#8221;,</em> the year after I had led the Swedish and first Pirate Party into the European Parliament. </p>
<p>Their motivation for the prize was that I had finally, and through hard work, brought important IT issues to front row and center of the political establishment.</p>
<p>What we said then are the same things we say now. The Internet is the most important piece of infrastructure we have. More important than telco, than cable TV, than roads, than power, than&#8230; well, with the possible exception of tap water and sanitation infrastructure, I&#8217;ll allow the jury to confer a bit more on that one. </p>
<p>We were saying, and are saying, that it&#8217;s insane, asinine, repulsive and revolting to allow a cartoon industry (the copyright industry &#8211; mostly led by Disney in this regard) to regulate the infrastructure of infrastructures. To allow a cartoon industry to dismantle anonymity, the right to private correspondence and many more fundamental liberties just because they were worried about their profits.</p>
<p>There was some success in pushing back the worst. We didn&#8217;t get to go on the offense, but we did safeguard the most important of liberty.</p>
<p>Then, something very odd and unexpected happened. Spotify came on stage, praised The Pirate Bay for raising the bar for consumer expectations of what good service means, and swept the floor with consumption patterns of music. As did Pandora in the US. Pirates tend to be early adopters and Pandora was no exception: I am <a href="http://www.pandora.com/profile/pandora110">paying subscriber #110</a> there out of today&#8217;s tens of millions. As was always noted, the fight for liberty was never a fight about money.</p>
<p>More people shifted toward streaming video as well with Netflix and similar services, again showing it was never about the money, but always about freedom.</p>
<p>After that, something even more unexpected happened. Pirates started fighting <em>with</em> the copyright industry, <em>against</em> the internet service providers, in the halls of policymaking. More specifically, pirates were siding with Microsoft against lots of old telco dinosaurs. Even more specifically, people were fighting for Net Neutrality &#8211; something that Microsoft was also fighting for, as <em>the owner of Skype</em> &#8211; against the mobile divisions of telco dinosaurs, who wanted to lock out competitors from their imaginary walled garden.</p>
<p>Of course, this is only unexpected if you thought it was about money in the first place. If you knew that it was always about liberty, about defending the infrastructure of infrastructures, about protecting the right to innovate and the freedom of speech, this comes as a no-brainer.</p>
<p><strong>We care for permissionless innovation, we care for private correspondence, we care for sharing and the legacy of knowledge and culture. We do not care in the slightest for obsolete and outdated pre-internet distribution monopolies, nor do we care for pipes that want to be privileged, and we become outright hostile when the industries that benefit from old monopolies (not stakeholders, but beneficiaries!) assert a right to dismantle the liberties that our ancestors fought, bled, and died to give to us today.</strong></p>
<p>&#8220;How will the authors get paid?&#8221; is an utterly uninteresting question in a market economy. The answer is equally utterly simple: &#8220;by making a sale&#8221;. There is no other way, and there should not be any other way. A much more relevant question today is &#8220;how do we protect the infrastructure of liberty against corporate encroachment and imaginary privileges of pre-internet monopolies&#8221;.</p>
<p>Oh, and the Swedish IT Industry Association also gives a prize to the IT <em>Company</em> of the year, not just the IT <em>person</em> of the year. The company to get that prize in the same year as me? Spotify.</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">
<div style="float:right;height:130px;width:39px;margin-left:20px;margin-right:10px"><img src="media/98818a80.Rick_Falkvinge_39x130.jpg" data-original-source="http://falkvinge.net/wp-content/themes/WpNewspaper/images/falkvinge/Rick_Falkvinge_39x130.jpg" style="border:none;-moz-box-shadow:none;-webkit-box-shadow:none" class="quimby_search_image"></div>
<p><span style="color:#3F3F3F;font-size:125%">About The</span> <span style="color:#FF3C78;font-size:125%">Author</span></p>
</h3>
<p style="font-family:PTSansRegular,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-weight:400;line-height:150%;margin-bottom:14px"><small>Rick Falkvinge is a regular columnist on TorrentFreak, sharing his thoughts every other week. He is the founder of the Swedish and first Pirate Party, a whisky aficionado, and a low-altitude motorcycle pilot. His blog at <a href="http://falkvinge.net">falkvinge.net</a> focuses on information policy.</small></p>
<div style="float:right;position:relative;top:-12px">
<p><small>Book Falkvinge <a href="http://falkvinge.net/keynotes/">as speaker</a>?</small></p>
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<p><a href="http://twitter.com/Falkvinge" class="twitter-follow-button">Follow @Falkvinge</a></p>
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<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114241
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 11/30/15
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-11-30-15
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/FNBMXAYZx3U/
content:
<p><img src="media/389e92a0.maze.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/maze.jpg" alt="maze" width="300" height="246" class="alignright size-full wp-image-113933">This week we have two newcomers in our chart. </p>
<p>Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials 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-112315/">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/maze_runner_the_scorch_trials/">Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4046784/">6.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-44_igsZtgU">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/antman/">Ant-Man</a></td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478970/">7.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWdKf3MneyI">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/another_world_2014/">Another World</a> (Web-DL)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1920846/">5.3</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMJJfwzVPfo">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(8)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/criminal_activities/">Criminal Activities</a> (Web-DL)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3687310/">5.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoYfdgskwqg">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(7)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_man_from_uncle/">The Man from U.N.C.L.E.</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1638355/">7.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Ky4KPzKwY">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(4)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/771432049/">Ronaldo</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5065822/">6.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lScZLH5b-og">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(10)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_33/">The 33</a> (Web-DL)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2006295/">7.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOoIBOYqHyw">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hotel_transylvania_2/">Hotel Transylvania 2</a> (Webrip)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2510894/">7.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3nqmGgnJe8">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(9)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/inside_out_2015/">Inside Out</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2096673/">8.4</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seMwpP0yeu4">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/guilty_2015/">Talvar</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4934950/">8.6</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQNMsw8Ljjc">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114260
title: Swedish Pirate Bay Blocking Decision Will Go to Appeal
uri: Swedish-Pirate-Bay-Blocking-Decision-Will-Go-to-Appeal
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/uyTs5jIGJgU/
content:
<p><img src="media/1a30604c.tpb3.png" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/tpb3.png" width="230" height="243" class="alignright">In a growing number of countries around Europe, courts have been overwhelmingly willing to order Internet service providers to block pirate sites. In Sweden, spiritual home of The Pirate Bay, copyright holders hoped to achieve the same.</p>
<p>However, a case brought in 2014 by Universal Music, Sony Music, Warner Music, Nordisk Film and the Swedish Film Industry against local ISP Bredbandsbolaget (Broadband Company) <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/no-pirate-bay-blockade-in-sweden-court-rules-151127/">crashed and burned on Friday</a>.</p>
<p>After a month of deliberations a unanimous Stockholm District Court found that Swedish legislation meets the requirements of the EU Infosoc directive. The actions of Bredbandsbolaget do not constitute its participation in infringements carried out by some of its &#8216;pirating&#8217; subscribers, the Court found.</p>
<p>Considering the momentum around Europe towards blocking the decision in Sweden came as a surprise, not least to the copyright holders behind the case. Per Strömbäck of FTVS, the umbrella group behind the action, believes that illegal sites came out the winners on Friday. </p>
<p>&#8220;The ruling is a serious failing for the Swedish judicial system that is already falling behind. Swedish film and music creators deserve better,&#8221; Strömbäck says.</p>
<p>However, the movie, TV and record companies behind the action have no intention of giving up and as predicted will take their case to appeal.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Court has examined the legislation whose precise purpose is to give rights owners the opportunity to have Internet service providers stop illegal services from reaching Swedish internet users,&#8221; says Henrik Bengtsson, legal counsel for the plaintiffs in the case.</p>
<p>&#8220;Similar legislation already exists in the rest of Scandinavia as well as in much of Europe. We will appeal.&#8221;</p>
<p>The efforts to hold Bredbandsbolaget as accomplices to its subscribers&#8217; &#8216;crimes&#8217; means that the legal action against the ISP was the first of its kind in the country.</p>
<p>If it had succeeded, other ISPs in Sweden would have been subjected to similar conditions and demands to block other sites would&#8217;ve quickly followed. However, as the position stands today Bredbandsbolaget feels its stance as a mere conduit of information has been vindicated.</p>
<p>&#8220;We see it as positive that the district court did not consider that Internet operators are accomplices in crimes committed over the Internet. This is important for freedom of expression and the Swedish model of a free and open Internet,&#8221; says Anna Byström, Chief Legal Officer at Bredbandsbolaget parent company Telenor.</p>
<p>&#8220;We believe that the Court of Appeal will rule in our favor, and hope that this will put an end to this matter that could otherwise lead to ISPs needing to block more sites in the future.&#8221;</p>
<p>The plaintiffs will file their case with the Svea Court of Appeal before December 18, 2015. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114265
title: MPAA ‘Softens’ Movie Theater Anti-Piracy Policy, Drops Bounty
uri: MPAA-Softens-Movie-Theater-Anti-Piracy-Policy-Drops-Bounty
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Ml2lMH6CWnw/
content:
<p><img src="media/e446244f.recillegal.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/recillegal.png" alt="recillegal" width="267" height="237" class="alignright size-full wp-image-114271">The MPAA sees illegally recorded movies as one of the biggest piracy threats and goes to extremes to stop it.</p>
<p>During pre-release screenings and premieres, for example, employees are often equipped with night-vision goggles and other spy tech to closely monitor movie goers. </p>
<p>In some cases members of the public have been instructed to hand over all recording-capable devices including phones and Google glasses.</p>
<p>Through these measures the MPAA hopes to prevent pirates from camcording movies or recording audio in theaters. The underlying policy is drafted in cooperation with the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), and a few days ago the most recent version was released. </p>
<p>At first sight not much has changed. The MPAA still recommends theater owners to keep an eye on suspect movie goers while prohibiting the use of any recording devices including phones.  </p>
<p>&#8220;Preventative measures should include asking patrons to silence and put away their phones and requiring they turn off and stow all other devices capable of recording, including wearable technology capable of recording. </p>
<p>&#8220;If individuals fail or refuse to put any recording device away, managers—per your theater’s policy — can ask them to leave,&#8221; the recommendation reads. </p>
<p>There are several subtle changed throughout the document though, especially regarding the involvement of police. Previously, theater employees were encouraged to detain suspect visitors and hand them over to the authorities. </p>
<p>This is explicitly stated in the following snippet taken from the 2014 version of the best practices.</p>
<p><em>&#8220;Theater managers should immediately alert law enforcement authorities whenever they have clear indications that prohibited activity is taking place—the proper authorities will determine what laws may have been violated and what enforcement action should be taken.&#8221; </em></p>
<p>In the new document, however, it&#8217;s no longer a requirement to call the police. Instead, this is now optional. </p>
<p><em>&#8220;Theater managers have the option to immediately alert law enforcement authorities whenever they have clear indications that prohibited activity is taking place or managers can the stop the activity without law enforcement assistance.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>Similar changes were made throughout the document. Even reporting incidents to the MPAA no longer appears to be mandatory, which it still was according to last year&#8217;s text.  </p>
<p><em>&#8220;After your theater manager has contacted the police, your theater manager should immediately call the MPAA 24/7 Anti-Camcording Hot Line to report the incident.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>The language above has now been changed to a less urgent option of simply reporting incidents, should a theater manager deem it appropriate. </p>
<p><em>&#8220;Your theater manager can also call the MPAA 24/7 Anti-Camcording Hot Line to report the incident.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>Aside from the softer tone there&#8217;s another significant change to the best practices. The $500 &#8220;reward&#8221; movie theater employees could get for catching pirates is no longer mentioned. </p>
<p><center><strong>The old Take Action Award mention</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/4da2dc36.takeactionreward.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/takeactionreward.jpg" alt="takeactionreward" width="600" height="420" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-114276"></center></p>
<p>In fact, the entire &#8220;take action award&#8221; program appears to have been discontinued. The NATO page where it was listed now returns a <a href="http://natoonline.org/initiatives/movie-theft/nato-mpaa-take-action-reward-program/nato-mpaa-take-action-reward-program-application/">404 error</a> and the <a href="media/bd5e992e.Lt32tHT.png" data-original-source="http://i.imgur.com/Lt32tHT.png">details</a> on FightFilmTheft have been <a href="http://www.fightfilmtheft.org/theater-employees.html">removed</a> as well. </p>
<p>This stands in stark contrast to the UK where the rewards for a similar program were <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/cash-bounties-for-catching-cinema-pirates-doubles-in-uk-151022/">doubled just a few weeks ago</a>, with officials describing it as a great success. </p>
<p>The question that remains unanswered is why the MPAA and NATO have implemented these changes. Could it be that there were too many false positives being reported to the police, or is there an image problem perhaps?</p>
<p>In recent years several questionable police referrals resulted in a media backlash. A 19-year-old girl was <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/teen-arrested-for-recording-20-second-movie-clip/">arrested</a> for recording a 20 second clip from the movie &#8220;Transformers,&#8221; which she wanted to show to her brother, for example. </p>
<p>And just last year the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/google-glass-now-banned-in-us-movie-theaters-over-piracy-fears-141029/">FBI dragged a man from a movie theater</a> in Columbus, Ohio, after theater staff presumed his wearing of Google Glass was a sign that he was engaged in camcorder piracy.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, reports of real pirates being apprehended in a similar fashion have been notable by their absence.</p>
<p><center><strong>Best Practices to Prevent Film Theft</strong><br></br></center><center><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/291659371/content?start_page=1&#038;view_mode=scroll&#038;access_key=key-wvLbVaEctWrFSO34UdQF&#038;show_recommendations=false" data-auto-height="false" data-aspect-ratio="0.7729220222793488" scrolling="no" id="doc_70777" width="600" height="800" frameborder="0"></iframe></center></p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114257
title: UK Anti-Piracy ‘Education’ Campaign Launched, Quietly
uri: UK-Anti-Piracy-Education-Campaign-Launched-Quietly
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/BuW4aLyEnus/
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">In an effort to curb online piracy, early last year the movie and music industries <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/uk-isps-agree-to-send-out-music-movie-piracy-warnings-140509/">reached agreement</a> with the UK&#8217;s leading ISPs to send &#8216;warnings&#8217; to alleged pirates.</p>
<p>Under the new system copyright holders will <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/how-uk-piracy-warnings-work-140517/">monitor illegal P2P file-sharing activity</a> with a strong focus on repeat offenders.  </p>
<p>The warning program is part of the larger Creative Content UK (CCUK) initiative which also includes an educational component. Though various PR campaigns the coalition hopes to change people&#8217;s attitudes towards piracy.</p>
<p>CCUK was launched after years of negotiating and the plans were widely discussed in the media. However, when the first campaign launched a few weeks ago there was a remarkable silence.</p>
<p>The first education campaign is called &#8220;<a href="https://www.getitrightfromagenuinesite.org/">Get It Right from a Genuine Site.</a>&#8221; It encourages people to stay clear from pirate sites and use licensed services instead, so that copyright holders and industry employees are properly compensated. </p>
<p>The campaign was promoted alongside an ad which aired during the UK version of The X-Factor and elsewhere late October. In the high-profile advertising spot, which isn&#8217;t cheap, viewers were encouraged to duck dodgy sites and go legit.</p>
<p>&#8220;Get the stuff you love from genuine sites and support creativity. Download or stream from dodgy sites and contribute nothing. It&#8217;s your choice,&#8221; it says.</p>
<p><center><strong>Get It Right from a Genuine Site</strong><br></br></center><center><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/BQYACIKuKp4?rel=0&amp;controls=0&amp;showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center></p>
<p>CCUK is encouraging the public to use the hashtag #genuine to promote the initiative. However, thus far the response has been rather underwhelming with only a handful of tweets, mostly from industry insiders. </p>
<p>Today, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/genuine?f=tweets&#038;vertical=default&#038;src=hash">the hashtag</a> is mostly used in totally unrelated tweets and on other social media the project isn&#8217;t really taking off either. The official Facebook page of the campaign has only <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GetItRightFromAGenuineSite/">114 likes</a>.</p>
<p>The only Facebook comment responding to the campaign ad is not very encouraging either. &#8220;It&#8217;s not 2003. No one&#8217;s getting pirated music from IRC or whatever,&#8221; <a href="media/1a958202.7DHYsiX.png" data-original-source="http://i.imgur.com/7DHYsiX.png">it reads</a>.</p>
<p>In addition to the ad, CCUK is also backing a large <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8OC3ibA6dY">street art project</a>. It&#8217;s not entirely clear how this offline project relates to online piracy, but perhaps it&#8217;s an effort to appeal to the target audience.</p>
<p>TorrentFreak asked CCUK who informed us that they are happy with the progress they&#8217;ve made thus far.</p>
<p>‘Get it Right from a Genuine Site’ is a long term campaign which seeks to engage consumers across numerous channels about the wide range of legal sources available and help raise awareness of the value of creative content.&#8221; </p>
<p>&#8220;We are very pleased with the progress of the campaign to date and as awareness continues to build, we expect to see strong results for the creative sectors in the coming year.&#8221;</p>
<p>In the months to come CCUK will release additional campaigns as well as the piracy alerts program, where BT, SKY, TalkTalk and Virgin Media will notify pirating subscribers.</p>
<p>A CCUK spokesperson previously informed us that their ultimate goal is to bring down local piracy rates. During the months following the rollout the file-sharing habits of UK Internet users will be frequently polled to measure the impact of the campaign.</p>
<p>“The aim of Creative Content UK is to encourage greater use of legal content services and to reduce online copyright infringement. There will be regular measurements of legal and illegal consumption of content throughout the duration of the initiative, which will be compared with levels before the launch of the program,” CCUK told TF.</p>
<p>Considering the response and exposure thus far, there&#8217;s still a long way to go.</p>
<p><strong>Update: </strong>added a response from CCUK</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114336
title: Hilarious Remixers Hand Out Copyright Smackdown
uri: Hilarious-Remixers-Hand-Out-Copyright-Smackdown
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/TZZzKmL7Opc/
content:
<p><img src="media/e2a2d1e2.det-logo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/det-logo.jpg" alt="det-logo" width="180" height="167" class="alignright size-full wp-image-114344">Considering the amount of publicity a wrongful DMCA notice can generate these days, it&#8217;s no surprise that when a gift of a story presents itself, people are happy to jump on board.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, however, some stories are more complex than they first appear and when that complexity is borne out of a deliberate desire to mislead, chaos is bound to ensue.</p>
<p>On November 25 a tantalizing piece appeared in <a href="http://www.electronicbeats.net/feed/can-you-copyright-silence-dj-detweiler-versus-soundcloud/">Electronic Beats</a> detailing how in an apparent desire to protect copyright, Soundcloud had finally gone too far. A follow-up piece from YourEDM put meat on the bones.</p>
<p>&#8220;Just when you thought Soundcloud couldn’t get any worse, they strike again harder than ever. Now reaching an all time low, Soundcloud has removed a track that is nothing but 4 minutes of pure silence due to &#8216;Copyright Infringement&#8217; claims,&#8221; it <a href="http://www.youredm.com/2015/11/28/soundcloud-finally-goes-too-far-removes-silent-track-for-copyright-infringement-2/">declared</a>.</p>
<p>The piece was uploaded to an account operated by DJ Detweiler and consisted of a remix (if one could ever be possible) of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4%E2%80%B233%E2%80%B3">John Cage &#8216;track&#8217; 4&#8217;33&#8221;</a>, a famous performance consisting of nothing but silence.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/d83ed5de.det-dmca.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/det-dmca.jpg" alt="det-dmca" width="638" height="285" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-114341"></center></p>
<p>&#8220;That’s right, a song that has literally no sound was flagged for removal. How? Because Soundcloud is lazy and takes shortcuts to flag and remove content,&#8221; the YourEDM piece continued. </p>
<p>&#8220;Instead of crawling the uploaded content for copyright material, which takes a decent amount of CPU power, Soundcloud has resorted into cutting that process out entirely and beginning to flag content based on JUST the track title.&#8221;</p>
<p>As recipes for outrage go, this was an absolute doozy and no wonder it was picked up by several publications in the days that followed. However, as is now becoming painfully obvious, the whole thing was a giant stunt. A statement from Soundcloud obtained by <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2015/11/30/no-soundcloud-didnt-remove-a-silent-track-for-violating-copyri/">Engadget</a> revealed the cringe-worthy truth.</p>
<p>&#8220;The upload referenced in the screenshot was not a track of silence and was taken down because it included Justin Bieber&#8217;s What Do You Mean without the rightsholder&#8217;s permission,&#8221; the company said.</p>
<p>&#8220;The respective user uploaded the track under the title &#8220;4&#8217;33&#8221;,&#8221; which is also the name of John Cage&#8217;s famous piece of silence but it was not, in fact, silence.&#8221; </p>
<p>So what were DJ Detweiler&#8217;s aims? Well, trolling the press appears to be one. In a biting follow-up amid several retweets of regurgitated articles on the same topic, DJ Detweiler posted the following image.</p>
<p><center><br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;I AM A JOURNALIST FOR AN INTERNET MAGAZINE&quot; &#10;STARTER PACK <a href="https://t.co/4nBuhZ3RsV">pic.twitter.com/4nBuhZ3RsV</a></p>
<p>&mdash; dj detweiler (@DeeJayDetweiler) <a href="https://twitter.com/DeeJayDetweiler/status/671370372521074692">November 30, 2015</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center></p>
<p>Another aim appears to be recreating the work of Cage to prove a point. Although Cage&#8217;s track 4&#8217;33&#8221; was supposed to be silent, &#8216;performers&#8217; are expected to be present but not play. Unless done so in a vacuum, the resulting &#8216;performance&#8217; therefore includes ambient noise. Equally, it appears that DJ Detweiler&#8217;s &#8216;silence&#8217; is now intentionally causing noise around the Internet too.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are making a remix of the original performance of John Cage. The only different thing is that we are making it on the internet in 2015, instead of doing it in a space like a theater, like John Cage did. The whole environment around what we&#8217;re doing is the performance because everybody&#8217;s reacting.&#8221;</p>
<p>But trolling and frivolity aside, it does appear that DJ Detweiler have a copyright message to deliver.</p>
<p>&#8220;When John Cage wrote that piece, one of the main reasons was because he was trying to ask, who owns the silence? Who has the copyright for the silence?&#8221; they ask. &#8220;The laws surrounding copyright at this point seem highly outdated and need some sort of reformation, and we just want to push that.&#8221;</p>
<p>While the group have certainly achieved their aims, it&#8217;s perhaps a bit of a shame that&#8217;s been achieved at the expense of publications who mainly appeared to have sympathy with often overreaching copyright law.</p>
<p>That being said, when one looks at DJ Detweiler&#8217;s <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DJDetweilerOfficial/photos/a.1407565816123558.1073741827.1406781539535319/1469527499927389/?_rdr">Facebook</a> and homepages (<a href="http://djdetweiler.com/">epilepsy warning!</a>), the value of doing more research really starts to pay off.</p>
<p>DJ Detweiler are taking part in a panel discussion about &#8220;branding, hype and trends&#8221; <a href="http://www.3hd-festival.com/posts/branding-hype-trends">this Thursday</a> at the <a href="http://www.3hd-festival.com/">3hd Festival</a> in Berlin. He&#8217;s described as an individual there but at this point, who knows? </p>
<p>In the meantime enjoy his/their remix of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJwETCKtf4Q">Sandstorm</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EWUjg3jYWI">Smack My Bitch Up</a>, and my personal favorite, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HxbGuCt-yI">DJ Hazard&#8217;s Mr Happy</a>.</p>
<p><center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7YwNiFICaH8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center></p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114297
title: Broke Again, Dotcom Asks Hong Kong Court For Millions
uri: Broke-Again-Dotcom-Asks-Hong-Kong-Court-For-Millions
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/XlqGXGEj-ko/
content:
<p><img src="media/5b2669f1.dotcom-laptop.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/dotcom-laptop.jpg" alt="dotcom-laptop" width="233" height="170" class="alignright size-full wp-image-76556">In 2012, as Megaupload’s servers were being closed down in the U.S. and Dotcom’s New Zealand mansion was being raided by armed police, the entrepreneur&#8217;s offices in Hong Kong were being turned over by a reported 100 customs officers.</p>
<p>Under instruction from the U.S. government, HK$330 million (US$42.57m) in assets were seized and have remained restrained in Hong Kong ever since.</p>
<p>In April 2014, Megaupload launched legal action against the Hong Kong government, applying for the restraining order to be set aside while accusing the secretary for justice of procedural failings when the application for seizure was made.</p>
<p>In December 2014 came a breakthrough when a judge in the High Court <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcoms-hong-kong-millions-unfrozen-momentarily-141204/">set aside</a> the restraining order. However, while an almost immediately lock was reapplied to Dotcom&#8217;s assets, a revised order granted Dotcom’s legal team the right to contest the asset freeze.</p>
<p>As part of that ongoing process, Dotcom&#8217;s lawyers were back in court this week asking for the release of large amounts of funds, the equivalent of US$2.3m to cover legal costs plus US$52,000 per month for his living expenses.</p>
<p>In keeping with argument presented at his recent extradition hearing in New Zealand, Dotcom&#8217;s legal team told the Hong Kong court that by restraining his funds and expecting him to mount a defense their client&#8217;s hands &#8220;were tied behind his back.&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1885362/kim-dotcom-asks-hong-kong-court-release-restrained-funds">SCMP</a> reports that while Dotcom had a “world-class” legal team in the New Zealand hearing, he had no money left to pay them so had to use &#8220;junior lawyers.&#8221; Money had now run out in New Zealand, so the funds in Hong Kong were the next best option.</p>
<p>But just like last year when Hong Kong authorities were accused by Dotcom&#8217;s team of not making a &#8220;full disclosure&#8221; of the facts, this week the authorities sought to turn the tables.</p>
<p>Representing the government, prosecutor Wayne Walsh SC claimed Dotcom did the same after starting two new businesses and running transactions &#8220;worth hundreds of millions of dollars&#8221; through Hong Kong bank accounts. Dotcom was also criticized for not disclosing details of his living costs</p>
<p>Once a staunch supporter of Hong Kong, Dotcom now finds himself at the mercy of the country&#8217;s judges who to date have been much less flexible than their counterparts in New Zealand when it comes to releasing funds.</p>
<p><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-awarded-millions-plus-128k-per-month-expenses-150502s/">Back in May</a> a New Zealand court released millions in funds to pay for Dotcom&#8217;s legal bills, plus $128K per month in living expenses.</p>
<p>A sizable $60K of that money was earmarked to pay the rent on Dotcom&#8217;s mansion, which has been reported to cost around $750,000 per annum under a lease signed in February 2013.</p>
<p>However, the terms of the agreement meant that Dotcom would ultimately have to buy the property or move out. It was reported in November that the entrepreneur would be moving to a waterfront penthouse apartment on &#8220;fashionable&#8221; Princes Wharf instead.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s significantly more humble than what I am used to but that&#8217;s okay,&#8221; Dotcom <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&#038;objectid=11541744">said</a> last month. &#8220;I am also not living with a partner any more, we have reduced our staff numbers significantly and this place feels a little bit big now.&#8221;</p>
<p>The hearing in Hong Kong continues.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114366
title: Sky Users Receive Porn Piracy Threats in Time For Christmas
uri: Sky-Users-Receive-Porn-Piracy-Threats-in-Time-For-Christmas
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/srb-tEJWr5A/
content:
<p><img src="media/85181ef2.sky.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/sky.jpg" width="180" height="108" class="alignright">Last month <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/sky-warns-subscribers-of-more-piracy-threats-incoming-151116/">news broke</a> that a brand new flood of copyright infringement threats were about to land with UK-based Internet users.</p>
<p>“A company called Golden Eye International, which owns rights to several copyrighted films, has claimed that a number of Sky Broadband customers engaged in unlawful file sharing of some of its films,&#8221; ISP Sky told its subscribers in a warning letter.</p>
<p>&#8220;It’s likely that Golden Eye International will contact you directly and may ask you to pay them compensation.&#8221;</p>
<p>It&#8217;s taken several weeks but as promised Sky subscribers are now receiving letters from Golden Eye (GEIL) and partner firm Ben Dover Productions (BDP).</p>
<p>&#8220;It is with regret that we are writing this letter to you. However, GEIL and BDP are very concerned at the illicit distribution of films over the Internet,&#8221; the letter begins.</p>
<p>GEIL then explains that it is not the content owner but &#8220;the licensee authorized to enforce breach of copyright&#8221; on the adult movie titles referenced in the letters. To protect our sources we aren&#8217;t publishing the movie titles but to get an idea of the embarrassment some people are feeling right now, a full list of the movies can be found in GEIL&#8217;s license arrangement with BDP, available here <em>(<a href="media/82355dc5.Agree20BD.pdf" data-original-source="http://goldeneyeint.com/Agree%20BD.pdf">PDF</a>)</em>.</p>
<p>As usual GEIL points out that it has hired a &#8220;forensic computer analyst&#8221; to track alleged infringers. However, in more than one instance it appears that GEIL is accusing people of downloading and sharing content in the summer of 2014. Expecting people to remember what happened so long ago could be a tall order.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/6ad38cfe.geil-1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/geil-1.jpg" alt="geil-1" width="600" height="192" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-114369"></center></p>
<p>&#8220;On 26 August 2015 Master Bowles, sitting in the High Court, ordered that SKY UK LTD give disclosure of your name and address, for the purpose of enabling us to send you this letter and if necessary bring legal proceedings against you,&#8221; the letter continues.</p>
<p>&#8220;In accordance with that Order, SKY UK identified you as the subscriber noted in their systems as on their network associated with the IP address on the date and at the time in question.&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/no-copyright-trolls-your-evidence-isnt-flawless-151129/">As noted this past weekend</a> ISPs can make mistakes too, but nevertheless GEIL&#8217;s letter clearly states that the account holder is assumed to be both the infringer and the user of the relevant computer at the date and time in question.</p>
<p>The company cannot possibly know this for certain since any number of people can have access to a household&#8217;s Internet access. Interestingly, they immediately admit that too.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/59cd443f.geil-2.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/geil-2.jpg" alt="geil-2" width="600" height="114" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-114372"></center></p>
<p>Of course, if people are unaware of any infringement taking place they cannot reasonably be expected to furnish GEIL with that information. And while GEIL say they &#8220;may&#8221; ask the court to conclude that the account holder was the user of a an unspecified computer on a date 18 months ago, the court is also free to reject that assertion.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s also worth noting that GEIL have never engaged in a contested case in court, despite threatening to do so many times previously. What the company actually wants is a confession and hard cash.</p>
<p>&#8220;Once your response to this letter is received, GEIL and BDP will be prepared, if we believe that you have behaved unlawfully, to give you the opportunity to avoid legal action by proposing a settlement out of court,&#8221; the letter notes.</p>
<p>As previously instructed by the court GEIL is not allowed to ask for a specific amount in its initial letter, but recipients of second letters from the company will probably receive demands of up to £600 to £700 to put the matter to rest. </p>
<p>However, GEIL also tries to lure letter recipients in by suggesting that accidental infringement or that carried out by a child might result in a lower settlement amount being offered.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/a6d975c1.geil-3.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/geil-3.jpg" alt="geil-3" width="600" height="95" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-114378"></center></p>
<p>GEIL concludes by asking for a detailed confession or for the account holder to point the finger at members of their family or friends who have had access to their network.</p>
<p>&#8220;Please state whether you admit that you have downloaded the Work and/or made it available for download by others and if so the extent to which you have done so and whether you are prepared in principle to enter into a settlement of the kind outlined above,&#8221; GEIL adds.</p>
<p>&#8220;If you deny that you have downloaded the Work or made it available for download by others, please explain the basis upon which you deny it, and provide the information that we have requested above about other users of the computer.&#8221;</p>
<p>TorrentFreak has spoken to several letter recipients in the past few days. Only one said he was thinking of settling with GEIL.</p>
<p>People looking for legal advice can contact Southampton-based solicitor <a href="http://www.lawdit.co.uk/">Michael Coyle</a> who is handling these cases for a fraction of the amount requested by GEIL. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114358
title: Court: Cox Willingly Failed to Disconnect Pirating Subscribers
uri: Court-Cox-Willingly-Failed-to-Disconnect-Pirating-Subscribers
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/k8iW9qMdhiY/
content:
<p><img src="media/015f41e0.cox-logo.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cox-logo.png" alt="cox-logo" width="200" height="99" class="alignright size-full wp-image-68146">Today marks the start of a crucial trial that may define how U.S. Internet providers deal with pirating subscribers in the future.</p>
<p>Internet provider Cox Communications is facing <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/cox-communications-sued-for-not-disconnecting-pirates-141128/">a lawsuit</a> from BMG Rights Management which accuses the ISP of failing to terminate the accounts of subscribers who frequently pirate content.</p>
<p>BMG claimed that Cox gave up its DMCA safe harbor protections due to this inaction, something District Court Judge Liam O’Grady <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/cox-has-no-dmca-safe-harbor-protection-judge-rules-151124/">agreed on last week</a> in a summary judgment. </p>
<p>This order puts the Internet provider at a severe disadvantage while facing millions of dollars in damages. In a memorandum published a few hours ago Judge Liam O’Grady justified his decision.</p>
<p>According to the court there is enough evidence to conclude that Cox did not terminate the access of repeat infringers under appropriate circumstances.</p>
<p>&#8220;The record conclusively establishes that before the fall of 2012 Cox did not implement its repeat infringer policy. Instead, Cox publicly purported to comply with its policy, while privately disparaging and intentionally circumventing the DMCA’s requirements,&#8221; the memorandum (<a href="media/678dbada.coxdetails.pdf" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/coxdetails.pdf">pdf</a>) reads. </p>
<p>Judge O&#8217;Grady notes that Cox had a policy in place to deal with repeat infringers, but that in reality these users would simply be reconnected upon request. They would then start over with a clean slate.</p>
<p>&#8220;Cox employees followed an unwritten policy put in place by senior members of Cox’s abuse group by which accounts used to repeatedly infringe copyrights would be nominally terminated, only to be reactivated upon request.&#8221; </p>
<p>&#8220;Once these accounts were reactivated, customers were given clean slates, meaning the next notice of infringement Cox received linked to those accounts would be considered the first in Cox’s graduate response procedure,&#8221; O&#8217;Grady adds. </p>
<p>The Judge cites several emails and other communication from Jason Zabek, Cox’s Manager of Customer Abuse Operations, who instructs employees not to be too harsh. Keeping customers on board appears to be a prime motivation. </p>
<p>Below is a snippet from an email Zabek sent to a group of employees:</p>
<p><em>&#8220;After termination of DMCA, if you do suspend someone for another DMCA violation, you are not wrong. However, if the customer has a cox.net email we would like to start the warning cycle over, hold for more, etc. A clean slate if you will. This way, we can collect a few extra weeks of payments for their account. ;-)&#8221;  </em></p>
<p><center><img src="media/c70db60e.abusegroup.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/abusegroup.png" alt="abusegroup" width="585" height="187" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-114374"></center></p>
<p>In other emails asking about whether repeat infringers should be reconnected Zabek replied with statements such as “It is fine. We need the customers,”  “DMCA = reactivate,” and &#8220;You can make him wait a day or so if you want. ;-).&#8221;</p>
<p>In 2012 Cox abandoned this unofficial reactivation policy but that didn&#8217;t have a positive impact on the number of account terminations, on the contrary in fact.</p>
<p>The record shows that the number of disconnections dropped significantly, to less than one per month on average. In addition, emails show instances where Cox prefers to keep frequently pirating customers on board as they provide a significant revenue stream.</p>
<p>&#8220;BMG has identified specific instances in which Cox knew accounts were being used repeatedly for infringing activity yet failed to terminate,&#8221; Judge O&#8217;Grady writes. </p>
<p>&#8220;Cox does not seriously challenge these examples. Labeling them as &#8216;nothing more than conjecture and hyperbole,&#8217; Cox argues that these snippets of conversations do not show what actions call centers actually took against accounts,&#8221; he adds.</p>
<p>For its part, Cox argued that it&#8217;s up to a court to decide that the appropriate response to infringement is the termination of the account of a subscriber, noting that copyright holder complaints may not always be accurate. </p>
<p>But Judge O&#8217;Grady disagrees and notes that when an ISP has actual knowledge that an account holder is a persistent pirate, his or her account should be terminated.</p>
<p>&#8220;Appropriate circumstances arise when an account holder is repeatedly or flagrantly infringing copyrights. Thus, when Cox had actual knowledge of particular account holders who blatantly or repeatedly infringed, the responsibility shifted to Cox to terminate their accounts,&#8221; he writes. </p>
<p>While BMG also submitted several other arguments, Judge O&#8217;Grady found the above sufficient to rule that Cox is not entitled to DMCA safe harbor protection. </p>
<p>The ruling means that it will be more difficult for Cox to defend itself against BMG&#8217;s copyright infringement claims. However, it will also raise alarm bells at various other U.S. Internet providers. At the moment it’s rare for ISPs to disconnect pirating users and this case has the potential to alter the landscape.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114377
title: Popcorn Time Developers Poke MPAA with A New Fork
uri: Popcorn-Time-Developers-Poke-MPAA-with-A-New-Fork
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/O0puEXfR8wk/
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 main Popcorn Time fork, operating from the PopcornTime.io domain name, shut down its servers.</p>
<p>The MPAA took credit for the fall <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-we-shut-down-ytsyify-and-popcorn-time-151103/">announcing</a> that it had filed a lawsuit against several of the developers in Canada. In response to these legal threats several key developers backed out.</p>
<p>However, that doesn&#8217;t mean the application is no longer available. Several other forks (variants) are still online and more recently a group of new developers launched the Popcorn Time Community Edition. </p>
<p>It all started with a fully working fix for the .io fork which was <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/PopCornTime/comments/3sbsz6/download_working_installers_or_fix_your_current/">circulated</a> on Reddit, as we <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/popcorn-times-alive-full-comeback-in-the-works-151117/">reported earlier</a>. This gained a lot of attention, which prompted the developers to start their own website.</p>
<p>This week <a href="http://popcorntime.ml/">Popcorntime.ml</a> launched, which offers instructions on how to revive the .io fork plus fully operational installers for the new and improved Popcorn Time Community Edition (PTCE).</p>
<p>&#8220;Now we have taken it a step further and created a web site where people can find more information about the Community edition project and links to the working installers or other relevant information,&#8221; the PTCE teams tells TF. </p>
<p><center><img src="media/9a0f89cd.PTCE.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/PTCE.jpg" alt="PTCE" width="600" height="242" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-114383"></center></p>
<p>The new group of developers are not involved with the .io fork, they simply revived it. If there&#8217;s enough interest, the team will probably continue to expand and improve their own version.</p>
<p>&#8220;In the beginning it was just so people still could use the version from Popcorntime.io and continue to enjoy this great software. But as long as people use it and we have people to drive this project forwards it will probably continue to evolve in future as well,&#8221; they tell us. </p>
<p>Although the PTCE team is just a few weeks old, it has already lost two members. Last week Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN announced that it <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/brein-stops-and-settles-with-popcorn-time-developers-151123/">settled</a> with two developers, who risk a €2,000 per day fine if they violate their agreement.</p>
<p>The PTCE team mourns their loss, but is not eager to comment on the legal side of the project. </p>
<p>&#8220;We wish the two developers all the best and we really miss them, other than that we have no comment on that or the legal debate regarding this software,&#8221; they say.</p>
<p>The message to copyright holders and anti-piracy outfits is clear though. Legal pressure or not, the Popcorn Time phenomenon is not going away anytime soon.</p>
<p>&#8220;Popcorn Time will probably never go away, despite the efforts made by organizations such as BREIN, the MPAA and others. Instead of fighting this great software they should embrace it,&#8221; PTCE tells TF.</p>
<p>In addition to the new Community Edition, the original Popcorntime.io fork is still working on a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/popcorn-times-alive-full-comeback-in-the-works-151117/">comeback</a> of its own.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114412
title: Austrian Pirate Bay Blockade Censors Slovak Internet
uri: Austrian-Pirate-Bay-Blockade-Censors-Slovak-Internet
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/CLj5AeusMg8/
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">Copyright holders are increasingly demanding that ISPs should block access to pirate sites in order to protect their business.</p>
<p>As the bastion of online piracy The Pirate Bay has become one of the main targets. The site has been blocked in over a dozen countries already, mostly in Europe.</p>
<p>Austria is one of the latest countries to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/block-the-pirate-bay-within-3-days-austrian-isps-told-140729/">take similar action</a>. After a lengthy legal battle the Commercial Court of Vienna ordered local ISPs to stop subscribers accessing the infamous torrent site.</p>
<p>This week, however, news broke that the court&#8217;s decision has had an effect well beyond Austria&#8217;s borders. Over the past several days subscribers of the Slovak Internet provider UPC were unable to access the torrent site as well. </p>
<p>Initially it was unclear why the site had been rendered inaccessible as there are no blocking orders against the site locally. However, it soon became apparent that the problems were an unintended consequence of the Austrian censorship efforts. </p>
<p>As it turns out, the Slovak branch of UPC uses a DNS server that&#8217;s based in Austria. The IP-address <a href="http://www.dsl.sk/article.php?article=17758">in question</a>, 195.34.133.21, resolves to viedns09.chello.at and points to a datacenter in Vienna.</p>
<p>According to UPC spokesman Jaroslav Kolar the block is not deliberate. He confirmed that it&#8217;s the result of the Austrian blockade and the ISP promised to resolve the matter as soon as possible.</p>
<p>&#8220;Access to The Pirate Bay through several DNS servers is blocked in the datacenter in Vienna on the basis of a court decision. Since UPC&#8217;s DNS server is hosted in the data center, access to some sites may be limited for our users,&#8221; Kolar said.</p>
<p>In addition to The Pirate Bay, Austrian ISPs also block access to other “structurally infringing” sites including Isohunt.to and 1337x.to, which broadens the problems. </p>
<p>According to local <a href="http://www.zive.sk/clanok/110538/upc-the-pirate-bay-nejde-kvoli-zakazu-v-rakusku-mame-riesenie">reports</a> the blockade was lifted for many users yesterday. Those still experiencing issues can bypass UPC&#8217;s DNS by switching to a third-party provider such as Google DNS or OpenDNS.</p>
<p>Fixed or not, the news shows the risks and unintended consequences of DNS blocking. The Internet is by definition a global network, so DNS filtering and other forms of censorship can easily carry over to places and sites that shouldn&#8217;t be blocked. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114414
title: University: ‘Pirating’ Students Being Deliberately Targeted
uri: University-Pirating-Students-Being-Deliberately-Targeted
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/SvCrwIx7hYY/
content:
<p><img src="media/f8c9563c.campus-small.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/campus-small.jpg" alt="campus-small" width="180" height="101" class="alignright size-full wp-image-114445">Whether it&#8217;s a nice discount here and there or a straight-up freebie, cash-strapped students are happy to be front and center. No surprise then that they&#8217;re often associated with obtaining a little media from unauthorized sources too.</p>
<p>As a result, in the middle of the last decade this penchant for lifting music from file-sharing networks grew into an international controversy when the RIAA forcefully targeted students with legal action. While it sent a message, it was also a PR disaster.</p>
<p>Almost a decade on and the landscape is somewhat changed, with official services now more cheaply available and often providing deep discounts for students. Nevertheless, students still like to download from P2P networks such as BitTorrent and today, just like a decade ago, they are getting caught in their thousands.</p>
<p>Data just released by <a href="https://www.cmich.edu">Central Michigan University</a> (CMU) shows that the number of copyright complaints received quadrupled between 2013 and 2014. But even with figures only available for the first 10 months of 2015, it&#8217;s already a record year.</p>
<p>As of the end of October, anti-piracy outfits had filed a total of 1,912 complaints at CMU. To put those numbers into perspective, CMU has around 20,000 students. However, it is the nature of the majority of those complaints that is most cause for concern.</p>
<p>While anti-piracy tracking companies such as IP-Echelon and MarkMonitor are contacting the university with their own DMCA-style &#8216;warning&#8217; notices, the volume sent by them is being dwarfed by a company with a different agenda.</p>
<p>According to Mark Strandskov, associate director of the Office of Information Technology, piracy monetization company Rightscorp is now the dominant sender, accounting for more than eight out of every ten complaints received.</p>
<p>&#8220;You have agencies like Rightscorp where in the last two years account for over 2,500 complaints,” Strandskov told university publication <a href="http://www.cm-life.com/article/2015/12/piracy-complaints-on-the-rise-at-cmu">CM-Life</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;They account for 81 percent of our total number of complaints this year and we didn’t receive anything at all from them two years ago. That sort of sticks out.”</p>
<p>In 2014 Rightscorp sent 899 complaints to CMU, around 65% of all complaints received. By the end of October 2015 the company had filed 1,648.</p>
<p>And, of course, for each of those notices Rightscorp demands cash. For example, Strandskov says that one student was asked to pay $30 after he allegedly downloaded The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King from Warner Bros.</p>
<p>But while these &#8216;fines&#8217; are nothing out of the ordinary, vice president for information technology Roger Rehm says that he believes that outfits like Rightscorp are deliberately targeting educational establishments.</p>
<p>“The fact of the matter is (monitoring companies) have targeted university campuses,” Rehm says. &#8220;There is no question that they treat us differently than other networking organizations.”</p>
<p>While the sheer number of people on site will mean that universities and colleges receive a lot of complaints, the reason they are being targeted is likely to be connected to the RIAA&#8217;s actions last decade and the pressure subsequently placed on the government.</p>
<p>In July 2010, the U.S. responded by putting in place a new requirement for colleges and universities to take action against illegal file-sharing. Failure to do so can result in the loss of federal funding so little wonder that campuses view the issue seriously.</p>
<p>As a result, not passing on complaints from outfits like Rightscorp could have serious consequences for universities like CMU and it&#8217;s more than likely the company understands that. With this in mind, students are probably easy targets but whether they&#8217;ll bear fruit long term is up for debate.</p>
<p>While Rightscorp asks them for $30 per offense, CMU has much harsher punishments in store. According to CM-Life, a second infringement notice results in a $150 fine being imposed by the university and a potential Internet access suspension. A third offense warrants a $300 fine and even expulsion.</p>
<p>However, while it might be difficult to avoid being fined by the university itself following a complaint, not paying Rightscorp is an easier proposition.</p>
<p>“We’re in the business of passing the complaint along,” Rehm says. “We do not identify [students] to the company.”</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114520
title: Dutch Court Won’t Ban ‘Pirate’ Streaming Boxes – Yet
uri: Dutch-Court-Won-t-Ban-Pirate-Streaming-Boxes-Yet
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/uNRQQ9DkPyw/
content:
<p><img src="media/cd40381b.streaming.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/streaming.jpg" alt="streaming" width="190" height="196" class="alignright size-full wp-image-66950">While downloading content for later playback has been the mainstay of BitTorrent aficionados for well over a decade, streaming of content continues to gain popularity with many users.</p>
<p>More recently, torrent users have been getting in on the act too, with the streaming abilities of the popular Popcorn Time application. However, this software uploads too, meaning that users can be exposed to claims of copyright infringement. Streaming directly from a single source (often a website) rarely carries such risks.</p>
<p>As a result a whole new market as flourished, one which has seen highly modified versions of software such as Kodi installed on set-top boxes, offering free and almost risk-free streaming of movies and TV shows to the masses.</p>
<p>This availability hasn&#8217;t gone unnoticed by Dutch anti-piracy outfit BREIN, who have been taking action on several fronts against this unofficial market. As part of those efforts the group filed a copyright case against Moviestreamer.nl, a site that sells hardware for the purposes detailed above. BREIN asked for an injunction against the site, claiming that its actions constitute infringement.</p>
<p>However, in a decision published this week, BREIN was informed by the Midden-Nederland court that it would not be handing down a ban on the sale of devices offered by Moviestreamer. The problem (and indeed the answer) lies in a separate case BREIN has pending against Filmspeler.nl, another vendor of similar devices.</p>
<p>Filmspeler.nl sold media-players bundled with XBMC and pre-installed addons which provided hyperlinks to unlicensed sites offering movies, TV shows, live sports and music. Filmspeler was clear on the purpose of its devices, marketing them with slogans such as “Never go to the cinema again”, “Netflix is the past” and “Never pay again.”</p>
<p>Another claim made by Filmspieler is that its devices are legal. “Downloading (from illegal source) is illegal but streaming is not,&#8221; the site said. This appears to be a reference to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/the-netherlands-must-outlaw-downloading-eu-court-rules-140410/">a decision</a> by the Dutch government last year which banned the downloading of content from illegal sources but did not specifically mention streaming.</p>
<p>BREIN disagreed and asked the court to rule that the trader infringes copyright by linking to illegal content and that the streaming of that content also constitutes infringement. Seeking clarification, the court referred several questions to the EU Court of Justice, including whether the legal requirement of &#8216;lawful use&#8217; is met if a temporary reproduction is made during the streaming of unauthorized content.</p>
<p>Since the case against Moviestreamer is very similar to that against Filmspieler, this week the Midden-Nederland court found that as long as there is uncertainty over the legality of streaming from illegal sources, there would be no injunction against Moviestreamer. </p>
<p>The fact that questions are already with the EU Court of Justice shows that there is indeed &#8220;reasonable doubt&#8221; but that will necessarily change with a ruling. Indeed, the court said that if it is established that streaming from illegal sources constitutes copyright infringement, it is plausible that facilitating access to the same would also be unlawful.</p>
<p>Simply put, as long as streaming from illegal sources is not officially illegal, selling devices that offer that ability are not yet illegal either. While BREIN may prevail longer term after a potentially positive EU ruling, in the meantime the group intends to appeal.</p>
<p>&#8220;BREIN will appeal this verdict because it considers this facilitation to be very harmful, not only because it facilitates streaming from illegal sources but also because it facilitates the illegal offering itself and is therefore clearly unlawful,&#8221; the group said.</p>
<p>It is not yet clear when the EU Court will hand down its decision.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114395
title: Feds Drop Case Against Torrent Site, ‘Return’ Domain After 5 Years
uri: Feds-Drop-Case-Against-Torrent-Site-Return-Domain-After-5-Years
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/hqbLc9yfE3o/
content:
<p><img src="media/6f965905.doj1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/doj1.png" alt="doj" width="222" height="109" class="alignright size-full wp-image-62313">This week the FBI announced that it had helped take down <a href="https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/illegal-websites-seized-global-operation">37,479 websites</a>, most of which sold counterfeit goods. </p>
<p>The enforcement action was a continuation of operation &#8220;In Our Sites&#8221; which began in 2010. At the time, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/u-s-government-seizes-bittorrent-search-engine-domain-and-more-101126/">several piracy related websites</a> were among the prime targets including torrent search engine <a href="http://torrent-finder.com">Torrent-Finder.com</a>. </p>
<p>The torrent site, which didn’t host or link to any infringing content, had its domain name seized for allegedly infringing copyrights and the authorities announced that an investigation was ongoing.</p>
<p>Torrent-Finder’s owner Waleed Gadelkareem was genuinely surprised by the actions of the US authorities and became determined to fight the seizure. He had never run into copyright issues before and maintained that his Egypt-based business was perfectly legal. </p>
<p>With help from U.S. lawyer David Snead, TorrentFinder decided to appeal the seizure. The Department of Justice (DoJ) opted to do this outside of court, through an administrative enforcement process. </p>
<p>This process lasted nearly half a decade and a few days ago the authorities informed TorrentFinder that they would no longer pursue the case. The DoJ accepted the torrent site&#8217;s “offer in compromise,&#8221; which among other things states that it will comply with takedown requests. </p>
<p><center><strong>The seizure banner</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/08594301.ICE-seized.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ICE-seized.png" alt="ICE-seized" width="576" height="422" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-114477"></center></p>
<p>The Torrent-Finder.com domain was officially released late November and is now in the hands of the original owner again, who is <a href="http://torrent-finder.com">redirecting</a> it to the torrent section of his new search engine AIO.</p>
<p>While the authorities don&#8217;t officially endorse the site, it&#8217;s clear that their case against it wasn&#8217;t strong enough to follow-up with a prosecution. </p>
<p>Despite the positive outcome, Torrent-Finder&#8217;s former lawyer David Snead says that it&#8217;s disappointing that it took the authorities half a decade to reach their final decision. Avoiding a court battle actually slowed down the process.</p>
<p>&#8220;The procedure we used was presented to us as an alternative to litigation, and possibly speedier,&#8221; Snead told TF this week.  </p>
<p>&#8220;The length of time that it took for this matter to be resolved is very troubling. It indicates that the domain name seizure process does not have built into it respect for due process that is the hallmark of the U.S. legal system.&#8221;</p>
<p>Due process is important as Torrent-Finder&#8217;s traffic was hit hard by the seizure, a drop many other websites may not have survived. The torrent search engine didn&#8217;t give up though, and it&#8217;s successor is still around today.</p>
<p>We spoke to Torrent-Finder&#8217;s operator who told us that he&#8217;s happy to have his domain back. Still, he&#8217;s not pleased with how the U.S. Government handled the case. </p>
<p>According to Gadelkareem the entire case was based on inaccuracies and mistakes. A lot of the evidence was factually incorrect, something he could only highlight after his domain was taken away.</p>
<p>&#8220;A child would have made a stronger case. I think they did not expect any response from my side. That is how they came up with the most hilarious evidence you could imagine,&#8221; Gadelkareem says. </p>
<p>The evidence summed up in the affidavit (<a href="media/7c84e480.ICE-affidavit-partial.pdf" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/ICE-affidavit-partial.pdf">pdf</a>) was indeed weak. For <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/us-government-made-painful-mistakes-in-torrent-finder-seizure-101217/">example</a>, Homeland Security’s Special Agent Reynolds cited several articles from Torrent-Finder&#8217;s news section as proof of criminal copyright infringement.</p>
<p>&#8220;I was able to view posts by the user &#8216;Torrent Finder,&#8217; including &#8216;Top 10 Most Pirated Movies on BitTorrent,&#8217; &#8216;Piracy in The Music Industry,&#8217; &#8216;The First Episode of ‘The Walking Dead’ Leaks to BitTorrent,&#8217; and &#8216;Piracy domain seizure bill gains support,&#8217; he wrote.</p>
<p><center><strong>Torrent-Finder allegations</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/f4b2ec8a.torrentfinderaff.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/torrentfinderaff.png" alt="torrentfinderaff" width="580" height="409" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-114475"></center> </p>
<p>The cited articles were actually copies of TorrentFreak news. These were automatically pulled from our RSS feed and of course did not link to any copyright infringing material.</p>
<p>While Torrent-Finder.com is now in the hands of its original owner once again, it was almost scooped up strangers. The DoJ remained sloppy until the end and simply let the domain expire instead of transferring it as promised.</p>
<p>&#8220;I kind of expected this to happen, so I created a backup account to catch the domain if it expired, and that is where the domain ended up,&#8221; Gadelkareem says.</p>
<p>&#8220;If I didn&#8217;t create that backorder then I would not have the domain name back right now.&#8221;</p>
<p>TorrentFinder&#8217;s operator is still frustrated about the trouble he&#8217;s had to go to but is glad that he can now put the matter behind him. Defeating copyright infringement claims from the U.S. Government is quite an achievement and seeing the feds run into problems of their own helped to ease the pain.</p>
<p>&#8220;Seeing scandals such as the NSA spying program brought me some peace in the end,&#8221; he concludes.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114571
title: BREIN Does a Deal With Kickass and Pirate Bay Uploader
uri: BREIN-Does-a-Deal-With-Kickass-and-Pirate-Bay-Uploader
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/UTBTlY9VtU0/
content:
<p><img src="media/cf841bc6.brein-new.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/brein-new.png" alt="brein-new" width="189" height="69" class="alignright size-full wp-image-40624">In August 2015, BREIN <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/torrent-site-uploaders-agree-to-snitch-on-colleagues-150816/">announced</a> that it had reached a private agreement with members of ‘Dutch Release Team’ (DRT), a group that had uploaded movies to torrent sites including The Pirate Bay and KickassTorrents.</p>
<p>The deal entailed them deleting their files from Kickass, paying a cash settlement, and informing on remaining members of the group.</p>
<p>Now BREIN has announced a new development which should herald the final nail in the coffin for another release group. According to the anti-piracy outfit it first identified and then settled with the last active member of DMT (Dutch Movie Theater).</p>
<p>According to BREIN the man uploaded mostly movies and eBooks on an almost daily basis to sites including KickassTorrents and The Pirate Bay. Revealing his alias as &#8216;ipod020&#8242;, BREIN says that overall around 5,000 torrents were uploaded.</p>
<p>On Kickass, where the man used to have an active account, all torrents have been deleted. In their place sits a warning message (Dutch, translated by TF) to other would-be releasers.</p>
<p>&#8220;Illegal uploading and downloading costs a lot of money to the film industry, but also to me. Do not do it. I had to settle with BREIN for thousands of euros,&#8221; the <a href="https://kat.cr/user/ipod020/">message</a> reads.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/5fe6ef51.ipod-warning.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ipod-warning.jpg" alt="ipod-warning" width="600" height="234" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-114574"></center></p>
<p>Although BREIN hasn&#8217;t publicly made any connection, in November it <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-group-stops-prolific-kickasstorrents-uploader-151127/">announced</a> that an injunction had been obtained following an ex-parte case against a 20-year-old student, who uploaded over 750 torrents to KickassTorrents.</p>
<p>He appears to have been connected to the same group and also reached a compensation agreement with BREIN. His KickassTorrents account displays a message too.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/bfa78a7e.kickassuser.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/kickassuser.jpg" alt="Kickass"></center></p>
<p>&#8220;We deal with increasingly prolific uploaders,&#8221; says BREIN chief Tim Kuik commenting on this week&#8217;s case.</p>
<p>&#8220;Some uploaders pretend it is a harmless hobby, while they&#8217;re causing extensive damage and illegal sites are profiting handsomely. If you run into trouble, it is an expensive hobby for sure.&#8221;</p>
<p>In closing, the anti-piracy boss warns of an active 2016 in which BREIN will continue to track down content uploaders.</p>
<p>&#8220;There are more investigations in the pipeline, and next year we&#8217;ll launch an even more comprehensive approach where we will use software to trace uploaders,&#8221; Kuik concludes.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114404
title: Steal This Show S01E02: Rebel Librarians & Pirate Academics
uri: Steal-This-Show-S01E02-Rebel-Librarians-Pirate-Academics
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/u1zgsDoAAbw/
content:
<p><img src="media/585776e5.steal240.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/steal240.png" alt="steal240" width="200" height="200" class="alignright size-full wp-image-113930"></a>In this second episode we discuss why pirates have always attracted extra-territorial law enforcement; the UK&#8217;s current anti-piracy campaign and the coolest anti-piracy campaigns of all time; and the cases again Libgen, Sci-Hub etc., and why they’re not just immoral, but also doomed to fail.</p>
<p>Finally we talk about a group of academics who are saying that file-sharing should be the future of knowledge creation &#8211; and are asking their peers to become peer-to-peers.</p>
<p><a href="http://stealthisshow.com/">Steal This Show</a> (STS) is a TF-supported initiative produced and hosted by Jamie King.</p>
<p>STS aims to release bi-weekly episodes featuring insiders discussing copyright and file-sharing news. It complements our regular reporting by adding more room for opinion, commentary and analysis. </p>
<p>The guests for our news discussions will vary and we&#8217;ll aim to introduce voices from different backgrounds and persuasions. In addition to news, STS will also produce features interviewing some of the big innovators and minds, one-on-one. </p>
<p><strong>Host:</strong> Jamie King</p>
<p><strong>Guests:</strong> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Liang">Lawrence Liang</a> and <a href="http://p2pfoundation.net/Tomislav_Medak">Tomislav Medak</a></p>
<p><center><iframe width="100%" height="250px" src="//stealthisshow.com/?lpe-frame=1&#038;lpe-season=1&#038;lpe-episode=2" frameborder="0"></iframe></center></p>
<p><strong>Produced </strong> <em>by </em>Jamie King<br>
<strong>Edited &#038; Mixed</strong> <em>by</em> Eric Bouthiller<br>
<strong>Original Music</strong> <em>by</em> David Triana</p>
<p>Topics being discussed this week:</p>
<p><a href="http://custodians.online/">Custodians.online</a><br>
<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-programmer-already-freed-from-u-s-prison-151127/">Megaupload Programmer Already Freed From U.S. Prison</a><br>
<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/uk-anti-piracy-education-campaign-launched-quietly-151201/">UK Anti-Piracy &#8216;Education&#8217; Campaign Launched, Quietly</a><br>
<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/sci-hub-and-libgen-resurface-after-being-shut-down-151121/">The Cases Against Sci-Hub and Libgen </a></p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114512
title: PayPal Bans File-Sharing Classic Soulseek… After 14 Years
uri: PayPal-Bans-File-Sharing-Classic-Soulseek-After-14-Years
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/AU03avBJq54/
content:
<p><img src="media/ccf2eb3e.paypal.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/paypal.png" alt="paypal" width="200" height="118" class="alignright size-full wp-image-53011">PayPal is widely known for its aggressive stance towards <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/paypal-demands-invites-to-private-bittorrent-trackers-130108/">BitTorrent sites</a>, <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/paypal-bans-usenet-providers-over-piracy-concerns-121121/">Usenet providers</a> and <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/paypal-bans-major-file-hosting-services-over-piracy-concerns-120710/">file-hosting</a> services, and it appears that P2P software is now receiving the same treatment.</p>
<p>Most recently, PayPal took action against Soulseek, a file-sharing network that&#8217;s mostly used for sharing music. Soulseek has been around for a decade and a half, when Napster was still in its prime and years before BitTorrent came around. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.slsknet.org/news/node/3283">Soulseek client</a> that was targeted had been using PayPal to receive donations for 14 years. It never ran into trouble and PayPal even sent personal Christmas cards to the operators, but a few weeks ago things changed.</p>
<p>&#8220;PayPal suddenly and unceremoniously decided to end a very friendly working relationship with us that lasted 14 years,&#8221; Soulseek&#8217;s Roz and Nir Arbel explain.</p>
<p>The San Francisco based Soulseek team tried to get more information on the sudden change of heart, but without much luck. </p>
<p>&#8220;We have asked repeatedly for an explanation of this behavior, but we have been stonewalled at every turn, and have received only form emails telling us that we needed to be &#8216;pre-approved&#8217; for an account,&#8221; they explain. </p>
<p>While PayPal doesn&#8217;t want to comment in detail, Soulseek appears to be classified under the &#8220;file-sharing&#8221; category now. These type of sites and services have to adhere to strict rules.  </p>
<p>This policy has been in force since 2012 and has resulted in PayPal banning many file-sharing related services. </p>
<p><center><img src="media/16315204.paypalp2p.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/paypalp2p.jpg" alt="paypalp2p" width="550" height="441" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-53916"></center></p>
<p>In the case of Soulseek it would have been hard to ask for pre-approval as they were already a user many years before the policy came into effect. </p>
<p>That said, PayPal has made it clear that Soulseek is not allowed to use their services anymore. </p>
<p>&#8220;When we asked what we need to do to be pre-approved, they emailed back and said that they are &#8216;not granting pre-approval at this time&#8217;,&#8221; the Soulseek team notes. </p>
<p>Soulseek is not the first company to be banned by PayPal&#8217;s rigorous policy, and it won&#8217;t be the last. Another service that suffered the same fate recently is the TV-guide Myepisodes.com.</p>
<p>Even though the service doesn&#8217;t link to or host any infringing material, it was <a href="http://www.slsknet.org/news/node/3283">kicked off</a> due to a &#8220;copyright issue&#8221; and because wasn&#8217;t &#8220;pre-approved.&#8221;</p>
<p>While PayPal hasn&#8217;t commented on the disconnections in public, it seems likely that it took action after complaints from copyright holders or industry groups, who fear that file-sharing related sites and services hurt their revenues. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114518
title: uTorrent and BitTorrent Serve Over 200 Million Ads Per Day
uri: uTorrent-and-BitTorrent-Serve-Over-200-Million-Ads-Per-Day
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/6QpnT264oSs/
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">In an effort to increase its revenues BitTorrent Inc. <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/utorrent-becomes-ad-supported-to-rake-in-millions-120810/">added</a> advertising to its <a href="http://utorrent.com">uTorrent</a> and <a href="http://bittorrent.com">Mainline</a> clients three years ago.</p>
<p>While users can dive into the advanced settings and <a href="http://forum.utorrent.com/topic/81421-321-how-to-turn-off-ads-except-for-the-silly-upgrade-banner/page-3#entry496240">remove</a> all ads, most don&#8217;t seem to be bothered by the occasional advertisement. </p>
<p>A few weeks ago BitTorrent Inc. invited its bundle publishers to use the ads to promote their content, referring them to their DIY advertising network.  </p>
<p>&#8220;Artists and publishers can now advertise with BitTorrent, getting your work in front of millions of fans of music, movies and software around the world,&#8221; the company wrote in an email.</p>
<p>BitTorrent&#8217;s <a href="http://www.bitmedianetwork.com/">advertising platform </a>lists several statistics that reveal some interesting details on users of the uTorrent and Mainline clients. </p>
<p>For example, the clients have roughly 170 million active users per month. The vast majority (92%) are male, with the prime demographic being educated and tech savvy 18-34 year-olds.</p>
<p>The advertising network also shows some interesting stats on the number of ad impressions the two clients have available. BitTorrent Inc. currently supports two ad formats which each have an estimated 3,397,615,000 views per month, based on statistics from the last 30 days.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s good for well over 100 million impressions per banner format per day, and over 200 million in total. </p>
<p><center><strong>BitTorrent&#8217;s ad options</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/3dfc0cd5.btads.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/btads.png" alt="btads" width="597" height="205" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-114529"></center></p>
<p>While these numbers are certainly impressive, the revenue is relatively modest. BitTorrent sells its worldwide traffic for 7 cents per 1,000 views, which is one of the lowest tiers in the ad industry.</p>
<p>That said, if all banner spots were to be sold, BitTorrent Inc. would make over $14,000 per day, which is still pretty decent. It&#8217;s also possible that there are better rates for certain kinds of ads that are sold outside the advertising network. </p>
<p>In addition to banner advertising the uTorrent client also generates revenue through bundled software. BitTorrent Inc. doesn&#8217;t publish any figures but it&#8217;s known that these type of offers can reach $1 per install. </p>
<p>For some users these revenue sources are cause for complaints. BitTorrent Inc. is aware of this critique and has recently announced that it is exploring other options, including <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/utorrent-hints-move-toward-paid-subscriptions-150823/">direct financial support</a> from users.</p>
<p>For now, however, uTorrent and the Mainline client will continue to serve hundreds of millions of ads every day.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114431
title: Nvidia Inadvertently Endorses Site Offering ‘Pirate’ Kodi Addons
uri: Nvidia-Inadvertently-Endorses-Site-Offering-Pirate-Kodi-Addons
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/QEyXmuZWyl8/
content:
<p><img src="media/c4cda296.kodi-nvidia.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kodi-nvidia.jpg" alt="kodi-nvidia" width="190" height="159" class="alignright size-full wp-image-114467">For millions of people around the world, Kodi &#8211; or XBMC as it used to be known &#8211; is one of the best pieces of software for viewing pirate content online. However, this capability is certainly not available &#8216;out of the box&#8217;.</p>
<p>Kodi, which is simply a media player at heart, is compatible with third-party addons that can turn it into a piracy powerhouse providing free access to movies, TV shows and live sports. This has made it one of the most popular tools for viewing streaming content.</p>
<p>For the XBMC Foundation, the people behind the legitimate Kodi app, this pirate association has developed into a thorn in the side. Last November the foundation began taking action against infringers, <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/xbmckodi-targets-piracy-promoting-ebay-sellers-141101/">filing complaints with eBay</a> over members who sold Kodi-loaded hardware for the purpose of viewing pirate content.</p>
<p>But no matter how hard the foundation tries to distance itself from piracy there are constant reminders, sometimes from the most unexpected of directions. Most recently it was the turn of Nvidia, one of the world&#8217;s largest graphics technology companies.</p>
<p>In an article titled &#8216;How to Install Kodi Add-ons on NVIDIA SHIELD&#8217; and published late last month, Nvidia revealed that Kodi is &#8220;hands down&#8221; one of the most popular apps on the SHIELD Android TV.</p>
<p>&#8220;Where Kodi really shines is in the world of user-created add-ons,&#8221; Nvidia said.</p>
<p>&#8220;We’ll be posting a follow-up article soon highlighting the best Kodi add-ons. Until then, here is a quick How to on installing Kodi Add-ons.&#8221;</p>
<p>To be clear, Nvidia did not specifically advise users to install illegal software. What it did do, however, was to point its readers to a tool on <a href="http://www.tvaddons.ag/">TVaddons</a>, a site that has become known not only for the promotion and development of totally legitimate software, but also a range of &#8216;pirate&#8217; addons for Kodi.</p>
<p><center><br>
<h5>The screenshot provided by Nvidia</h5>
<p><img src="media/3a37668c.kodi-fusion.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kodi-fusion.jpg" alt="kodi-fusion" width="596" height="335" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-114432"></center></p>
<p>Nvidia then proceeded to offer instructions on how to install <a href="http://fusion.tvaddons.ag">Fusion</a>, a package containing addons which allow the viewing of anything from user-uploaded content to the latest movies. Again, there is no indication that the company intended to directly advise people on how to access pirate content (note:in countries such as the Netherlands, facilitating the viewing of pirate streams is yet to be made illegal) but the software being installed certainly provided that capability in spades.</p>
<p>The faux pas might have gone unnoticed but soon <a href="http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=250015">complaining posts</a> began to appear on Kodi&#8217;s official forums, made worse by the fact that Nvidia is an <a href="http://kodi.tv/xbmc-sponsor-page/">official Kodi sponsor</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;Didn&#8217;t want to post this, but since Nvidia is a sponsor and apparently Team Kodi does have a rapport with them, maybe someone should tell them that this isn&#8217;t helpful,&#8221; wrote one user while linking to Nvidia&#8217;s article.</p>
<p>These concerns were quickly addressed by Kodi Project Manager Nate Thomas.</p>
<p>&#8220;Already taken care of,&#8221; Thomas <a href="https://archive.is/N54bv">wrote</a>.</p>
<p>By Tuesday this week the piece had gone (<a href="https://archive.is/2qmJX">cache copy</a>) but it soon reappeared in <a href="http://shield.nvidia.com/blog/install-kodi-add-ons">heavily edited form</a>. Gone were the references to Fusion and TVaddons.ag to be replaced by a cautionary tale about staying legal.</p>
<p>&#8220;You can find Kodi add-ons in &#8216;repositories&#8217; and we highly recommend only using the add-ons in the official Kodi repository as that’s the best way to make sure that you’ll not only have add-ons that the company trusts, but you’ll also find yourself on the right side of the law,&#8221; the new variant reads.</p>
<p>While the misstep by Nvidia has now been corrected, it appears the whole thing could&#8217;ve been avoided. Just recently the company was cautioned by the Kodi team against connecting its product with those who use the software for infringement.</p>
<p>&#8220;Only a few weeks ago we visited Nvidia and during the meeting we actually clearly discussed this topic on what they should include in their blog posts to stay out of the gray area and if they had any doubts or questions they could always ask. Still this happened,&#8221; Martijn from Team Kodi <a href="http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=250015&#038;pid=2175922#pid2175922">reports</a>.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114599
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 12/07/15
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-12-07-15
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/8q_cK9T9_ss/
content:
<p><img src="media/389e92a0.maze.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/maze.jpg" alt="maze" width="300" height="246" class="alignright size-full wp-image-113933">This week we have four newcomers in our chart. </p>
<p>Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is the most downloaded movie for the third 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-113015/">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/maze_runner_the_scorch_trials/">Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4046784/">6.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-44_igsZtgU">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/goosebumps_2015/">Goosebumps</a> (Webrip)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1051904/">6.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cn716jv61s">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4865436/">Hate Story 3</a> (DVDscr)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4865436/">5.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1Y7XhiWUvo">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/absolutely_anything/">Absolutely Anything</a></td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1727770/">6.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CYVGN98ZLA">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(5)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_man_from_uncle/">The Man from U.N.C.L.E.</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1638355/">7.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Ky4KPzKwY">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(4)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/criminal_activities/">Criminal Activities</a> (Web-DL)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3687310/">5.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoYfdgskwqg">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/antman/">Ant-Man</a></td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478970/">7.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWdKf3MneyI">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/another_world_2014/">Another World</a> (Web-DL)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1920846/">5.3</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMJJfwzVPfo">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(9)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/inside_out_2015/">Inside Out</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2096673/">8.4</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seMwpP0yeu4">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_walk_2015/">The Walk</a> (Webrip)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3488710">7.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W6byFcD5uE">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114604
title: Pirate Bay’s .org Domain Suspended Pending ICANN Verification
uri: Pirate-Bay-s-org-Domain-Suspended-Pending-ICANN-Verification
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/dSYOM4tnH-c/
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">The Pirate Bay&#8217;s original .org domain name has stopped working due to an administrative problem. </p>
<p>Many people still used the .org as a redirect to one of the latest Pirate Bay domains, but for the past few hours they&#8217;ve been greeted by a message from its registrar EuroDNS instead. </p>
<p>The person managing the domain name has failed to verify the contact details and until this is done the domain name will stop functioning. </p>
<p>&#8220;This domain name is pending ICANN verification and has been suspended. If you are the owner of this domain you can reactivate this domain by logging into your EuroDNS account,&#8221; reads the notice that appears.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/0541f5f1.tpborg.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tpborg.png" alt="tpborg" width="555" height="260" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-114609"></center></p>
<p>For the site&#8217;s users the issue doesn&#8217;t cause any problems. The Pirate Bay site is still reachable via the .se domain name, which redirects visitors to several other official <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-moves-to-gs-la-vg-am-mn-and-gd-domains-150519/">TPB domain names</a>. </p>
<p>Pirate Bay&#8217;s .org domain still has plenty nostalgic value though. It was unofficially <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/the-pirate-bay-moves-to-se-domain-prevent-domain-seizure-120201/">retired in 2012</a> when TPB&#8217;s operator switched to a .se domain, fearing that the U.S. government could seize the .org.</p>
<p>TorrentFreak reached out to The Pirate Bay team but we have yet to hear back. It&#8217;s expected that the issues will be swiftly resolved once the contact details are verified. </p>
<p>The .org domain name is currently registered to Pirate Bay co-founder Fredrik Neij, who&#8217;s also the official contact person for many other Pirate Bay related domains. </p>
<p>A few days before the EuroDNS message first appeared the .org domain was already unreachable. Whether this had anything to do with the  pending ICANN verification is unknown.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114597
title: Denmark’s Largest Torrent Site Closes “To Protect Users”
uri: Denmark-s-Largest-Torrent-Site-Closes-To-Protect-Users
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/v5wUkrnovBc/
content:
<p><img src="media/76e9fbdf.myster.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/myster.jpg" alt="myster" width="200" height="202" class="alignright size-full wp-image-26852">While sites such as The Pirate Bay and KickassTorrents are viewed as the public face of large-scale file-sharing, hidden away behind passworded fronts lies the private tracker community.</p>
<p>Many hundreds &#8211; possibly thousands &#8211; of so-called &#8216;private trackers&#8217; exist on the Internet today, each serving their own unique blend of users and often focusing on specialist mix of content.</p>
<p>Since these are closed-door communities, few make the headlines. But despite their growth being artificially restricted by strict rules on who can enter, some swell to a significant size. The Denmark-based tracker &#8216;<a href="http://nxtgn.biz">NextGen</a>&#8216; is one such site and is currently the country&#8217;s 225 most-visited site overall.</p>
<p>Those successes, however, are now in the past. For reasons best known to its operators the site (NG) has now closed its doors, but the notice handed out to more than 40,000 users suggests that all is not well.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/f0fc8e5c.nextgen.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/nextgen.jpg" width="475" height="67" class="aligncenter"></center></p>
<p>&#8220;Due to much attention on NG and therefore its users recently, we have decided to shut down the tracker. This is done solely and exclusively for your safety, as during the last few weeks NG has attracted much extra attention,&#8221; the site&#8217;s operators said in a statement.</p>
<p>&#8220;This means not only a greater risk for the staff but also you as users. That is why we have decided that we will no longer take the risk that we or you must end up in a situation that none of us would like. We would like to thank you for the time we have had together, with the hope of a reunion soon.&#8221;</p>
<p>While it is fairly common for sites to shut down without giving much of an explanation, in the informational vacuum that follows rumors begin to fly.</p>
<p>For instance, in some quarters much is being made of Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm&#8217;s alleged connections to the site. As seen in the image below, his name is indeed present in the site&#8217;s domain listings.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/cb54b9b6.nxtgn-whois.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/nxtgn-whois.jpg" alt="nxtgn-whois" width="558" height="217" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-114613"></center></p>
<p>But this fact alone is almost certainly not a sign of his direct involvement. In the past, NextGen had dealings with PRQ, a company historically owned by Gottfrid. Over the years countless dozens of sites opted to have PRQ and the Pirate Bay founder&#8217;s name as contact details on their domain instead of their own.</p>
<p>That being said, for a successful site to close down so quickly it&#8217;s likely that pressure from the authorities had been mounting for some time. As far back as 2011, Danish police <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-blogger-law-student-raided-by-police-for-file-sharing-articles-111121/">arrested</a> then 19-year-old law student Halfdan Timm, accusing him of spreading illegal information on a blog and suggesting he was the NextGen operator.</p>
<p>“At first, they tried to figure out whether I was leading the tracker, searching for hidden equipment in the apartment, but when they realized that wasn’t the case, they tried to get as much information as possible about the actual owners,” he told TF at he time.</p>
<p>For an earlier article, Timm had indeed interviewed an operator of NextGen in-depth, which led the police to believe there had been a connection. However, several years later potentially more damaging information began appearing online about the operators of NextGen and their alleged activities.</p>
<p>After it was alleged they were making upwards of $200,000 a year from the NextGen, two men were publicly linked to the site by anonymous critics. A document purporting to detail how NextGen accepted Bitcoin through a &#8216;front&#8217; web-hosting company is now doing the rounds. If accurate (and it&#8217;s hard to say either way), that &#8216;doxxing&#8217; certainly won&#8217;t have helped the security of the site &#8211; or its operators.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114629
title: Busted Kickass and Pirate Bay Uploaders Crowdfund ‘Fines’
uri: Busted-Kickass-and-Pirate-Bay-Uploaders-Crowdfund-Fines
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/8yWXxRoDD-o/
content:
<p><img src="media/ededf114.upload.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/upload.jpg" alt="upload" width="180" height="125" class="alignright size-full wp-image-70533">Dutch anti-piracy outfit BREIN has been very active recently, targeting several prolific KickassTorrents and Pirate Bay uploaders. </p>
<p>Most recently it tracked down two members of the DMT (Dutch Movie Theater) group, who shared thousands of torrents on these popular torrent sites.</p>
<p>BREIN settled out of court with <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/brein-does-a-deal-with-kickass-and-pirate-bay-uploader-151205/">both men</a> and said it took their <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-group-stops-prolific-kickasstorrents-uploader-151127/">personal circumstances</a> into account while  calculating the appropriate ‘damages’. </p>
<p>The final amount was not disclosed by the anti-piracy group. However, both users have now started a crowdfunding campaign to cover the costs, revealing how much they owed. </p>
<p>The crowdfunding campaigns were <a href="https://kat.cr/blog/ADHDerby/post/help-caught-kat-members-paying-their-fine/">announced</a> by a fellow KAT user, who is encouraging people to chip in. According to the campaign pages the 20-year old <a href="http://www.dreamordonate.nl/3736-betaling-boete-aan-brein">DisasterZany</a> has to pay €1,750, while <a href="http://www.dreamordonate.nl/3735-betaling-boete">ipod020</a> owes BREIN €2,000 in total. </p>
<p>&#8220;Since €1,750 is an amount that I can&#8217;t really miss as a student, I want to ask you for a small contribution. Any amount is welcome and will be very very appreciated,&#8221; DisasterZany writes, sharing part of the settlement agreement. </p>
<p><center><strong>DisasterZany&#8217;s settlement</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/b0c20e84.zanysett.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/zanysett.png" alt="zanysett" width="600" height="114" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-114637"></center></p>
<p>BREIN is not pleased with crowdfunding efforts, <a href="http://tweakers.net/nieuws/106684/torrent-uploaders-schikten-met-brein-voor-1750-en-2000-euro.html">Tweakers reports</a>. According to BREIN chief Tim Kuik this changes the personal circumstances on which the settlement amount was based. </p>
<p>Kuik suggests that BREIN may take further action, but according to Dutch ICT lawyer Arnoud Engelfriet it&#8217;s unlikely that anything will change unless crowdfunding was specifically prohibited in the settlement agreement. </p>
<p>For BREIN it&#8217;s important send a strong message and deter others from sharing copyrighted files online. If both uploaders can easily cover their &#8216;fines&#8217; through a crowdfunding campaign, this hurts their efforts. </p>
<p>At the time of writing both uploaders still have some ground to cover before their costs are fully paid. DisasterZany has raised €105 thus far, while ipod020&#8217;s campaign is at €485.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114656
title: Used eBook Sellers Receive Threats of Jail Time
uri: Used-eBook-Sellers-Receive-Threats-of-Jail-Time
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/amYfaBHBJwo/
content:
<p><img src="media/31ccbd18.e-books.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/e-books.jpg" alt="e-books" width="220" height="150" class="alignright size-full wp-image-26365">When one legitimately acquires property, whether a car, a house or even a toy plane, it&#8217;s generally accepted that the item can be transferred, for money, to an interested third party.</p>
<p>In the digital domain, however, there are those who feel that things should be different.</p>
<p>For example, IFPI believes that people should not be able to sell their <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/record-labels-used-mp3s-too-good-and-convenient-to-resell-140422/">unwanted MP3s</a>, because unlike physical media they don&#8217;t deteriorate in quality or require a trip to the record store.</p>
<p>And in 2014, the MPAA argued that allowing people to sell their used videos online <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-consumer-right-resell-online-videos-kill-innovation-140608/">would kill innovation</a>, increase consumer prices, and decrease the availability of online film.</p>
<p>With this kind of opposition in mind it was no surprise that yesterday several media outlets began reporting that sellers of used eBooks in the Netherlands had received legal threats from aggressive copyright holders.</p>
<p>In an email titled &#8220;Illegal dissemination of digital books&#8221;, sellers of pre-owned eBooks were warned, apparently by Dutch anti-piracy outfit BREIN, that their activities were illegal.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Brein Foundation acts against piracy of music, film, interactive software and digital books on behalf of rights and stakeholders such as authors, performers, publishers, producers and distributors,&#8221; the email begins.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve detected that you are distributing digital books without permission being granted by the copyright holders. This practice is unlawful towards the rights-holders and if you infringe you are liable for the damage they suffer as a result.&#8221;</p>
<p>Worryingly the email then goes off at the deep end, warning of extreme punishments if the sale of used eBooks continues.</p>
<p>&#8220;Intentional infringement is punishable as a criminal offense with 6 months imprisonment or a 19,500 euro ($21,200) fine.&#8221;</p>
<p>The email signs off in the name of Jan van Voorn, BREIN&#8217;s legal counsel, adding an air of authenticity to the claims. However, according to BREIN chief Tim Kuik the emails are nothing to do with his organization.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are concerned,&#8221; Kuik told <a href="http://nos.nl/artikel/2073583-uitgeverijen-willen-verkoop-tweedehands-e-book-tegengaan.html">nos.nl</a>. &#8220;Someone is stirring up weird stuff.&#8221;</p>
<p>While BREIN are hardly supporters of people selling used product, the anti-piracy group says it only usually targets those attempting to sell large quantities of illegitimate products online. Indeed, after <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/brein-extends-anti-piracy-activities-to-ebook-sector-100416/">striking a deal</a> with publishers in 2010, BREIN is now actively chasing down book pirates <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/google-must-expose-ebook-pirate-court-rules-151006/">using Google&#8217;s services</a>.</p>
<p>So who then is to blame for the threats? According to Kuik it&#8217;s possible that rival used-book sellers are trying to scare away their competitors.</p>
<p>While that does indeed sound plausible, whoever is sending these threats clearly has an understanding of the market, BREIN&#8217;s involvement in copyright enforcement, and how to construct a credible threat. Furthermore, the Dutch publishing group that BREIN represents also wishes to ban the sale of used eBooks.</p>
<p>Overall then, the timing of these &#8216;legal&#8217; threats are coincidental if not curious.</p>
<p>Next week an important case involving the sale of used eBooks via local online marketplace &#8216;Tom Cabinet&#8217; will head back to court in the Netherlands. <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/online-store-can-sell-used-ebooks-court-rules-140723/">Last year</a> the Amsterdam Court dismissed complaints from book publishers, concluding that selling used eBooks sits in a legal gray area.</p>
<p>This time around the publishers will be looking for a more favorable result.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114690
title: Anti-Piracy Lawyer Milked Copyright Holders For Millions
uri: Anti-Piracy-Lawyer-Milked-Copyright-Holders-For-Millions
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Tm7RiQARB3I/
content:
<p><img src="media/3932f7e0.moneybanned.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/moneybanned.jpg" alt="moneybanned" width="180" height="171" class="alignright size-full wp-image-86198">In the early 2000s, international and Danish entertainment industry groups came together to tackle piracy of movies, music and other media.</p>
<p>The resulting Antipiratgruppen (now RettighedsAlliancen / Rights Alliance) needed legal representation and local lawfirm Johan Schlüter was hired for the job, representing groups including the MPAA.</p>
<p>In the years that followed Johan Schlüter became involved in dozens of anti-piracy cases but after continually accusing pirates of being thieves, eventually the tables began to turn. Earlier this year it was reported that an investigation into the company&#8217;s accounts had uncovered financial irregularities amounting to millions of dollars.</p>
<p>Carried out by U.S. auditing giant Deloitte, the investigation found that while Johan Schlüter had been collecting rights revenues on behalf of several movie and TV industry groups, the lawfirm hadn&#8217;t been handing them all over. The black hole was <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-lawfirm-defrauded-rightsholders-out-of-millions-150702/">thought be to around $15m</a>.</p>
<p>Now, however, fresh leaks from the confidential study have revealed the true extent of the shortfall. According to data obtained by <a href="http://finans.dk/finans/erhverv/ECE8264431/Hemmelig-rapport-Advokatfirma-h%C3%A6vede-millioner-med-%C2%BBtvivlsomme%C2%AB-fakturaer/">Finans.dk</a>, Johan Schlüter failed to hand over around $25m.</p>
<p>The now-defunct Johan Schlüter lawfirm had three owners – Johan Schlüter himself, Lars Halgreen and Susanne Fryland. The latter was responsible for the management of the TV and film producer accounts and appears to be the partner most in the firing line.</p>
<p>Between 2011 and 2015 before Johan Schlüter went bankrupt, Fryland is said to have pocketed almost $2.4m in consultancy fees. In addition the lawyer gave jobs to family members, with one getting paid a salary of more than $94,000. Deloitte said it had difficulty finding out what this person was employed to do.</p>
<p>Another, Fryland&#8217;s mother-in-law, was originally employed to deal with administrative issues. However, when Fryland left to have a child, her mother-in-law was given more than a year off while getting paid almost $84,000 to look after the baby.</p>
<p>Klaus Hansen, director at the <a href="http://pro-f.dk/content/danish-producers-association">Producers&#8217; Association</a>, says the report has left him speechless.</p>
<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t think I could be surprised over more in this case, but if it  wasn&#8217;t so tragic, Deloitte&#8217;s report would be worthy of an absurd movie,&#8221; Hansen says.</p>
<p>While Susanne Fryland is <a href="http://www.bt.dk/krimi/fortrolig-rapport-skandaleramt-advokat-malkede-firma-for-millioner">refusing</a> to comment on the latest allegations, Johan Schlüter maintains he was unaware of any wrongdoing.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114658
title: BitTorrent Still Dominates Internet’s Upstream Traffic
uri: BitTorrent-Still-Dominates-Internet-s-Upstream-Traffic
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/ouCpqL7oWNA/
content:
<p><img src="media/4838a439.upload.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/upload.png" alt="upload" width="240" height="164" class="alignright size-full wp-image-114664">Many Internet traffic reports have been published over the years, documenting how traffic patterns change over time. </p>
<p>A decade ago, long before the BitTorrent boom began, studies indicated that BitTorrent was responsible for an impressive 35% of all Internet traffic.</p>
<p>In the years that followed Internet traffic distribution underwent a metamorphosis, as video streaming took off with the launch of YouTube and later Netflix. As a result BitTorrent lost a significant share of total Internet traffic, in the United States at least.</p>
<p>However, BitTorrent is still here today and arguably more popular than ever before.</p>
<p>A new report published by broadband management company <a href="https://www.sandvine.com/">Sandvine</a> reveals that torrent traffic is now responsible for 29% of all U.S. Internet traffic in North America during peak hours, up from 25% last year.</p>
<p>This means that well over a quarter all megabytes uploaded during the busiest time of the day can be traced back to torrents.  </p>
<p><center><strong>Traffic share in North America during peak hours</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/0443ca0c.sandvine2015.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/sandvine2015.png" alt="sandvine2015" width="600" height="257" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-114670"></center></p>
<p>The increase is noteworthy as BitTorrent&#8217;s traffic share has consistently dropped in recent years, as other data sources grew more quickly. This drop is still visible in the overall peak hour traffic, where BitTorrent went from 5% to 4.4%. </p>
<p>This downward trend doesn&#8217;t mean that BitTorrent users share less data, as overall bandwidth usage has increased as well. However, Netflix, YouTube and several other entertainment services have certainly grown stronger.</p>
<p>Looking at the downstream traffic, we see that BitTorrent&#8217;s share during peak hours dropped to &#8216;only&#8217; 2.7%. For the first time, both Amazon and iTunes are now using more data than BitTorrent and Hulu is closing in as well.</p>
<p>While BitTorrent has many legitimate uses most data is transferred by pirated files. This means that Netflix and the others are direct competitors for the popular file-sharing protocol.</p>
<p>Looking at the larger picture it&#8217;s clear that BitTorrent remains extremely popular in North America, but competition from legal services is growing. </p>
<p>It will be interesting to see how this trend develops during the years to come. It will certainly take a while before any other data source overtakes BitTorrent in terms of upstream traffic.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114707
title: EU Proposal Bans Netflix-Style Geo Blocking and Restrictions
uri: EU-Proposal-Bans-Netflix-Style-Geo-Blocking-and-Restrictions
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/M1nqYdBuaGQ/
content:
<p><img src="media/3737aed5.europe-flag.png" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/europe-flag.png" alt="europe-flag" width="222" height="146" class="alignright size-full wp-image-79290">Netflix subscribers across Europe all have access to a different library of films and videos. </p>
<p>The same is true for users of many other streaming services such as BBC iPlayer, Amazon Instant Video and HBO Go.</p>
<p>This means that paying customers are often unable to use their accounts, or with restrictions, when traveling to other European countries. </p>
<p>These geo-blocking practices have been a thorn in the side of the European Commission who today published a concrete proposal requiring streaming services to ban them. </p>
<p>The proposal, which is the first in EU&#8217;s broader <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/europe-will-abolish-geo-blocking-and-other-copyright-restrictions-150506/">copyright reform</a>, requires online services to remove geo-blocking in Europe. This means that Netflix users can access their local content library in any EU member state. </p>
<p>This also includes countries where the service isn&#8217;t currently operating. For example, a Swedish HBO subscriber should be able to access his account in Italy, where it&#8217;s not available legally.</p>
<p>&#8220;We want to ensure the portability of content across borders. People who legally buy content – films, books, football matches, TV series – must be able to carry it with them anywhere they go in Europe,&#8221; says Andrus Ansip, Vice-President for the Digital Single Market.</p>
<p>Netflix previously called for an end to all geo-blocking and says it&#8217;s happy to provide users with great content wherever they are. </p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re committed to providing Netflix members with great programming wherever they are and are studying the EU&#8217;s proposal,&#8221; a Netflix spokesperson informs TF.</p>
<p>While the plans are a positive development for users, copyright holders may be more skeptical. They will have to rewrite their licensing agreements to allow online access to content across borders. </p>
<p>According to the EU Commission many people already try to bypass geo-restrictions through <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">VPN services</a>. Under the new proposal, this is no longer needed. </p>
<p>Ironically, the changes may not always be beneficial. In some cases people use a VPN to access a broader library of films and video in another EU country, which will no longer be possible under the new rules.</p>
<p>In addition, Pirate Party MEP Julia Reda points out that the proposal <a href="https://juliareda.eu/2015/12/more-than-just-roaming-for-netflix/">only fixes part of the problem</a>. People who are in countries where Netflix and other services aren&#8217;t available, will remain without access.</p>
<p><a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-6261_en.htm">The plans</a> proposed today still requires official approval from the European Parliament but the commission hopes that it will be implemented in 2017. </p>
<p>More concrete copyright reform proposals are expected to follow next year. This includes updated anti-piracy measures based on the &#8220;<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/leaked-draft-reveals-eu-anti-piracy-enforcement-plan-151109/">follow the money</a>&#8221; approach as well as various exceptions to allow broader use of copyrighted material.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114730
title: RIAA and Aurous Settle Piracy Lawsuit for $3 Million
uri: RIAA-and-Aurous-Settle-Piracy-Lawsuit-for-3-Million
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/mdVgJ-2VZWQ/
content:
<p><img src="media/07a6d06d.aurousl.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/aurousl.png" alt="aurousl" width="222" height="138" class="alignright size-full wp-image-114745">Last October saw the much hyped public <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/aurous-promises-to-be-a-popcorn-time-for-music-150911/">release</a> of Aurous, a music player that tapped into a library of pirated music.</p>
<p>The major record labels were not happy with the emergence of the &#8220;Popcorn Time for Music&#8221; and wasted no time trying to take it down.</p>
<p>Just days after Aurous&#8217; alpha launch, Florida-based developer Andrew Sampson and his company were targeted by the major music labels. The RIAA accused the owners of copyright infringement and demanded millions in damages.</p>
<p>Initially Aurous seemed determined to put up a fight. The court shut down the application through a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/riaa-obtains-restraining-order-against-aurous-151015/">preliminary injunction</a> but Sampson was convinced that his application was not breaking any laws. </p>
<p>After several scathing replies from the RIAA, who went into <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/aurous-gets-beaten-up-by-the-riaa-but-peace-is-near-151106/">full attack mode</a>, things went quiet. Behind the scenes both parties agreed that it was best to settle their dispute which they officially announced a few minutes ago. </p>
<p>In a filing submitted at a Florida federal court both parties agree that Aurous did indeed violate the copyrights of the major labels. They agree to settle the dispute for $3 million, which is described as a reasonable damages award. </p>
<p><center><strong>The consent judgement</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/c8866846.aurous2.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/aurous2.png" alt="aurous" width="600" height="237" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-114756"></center></p>
<p>The filing (<a href="media/c8866846.aurous2.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/aurous2.png">pdf</a>) also includes a permanent injunction preventing Sampson and Aurous co-founder Danielle Astvatsaturova from committing any infringing actions in the future. </p>
<p>In addition, Aurous agreed to sign over its domain name and all intellectual property to the music labels.</p>
<p>The consent judgment is only part of the full settlement. The RIAA and Aurous signed a separate agreement outside of court. It is not uncommon for the true settlement amount to be much lower than the figure stated in court, as we&#8217;ve previously seen in an <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-secretly-settled-hotfile-4-million-80-million-141224/">MPAA case</a>.</p>
<p>Commenting on the announcement, RIAA Chairman &#038; CEO Cary Sherman says the RIAA is happy with the settlement.</p>
<p>“Aurous appropriately agreed to shut down. It was the right thing to do. We hope this sends a strong signal that unlicensed services cannot expect to build unlawful businesses on the backs of music creators,” Sherman says.</p>
<p>Aurous&#8217; creator, meanwhile, accepts his losses but is not done developing just yet. Sampson informs TF that he has moved on to a new project which will see the light of day in the near future. </p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s still music related, but more centered around live performances. I will be showcasing it soon,&#8221; he says.</p>
<p>Taking the past few eventful weeks into account, we assume that his new creation is lawsuit proof. In any case, the RIAA is bound to watch his every step.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114688
title: Dallas Buyers Club Still Pursuing Aussie Pirates For Cash
uri: Dallas-Buyers-Club-Still-Pursuing-Aussie-Pirates-For-Cash
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/_9GgReFbtxo/
content:
<p><img src="media/78231829.dallas.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/dallas.jpg" width="180" height="180" class="alignright">Earlier this year the company behind the movie Dallas Buyers Club was <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/iinet-loses-dallas-buyers-club-piracy-case-150407/">granted permission</a> to obtain the personal details of 4,726 Australia-based BitTorrent users alleged to have shared the movie online without permission.</p>
<p>However, DBC&#8217;s reputation for so-called &#8220;speculative invoicing&#8221; had traveled quickly, leading Justice Nye Perram to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/dallas-buyers-club-ruling-devastates-copyright-trolling-down-under-150814/">express concerns</a> over the company&#8217;s plans for Australia. And after learning that DBC wanted to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/trolls-want-to-interrogate-bittorrent-pirates-by-phone-150618/">interrogate alleged infringers</a> with the aim of extracting large payments from them, the Judge began narrowing the company&#8217;s options.</p>
<p>Justice Perram told DBC that it could claim for the price of the film and a proportion of the amount spent on tracking down an alleged infringer, but no more. On top, he ordered the film outfit to pay a AUS$600,000 bond before any subscriber information could be released.</p>
<p>In response, DBC tried a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/dallas-buyers-club-refuses-to-give-up-on-australia-piracy-battle-151012/">new direction</a>. It asked for the personal details of 10% of the original 4,726 subscribers as a test run of sorts. In return, it asked for the bond to be reduced from AUS$600,000 to AUS$60,000.</p>
<p>Previously Justice Perram had rejected the company&#8217;s punitive compensation formula, ruling that DBC could only ask for the cost of the movie (perhaps AUS$20) and the costs it had incurred obtaining their identities from ISPs.</p>
<p>But today DBC were back in court and trying once again to convince the Judge to let them continue pursuing alleged pirates. Presenting a new formula, DBC said it would stop looking at each case individually on its merits and instead present the same settlement offer to all.</p>
<p>Dropping its controversial plan to formulate damages based partly on how many copies of OTHER copyrighted works had been downloaded by each alleged infringer, DBC hung on to its demands that each account holder should pay the cost of the movie. In addition DBC said it would demand a rental charge, a license fee for illegally distributing its copyright work, plus a payment towards its costs.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.itnews.com.au/News/Article.aspx?id=412837#ixzz3toT6tI33">ITNews</a> reports that DBC&#8217;s license calculations were based on a case in which a single unlicensed reprint of a stock photo resulted in a $12,500 damages award. DBC said that its claim was &#8220;modest by comparison&#8221;.</p>
<p>However, Justice Perram disagreed, describing a figure already presented by DBC in a confidential submission as &#8220;not modest&#8221;. Furthermore, since DBC had not provided evidence of its licensing arrangements, the Judge could not come to a conclusion on what a reasonable amount might be.</p>
<p>As a result DBC asked for an adjournment so that it could gather and present more evidence, but Justice Perram flat-out refused. Nevertheless, DBC did appear to make some ground today.</p>
<p>Last month the company said it intended to fight for additional damages, despite the Judge indicating that he did not wish to revisit the issue. Today, Justice Perram reluctantly <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/article/dallas-buyers-club-precedent-supports-more-compensation/">admitted</a> that he may have &#8220;misconstrued&#8221; the earlier additional damages claim.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve written four judgments about this case, and I must say, the love is gone &#8230; why must I keep deciding this case over and over again?&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>All eyes now turn to next week when Perram will decide whether DBC will be allowed to access the details of 10% of the original 4,726 subscribers and if the company will be given permission to appeal the earlier decision to limit claims for damages.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s not over yet but DBC still has its eyes glued to the big prize &#8211; thousands of dollars in settlements from thousands of Aussie Internet subscribers. And, if they&#8217;re successful, more of the same in future.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114786
title: Lucasfilm Uses DMCA to Kill Star Wars Toy Picture
uri: Lucasfilm-Uses-DMCA-to-Kill-Star-Wars-Toy-Picture
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/8JM-14D5-KI/
content:
<p><img src="media/754386d2.starwars-logo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/starwars-logo.jpg" alt="starwars-logo" width="180" height="121" class="alignright size-full wp-image-114787">When it&#8217;s released on December 15, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is likely to become one of the most popular sci-fi films of all time. Even for non-fans, the anticipation can be felt around the entire web.</p>
<p>No surprise then that Disney and Lucasfilm, the two main companies behind the behemoth, are gearing up for an aggressive anti-piracy campaign should, heaven forbid, the movie leak onto the Internet.</p>
<p>While that is completely understandable, over the past 48 hours the companies have been taking action to aggressively protect their rights in a way that is probably not supported by the law.</p>
<p>The problems began earlier this week when fansite <a href="http://www.swactionnews.com/">Star Wars Action News</a> posted an update to its Facebook page. An excited Justin revealed that he&#8217;d just purchased an action figure of &#8216;<a href="http://www.starwars.com/databank/rey">Rey</a>&#8216; from America&#8217;s favorite store.</p>
<p>&#8220;Have we known this figure was coming? I just found her at Walmart &#8211; no other new figures,&#8221; he reported.</p>
<p>Crucially, Justin also posted up a couple of pictures of the boxed figure, which he had legally purchased &#8211; not stolen &#8211; from the store. However, it didn&#8217;t remain up for long.</p>
<p>&#8220;These pictures were removed from the post,&#8221; Justin wrote in an update. &#8220;Facebook notified us they deleted the photos after someone reported them for copyright infringement.&#8221;</p>
<p>But this is the Internet and things travel &#8211; quickly. Jeremy Conrad at Star Wars Unity subsequently reposted the pictures and he too felt the heat, in a much bigger way.</p>
<p>&#8220;This morning I woke up to numerous DMCA takedown notices on the @starwarsunity Twitter account, the Facebook account, the Google+ Page, and my personal Twitter for posting the image of an action figure that was legally purchased at Walmart,&#8221; Conrad <a href="http://starwarsunity.net/2015/12/hasbro-threatening-fans-with-lawsuits-for-buying-star-wars-figures/">explains</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;My webhost also received a takedown email from them with a threat of a lawsuit of the image wasn’t removed.&#8221;</p>
<p>A lawsuit. For displaying an entirely legal photograph. The copyright to which is presumably owned by Justin at Star Wars Action News. But it didn&#8217;t stop there.</p>
<p>Acting on behalf of Lucasfilms, anti-piracy outfit Irdeto has been hitting Twitter, not only filing DMCA notices <em>(below, edited)</em> against people who posted the image, but those who dared to RE-TWEET those tweets.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>DMCA Takedown Notice</p>
<p>Copyright owner: Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC.<br>
Name: David Gamble<br>
Company: Irdeto<br>
Job title: Operations Manager<br>
Email address: iiprod_ops@irdeto.com</p>
<p>Description of original work: Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Rey (Resistance Outfit) Figurine</p>
<p>Links to original work: n/a</p>
<p>Reported Tweet URL: https://twitter.com/supersorrell/status/674483899871928321</p>
<p>Description of infringement: A screen shot of an unreleased figurine for Star Wars: Force Awakens</p>
<p>Description of infringement: A screen shot of an unreleased figurine for Star Wars: Force Awakens</em></p></blockquote>
<p>While taking down an image that they don&#8217;t own the copyrights to is certainly taking things too far, Lucasfilm appear to have their reasons for doing so.</p>
<p>We&#8217;re not Star Wars experts here at TF but from what we understand there is an item printed on the Rey toy packaging that fans of the series will not want to see. That&#8217;s why we&#8217;re not publishing that picture in all its glory.</p>
<p>That being said, this story would not be complete without referencing the image that has caused all the fuss. With a double-helping of SPOILER WARNINGS and a DON&#8217;T BLAME US on top, those who wish to see the image can do so <a href="media/25933f0a.xreyx.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/xreyx.jpg">here</a>.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114768
title: Police Raid Popular Movie & TV Show Streaming Portal
uri: Police-Raid-Popular-Movie-TV-Show-Streaming-Portal
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/MP3gH5AejCQ/
content:
<p><img src="media/92b97dcc.sweflix-small.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/sweflix-small.jpg" alt="sweflix-small" width="150" height="106" class="alignright size-full wp-image-114776">For many years Sweden was viewed as a world leader in various file-sharing scenes, not least due to the prominence of The Pirate Bay.</p>
<p>Perhaps inevitably, however, this attracted much unwanted attention from authorities in the United States, who felt that Sweden wasn&#8217;t doing enough to combat the problem.</p>
<p>These days the opposite is true. Hardly a month goes by without news of another arrest or court case, and December is no different. This week streaming dropped into focus, with police raiding locations in separate parts of the country.</p>
<p>The targets were the operators of Sweflix, one of the country&#8217;s most popular illicit streaming portals and a top 1000 site overall. According to <a href="http://www.idg.se/2.1085/1.645019/polis-slog-till-sweflix">IDG</a>, police raided two homes on Tuesday, one in a city in southern Sweden and another in the Uppsala area.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/80ef9e4d.sweflix.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/sweflix.png" alt="sweflix" width="600" height="397" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-114772"></center></p>
<p>&#8220;We have over time carried out surveillance against those who may be behind Sweflix. Then we received information that led to the crackdown,&#8221; said Prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist.</p>
<p>Authorities initially reported taking three people in for questioning. While one was later released, two remained under arrest yesterday. Both are suspected ringleaders of the busy movie and TV streaming site.</p>
<p>&#8220;The two that have been detained know each other and one of them has a family relationship with the third,&#8221; Ljungqvist added.</p>
<p>As is usually the case, particularly in Sweden where rightsholder anti-piracy groups have a strong presence, the raid was prompted by complaints from local and international entertainment industry groups including Nordic Video and Disney.</p>
<p>Prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist confirmed that some seizures had been made following execution of the warrants but refused to provide details. However, at the time of writing Sweflix remains fully operational, both at Sweflix.net and sweflix.to, an alternative domain that was introduced just a few months ago.</p>
<p>Tackling streaming sites by force is currently one of the few tools available to the authorities. Rightsholders had pinned their hopes on having sites like Pirate Bay and Swefilmer blocked at the ISP level, but a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/no-pirate-bay-blockade-in-sweden-court-rules-151127/">negative decision</a> from the Stockholm District Court last month ruled that out, at least for now.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114710
title: Canadian Govt Eyes VPN Pirates, Netflix Thieves and ISP Blocking
uri: Canadian-Govt-Eyes-VPN-Pirates-Netflix-Thieves-and-ISP-Blocking
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Lo8Im-PDPTM/
content:
<p><img src="media/c89c2205.canada.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/canada.jpg" alt="canada" width="222" height="165" class="alignright size-full wp-image-60888">The newly elected Canadian Government has yet to announce how it will tackle online piracy going forward. However, a new Government document highlights some interesting points. </p>
<p>In <a href="http://canada.pch.gc.ca/eng/1447860118067/1447860194566">a briefing</a> Canadian Heritage officials prepared for minister Mélanie Joly several copyright related topics are discussed. The recent changes proposed <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/leaked-tpp-chapter-proposes-drastic-copyright-changes-151011/">by the TPP</a>, for example. </p>
<p>The briefing also identifies three emerging copyright issues and pressures that may need to be addressed during the years to come, as Canadian law professor Michael Geist <a href="http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2015/12/government-docs-suggest-officials-thinking-about-website-blocking-targeting-vpn-usage/">reveals</a>.   </p>
<p>On the top of this list of potential problems is &#8220;copyright infringement using VPNs.&#8221; While VPNs have plenty legitimate purposes, especially for those concerned about their privacy, pirates also use them to prevent being tracked by monitoring companies. </p>
<p>While the use of VPNs for infringing activities is a concern, Professor Geist believes that targeting these services won&#8217;t go down well with privacy advocates.</p>
<p>&#8220;Those [infringing] activities raise genuine issues, though the prospect of targeting the technology itself would quickly generate robust opposition from those who rely on VPNs for a myriad of legitimate purposes,&#8221; Geist notes.</p>
<p><center><strong>Slide from the Minister&#8217;s briefing</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/92b65381.vpnpiratesblocking.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/vpnpiratesblocking.png" alt="vpnpiratesblocking" width="600" height="172" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-114816"></center></p>
<p>VPNs could also play a major role in a second point being raised, which mentions the hybrid legal and illegal offer of online content. Although it’s not further specified, this may refer to the unauthorized access of streaming services such as Netflix in other countries.</p>
<p>Many Canadians use VPN services to access the U.S. version of Netflix, which has a more appealing content library. This topic was highlighted by Bell Media&#8217;s boss earlier this year, who <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/my-daughter-is-a-netflix-vpn-thief-media-boss-confesses-150604/">accused her daughter</a> of being a Netflix &#8220;thief.&#8221;</p>
<p>According to Professor Geist the Government wouldn&#8217;t have a very strong case to go after this circumvention behavior, as it will be hard to prove actual losses. </p>
<p>Finally, the brief mentions pirate site blockades by ISPs, something that&#8217;s become fairly popular in recent years, especially in Europe. The first signs of Canadian blocking efforts surfaced earlier this year with Quebec’s plans to <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/quebec-plan-to-block-gambling-sites-draws-cries-of-censorship/article27259448/">ban illegal gambling sites</a>.</p>
<p>Whether the three &#8220;issues&#8221; will become part of new copyright law is unclear. If so, this would be another shift in the wrong direction according to Professor Geist.  </p>
<p>&#8220;Canadian copyright was already on track for a boisterous debate in the coming years,&#8221; he writes. </p>
<p>&#8220;If government officials envision adding VPN usage, access to U.S. Netflix, and website blocking to the list of issues, copyright could emerge as one of the government’s most difficult and controversial issues.&#8221;</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114864
title: Search Engines Need Regulating to Reduce Piracy, Russia Says
uri: Search-Engines-Need-Regulating-to-Reduce-Piracy-Russia-Says
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/ZhZdcxrk7tw/
content:
<p><img src="media/bf089152.data.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/data.jpg" alt="data" width="180" height="120" class="alignright size-full wp-image-75303">While entertainment companies and their anti-piracy allies continue to try, removing copyright-infringing content from the Internet is a huge challenge.</p>
<p>Media can indeed be removed from file-hosting and storage sites, but removing content from BitTorrent networks is a daunting prospect that cannot be achieved by attacking one central point. It&#8217;s a multi-pronged effort that returns mixed results, at best.</p>
<p>To this end content providers are focusing on making pirated content harder to find. While it may still exist, if users can&#8217;t easily locate it then download numbers will drop &#8211; they hope. As a result, one of the focus points is the role that search engines play in helping people to discover infringing content and infringing sites.</p>
<p>While slow, progress has been steady in the United States and Europe, with Google now downranking sites in search results based on the number of DMCA notices filed against them. Now it is the turn of Russia to ramp up the pressure on search engines via local telecoms watchdog Roskomnadzor.</p>
<p>This week the agency, best known for its work to have infringing sites blocked at the ISP level, announced it would create a working group to examine, among other things, the regulation of search engine results.</p>
<p>Just like in the US and elsewhere, rightsholders want search engines including market leader Yandex to either demote or entirely remove infringing sites from search results to make pirate content harder to find. Roskomnadzor agrees that things can be done, but note that it won&#8217;t be easy.</p>
<p>&#8220;I do not think that Yandex is on the side of the pirates,&#8221; said Roskomnadzor chief Alexander Zharov.</p>
<p>&#8220;Take a look at what will happen when the work begins on the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/new-russian-anti-piracy-law-could-block-sites-forever-150425/">permanent blocking</a> of pirate sites. The position of rights holders is understandable, but this issue will not be solved today,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>In comments to Russian news outlet <a href="http://izvestia.ru/news/598793">Izvestia</a>, Zharov said that the regulation of search results will be considered by a working group comprised of rightsholders, search engine representatives, and other online platforms. </p>
<p>In the meantime, however, Yandex suggests that rather than simply looking at how pirate sites could be attacked, perhaps legitimate content providers learn from their example to make legitimate products more visible.</p>
<p>&#8220;Maybe we should think about what could be done to promote legal consumption. The guys who tout the illegal content do an excellent job with their task. Maybe we should look on the positive side,&#8221; said Marina Yanina, Vice President of Corporate Relations at Yandex.</p>
<p>Perhaps unsurprisingly Yandex also mirrored sentiments previously held by Google. Since rightsholders have tools to remove content at its source, perhaps they should do so. When that is successful, content will not appear in search results.</p>
<p>&#8220;Copyright protection on the Internet is needed, and we encourage copyright holders to apply directly to the hosting providers [hosting the content]. If illegal content disappears from those sites, then the links disappear from search results,&#8221; Yandex said.</p>
<p>The working group will have other challenges too, including finding a solution to the problem of website block circumvention. According to Roskomnadzor the rise of mobile apps and other resources are enabling people to get around bans, despite aggressive action being taken by the Moscow Court.</p>
<p>Also, it appears that the country&#8217;s website blocking mechanism was ill-prepared to tackle so-called mirror sites &#8211; domains that spring up offering identical content to sites already blocked at the ISP level. The working group will be tasked to define in legal terms what a mirror site is, with the possibility of adding such operations to court orders when blocks are handed down.</p>
<p>The working group&#8217;s findings will be announced in February 2016.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114890
title: Pirate Bay’s .org Domain Back Online After Registrar Switch
uri: Pirate-Bay-s-org-Domain-Back-Online-After-Registrar-Switch
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/bBjiO4ZhtqU/
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">A few days ago the Pirate Bay’s original .org domain name was <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bays-org-domain-suspended-pending-icann-verification-151207/">suspended</a> by its registrar EuroDNS due to an administrative issue.</p>
<p>Instead of being greeted by the iconic pirate ship logo, users saw a warning message indicating that the domain registrant had failed to verify their WHOIS details. </p>
<p>This verification process is a requirement of domain oversight body ICANN.</p>
<p>While the .org was no longer the primary domain name of The Pirate Bay many people still actively used it, so the suspension was widely noticed. </p>
<p>However, the troubles didn&#8217;t last long and were resolved a few hours ago. At the time of writing thepiratebay.org is fully accessible, allowing people to browse the site without being redirected. </p>
<p>Whether the registrant, which is listed as Pirate Bay co-founder Fredrik Neij, verified the domain details is unclear. The domain was moved to a new registrar this week, which may have been used to circumvent the verification process.</p>
<p><center><strong>ThePiratebay.org Whois</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/5e4921f3.tpborgwho.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/tpborgwho.png" alt="tpborgwho" width="605" height="319" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-114900"></center></p>
<p>The .org domain was transferred to the Canada-based company EasyDNS, which has a track record for defending the rights of its customers. </p>
<p>For example, EasyDNS previously objected to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/uk-piracy-police-deprioritize-ineffective-domain-suspension-requests-151107/">domain suspension requests</a> from City of London Police. The company took the matter to ICANN which ruled that registrars are not required to suspend a domain name without a valid court order.</p>
<p>For now it&#8217;s smooth sailing again for the notorious torrent site. Whether it&#8217;s through the .org domain, or one of <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-moves-to-gs-la-vg-am-mn-and-gd-domains-150519/">several other</a> official domains it uses. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114783
title: LionsGate Wants Pirate Sites to Pay for Expendables Leak
uri: LionsGate-Wants-Pirate-Sites-to-Pay-for-Expendables-Leak
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/iOcFDPNoUwM/
content:
<p><img src="media/d8c73069.expendables2.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/expendables2.jpg" alt="expendables" width="240" height="165" class="alignright size-full wp-image-91653">During the summer of 2014 LionsGate suffered a major setback when <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/expendables-3-leaks-online-100k-copies-down-in-hours-140725/">a high quality leak</a> of the then unreleased Expendables 3 film appeared online.</p>
<p>Fearing a massive loss in revenue the movie studio <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/lionsgate-sues-filesharing-sites-expendables-3-leak-140801/">sued</a> the operators of several websites that allegedly failed to remove the infringing files.</p>
<p>Over the past year there has been little progress in the case as most of the accused site operators failed to respond to LionsGate&#8217;s complaint. </p>
<p>In a new filing at the California district court LionsGate indicates a desire to move forward by asking for a default judgment (<a href="media/a042915a.limetorrents.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/limetorrents.png">pdf</a>) against the operators of LimeTorrents and the defunct Dotsemper and Swankshare sites.</p>
<p>While the sites have nothing to do with the original leak, they allegedly failed to respond to a slew of takedown requests sent by the movie studio in the days after the film leaked.</p>
<p>According to the court papers LimeTorrents is operated by Javed Ashraf, who like the other two operators is not based in the United States. </p>
<p>&#8220;Prior to filing this lawsuit Lions Gate sent multiple demand letters to Defendant Ashraf demanding that he immediately cease his infringement but received no response, and the infringement did not stop,&#8221; the studio writes. </p>
<p>This inaction contributed to the millions of pirated downloads that occurred before the film officially premiered, LionsGate argues, accusing the defendants of causing &#8220;substantial and irreparable damage.&#8221; </p>
<p>The movie studio is now asking the court to issue a default judgment preventing the site operators from offering or linking to pirated copies of The Expendables 3.</p>
<p>In addition, LionsGate demands the maximum $150,000 statutory damages for willful copyright infringement from each of them, as well as compensation for attorney fees and additional costs.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/69db01b5.expendabju.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/expendabju.jpg" alt="expendabju" width="540" height="262" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-114805"></center></p>
<p>Previously LionsGate <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/played-to-operator-admits-guilt-in-expendables-3-leak-150626/">settled</a> with the operator of video hosting service Played.to. Without the other defendants showing up in court, it is also expected to win this case easily. </p>
<p>Whether the accused site operators will actually cough up the money is another matter. </p>
<p>At the time of writing both Swankshare and Dotsemper are offline, and have been for a while. LimeTorrents and TorrentDownload.biz remain operational though. </p>
<p>In fact, while LimeTorrents blocked the &#8220;Expendables 3&#8243; term from its search results, there are still hundreds of <a href="media/a042915a.limetorrents.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/limetorrents.png">individual torrent download pages</a> available that link to the film.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114555
title: Pirate Gets a Million YouTube Views, Everybody Benefits
uri: Pirate-Gets-a-Million-YouTube-Views-Everybody-Benefits
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/bTGeY2FJzxw/
content:
<p><img src="media/501513eb.jakubf.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/jakubf.jpg" width="180" height="143" class="alignright">When long-time software pirate Jakub F was tracked down by the Business Software Alliance, things were looking bleak.</p>
<p>After years of illegally sharing titles including Microsoft’s Windows, the Czech national faced a police raid at his workplace and the confiscation of a computer and related equipment. And that was only the beginning.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/busted-pirate-told-to-get-200k-youtube-hits-or-face-huge-fine-151125/">previously reported</a>, Jakub ended up with a three-year suspended sentence and the possibility of getting sued for more money than he could pay in a lifetime.</p>
<p>However, with little chance of collecting such a huge amount, the BSA made Jakub an offer he couldn&#8217;t refuse. Make an anti-piracy ad, reach 200,000 YouTube views, and get away with a financial slap on the wrist.</p>
<p>The deal was done and after a slow start the video suddenly went viral. At the time of writing and against the odds, it now has in excess of one million views.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/f3ab980e.jakub-youtube.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/jakub-youtube.jpg" alt="jakub-youtube" width="600" height="561" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-114560"></center></p>
<p>While Jakub might look sombre in the image above, the (presumably) former pirate must be delighted at achieving his target. Two hundred thousand views was a pretty big ask and he must&#8217;ve wondered whether it would be possible. But once news began to spread, people seemed more than happy to help.</p>
<p>At the time though, many (myself included) dismissed Jakub&#8217;s video as propaganda. It was, after all, a pirate being paraded in public, humiliated even, for the pleasure of corporate giants. But the more one thinks about it, hasn&#8217;t this turned out well for everyone?</p>
<p>After keeping up his side of the bargain, the BSA is finally off Jakub&#8217;s back and he can relax, free from the worries of financial ruination. Suspended sentence aside, that&#8217;s the best result he could&#8217;ve hoped for.</p>
<p>The BSA got what they wanted too. Getting a million views and a viral story for an anti-piracy ad is a really spectacular achievement that nothing has come close to matching in recent years. The UK&#8217;s Creative Content <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/uk-anti-piracy-education-campaign-launched-quietly-151201/">campaign</a>, for example, has a lot of backing yet <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQYACIKuKp4">its video</a> has only clocked up 123,000 views since October.</p>
<p>But there are other winners too. The campaign, whatever people thought of it, became a huge talking point for a few days, sparking interest in the whole copyright debate. Did Jakub get what he deserved? Did the BSA go too far? Where can I download Jakub&#8217;s stuff? Yes, there was some of that too.</p>
<p>Overwhelmingly though, people seem to come out in support of Jakub, the little guy getting picked on by bullies. While each YouTube click might indeed represent a win for the BSA, each view could also be viewed as an Internet upvote for a desperate man down on his luck. And with Adblock turned on, as some vowed, the BSA wouldn&#8217;t get a penny. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, to appreciate the true value of the video one needs to view it through forgiving eyes. While some may disagree, I believe that while a dramatized version of events, the video was a pretty realistic depiction of what can happen to some Internet pirates. They do get tracked, they do get raided, they do face prosecution, fines, damages and God knows what else.</p>
<p>In that respect the BSA video is not only cautionary, but educational. It&#8217;s intended as a scare piece, no doubt about that, but for many it will function as a useful and helpful reminder that any prolific sharer is in danger of being singled out online if precautions aren&#8217;t being taken. Clearly, some people need reminding.</p>
<p>In this instance everyone gained something from the experience and Jakub got off extremely lightly indeed. If you still have doubts, tune in tomorrow for a really shocking story about several young men teetering on the brink of having their lives changed forever. This BSA deal will look like a walk in the park in comparison and no will come out a winner.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114866
title: Aurous Developer Brings ‘Strike’ Torrent Site Back Online
uri: Aurous-Developer-Brings-Strike-Torrent-Site-Back-Online
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/-YDFTsa52PE/
content:
<p><img src="media/ea5cb76a.strikel.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/strikel.png" alt="strikel" width="267" height="177" class="alignright size-full wp-image-114868">This week Aurous developer Andrew Sampson settled his legal dispute with the RIAA. He now <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/riaa-and-aurous-settle-piracy-lawsuit-for-3-million-151209/">owes them $3 million</a>. </p>
<p>While the outcome is a financial disaster for the student he doesn&#8217;t plan to crawl into a corner, quite the opposite in fact. His torrent search engine <a href="https://getstrike.net/">Strike</a> was brought back online recently, serving torrents to the masses.</p>
<p>The Strike search engine <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/strike-public-tracker-dht-searches-presented-cleanly-150321/">launched earlier this year</a> and provides users with a tool to find the latest torrents. The site itself doesn&#8217;t host any files but pulls data directly from BitTorrent&#8217;s DHT. The site&#8217;s users can then click on magnet links to download the associated files.</p>
<p>When Sampson was sued by the RIAA in October the Strike search engine was also taken offline. Many assumed that this was a legal precaution and that Strike was one of the infringing activities mentioned in the Aurous complaint. </p>
<p><a href="https://torrentfreak.com/riaa-sues-popcorn-time-for-music-151013/">According</a> to the RIAA the search engine was &#8220;specifically designed to promote copyright infringement on the BitTorrent network, which is notorious as a source for pirated music, movies, games, and software.&#8221; </p>
<p>Sapmson disagrees. </p>
<p>While he has indeed signed a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/riaa-and-aurous-settle-piracy-lawsuit-for-3-million-151209/">settlement agreement</a> that prohibits him from operating any services that infringe on the copyrights of the major music labels, Strike is now back online.</p>
<p>According to the Florida-based developer the search engine operated within the boundaries of the law. People who visit the site won&#8217;t see any infringing content unless they specifically search for it.</p>
<p>&#8220;Strike&#8217;s search engine is powered by a blind spider, it can only see hashes, seeders and leechers. This is all the data it collects, from there when a user requests a hash using either our API or the main search interface, information on that hash is fetched and delivered,&#8221; Sampson tells TF. </p>
<p>&#8220;Strike doesn&#8217;t offer any actual torrent downloads nor does it direct you to a place to download it. We do offer magnets, but this is just for ease of use,&#8221; he adds.</p>
<p>Indeed, the search engine doesn&#8217;t link to external torrent sites. However, the magnet links have a similar function to torrents and provide enough information to download the files which are referenced in search results.</p>
<p><center><strong>Strike Search Results</strong></center><center><img src="media/a9e588d7.strikeback.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/strikeback.png" alt="strikeback" width="600" height="296" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-114869"></center></p>
<p>Still, Sampson maintains that Strike doesn&#8217;t encourage any infringement and that it&#8217;s mostly a meta data engine. He will continue the project and says that it&#8217;s his ultimate goal to create a set of tools that can power a Home theater PC.</p>
<p>The Strike API helps with that, with tools such as the <a href="ttps://github.com/Codeusa/StrikeTaskManager">remote task manager</a> and the remote control functionality.</p>
<p>Technology aside, in copyright infringement cases the legality of a service often boils down to how it&#8217;s presented. A neutral torrent client can become blatantly infringing when it&#8217;s advertised as the ultimate pirate tool. </p>
<p>The RIAA previously pointed out how Sampson &#8220;boasted&#8221; about the infringing search results pirates could find with Strike, which is something that&#8217;s best to avoid to keep out of trouble.</p>
<p>What&#8217;s perhaps most striking about the whole situation is that the RIAA didn&#8217;t make Strike an integral part of the out-of-court settlement. This appears to be an oversight, or perhaps they are not bothered too much about the search engine. </p>
<p>TorrentFreak asked the RIAA about their current position on the Strike search engine, but the group did not wish to comment.</p>
<p>To be continued? </p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114814
title: UK Movie Pirates Facing Shocking Prison Sentences
uri: UK-Movie-Pirates-Facing-Shocking-Prison-Sentences
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/GqHmzBCsHVY/
content:
<p><img src="media/9c39c603.jail.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/jail.jpg" alt="jail" width="222" height="148" class="alignright size-full wp-image-70302">On February 1 2013, the UK&#8217;s Federation Against Copyright Theft revealed they had joined police officers from the Economic Crime Unit to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/fact-raids-hit-release-groups-and-torrent-site-admin-130721/">carry out raids</a> at several addresses in central England.</p>
<p>As Hollywood&#8217;s enforcement arm in the UK, FACT were searching for five individuals believed to be behind several prolific and interrelated movie release groups. After a three year investigation, they finally had their men.</p>
<p>Graeme Reid, 40, from Chesterfield, Scott Hemming, 25, and Reece Baker, 22, both from Birmingham, Sahil Rafiq, 24, of Wolverhampton and Ben Cooper, 33, of Willenhall, were all arrested and questioned at length.</p>
<p>By January 2015 all had broadly <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/movie-release-group-members-plead-guilty-150131/">pleaded guilty</a> to charges of Conspiracy to Defraud. However, the extent of the infringement claimed by FACT in their private criminal prosecution was far in excess of that accepted by the accused.</p>
<p>As a result a so-called &#8216;Newton hearing&#8217; will take place in a West Midlands court tomorrow, during which both sides will present their evidence to a judge who will try to work out which side is more credible. Information obtained by TorrentFreak reveals that the stakes could hardly be higher.</p>
<p><strong>The numbers behind the prosecution</strong></p>
<p>In order to come to a figure on losses, FACT appear to be relying on data presented publicly by ExtraTorrent, one of the world&#8217;s leading torrent sites. According to FACT the defendants were jointly responsible for around 4.2 million illegal downloads on ExtraTorrent alone.</p>
<p>The anti-piracy group will then take the average price of attending a cinema in the UK or buying a DVD or Blu-ray disc. Arriving at a figure convenient for all options, FACT will presume that the defendants&#8217; actions &#8220;put at risk&#8221; at least £52,000,000 in studio revenues <em>on ExtraTorrent alone</em>.</p>
<p>However, taking into consideration that not every download is a lost sale, FACT is expected to disregard infringement carried out on all other torrent sites and settle on an overall &#8220;actual loss&#8221; of £4,200,000. Let&#8217;s see how this affects each defendant.</p>
<p><strong>Graeme Reid</strong></p>
<p>FACT will allege that Reid was the founder and leader of &#8216;RemixHD&#8217;, a release group that specialized in DVD and Blu-ray rips. The anti-piracy group will also state that Reid had connections with another famous group known as &#8216;UNiQUE&#8217;.</p>
<p>FACT will accuse Reid of causing more than 1.1 million illegal downloads, although the anti-piracy group insists this is just the tip of the iceberg.</p>
<p>Value of property &#8220;put at risk&#8221; &#8211; £11m<br>
Actual loss claimed &#8211; £1.1m</p>
<p><strong>Reece Baker</strong></p>
<p>FACT will allege that Baker used several online identities and was initially a member of a release group known as DTRG. Baker left DTRG to found a new group called HOPE which was later named to RESISTANCE. FACT claim that Baker also operated DEYA and was involved in sourcing, encoding and uploading movies.</p>
<p>It is understood that Baker will be accused of causing more than 226,000 illegal downloads on ExtraTorrent but was also involved in distributing other content alleged to be worth £15m.</p>
<p>Value of property &#8220;put at risk&#8221; &#8211; £17m<br>
Actual loss claimed &#8211; £1.7m</p>
<p><strong>Sahil Rafiq</strong></p>
<p>According to FACT, Rafiq was also a member of DTRG who went on to become the brains behind release group 26K. He stands accused of collaborating with the other defendants in sourcing, encoding and uploading movies to torrent sites.</p>
<p>Our information suggests that Rafiq is being accused of infringement to the tune of 1.5 million illegal downloads.</p>
<p>Value of property &#8220;put at risk&#8221; &#8211; £15m<br>
Actual loss claimed &#8211; £1.5m</p>
<p><strong>Ben Cooper</strong></p>
<p>It is believed that FACT will allege that Cooper founded two release groups known as ANALOG and TCM. It&#8217;s also claimed that he participated in HOPE alongside Reece Baker.</p>
<p>FACT will allege that Cooper is to blame for more than 150,500 illegal downloads.</p>
<p>Value of property &#8220;put at risk&#8221; &#8211; £1.5m<br>
Actual loss claimed &#8211; £150,000</p>
<p><strong>Scott Hemming</strong></p>
<p>TorrentFreak has been unable to ascertain which groups Hemming belonged to. However, he is being accused of torrenting around 800 movies which together were downloaded a minimum of 2.6 million times.</p>
<p>Value of property &#8220;put at risk&#8221; &#8211; £26m<br>
Actual loss claimed &#8211; £2.6m</p>
<p><strong>The implications</strong></p>
<p>As the figures above suggest, the stakes are extremely high for these five men. To find out just how high we have to turn to the <a href="http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/sentencing_manual/conspiracy_to_defraud_%28common_law%29/">sentencing guidelines</a> for Conspiracy to Defraud which detail the sentences that can be applied given the amount defrauded.</p>
<p>&#8211; Less than £17,500 &#8211; up to 21 months imprisonment<br>
&#8211; £17,500 to £100,000 &#8211; 2-3 years imprisonment<br>
&#8211; £100,000 to £250,000 &#8211; 3-4 years imprisonment<br>
&#8211; £250,000 to £1 million &#8211; 5-9 years imprisonment<br>
&#8211; £1 million or more &#8211; 10 years + imprisonment</p>
<p>If the court accepts FACT&#8217;s version of events, all but one could be looking at a sentence of <em>more than</em> 10 years. To put that into perspective, firearm offenses, poisoning and cruelty to children carry the same maximum punishment. </p>
<p>That being said, the defendants are believed to have entered early guilty pleas which normally have the potential to reduce their sentences. However, TorrentFreak understands that since some defendants have taken their case to the Newton hearing (where evidence is disputed), it may mean that &#8216;credits&#8217; for an early guilty plea may not be fully applied.</p>
<p>To view the defendants&#8217; predicament from another angle, what they did online could easily be categorized as copyright infringement. However, punishment for online copyright infringement maxes out at just two years in the UK, which is why FACT rejected infringement charges in favor of Conspiracy to Defraud.</p>
<p>Only making matters worse is that FACT is expected to admit that none of the defendants made a penny from their actions.</p>
<p>It is not yet clear when the court will be in a position to carry out sentencing but the early indications suggest that after one of the most aggressive private prosecutions FACT has ever carried out, there&#8217;s a real possibility of the toughest punishments Internet pirates have ever seen.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114697
title: WebTorrent Brings BitTorrent to the Web, Impresses Netflix
uri: WebTorrent-Brings-BitTorrent-to-the-Web-Impresses-Netflix
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/EKMBfJoqV3s/
content:
<p><img src="media/a36ab2e8.webtorrent1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/webtorrent1.png" alt="webtorrent1" width="300" height="153" class="alignright size-full wp-image-114704">When BitTorrent was first launched in 2002 it was a breakthrough technology. </p>
<p>At the time it was virtually impossible to share large files with millions of people over the Internet, something BitTorrent can do very effectively. </p>
<p>Today, the standard BitTorrent clients have lost most of their shine. While it&#8217;s still one of the best ways to transfer data from A to B, they became somewhat old-fashioned with the rise of video streaming sites and services. </p>
<p>But what if there was a technology that could combine the two? Smooth and instant streaming in the browser powered by BitTorrent&#8217;s core technology. That&#8217;s in short what WebTorrent does.</p>
<p><a href="https://webtorrent.io/">WebTorrent</a> is a project launched by Feross Aboukhadijeh, a Stanford University graduate who has already booked quite a few successes in his career. After graduating he founded PeerCDN, a P2P-assisted content delivery network, which was sold to Yahoo at the end of 2013.  </p>
<p><a href="http://feross.org/">Feross</a> then focused on WebTorrent, convinced that it could revolutionize how the web works today. </p>
<p>&#8220;I felt that the idea of &#8216;people-powered websites&#8217; – websites that are hosted by the visitors who use them – was too revolutionary to keep locked up as proprietary software, and I wanted to do more to push the idea forward,&#8221; he tells TF.  </p>
<p>&#8220;Imagine a video site like YouTube, where visitors help to host the site&#8217;s content. The more people that use a WebTorrent-powered website, the faster and more resilient it becomes.&#8221;</p>
<p>Simply put, WebTorrent is a BitTorrent client for the web. Instead of using standalone applications it allows people to share files directly from their browser, without having to configure or install anything. </p>
<p><center><strong>WebTorrent</strong><br></br></center><center><a href="media/016ff312.webt.jpg" data-original-source="http://feed.torrentfreak.com/images/webt.jpg"><img src="media/51349b42.webt.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/webt.jpg" alt="webt" width="600" height="224" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-114701"></a></center></p>
<p>This opens up BitTorrent technology to virtually any website that deals with a lot of data, and expands the userbase by hundreds of millions of people who already have compatible browsers such as Chrome or Firefox installed.</p>
<p>&#8220;WebTorrent is the first torrent client built for the web. It&#8217;s written completely in JavaScript – the language of the web – and uses WebRTC for true peer-to-peer transport. No browser plugin, extension, or installation is required,&#8221; Feross tells TF.</p>
<p>Over the past two years WebTorrent has matured into a project that&#8217;s slowly starting to win over several major tech companies. </p>
<p>Netflix, for example, contacted Feross to discuss his technology which they may use to stream their videos. A few months ago Netflix specifically mentioned WebTorrent <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/netflix-needs-bittorrent-expert-to-implement-p2p-streaming-150520/">in a job application</a>, which shows that the video giant is serious about P2P-assisted delivery.</p>
<p>Feross believes that companies such as Netflix could benefit greatly from WebTorrent. Currently, streaming performance goes down during peak hours but with WebTorrent this shouldn&#8217;t be a problem.</p>
<p>&#8220;If Netflix uses WebTorrent, customers would see higher video quality during peak hours. WebTorrent would allow customers with the same ISP to share video pieces with each other without leaving the ISP’s network,&#8221; Feross says.</p>
<p>&#8220;This ensures the best quality, even during peak Netflix usage hours when the network link between the ISP and Netflix is fully saturated,&#8221; he adds.</p>
<p>Netflix aside, there are already various noteworthy implementations of WebTorrent. The project&#8217;s <a href="https://webtorrent.io/">homepage</a>, for example, shows how easily it can stream video and <a href="http://btorrent.xyz/">βTorrent</a> offers a fully functioning torrent client UI.</p>
<p>Other examples include <a href="https://file.pizza/">File.pizza</a>, which uses WebTorrent to share files in the browser. The same technology is used for server-less websites by <a href="https://github.com/jhiesey/peercloud">PeerCloud</a> and <a href="https://github.com/alexeisavca/webtorrentapp">Webtorrentapp</a>, while <a href="http://blog.printf.net/articles/2015/05/29/announcing-gittorrent-a-decentralized-github/">GitTorrent</a> uses it to decentralize source control. </p>
<p>In addition to the examples above, the Internet Archive is also looking into the technology for its video distribution, and another major tech company is considering adding WebTorrent support to their web browser.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s not all roses though and there are still several challenges to overcome. Not all browsers support WebRTC yet, most notably, Internet Explorer. In addition, WebTorrent can&#8217;t talk to traditional torrent clients which use UDP and TCP instead of WebRTC. </p>
<p><center><strong>BitTorrent &#8211; WebTorrent</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/1ba13616.bittorrent-webtorrent.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/bittorrent-webtorrent.png" alt="bittorrent-webtorrent" width="600" height="270" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-114700"></center></p>
<p>There are several hybrid clients such as <a href="https://mafintosh.github.io/playback/">Playback</a>, but ideally WebTorrent should be more tightly integrated into the standard BitTorrent protocol, which is something Feross is currently working on. </p>
<p>It&#8217;s clear that WebTorrent has a lot of potential and it will be interesting to see how it develops over the years to come. If it&#8217;s up to Feross, it will play a major role in the future of the web.</p>
<p>&#8220;I like to think of WebTorrent as core Internet infrastructure. It’s an efficient way to transfer files between users on a website, and I expect we’ll continue to see many more creative uses for the protocol,&#8221; he says. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114935
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 12/14/15
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-12-14-15
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/k73Ff9-lqvs/
content:
<p><img src="media/25293856.pan.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/pan.jpg" alt="pan" width="300" height="179" class="alignright size-full wp-image-114938">This week we have five newcomers in our chart. </p>
<p>Pan 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-120715/">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/pan_2015/">Pan</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3332064/">6.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHl8F60t-ss">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_martian/">The Martian</a> (Subbed HDRip) </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3659388/?">8.2</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej3ioOneTy8">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_intern/">The Intern</a> (Webrip)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2361509/">7.4</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-DEy3mylCs">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(1)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maze_runner_the_scorch_trials/">Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4046784/">6.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-44_igsZtgU">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/goosebumps_2015/">Goosebumps</a> (Webrip)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1051904/">6.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cn716jv61s">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(3)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4865436/">Hate Story 3</a> (DVDscr)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4865436/">5.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1Y7XhiWUvo">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/crimson_peak/">Crimson Peak</a> (Web-DL)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2554274/">6.9</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oquZifON8Eg">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_ridiculous_six/">The Ridiculous 6</a> (Webrip)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2479478/">5.2</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUp7Qgimn38">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(5)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_man_from_uncle/">The Man from U.N.C.L.E.</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1638355/">7.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Ky4KPzKwY">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(9)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/inside_out_2015/">Inside Out</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2096673/">8.4</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seMwpP0yeu4">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114948
title: UK ISPs Unleash 85+ New Blocks on ‘Pirate’ Domains
uri: UK-ISPs-Unleash-85-New-Blocks-on-Pirate-Domains
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/gX2EE5NtyjY/
content:
<p><img src="media/114a07a1.stopstop.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/stopstop.jpg" width="180" height="120" class="alignright">Following a series of High Court orders obtained since 2012, six of the UK’s major ISPs are required to block access to dozens of the world’s most popular &#8216;pirate&#8217; sites.</p>
<p>It started off simply enough, with rightsholders targeting the main domains used by sites such as The Pirate Bay, KickassTorrents, Torrentz, ExtraTorrent and other major players.</p>
<p>Soon video streaming portals and MP3 download sites were also added to the equation and the list of blocked domains began to expand at a rapid rate. However,<br>
what happened next is perhaps best illustrated by the now popular image shown below.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/1675c052.blocktpb1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/blocktpb1.jpg" alt="FCT ty" width="614" height="459" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-87047"></center></p>
<p>In an effort to circumvent blocks, dozens of proxies, mirrors and clones of all the popular sites began to appear. While not having the credibility of the sites&#8217; main domains, for most casual pirates these provided a simple way to keep using The Pirate Bay and many other sites.</p>
<p>As a result, entertainment companies in the UK are now engaged in the largest whac-a-mole game ever seen online. Having blocked pretty much every site&#8217;s main domain, they&#8217;re now attempting to block every &#8216;circumvention&#8217; site. The task is not only enormous but never ending.</p>
<p>In October alone <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/dozens-of-pirate-domains-quietly-added-to-uk-isp-blocklists-151019/">dozens of new domains</a> were added to the UK&#8217;s rapidly expanding blocklist. In November, Hollywood and the labels were back again, taking down <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/uk-pirate-blacklist-silently-expands-with-170-domains-151113/">another 170 domains</a>. And with December only half done, yet another wave has just hit the UK&#8217;s shores.</p>
<p>Implemented by BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media, O2 and EE, more than 85 domains are in the latest batch. Detailed in full below, it reads like Groundhog Day for the entertainment industries. </p>
<p>The vast majority represent yet more attempts to stop people accessing The Pirate Bay and one has to wonder who is winning this war and whether it will ever end. No soon as copyright holders add dozens of Pirate Bay-connected domains to its blocklists, dozens more appear.</p>
<p>Making matters worse is that they are both easy and cheap to buy, making domains a temporary and &#8216;throwaway&#8217; item. Furthermore, since these days all major &#8216;pirate&#8217; players eventually become demoted in Google&#8217;s search results, fresh and relatively unknown proxies make it to the top with greater ease than ever before.</p>
<p>The same is true for sites facilitating access to other large torrent sites. The latest batch directly and indirectly targets KickassTorrents, ExtraTorrent, BitSnoop, LimeTorrents, Torrents.net, Monova, Torlock, TorrentCrazy, TorrentFunk, TorrentHound, TorrentReactor, to name a few.</p>
<p>Directly or via their clones, imitators, proxies or mirrors, this month various key MP3 sites are also in the firing line. They include emp3world, mp3clan, mp3raid, mp3skull, stafaband and newalbumreleases. All of these sites have been targeted several times before and each time new ways of accessing them have appeared.</p>
<p>But while on a top-line level blocking seems almost futile, it will be having an effect. The constant hunt for new domains has the potential to frustrate users of &#8216;pirate&#8217; sites and as highlighted before, blocking efforts are almost certainly <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-sites-and-their-users-are-suffering-a-trademark-crisis-151101/">diluting the brand value</a> of major sites.</p>
<p>The big question that remains unanswered, however, is if any of this is actually translating into additional sales. If it is, thus far entertainment industry companies have kept well away from making the connection. One might exist, of course, but asking for more aggressive options from government and the courts is almost certainly the preferred strategy.</p>
<p><strong>The latest batch of blocked domains</strong></p>
<p>1337x.unblocked.pe<br>
accessbay.link<br>
arrr.xyz<br>
bay-proxy.com<br>
beemp3.unblocked.pe<br>
bitsnoop.unblocked.pe<br>
btdigg.unblocked.pe<br>
btstor.cc<br>
clubpiratebay.com<br>
emp3world.biz<br>
emp3world.unblocked.pe 	14th Dec 2015<br>
emtorrent.com<br>
ettorrent.com<br>
extratorrent.works<br>
fastpiratebay.co.uk<br>
kickass.cr<br>
limetor.co<br>
limetorrenturlhd.com<br>
magnetsearch.net<br>
magnetsearch.org<br>
mirrorpirate.com<br>
monova.unblocked.pe<br>
mp3clan.club<br>
mp3raid.unblocked.pe<br>
mp3skull.la<br>
mp3skull.unblocked.pe<br>
my-pirate-bay.com<br>
mymirrorbay.com<br>
newalbumreleases.unblocked.pe<br>
oldbayproxy.eu<br>
pbproxy.com<br>
pirate-bay-proxy.com<br>
pirate-proxy.org<br>
piratebay.host<br>
piratebay.to<br>
piratebaygurus.com<br>
piratebayhunter.com<br>
piratebaymirror.net<br>
piratebays.co<br>
piratebays.co.uk<br>
piratehole.com<br>
pirateproxies.net<br>
pirateproxy.pl<br>
pirateproxy.tf<br>
pirateproxy.wiki<br>
pirateproxybay.com<br>
pirateproxyhk.qc.to<br>
piratewiki.info<br>
proxypirate.eu<br>
proxypirate.pw<br>
seedpeer.unblocked.pe<br>
simplepiratebay.com<br>
smartpiratebay.com<br>
the-pirate-bay-proxy.com<br>
the-pirate-bay.net<br>
the-proxy-bay.com<br>
thebay.tv<br>
thefastbay.com<br>
thepiratebay.casa<br>
thepiratebay.cool<br>
thepiratebay.cd<br>
thepiratebay.eu.com<br>
thepiratebay.expert<br>
thepiratebay.link<br>
thepiratebay.mk<br>
thepiratebay.uk.net<br>
thepirateproxy.co<br>
thepirateweb.com<br>
theproxypirate.pw<br>
torlock.unblocked.pe<br>
torrentbit.ee<br>
torrentbit.unblocked.pe<br>
torrentbush.com<br>
torrentcrazy.unblocked.pe<br>
torrentfunk.unblocked.pe<br>
torrenthound.ee<br>
torrenthounds.com<br>
torrenthound.unblocked.pe<br>
torrentreactor.unblocked.pe<br>
torrentz.ee<br>
tpb.dashitz.com<br>
tpb.proxyduck.org<br>
tpbay.co<br>
tpbproxy.co<br>
unblockbay.com<br>
urbanproxy.eu<br>
urbantorrent.com</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114926
title: Grumpy Cat Sues Coffee Maker For Copyright Infringement
uri: Grumpy-Cat-Sues-Coffee-Maker-For-Copyright-Infringement
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/mrrrxYavNpY/
content:
<p><img src="media/9175d5ec.grumpcat1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/grumpcat1.jpg" alt="grumpcat" width="222" height="210" class="alignright size-full wp-image-114992">There are dozens of celebrity cats on the Internet, but <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumpy_Cat">Grumpy Cat</a> tops them all. </p>
<p>The cat&#8217;s owners have made millions thanks to their pet&#8217;s unique facial expression. Part of this revenue comes from successful merchandise lines, including the Grumpy Cat &#8220;Grumppuccino&#8221; iced coffee beverage.</p>
<p>The coffee is sold by the California company Grenade Beverage, who also operate the domain name grumpycat.com. The company licensed the copyright and trademarks to sell the iced coffee, but are otherwise not affiliated with the cat and its owners. </p>
<p>Up until recently the partnership didn&#8217;t cause any problems, but that changed when Grenade announced a new line of Grumpy Cat merchandise. In addition to the iced coffee, they now sell Grumpy coffee beans as well. </p>
<p>This expansion violated the license agreement, according to Grumpy Cat&#8217;s owners, who just filed a <a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/293237460/TorrentFreak-Grumpy?secret_password=VOX11tEfui9iNTR9LsWW">lawsuit</a> at a California federal court to set the record straight. </p>
<p>&#8220;Ironically, while the world-famous feline Grumpy Cat and her valuable brand are most often invoked in a tongue-and-cheek fashion, Defendants’ despicable misconduct here has actually given Grumpy Cat and her owners something to be grumpy about,&#8221; the complaint starts.</p>
<p>The cat&#8217;s owners explain that they hold the copyrights and trademarks associated with their pet, and argue that the new line of roasted coffee ground products requires separate approval under the license agreement. </p>
<p><center><strong>Grumpy Cat&#8217;s copyrights</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/15efb5a8.grumpycatsuit.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/grumpycatsuit.jpg" alt="grumpycatsuit" width="603" height="358" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-114984"></center></p>
<p>&#8220;In late 2015, Plaintiff learned of Defendants’ intent to create and exploit a line of &#8216;Grumpy Cat&#8217; branded roasted coffee ground products, which would be separate and apart from the &#8216;Grumpy Cat Grumppuccino&#8217; product line contemplated by the License Agreement,&#8221; the complaint reads. </p>
<p>Grumpy&#8217;s owners informed Grenada on several occasions that they did not agree to the new product line, but the beverage maker went ahead and launched the product anyway.</p>
<p>&#8220;Defendants were repeatedly told by Plaintiff (both in writing and verbally) that the Licensed Properties could not be used in connection with a roasted coffee ground product,&#8221; they write.</p>
<p><center><strong>Pirate coffee?</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/467aed8b.grumpycoffee.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/grumpycoffee.jpg" alt="grumpycoffee" width="600" height="289" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-114986"></center></p>
<p>The roasted beans are up for sale at <a href="http://grumpycat.com/">grumpycat.com</a> and are being widely advertised to tens of thousands of followers on various social media accounts. The cat&#8217;s owners are asking the court to stop these sales and hold Grenada responsible for various copyright and trademark infringements. </p>
<p>The potential statutory damages run into the hundreds of thousands and in addition Grumpy Cat&#8217;s owners also want to take over the grumpycat.com domain name, claiming that it was registered in bad faith. Previous requests to sign over the domain name all failed. </p>
<p>Whether Grumpy Cat will win this case depends on the exact language of the license agreement and how this will be interpreted by the court. However, Grenade Beverage should be warned, as cats have a tendency to win the Internet.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=114943
title: RIAA Defeats Grooveshark “Clone” in Court, Wins $17 Million
uri: RIAA-Defeats-Grooveshark-Clone-in-Court-Wins-17-Million
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Mxry8G-UzyI/
content:
<p><img src="media/df9c7fbf.grooveshark.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/grooveshark.png" alt="grooveshark" width="173" height="118" class="alignright size-full wp-image-105689">Last May, Grooveshark <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/grooveshark-shuts-down-apologizes-to-the-riaa-150501/">shut down</a> after settling with the RIAA. However, within days a &#8220;clone&#8221; was <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/resurrected-grooveshark-is-actually-an-mp3juices-clone-150506/">launched</a> aiming to take its place.</p>
<p>The RIAA feared the worst and took the matter to court, where it swiftly obtained an <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/record-labels-sue-new-grooveshark-seize-domains-150515/">injunction</a>, preventing various Internet service providers from offering their services to the site. </p>
<p>Through the lawsuit the record labels hoped to stop the site from gaining a large user base, something that previously happened to clones of other shuttered sites such as isoHunt. </p>
<p>This strategy paid off. Initially the Grooveshark &#8216;clone&#8217; remained online for a few weeks, hopping from domain name to domain name, but it eventually vanished from the Internet. </p>
<p>The operator of the site went silent as well. Initially he widely promoted the clone in various media, but in court there was no response at all. This prompted the RIAA to file for a default judgment which has now been granted by U.S. District Court Judge Alison Nathan.</p>
<p>&#8220;Defendants have engaged in willful copyright infringement of Plaintiffs’ copyrights through the Counterfeit Service, which allows users to download and stream infringing copies of Plaintiffs’ copyrighted sound recordings directly from servers operated or controlled by Defendants, in violation of Plaintiffs’ copyrights,&#8221; the judgement reads.</p>
<p><center><strong>Grooveshark clone</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/d5f8309a.groove-io.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/groove-io.png" alt="groove-io" width="585" height="377" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-105315"></center></p>
<p>Aside from a permanent injunction preventing the owner of the site from keeping it online, RIAA has also win millions in damages.</p>
<p>In the original complaint the record labels listed 89 tracks as evidence. The court awarded the maximum statutory damages ($150,000) for each infringement (<a href="media/9f2091e0.groovedefault.pdf" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/groovedefault.pdf">pdf</a>) which brings the total to a massive $13,350,000.</p>
<p>In addition, the operator of the site is ordered to pay $4 million for willful counterfeiting of two Grooveshark marks and another $400,000 for cybersquatting, by registering four Grooveshark domain names in bad faith.</p>
<p>The court further ordered the transfer of the Grooveshark domain names to the RIAA, so they can’t be used for any infringing actions in the future. </p>
<p>Finally, District Court Judge Alison Nathan stressed that CloudFlare still has an obligation to disconnect any new Grooveshark clones if they are notified by the record labels.</p>
<p>The mention of CloudFlare is noteworthy, as it&#8217;s the first time that the company has been specifically mentioned in a permanent injunction against a pirate site. Initially the RIAA wanted Cloudflare to detect any new Grooveshark clones, but the CDN company successfully fought that request.</p>
<p>The RIAA has yet to comment on the outcome of the case. On paper the $17 million judgment is a massive success, but since the site&#8217;s operator has yet to be identified it is doubtful that they will ever see a penny. </p>
<p>That said, the main goal was probably to stop the site from operating and deter others from starting their own clones. This mission is accomplished, for now. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115014
title: Seven Pirate Bay Domains Have Been Suspended
uri: Seven-Pirate-Bay-Domains-Have-Been-Suspended
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/H47z0BcVVrk/
content:
<p><img src="media/0e036607.pirate-bay.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/pirate-bay.jpg" width="200" height="207" class="alignright">Taken for granted by hundreds of millions of Internet users on a daily basis, domain names are part of the crucial glue holding the Internet together.</p>
<p>Websites can exist without domains but finding sites using IP addresses alone represents a huge step back for most humans who find words more convenient than long sequences of numbers.</p>
<p>Last week The Pirate Bay had a serious issue with one of its key domains, when the original ThePirateBay.org <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bays-org-domain-suspended-pending-icann-verification-151207/">was suspended</a> by its registrar EuroDNS due to an ICANN verification complaint.</p>
<p>That problem was fixed several days later with a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bays-org-domain-back-online-after-registrar-switch-151211/">switch to a new registrar</a> but the site has issues affecting a much broader range of domains.</p>
<p>First up and illustrated below, ThePirateBay.com is now under suspension following action by EuroDNS. Once again the problems appear to stem back to verification issues with domain governing body ICANN.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/d14bf7db.thepiratebaycomsuspend.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/thepiratebaycomsuspend.jpg" alt="thepiratebaycomsuspend" width="650" height="266" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-115018"></center></p>
<p>Since January 1, 2014, ICANN has required that the contact details provided to register a domain are verified annually. If this doesn&#8217;t happen, problems like those now facing The Pirate Bay can occur.</p>
<p>As a result, similar suspension pages are now also displayed on several other Pirate Bay related domains including ThePirateBay.net, PirateBay.net and PirateBay.org. While none of these domains are currently being utilized as main domains for the site, all were being held as backups in case of an emergency.</p>
<p><img src="media/d0c6586e.piratebrowser.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/piratebrowser.jpg" width="222" height="96" class="alignright">Also affected today are domains related to Pirate Browser, the TOR-based anti-censorship tool released by The Pirate Bay <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-releases-pirate-browser-to-thwart-censorship-130810/">during August 2013</a>.</p>
<p>Less than a year after its release the tool had been downloaded <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bays-anti-censorship-browser-clocks-5000000-downloads-140516/">more than five million times</a> but earlier today its three main domains &#8211; piratebrowser.com, piratebrowser.net and piratebrowser.org &#8211; were all reporting suspensions.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/eac6ee8c.piratebrowsersusp.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/piratebrowsersusp.jpg" alt="piratebrowsersusp" width="638" height="258" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-115021"></center></p>
<p>It&#8217;s somewhat ironic that one of the most popular website/domain unblocking tools has itself become blocked due to a domain issue. However, for those keen to download PirateBrowser the site still exists at its less-memorable IP address of <a href="https://151.80.2.54/">151.80.2.54</a>.</p>
<p>All seven domains identified by TorrentFreak as being under suspension are registered to the same person, Pirate Bay co-founder Fredrik Neij. He is also the official registrant of dozens of other Pirate Bay-related domains but the others are not registered with EuroDNS and don&#8217;t appear to be affected by the current issues.</p>
<p>Since last week&#8217;s problems with ThePirateBay.org were solved by transferring the domain to Canada-based EasyDNS, it&#8217;s likely that a similar process will bring the currently suspended domains back to life in the not too distant future.</p>
<p>In the meantime The Pirate Bay sails on, almost as if nothing had happened.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115008
title: Pirating Subscribers Could Cost Cox Over $200 Million
uri: Pirating-Subscribers-Could-Cost-Cox-Over-200-Million
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/UWtdpN2D2qU/
content:
<p><img src="media/59d6682b.download-keyboard.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/download-keyboard.jpg" alt="download-keyboard" width="200" height="138" class="alignright size-full wp-image-73383">Last week the trial between Internet provider Cox Communications and BMG Rights Management began, a case that may prove crucial for determining how ISPs deal with piracy in the future. </p>
<p>The music group holds Cox <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/cox-communications-sued-for-not-disconnecting-pirates-141128/">responsible</a> for not doing anything about subscribers who frequently pirate content, claiming millions in lost revenue.</p>
<p>During the trial hearings both sides presented their case and according to BMG the ISP has provided insufficient evidence to reasonably support its defense. </p>
<p>A few hours ago the music publisher submitted a new motion to the court. Instead of leaving it up to the jury, BMG asks the court to rule that Cox is responsible for the mass copyright infringements on its network.</p>
<p>&#8220;Cox has failed to controvert the evidence presented by BMG concerning the staggering amount of infringements of BMG’s copyrighted works committed by Cox’s subscribers,&#8221; the motion (<a href="media/5ca6fdaa.BMG-motion.pdf" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/BMG-motion.pdf">pdf</a>) begins. </p>
<p>&#8220;BMG has shown that Rightscorp detected approximately 1.847 million instances of infringement, where Cox subscribers offered BMG’s copyrighted works for download via the BitTorrent protocol,&#8221; it adds. </p>
<p>During the trial hearings BMG revealed that the tracking company Rightscorp downloaded more than 150,000 copies of their copyrighted works directly from Cox subscribers. Because Rightscorp doesn&#8217;t capture everything, the true figure is expected to be even higher. </p>
<p>In its defense, Cox pointed out that Rightscorp <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/cox-wants-rightscorps-piracy-tracking-source-code-150624/">failed</a> to preserve all copies of its tracking code. As a result, the company argued that the claimed copyright infringements can&#8217;t be fully trusted. </p>
<p>BMG disagreed with what it described as &#8220;unsupported assertions,&#8221; and stated that their own expert found that Rightscorp&#8217;s system accurately detects the copyright infringements which are central to the case. </p>
<p>According to BMG it&#8217;s &#8220;undisputed&#8221; that Cox subscribers pirated their works and that the ISP knew about it. Cox received numerous copyright infringement warnings and willingly decided not to act on them. </p>
<p>&#8220;The evidence is undisputed that Cox knew that the infringement notices that it blocked provided Cox with notice of infringement of BMG’s copyrights,&#8221; the publisher writes.</p>
<p>In addition, the music company argues that the ISP contributed to the infringements by promoting &#8220;downloading and sharing music&#8221; in its advertising campaigns.</p>
<p>&#8220;Cox not only knowingly provides the means by which the infringement of BMG’s copyrights occurs, the evidence is undisputed that Cox promotes its high-speed internet services for the purpose of downloading and sharing music,&#8221; they write.  </p>
<p>&#8220;Because Cox’s network constitutes the sites and facilities by which the infringement of BMG’s occurs through BitTorrent and P2P, Cox has materially contributed to the infringement of BMG’s copyrights as a matter of law. No reasonable jury could find otherwise.&#8221; </p>
<p>If the court agrees with BMG then there&#8217;s not much left for the jury to decide. One of the outstanding issues would be the amount of damages they award to the music publisher. </p>
<p>According to a proposed jury instruction there are 1,397 copyrighted works as part of this suit, each with a maximum of $150,000 in damages. This brings the total maximum damages to a mind-boggling $209,550,000.</p>
<p>Cox hasn&#8217;t had an easy defense during the trial. A week before it started Judge O&#8217;Grady <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/court-cox-willingly-failed-to-disconnect-pirating-subscribers-151202/">issued an order</a> declaring that Cox is not entitled to DMCA safe-harbor protections, as the company failed to terminate the accounts of repeat infringers. </p>
<p>With millions at stake, as well as the future of ISPs&#8217; copyright infringement policies, the trial outcome will be closely watched by both the telecoms industry and copyright holders.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115054
title: KickassTorrents “DIY” Karaoke ‘Gang’ Busted By UK Police
uri: KickassTorrents-DIY-Karaoke-Gang-Busted-By-UK-Police
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/sGzJE9-lgoQ/
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">While karaoke might not be the pinnacle of original musical excellence, yesterday the UK&#8217;s leading police anti-piracy unit took action which suggests it takes karaoke every bit as seriously as other intellectual property.</p>
<p>And, somewhat interestingly, there could be more to this sing-a-long case than first meets the eye. First, let&#8217;s see what the police had to say.</p>
<p>Acting on a complaint initially filed by members of the BPI, City of London Police&#8217;s Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) initiated an investigation during the summer against individuals allegedly uploading karaoke tracks to the Internet without permission.</p>
<p>That resulted in raids yesterday on three men aged 60, 53, and 50 at their homes in Devon and Bury in the UK.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) has dismantled a gang suspected of uploading and distributing tens of thousands of karaoke tracks online, including artists such as Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Kylie Minogue and Kanye West,&#8221; PIPCU said in a statement.</p>
<p>While police use the term &#8216;gang&#8217; here it&#8217;s not one frequently associated with karaoke fans and the further one digs into the activities of the men, the less it seems to fit.</p>
<p>Together the trio formed Karaoke RG (KRG), a release group specializing in karaoke tracks. Police say their activities on KickassTorrents piqued the interest of copyright holders &#8211; their <a href="https://kat.cr/user/KaraokeRG/">still-active account</a> has around 2150 uploads during the past two years.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/8881c242.karaokerg-kat.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/karaokerg-kat.jpg" width="650" height="296" class="aligncenter"></center></p>
<p>However, Kickass wasn&#8217;t KRG&#8217;s home base. In recent times the group has operated from two domains, the first being <a href="http://www.karaokerg.info">Karaokerg.info</a>. This Weebly-created site is probably the first indication that KRG aren&#8217;t necessarily in the kind of &#8216;gang&#8217; the police usually have the displeasure of dealing with.</p>
<p>The second and catchily-titled <a href="http://freehomemadekaraoke.wordpress.com">freehomemadekaraoke.wordpress.com</a> probably removes all doubt.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/e1e2d927.krg-wordpress.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/krg-wordpress.jpg" alt="krg-wordpress" width="617" height="288" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-115104"></center></p>
<p>KaraokeRG publishes a <a href="http://www.karaokerg.info/song-list.html">master list</a> of the tracks they offer (stored on Dropbox and Box) and there are indeed songs from major artists present. However, their description of what they are offering is certainly food for thought.</p>
<p>&#8220;The following is a list of all KaraokeRG homemade CD+G karaoke songs. They were created primarily because they are not available from any professional karaoke manufacturers. However, in some cases, some songs were made available by professional karaoke companies AFTER they were homemade,&#8221; KRG write.</p>
<p>That KRG were into the &#8216;DIY&#8217; side of karaoke is underlined elsewhere too.</p>
<p>&#8220;Although our homemade karaoke tracks are free to download, they are time consuming and costly to produce. I.E. Paying for backing tracks (some backing tracks can cost up to £12).&#8221;</p>
<p>So, some important points. KRG claim they are servicing a gap in the market by hand-creating their own karaoke titles that aren&#8217;t commercially available. In this respect there are parallels with the fan-subbing communities surrounding anime, for example.</p>
<p>However, it&#8217;s likely that the backing tracks they&#8217;re using are subject to copyright restrictions so even giving those away are likely to cause issues, even with &#8216;homemade&#8217; subtitling.</p>
<p>The Karaoke Anti-Piracy Agency UK (<a href="http://www.kapauk.com/">KAPA UK</a>) which counts the top five karaoke producers in the country among its members (Sunfly, Zoom, Mr Entertainer, SBI, Abraxa), is tasked with cracking down on the unlicensed use of backing tracks in karaoke venues around the country. KAPA UK works closely with the BPI.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/37094835.krg-requests.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/krg-requests.jpg" width="650" height="173" class="aligncenter"></center></p>
<p>Also causing KRG problems is their claim that their activities are protected under copyright law.</p>
<p>&#8220;These tracks are NOT FOR SALE. They are provided as a service to singers everywhere under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976 (The &#8216;Fair Use&#8217; section). The tracks are made available for private use only and not intended for commercial use. There will be no &#8216;vocal suppression&#8217; tracks ever included in this list,&#8221; they write.</p>
<p>Sadly for KRG, the section cited above is a component of United States copyright law and is not available as a defense (even in the unlikely event it could be applied in this instance) for residents of the UK. In fact, in this case the BPI characterizes the infringement as &#8220;commercial scale&#8221;, despite money not being a key motivator.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Release Groups which set themselves up to gain Kudos from the early release of music repertoire need to understand that this behavior is harmful to the industry that they claim to support. Actions like this send a strong message that this should not and will not be tolerated,&#8221; says John Hodge, BPI Head of Internet Investigations.</p>
<p>For their part, PIPCU see groups like KaraokeRG as just another part of the piracy machine costing the music industry &#8220;millions of pounds&#8221; while threatening thousands of jobs.</p>
<p>“PIPCU will continue to target the individuals and the organized crime gangs facilitating these crimes, working with key partners like the BPI to ensure that those most responsible are brought to justice,” says PIPCU&#8217;s Detective Constable Ceri Hunt.</p>
<p>This morning PIPCU confirmed that the &#8220;karaoke gang&#8221; had been released on bail but whether any more will be heard about them will remain to be seen. Although PIPCU have made many file-sharing related arrests over the past couple of years, no cases have yet ended up in court.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115069
title: Judge Throws Out Aussie Dallas Buyers Club Piracy Case
uri: Judge-Throws-Out-Aussie-Dallas-Buyers-Club-Piracy-Case
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/aVUrFA-A36s/
content:
<p><img src="media/78231829.dallas.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/dallas.jpg" width="180" height="180" class="alignright">The company behind Dallas Buyers Club (DBC) has made a business not only from making movies, but also chasing down those alleged to have shared content online without permission.</p>
<p>In several jurisdictions the company has been bringing in cash settlements from alleged pirates but an attempt to do so in Australia is now close to total collapse.</p>
<p>Earlier this year the company was given permission to obtain the personal details of 4,726 alleged pirates. However, concerns over DBC&#8217;s tendency to engage in so-called &#8216;speculative invoicing&#8217; alarmed the court and resulted in Justice Nye Perram restraining the company&#8217;s actions.</p>
<p>Instead of a lucrative business plan, DBC was faced with only being able to claim for the price of the film and a proportion of the amount spent on tracking down an alleged infringer. And, to ensure the company didn&#8217;t pull a fast one, the Judge ordered the payment of a huge AUS$600,000 bond.</p>
<p>DBC responded by watering down its claim to just 10% of the original subscribers in return for a AUS$60,000 bond. Then last month the company <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/dallas-buyers-club-still-pursuing-aussie-pirates-for-cash-151209/">tried to re-convince</a> Perram that it should be able to claim a licensing fee from alleged pirates too.</p>
<p>In a judgment handed down this morning, Justice Nye Perram made it clear that DBC would not be able to do so. Despite having had plenty of opportunity to do so, DBC has not provided any evidence of what a reasonable license fee might be, the Judge explained. </p>
<p>Furthermore, should such evidence be forthcoming it is unlikely to be straightforward. DBC claim that pirates need to pay a fee to obtain a worldwide distribution license but the Judge said that fathoming the cost of a hypothetical BitTorrent license would be laborious.</p>
<p>However, even if that process was undertaken (Perram likens it opening Pandora&#8217;s Box), it might then lead to iiNet, whose customers are being targeted, seeking to put a value on a license itself. That would risk further prolonging the case and could possibly trigger a trial within a trial</p>
<p>&#8220;It needs to be kept in mind that what is before the Court is a preliminary discovery application, not Ben-Hur,&#8221; Perram&#8217;s ruling reads.</p>
<p>&#8220;The interests of justice are not served in comparatively modest procedural litigation such as the instant case by permitting no stone to go unturned. The enterprises of the parties must be kept proportionate to what they are arguing about.&#8221;</p>
<p>After considering legal argument put forward by DBC and its recent maneuvering to change how compensation <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/dallas-buyers-club-still-pursuing-aussie-pirates-for-cash-151209/">would be sought</a>, Justice Perram said he saw no reason to deviate from the ruling he handed down <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/dallas-buyers-club-ruling-devastates-copyright-trolling-down-under-150814/">during the summer</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;I do not accept that DBC should be permitted to do anything beyond what I indicated in the August Judgment. Since that is not what it is proposing to do, I am not going to lift the stay,&#8221; he wrote.</p>
<p>&#8220;As a matter of logic this means that the question of whether I should permit a lower bond to be posted because DBC now only proposes to pursue the smaller class of iiNet customers does not arise.&#8221;</p>
<p>In addition to throwing out DBC&#8217;s most recent application and ordering the company to pay costs, this morning the Judge set the clock ticking on the entire case.</p>
<p>&#8220;The present application must be dismissed with costs. Some finality must now be brought to these proceedings,&#8221; the Judge said.</p>
<p>&#8220;What I will do is make a self-executing order which will terminate the proceedings on Thursday 11 February 2016 at noon, unless DBC takes some step before then.&#8221;</p>
<p>Since DBC has shown an impressive amount of determination since the beginning of proceedings, it wouldn&#8217;t be a surprise if the company tried to pull something out of the hat, even at this late stage.</p>
<p>However, at this point DBC&#8217;s position is one of a gambler, heavily down on his luck, losing more money by the second, but still with an eye on the jackpot. Even now it still might be worth doubling down but with the Judge&#8217;s patience and now timing running out too, the odds are not looking great.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115074
title: Popcorn Time Fork Goes Dark After MPAA Hounds Developers
uri: Popcorn-Time-Fork-Goes-Dark-After-MPAA-Hounds-Developers
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/OMU_fkKD158/
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">Last month the MPAA took credit for shutting down the main Popcorn Time fork, which operated from the PopcornTime.io domain name.</p>
<p>The Hollywood group had filed <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-we-shut-down-ytsyify-and-popcorn-time-151103/">a lawsuit</a> against several of the developers in Canada which caused other key developers to back out.</p>
<p>While the MPAA&#8217;s actions had a profound impact, it didn&#8217;t stop others from continuing with their own Popcorn Time spin-offs. The popular Popcorn-time.se fork was unharmed and most recently a new group of developers <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-we-shut-down-ytsyify-and-popcorn-time-151103/">launched</a> a Popcorn Time Community Edition (PTCE). </p>
<p>The people behind PTCE <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/popcorn-times-alive-full-comeback-in-the-works-151117/">began their work</a> with a fully operational fix for the .io fork which was circulated on Reddit. Later they also added their own fork and a dedicated website at Popcorntime.ml.</p>
<p>“Popcorn Time will probably never go away, despite the efforts made by organizations such as BREIN, the MPAA and others. Instead of fighting this great software they should embrace it,” the PTCE team <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/popcorn-time-developers-poke-mpaa-with-a-new-fork-151202/">told TF at the time</a>.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/9a0f89cd.PTCE.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/PTCE.jpg" alt="PTCE" width="600" height="242" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-114383"></center></p>
<p>The new fork was welcomed by many estranged Popcorn Time users and quickly gained a healthy userbase. However, two days ago the project&#8217;s official website and GitHub repository went dark. </p>
<p>At first it was unclear what had happened but an insider informs TF that several people involved with the PTCE project are &#8220;getting bugged&#8221; by the MPAA.</p>
<p>&#8220;The people behind the official CE sites have been contacted by MPAA for some time now,&#8221; says Luretrix2k, who&#8217;s a moderator at the Popcorn Time <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/PopCornTime/">subreddit</a>. </p>
<p>&#8220;They decided to take everything down and start all over again with a new strategy/game plan for the official site and GitHub repository to avoid this problem in the future,&#8221; he adds. </p>
<p>The PTCE team doesn&#8217;t want anyone to get in trouble with the law and are figuring out what steps they can take to avoid this. They hope to get the site back up again in the future and will continue to work on the application behind the scenes.</p>
<p>The MPAA pressure shouldn&#8217;t come as a surprise, considering the lawsuit against the developers of the popular .io fork. Also, two PTCE developers had to quit the project last month after they were <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/brein-stops-and-settles-with-popcorn-time-developers-151123/">targeted</a> by Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN.</p>
<p>Even if the Community Edition doesn&#8217;t come back, others may jump in to take its place. Rinse and repeat. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115046
title: Kinox.to Operator Sentenced to 40 Months in Prison
uri: Kinox-to-Operator-Sentenced-to-40-Months-in-Prison
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/RvNmmSj-Qbc/
content:
<p><img src="media/faee910c.kinox.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kinox.png" alt="kinox" width="271" height="89" class="alignright size-full wp-image-115141">Last year German police <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/big-pirate-sites-raided-admins-on-the-run-141027/">carried out raids</a> looking for the operators of Kinox.to, the country&#8217;s most used movie streaming portal.</p>
<p>The police actions were part of a large investigation into the local piracy scene which includes a variety of streaming portals and file-sharing services.</p>
<p>As one of the largest European piracy streaming sites and one of the 50 most visited websites in Germany, Kinox.to was the biggest fish. However, despite the massive police response the two main operators are <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/manhunt-underway-for-possibly-armed-kinox-bitshare-and-freakshare-operators-141031/">still on the run</a> today while the site remains online. </p>
<p>The authorities did apprehend a third Kinox.to operator, the now 29-year-old Arvit O (aka &#8220;Pedro&#8221;) who handled things from the technical side. The Kazakh born admin has been detained since last October and this week he was sentenced to 40 months in prison for his involvement in the site. </p>
<p>The trial against Pedro was originally scheduled to continue until the end of January but the prosecution and defense <a href="http://www.gvu.de/kinox-to-chef-zu-mehrjaehriger-haftstrafe-verurteilt/3423">reached an agreement</a> to end the matter early. </p>
<p>The former operator of kinox.to, who made a partial confession, was found guilty by the District Court of Leipzig for infringing the copyrights of 2,889 works. In addition, the court found that he &#8220;hacked&#8221; computers of two competitors in order to improve Kinox&#8217;s market share. </p>
<p>In addition to the prison sentence Pedro must pay 20,420 euros due to the profits he made. During the hearing the former operator informed the court that he was not interested in Kinox for the money, but for the technical challenge.</p>
<p>The public defenders who represented Pedro were very critical about the involvement of the German Federation Against Copyright Theft (GVU), who assisted the authorities in their investigative work. </p>
<p>The attorney&#8217;s described GVU as a &#8220;Trojan Horse&#8221; in the justice system, claiming that they influenced the prosecution. </p>
<p>The anti-piracy group is not phased by the accusation. GVU chief Matthias Leonardy applauds the authorities for the success and says that his organization is committed to helping with similar efforts in the future.</p>
<p>&#8220;The successful completion of this criminal process shows once again that [&#8230;] sound investigative work against copyright cybercriminals is amply rewarded,&#8221; Leonardy says.</p>
<p>&#8220;The investigating authorities have once again done excellent work here, and they are supported by the GVU and other rightsholders wherever possible,&#8221; he adds.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115189
title: BitTorrent Spy Tool Aims to Reduce Company File-Sharing
uri: BitTorrent-Spy-Tool-Aims-to-Reduce-Company-File-Sharing
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/vpfuayNg9og/
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">Millions of people use BitTorrent networks every day to obtain and share all kinds of media, from the latest movies and TV shows to music and even research papers. The majority do so from the comfort of their own home but that&#8217;s not always the case.</p>
<p>People who spend a lot of time at work, whether that&#8217;s in a regular office, factory, warehouse or even shopping environment, often get access to the Internet. And, if rules don&#8217;t explicitly or technically prohibit it, some will use that access to share files online.</p>
<p>This kind of activity isn&#8217;t always welcomed by employers, with concerns ranging from the productivity of staff to the security of networks, both from technical and legal standpoints.</p>
<p>This morning IT security rating company <a href="https://www.bitsighttech.com">BitSight Technologies</a> brought these issues into focus with a new report titled &#8220;Peer to Peer Peril: How BitTorrent File Sharing Impacts Benchmarking and Vendor Risk.&#8221;</p>
<p>According to the report, out of more than 30,700 companies and organizations rated by BitSight for security performance, 23% demonstrated some online activity using the BitTorrent protocol.</p>
<p>&#8220;Many organizations explicitly ban this activity, yet there is evidence that in some industries over a quarter of companies are currently sharing files over the BitTorrent protocol. While some of these files are likely legitimate, many of them are labeled as movies, games and other copyrighted material,&#8221; the company explains.</p>
<p>To identify trends in each sector, BitSight has broken down industries into various categories including Media/Entertainment, Education, Government, Retail, Energy/Utilities etc. The rates of sharing are shown in the image below.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/c095ec04.bitsight1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/bitsight1.png" alt="bitsight1" width="650" height="386" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-115192"></center></p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, educational establishments come out on top (or bottom, depending on perspective) when it comes to BitTorrent usage with around 58% of organizations demonstrating some level of participation. It&#8217;s worth noting that only one instance of sharing in the past six month is enough to appear in BitSight&#8217;s report.</p>
<p>That being said, BitSight reports that around 32% of government entities demonstrate some level of file-sharing with close to 28% on BitTorrent. The media and entertainment sector is also an eye-opener, with around 23% of companies showing BitTorrent activity. Whether that&#8217;s due to employees sharing content or spying on others while doing so is impossible to say.</p>
<p>The BitSight report goes into some detail when it speaks of the risks of file-sharing in the corporate space, not least the dangers of employees downloading copyrighted and potentially malware-infested content. The company carried out its own tests and concluded that &#8220;43% of applications and 39% of games were carrying malicious code.&#8221;</p>
<p>The big question, however, is BitSight&#8217;s motivation to produce this kind of report. Obviously threat analysis is its business but information accompanying the report provides a more immediate answer &#8211; BitSight has a new product to sell within its <a href="https://www.bitsighttech.com/security-ratings-platform">Security Ratings</a> platform.</p>
<p>According to the company the module allows customers to &#8220;monitor and assess&#8221; BitTorrent activity on their own and third party vendor networks. In fact, the module goes a whole lot further than providing a basic outline of employee activity.</p>
<p>&#8220;An overview of observed file sharing activity including applications, books, games, movies, music, TV and other files is now available to all customers using the BitSight platform,&#8221; the company explains.</p>
<p>&#8220;Users can also subscribe to additional forensic information, allowing them to identify torrent names, event dates, peer IP information and other details.&#8221;</p>
<p>It seems likely that when employees know that they are being subjected to this level of scrutiny, many will seriously consider changing their behavior. That being said, BitSight still have to convince companies to install their software in the first instance.</p>
<p>The report (<em><a href="http://bitsig.ht/1UAPytG">pdf</a></em>), which also attempts to associate BitTorrent usage with botnet prevalence, might yet achieve that. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115215
title: Cox Is Liable for Pirating Subscribers, Ordered to pay $25 million
uri: Cox-Is-Liable-for-Pirating-Subscribers-Ordered-to-pay-25-million
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/bbkrPEzqYlE/
content:
<p><img src="media/015f41e0.cox-logo.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cox-logo.png" alt="cox-logo" width="200" height="99" class="alignright size-full wp-image-68146">Today marks the end of a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/cox-communications-sued-for-not-disconnecting-pirates-141128/">crucial case</a> that will define how U.S. Internet providers deal with online piracy in the future.</p>
<p>Following a two-week trial a Virginia federal jury reached a verdict earlier today, ruling that Cox is guilty of willful contributory copyright infringement.</p>
<p>The case was initiated by BMG Rights Management, which held the ISP responsible for tens of thousands of copyright infringements that were committed by its subscribers. </p>
<p>During the trial hearings BMG revealed that the tracking company Rightscorp downloaded more than 150,000 copies of their copyrighted works directly from Cox subscribers. </p>
<p>It also became apparent that Cox had received numerous copyright infringement warnings from Rightscorp which it willingly decided not to act on. </p>
<p>The case was restricted to 1,397 copyrighted works and a six-person jury awarded #25 million in damages. The award is lower than the statutory maximum, which would have been over <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirating-subscribers-could-cost-cox-over-200-million-141215/">$200 million</a>.</p>
<p>A week before the trial started Judge O’Grady <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/court-cox-willingly-failed-to-disconnect-pirating-subscribers-151202/">issued an order</a> declaring that Cox was not entitled to DMCA safe-harbor protections, as the company failed to terminate the accounts of repeat infringers.</p>
<p>BMG also argued that the ISP willingly profited from pirating subscribers, but the jury found that there was <a href="http://www.law360.com/ip/articles/739353">not enough evidence</a> to back this up.</p>
<p>The verdict is bound to cause grave concern among various other U.S. Internet providers. At the moment it’s rare for ISPs to disconnect pirating users and this case is likely to change that position.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p><em>Breaking news, more information will follow.</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115170
title: UK Movie Pirates Sentenced to a Total of 17 Years
uri: UK-Movie-Pirates-Sentenced-to-a-Total-of-17-Years
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/MfZqJmRK71E/
content:
<p><img src="media/9c39c603.jail.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/jail.jpg" alt="jail" width="222" height="148" class="alignright size-full wp-image-70302">February 1 2013, was a miserable day for five of the UK&#8217;s most prolific online movie pirates.</p>
<p>Following an investigation by the UK’s Federation Against Copyright Theft, police raided Graeme Reid, 40, from Chesterfield, Scott Hemming, 25, and Reece Baker, 22, both from Birmingham, Sahil Rafiq, 24, of Wolverhampton and Ben Cooper, 33, of Willenhall.</p>
<p>The investigation into the activities of these men had been running for three years as FACT attempted to identify and track the individuals behind several interrelated movie release groups including RemixHD, 26K, UNiQUE, DTRG and HOPE/RESISTANCE. </p>
<p>The five men were arrested and by January 2015 all had pleaded guilty to charges of Conspiracy to Defraud.</p>
<p>The extent of the infringement claimed by FACT was huge. The anti-piracy group said that between March 1, 2010 and January 1, 2014, the groups had together released more than 9,000 movies onto the Internet resulting in around five million unauthorized views.</p>
<p>FACT claimed that around £52m of Hollywood revenues had been &#8220;put at risk&#8221; &#8211; an amount that was detailed in <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/movie-pirates-facing-shocking-prison-sentences-151213/">our report last weekend</a>. </p>
<p>Following a so-called Newton hearing that began in Wolverhampton Crown Court on Monday, the men finally admitted causing the industry more than £5 million in losses, around £1 million each.</p>
<p>Yesterday afternoon in Wolverhampton Crown Court Judge Nicolas Webb carried out sentencing and it&#8217;s a dismal result for the men.</p>
<p>Sahil Rafiq, accused of uploading more than 880 movies and causing 1.5 million illegal downloads as founder of 26K, was jailed for 4 years and 6 months.</p>
<p>Reece Baker, a member of DTRG and the founder of HOPE/RESISTANCE, was jailed for 4 years and 2 months after being accused of causing more than 226,000 illegal downloads. Baker aggravated his circumstances by continuing to release movies online even while he was on bail.</p>
<p>Graeme Reid, the founder of ‘RemixHD’ and with connections to ‘UNiQUE’, was accused of causing 1.1 million illegal downloads and was jailed for 3 years and 6 months.</p>
<p>Ben Cooper, a member of HOPE and the founder of release groups ANALOG and TCM, was jailed for 3 years and 6 months after being blamed for more than 150,000 illegal downloads.</p>
<p>Scott Hemming, who is said to have released around 800 movies online which together were downloaded a minimum of 2.6 million times, received a 2 year suspended sentence.</p>
<p>Following their most aggressive private prosecution to date, the Federation Against Copyright Theft is celebrating success.</p>
<p>“Today’s sentencing is a great success for FACT as it marks the first time a release group has been criminally prosecuted. Rafiq, Baker, Reid, Cooper and Hemming were all aware that they were engaging in criminal activity. Their actions have now cost them their liberty,&#8221; says FACT Director General, Kieron Sharp.</p>
<p>“The result of this case sends out a serious message to anyone engaging in online piracy to think twice or face getting caught, prosecuted and sent to prison.</p>
<p>A source very close to the case informs TorrentFreak that the sentences would&#8217;ve been greater had the men not pleaded guilty early. However, there was still a penalty for those who did not immediately accept FACT&#8217;s version of events in the group&#8217;s private prosecution.</p>
<p>Immediately before yesterday&#8217;s hearing, TF was informed that those who did not dispute anything would receive a third knocked off their sentence. Those that did dispute FACT&#8217;s evidence would receive only a quarter. </p>
<p>However, while the sentences are no doubt extremely aggressive, there could be light at the end of the tunnel. TF is informed that two of the men already had criminal records but the others could eventually, if not quickly, be moved to a low security prison. Yesterday morning, at least one was hoping for decent conditions.</p>
<p>&#8220;We will all be in an open prison so will probably only do a few months inside then be allowed home for visits. We will then probably be placed on tag [outside prison but monitored] due to the fact three out of the five had no prior convictions at all,&#8221; TF was told.</p>
<p>The inside track to this case is intriguing and will be detailed in a future TF report.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115230
title: U.S. Govt. Targets Torrent Sites and Other Piracy Havens
uri: U-S-Govt-Targets-Torrent-Sites-and-Other-Piracy-Havens
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/glRcl-QQx7Q/
content:
<p><img src="media/09fa6d0a.ustr.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ustr.jpg" alt="ustr" width="175" height="175" class="alignright size-full wp-image-44005">In its annual “Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets” the United States Trade Representative (<a href="https://ustr.gov/">USTR</a>) has listed more than a dozen websites said to be involved in online piracy.</p>
<p>The list draws heavily on input from industry groups and copyright holders including the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/riaa-and-mpaa-report-notorious-piracy-sites-to-u-s-government-151007/">RIAA and MPAA</a>, who submitted their recommendations a few weeks ago. </p>
<p>While the USTR admits that its overview is not meant to be proof of any actual violations, it encourages responsible authorities to take legal action where it&#8217;s appropriate.</p>
<p>&#8220;The United States encourages all responsible authorities to intensify efforts to combat piracy and counterfeiting, and to use the information contained in the Notorious Markets List to pursue legal actions where appropriate,&#8221; they write.</p>
<p>As in previous years several of the top torrent sites are targeted, including ExtraTorrent, Torrentz and Rutracker. KickassTorrents (KAT) is listed as well, with the authorities noting that the site&#8217;s operators go to extremes to hide their identities and evade law enforcement.</p>
<p>&#8220;Reportedly based in Canada, over the past several years the site operators have changed the domain name numerous times, obscured or hidden their locations, and have used multiple servers in various countries to evade or otherwise frustrate enforcement actions,&#8221; USTR writes.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/692f3aac.ustrkat.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ustrkat.png" alt="ustrkat" width="585" height="363" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-115264"></center> </p>
<p>Interestingly, the latest USTR overview no longer lists The Pirate Bay, which was prominently and persistently featured in recent years.</p>
<p>In addition to torrent sites the list of notorious sites includes various streaming portals and cyberlockers such as 4Shared.com, Putlocker.is, Cuevana.tv, Watchseries.it, and Nowvideo.sx. </p>
<p>Russia&#8217;s main social network VK.com is mentioned as well, despite the company&#8217;s increased anti-piracy measures. </p>
<p>Continuing a trend that was started last year, the USTR also calls out a domain registrar as a rogue actor. According to the Government the Canadian registrar Rebel is servicing a disproportionate number of infringing sites.</p>
<p>&#8220;This year’s submissions reflect that, while the role of domain name registrars remains an ongoing subject of important discussion, Rebel’s outlier status is evidence that it is not taking measures that other domain name registrars have found to be reasonable to address infringement,&#8221; the report reads. </p>
<p>Several digital rights groups have <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/tech-giants-defend-domain-registrars-against-piracy-claims-151017/">pointed out</a> that domain registrars are neutral services and shouldn&#8217;t be branded as piracy havens. However, according to the USTR companies such as Rebel should implement policies that allow it to act against clearly criminal activity.</p>
<p>In addition to domain registries, the USTR notes that some hosting services have also become piracy havens. The report specifically calls out the Swiss company Private layer which hosts Putlocker.is, Cuevana.tv, Watchseries.it, and Nowvideo.sx.</p>
<p>&#8220;This group of websites, all hosted by Private Layer based in Switzerland and Panama, are evidence of the rising popularity among pirate sites of certain Swiss hosting services,&#8221; the USTR writes.</p>
<p>Switzerland is currently working on new legislation to address a loophole in its law that makes it hard to take action against pirate sites, but this plan has yet to be implemented. </p>
<p>According to the Government the yearly overview has helped to spotlight several sites and services that were shut down over the past year. This includes the site of the popular release group <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-we-shut-down-ytsyify-and-popcorn-time-151103/">YTS/YIFY</a> and well as a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-we-shut-down-ytsyify-and-popcorn-time-151103/">leading Popcorn Time fork</a>.</p>
<p>Whether similar successes will be booked during the year to come has yet to be seen. The full list of the notorious online sites and services that are highlighted in the report (<a href="media/78d117b0.USTR-2015-Out-of-Cycle-Review-Notorious-Markets-Final.pdf" data-original-source="https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/USTR-2015-Out-of-Cycle-Review-Notorious-Markets-Final.pdf">pdf</a>) are included below. </p>
<p>&#8212;<br>
<em><br>
-Rutracker.org (torrent site)<br>
-ExtraTorrent.cc (torrent site)<br>
-Kat.cr (torrent site)<br>
-Ebooktree.org (linking site)<br>
-Ex.ua (download/streaming)<br>
-4Shared.com (cyberlocker)<br>
-Rapidgator.org (cyberlocker)<br>
-Uploaded.net (cyberlocker)<br>
-Movshare group (which allegedly operates Nowvideo.sx, Watchseries.it, Torrenz.eu, Videoweed.es and Novamov.com)<br>
-Private Layer (hosting company of Putlocker.is, Cuevana.tv, Watchseries.it, and Nowvideo.sx )<br>
-Rebel (domain registrar)<br>
-Segundamano.es (mod-chips)<br>
-Bukalapak.com (e-commerce)<br>
-Dhgate.com (e-commerce)<br>
-VK.com (social network)<br>
-Zippyshare.com (cyberlocker)</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115163
title: Pirate Bay Founder Builds The Ultimate Piracy Machine
uri: Pirate-Bay-Founder-Builds-The-Ultimate-Piracy-Machine
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/gcmAWm6K_d8/
content:
<p><img src="media/1ceafd41.peter-sunde2.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/peter-sunde2.jpg" alt="peter-sunde" width="225" height="225" class="alignright size-full wp-image-85601">Former Pirate Bay spokesperson Peter Sunde has always been very outspoken about people&#8217;s inherent drive to copy things. </p>
<p>Last year he paid the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bays-peter-sunde-released-prison-141011/">ultimate price</a> of sacrificing his freedom for his involvement in TPB, but that hasn&#8217;t changed his core &#8216;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piratbyr%C3%A5n#Kopimism">kopimi</a>&#8216; values. </p>
<p>One of Peter&#8217;s major frustrations is how the entertainment industries handles the idea of copying. When calculating the losses piracy costs, they often put too much value on pirated copies. </p>
<p>This is something Peter knows all too well, as he still owes various movie and music companies millions in damages.</p>
<p>However, this hasn&#8217;t stopped him from continuing to copy. In fact, he&#8217;s just built the ultimate copying machine using a Raspberry Pi, an LCD display and some Python code.</p>
<p>With these three ingredients the &#8220;Kopimashin&#8221; makes 100 copies of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd2B6SjMh_w">Gnarls Barkely track &#8220;Crazy&#8221;</a> every second. This translates to more than eight million copies per day and roughly $10 million in &#8216;losses.&#8217;</p>
<p>Crazy indeed.</p>
<p>Peter&#8217;s machine is part of an <a href="http://konsthack.se/portfolio/kh000-kopimashin/">art project</a> about the value of digital copies which he&#8217;s preparing for an upcoming exhibition. </p>
<p>&#8220;I want to show the absurdity on the process of putting a value to a copy. The machine is made to be very blunt and open about the fact that it’s not a danger to any industry at all,&#8221; Sunde tells TF. </p>
<p>&#8220;But following their rhetoric and mindset it will bankrupt them. I want to show with a physical example &#8211; that also is really beautiful in it’s own way &#8211; that putting a price to a copy is futile.&#8221;</p>
<p><center><strong>The Kopimashin</strong><br></br></center><center><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/148955816?color=ff0179&#038;title=0&#038;byline=0&#038;portrait=0" width="600" height="337" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe></center></p>
<p>The Kopimashin does make real copies of the track, but they are sent to /dev/null, which means that they are not permanently stored. </p>
<p>The most important message, however, is that the millions of dollars in losses the industry claims from him and the other TPB founders are just as fictitious as the number displayed on the Kopimashin.</p>
<p>&#8220;The damages in the TPB case are equally ludicrous of course. The idea behind it is of course never to get that money paid, but to scare people into silence and obedience.&#8221;</p>
<p>The millions of dollars the industry is said to lose stands in no relation to actual damages according to Peter. On the contrary, he believes that piracy positively affects sales. </p>
<p>&#8220;To quote Kenneth Goldsmith, I think the file-sharing trials of this century are going to be our obscenity trials. The claims are never valid, they’re never based on actual damage. If that was the case, we would have been awarded money.&#8221; </p>
<p>&#8220;The economics work differently in a global networked society. But the industries will not change. That’s why we need to take them down,&#8221; he adds.</p>
<p>The Pirate Bay co-founder hopes to finalize 13 Kopimashins for various exhibitions and plans to sell a few as well. In the meantime, he&#8217;s continuing to &#8216;bankrupt&#8217; poor Gnarls Barkley and his label.</p>
<p>&#8220;The one running at my home is up to 120 million copies as we speak. That equals $150 million in losses to the recording industry &#8211; following their logic,&#8221; Peter says. </p>
<p>To get his copying effort recognized Peter contacted the Guinness Book of Records this week, who are currently <a href="media/78ca75c8.record1.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/record1.png">reviewing</a> his application. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115279
title: Steal This Show S01E03: Solving Piracy?
uri: Steal-This-Show-S01E03-Solving-Piracy
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/e_rzL1tImdc/
content:
<p><img src="media/585776e5.steal240.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/steal240.png" alt="steal240" width="200" height="200" class="alignright size-full wp-image-113930"></a>Founder &#038; CEO of <a href="http://jumpwiremedia.com/">Jumpwire Media</a> Gavin McGarry, and publisher of The <a href="http://illusionofmore.com/">Illusion Of More </a>and consultant to the Copyright Alliance David Newhoff agree to disagree on geoblocking, ISPs’ liability for pirating subscribers, the use of search engines to regulate piracy – and the biggest problems facing digital creators today. </p>
<p><a href="http://stealthisshow.com/">Steal This Show</a> host Jamie King, meanwhile, suggests that President Trump might want to round up pirates, and floats the idea of a Bad Search engine returning the search results no one else wants.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p>STS aims to release bi-weekly episodes featuring insiders discussing copyright and file-sharing news. It complements our regular reporting by adding more room for opinion, commentary and analysis. </p>
<p>The guests for our news discussions will vary and we&#8217;ll aim to introduce voices from different backgrounds and persuasions. In addition to news, STS will also produce features interviewing some of the big innovators and minds, one-on-one. </p>
<p><strong>Host:</strong> Jamie King</p>
<p><strong>Guests:</strong> <a href="http://illusionofmore.com/">David Newhoff</a> and <a href="http://jumpwiremedia.com/about/#gavin-mcgarry">Gavin McGarry</a>.</p>
<p><center><iframe width="100%" height="200px" src="//stealthisshow.com/?lpe-frame=1&#038;lpe-season=1&#038;lpe-episode=3" frameborder="0"></iframe></center></p>
<p><strong>Produced </strong> <em>by </em>Jamie King<br>
<strong>Edited &#038; Mixed</strong> <em>by</em> Eric Bouthiller<br>
<strong>Original Music</strong> <em>by</em> David Triana</p>
<p>Topics being discussed this week:</p>
<p>&#8211; <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/eu-proposal-bans-netflix-style-geo-blocking-and-restrictions-151209/">EU Proposal Bans Netflix-Style Geo Blocking and Restrictions</a><br>
&#8211; <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/cox-is-liable-for-pirating-subscribers-ordered-to-pay-25-million-151217/">Cox Is Liable for Pirating Subscribers, Ordered to pay $25 million</a><br>
&#8211; <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/search-engines-need-regulating-to-reduce-piracy-russia-says-151211/">Search Engines Need Regulating to Reduce Piracy, Russia Says</a><br>
&#8211; And more&#8230;</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115244
title: Who Stands to Win & Lose After Cox’s Piracy Defeat?
uri: Who-Stands-to-Win-Lose-After-Cox-s-Piracy-Defeat
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/N6wXGNyYIKw/
content:
<p><img src="media/c633adee.cox-logo.png" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/cox-logo.png" width="200" height="99" class="alignright">On Thursday following a two-week trial, a Virginia federal jury ruled that US-based ISP Cox Communications could be held liable for piracy carried out by its users.</p>
<p>After failing to act on copyright infringement warnings sent by anti-piracy outfit Rightscorp on behalf of music publisher BMG, Cox was found guilty of willful contributory copyright infringement and <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/cox-is-liable-for-pirating-subscribers-ordered-to-pay-25-million-151217/">ordered to pay $25 million</a> in damages. </p>
<p>At the time of writing Cox is considering its options, including the possibility of appeal, but should the ruling stand the piracy landscape in the United States could be changed forever.</p>
<p><strong>Internet service providers</strong></p>
<p>Firstly, rival Internet service providers such as Comcast are likely to be somewhat nervous about how this decision will affect them and how they will be expected to handle copyright complaints in the future.</p>
<p>During the BMG case the judge found that Cox&#8217;s repeat infringer policy <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/court-cox-willingly-failed-to-disconnect-pirating-subscribers-151202/">was lacking</a>, so much so that it that meant the company <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/cox-has-no-dmca-safe-harbor-protection-judge-rules-151124/">lost its safe harbor protections</a> under the DMCA.</p>
<p>It is now likely that if they haven&#8217;t already done so, major ISPs will be scrambling to have very clear repeat infringer processes committed to paper and have their employees follow them to the letter. After the decision this week, any one of them could be beaten with the same stick used to beat Cox.</p>
<p>The big question, however, is exactly how repeat infringers will be handled and what their ultimate punishment will be. In the Cox case the clear suggestion was that there needed to be not only suspensions, but also disconnections. That is not something that currently happens regularly in the United States.</p>
<p><strong>Six Strikes</strong></p>
<p>While Cox was one of the few large ISPs that refused to join, most major ISPs in the United States are already part of the so-called &#8216;Six Strikes&#8217; (Copyright Alerts) scheme. Officially known as the Copyright Alerts System, the program sees pirating subscribers receive escalating warnings about their copyright infringing behaviors.</p>
<p>Along the way they may also face mitigation measures, such as a temporary break in service while having to fill in a copyright-related questionnaire. But then, after the sixth &#8216;strike&#8217;, it appears nothing much happens.</p>
<p>While terminations may be threatened by ISPs, there is no evidence to suggest they are being carried out on anything like a large scale. Certainly, the &#8216;Six Strikes&#8217; deal itself does not mandate disconnections for repeat infringers, it merely makes the suggestion that could be an option for ISPs.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/01e6d6f3.copyright-alerts1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/copyright-alerts1.jpg" alt="copyright-alerts1" width="650" height="129" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-115248"></center></p>
<p>Nevertheless, if the Cox decision stands, ISPs across the United States will be more aware of the implications of handling infringers in the way that Cox has. At the very least they will be seeking to maintain their Safe Harbor protections under the DMCA so dealing with subscribers more firmly (or at least more clearly) seems the likely outcome.</p>
<p><strong>Rightscorp</strong></p>
<p>As it stands thus far, Thursday was a good day for Rightscorp. The company hasn&#8217;t been doing well for some time but its argument that ISPs must implement disconnections for repeat infringers now has more momentum than it did before. That positivity for the company also reflected in its stock Thursday, albeit it briefly.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/a0335105.rights1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/rights1.jpg" alt="rights1" width="555" height="369" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-115250"></center></p>
<p>But while on the surface the disconnection threat might seem good for Rightscorp, in practice things may not work out so well.</p>
<p>Rightscorp currently tries to negotiate with alleged pirates with the suggestion that the anti-piracy outfit won&#8217;t press for ISP disconnection as long as people pay the cash demanded in their settlement emails. However, if one assumes that the Cox decision stands then the power over whether to disconnect someone is now well and truly out of Rightscorp&#8217;s hands.</p>
<p>In the past Rightscorp might&#8217;ve pushed an ISP to pressure a subscriber, but with ISPs taking more of an interest in preserving Safe Harbor protections, subscribers paying Rightscorp won&#8217;t have any positive effect on whether a customer is disconnected or not. After all, one cannot simply pay a fine to a third party to absolve an ISP of liability under the law.</p>
<p>Granted, outfits like BMG might agree not to sue ISPs if they pass on Rightscorp&#8217;s threats and subscribers pay their fines, but ISPs will have to put policies in place across the board and it&#8217;s difficult to imagine any copyright holders getting special treatment. Furthermore, if ISPs have solid repeat infringer policies, there will be nothing to sue them over.</p>
<p>Finally, and perhaps crucially, disconnected former Internet users generate zero revenue for Rightscorp.</p>
<p><strong>Internet users</strong></p>
<p>Presuming that the Cox decision stands (and it may not after appeal), US Internet subscribers could be faced with a new reality, one that doesn&#8217;t simply allow them to pirate most online content with impunity. Sure, copyright trolls do snag a few thousand in their nets, but overall nothing currently happens to Internet pirates.</p>
<p>Presuming that &#8220;six strikes&#8221; is where the line is drawn in the sand, subscribers could be faced with not having access to the Internet, at least from their current supplier, after getting caught six times. That&#8217;s a lot of chances by almost any measure but will most users allow things to get that far?</p>
<p>Is it likely that many more subscribers, faced with a guarantee of disconnection, will take measures to protect their activities online by using <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/">VPNs or similar anonymity tools</a>?</p>
<p>While that remains to be seen, the implications of mass anonymity could be intriguing. Not only will subscribers eliminate the threat of disconnection, but US ISPs will also have fewer concerns over disconnecting users. On top, trolls like Rightscorp will have much fewer people to chase for cash.</p>
<p>But let&#8217;s not get ahead of ourselves. With at least $25m at stake it&#8217;s likely that the Cox case will run for some time yet. And it could be quite a ride.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115139
title: 1337x Staff Abandon “Insecure” Torrent Site, Start Over
uri: 1337x-Staff-Abandon-Insecure-Torrent-Site-Start-Over
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/220ENVgcV-8/
content:
<p><img src="media/a2d62275.1337x.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/1337x.png" alt="1337x" width="210" height="94" class="alignright size-full wp-image-115148">Without proper moderation any torrent site will turn into a swamp of fake files and malicious content. </p>
<p>This became painfully apparent earlier this year when The Pirate Bay was left unmoderated, and a similar situation is now taking place at 1337x.to. </p>
<p>The site, which is one of the <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/top-popular-torrent-sites-2015-150104/">most visited torrent sites</a> on the Internet, has built up a strong community in recent years. As with most other sites the day-to-day operations are managed by admins and moderators, who volunteer their free time to dealing with spam and other inappropriate content. </p>
<p>After a redesign, however, the staffers have grown impatient with the site&#8217;s owner who failed to respond to various complaints. One of the most pressing issues is a security hole which allows others to hijack user accounts.</p>
<p>&#8220;The new design is full of bugs, leaving users unprotected and vulnerable to attacks. The owner has refused to fix those problems creating dissension in the ranks,&#8221; former 1337x moderator &#8216;The Ghost&#8217; informs TF.  </p>
<p>The vulnerabilities allow outsiders to take over the accounts of regular users and post all sorts of spam.</p>
<p>&#8220;What would happen, is somebody would reply to a comment that had a script injected. Once they replied, their account got hijacked and started uploading infected torrents,&#8221; The Ghost says.</p>
<p>The above is just one example, according to the moderator. These and other bugs caused a lot of problems for the moderation crew as well as the users. However, they reportedly remain in place today. </p>
<p>Since the owner has been very unresponsive, all active moderators and admins have decided to step down. They were already paying for the server rent and the 1337x domain names, which will likely be forwarded to the new home. </p>
<p>Visitors who access the old forum URL (1337x.net) are now redirected to the new home at leetxtorrents.org, where a new forum was created with a copy of the database. </p>
<p>Another &#8220;former&#8221; 1337x staffer Mustangx, who owns the original .com and .org domains, confirms the staff exodus and says that they are working on a new torrent site as well. The staffers don&#8217;t have access to the old code, so they have to start anew.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have a team working on an entirely new site at the moment. We hope to have it ready for the new year,&#8221; Mustangx says.</p>
<p>In recent days the owner of the original 1337x reappeared again. However, many staffers believe that it&#8217;s too late to make things right, although it hurts to leave their old home behind.</p>
<p>&#8220;Nobody likes the idea of just leaving the old site sitting there but it doesn&#8217;t have an off button. Kind of like leaving a claymore mine lying around the internet,&#8221; The Ghost concludes.</p>
<p>At the time of writing the old 1337.to site remains operational, but the domain may be redirected in the future as well.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115287
title: KickassTorrents Launches its Own Release Group
uri: KickassTorrents-Launches-its-Own-Release-Group
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/hp-_fVnQKj4/
content:
<p><img src="media/b9478aac.katrg.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/katrg.png" alt="katrg" width="280" height="103" class="alignright size-full wp-image-115320">When it comes to obtaining and placing unauthorized content online, so-called &#8216;release groups&#8217; are what makes the world of piracy tick.</p>
<p>Most closely associated with the &#8216;Scene&#8217; during the 2000s, release groups now come in all shapes and sizes, from elite groups at the top of the piracy pyramid through to one-man bands seeking kudos from the masses.</p>
<p>Another area closely associated with release groups are those affiliated with both private and public torrent sites. These can take many forms. Some are created by site members keen to gain recognition while furthering their chosen site&#8217;s brand, while others are operated by sites themselves.</p>
<p>While The Pirate Bay has never had an overt release group, other sites in the public space certainly have. RARBG, for example, has a release group operating in its name and ETRG (ExtraTorrent Release Group) provides a similar function for that site.</p>
<p>The latest site to jump on the release group bandwagon is KickassTorrents (KAT). Currently the largest torrent site on the Internet, KAT is certainly not short of visitors but it appears that the site believes it can better serve the public with the provision of a site-branded release group.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/c1bddcdd.katrg-large.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/katrg-large.jpg" alt="katrg-large" width="500" height="200" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-115291"></center></p>
<p>At the time of writing the group, which appeared around a week ago and operates from the three-year-old username <a href="https://kat.cr/user/KATRG/">KATRG</a>, currently has 21 releases. In addition to Blu-ray and web rips, KATRG is also offering the latest Oscar DVD screeners to leak online including  Room, Brooklyn and The Peanuts Movie.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/95b2c047.katrg-releases.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/katrg-releases.png" alt="katrg-releases" width="571" height="413" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-115294"></center></p>
<p>KAT administrator Mr. Black informs TF that KATRG is being operated by a well-known encoder, whose identity will not be made public.</p>
<p>&#8220;Having a famous encoder with us that has such massive experience in knowing what the users want helps to gain attention and can only bring some good things to KickassTorrents,&#8221; Mr. Black says.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s worth noting that KATRG is not the original source of any of the titles uploaded so far. Instead, the group re-encodes Scene releases. That being said, lack of originality never hurt the image of YIFY, for example, who mostly re-encoded and then re-branded Scene releases.</p>
<p>But of course, just like any other torrent, KATRG releases are vulnerable to takedown by copyright holders. The image below shows that a blu-ray rip of The Bad Education Movie only clocked 98 downloads before being removed.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/a4fcc67d.katrg-remove.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/katrg-remove.jpg" alt="katrg-remove" width="600" height="112" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-115295"></center></p>
<p>Nevertheless, KickassTorrents is offering a solution to this problem. It&#8217;s been in operation for some time, but essentially it remains possible to download releases even after they have been taken down from the site.</p>
<p>In respect of KATRG this is achieved by a <a href="https://kat.cr/community/show/katrg-kickasstorrentsreleasegroup-hashcodes-official-thread/#post17224961">forum thread</a> which lists all of the group&#8217;s releases along with their hashcodes. Should any be taken down, users are invited to enter hashes into another search engine which then provides the download in question.</p>
<p>At the moment KATRG releases aren&#8217;t particularly popular with downloaders which is not that unusual for a relatively unknown group. However, just like releases from YIFY (and aXXo before him), KATRG&#8217;s efforts will eventually become trusted and with that will come popularity.</p>
<p>Also, since the release group name is also being spread around other sites, it effectively becomes free and effective advertising for KickassTorrents &#8211; not that the site really needs any more exposure.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115354
title: When Authors Demand Payment For Every Copy, They Advocate Communism
uri: When-Authors-Demand-Payment-For-Every-Copy-They-Advocate-Communism
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/6xa0N9TgyIk/
content:
<p><img src="media/db7b975c.copyright-branded.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/copyright-branded.jpg" alt="copyright-branded" width="250" height="164" class="alignright size-full wp-image-56211">In the copyright monopoly debate, there&#8217;s significant confusion about how a market economy works, and what constitutes a right to remuneration of any kind.</p>
<p>There is exactly one action that entitles somebody to money, and that is an agreement that money should be paid in exchange for a good or service, otherwise known as a &#8220;sale&#8221;. There are exactly zero other things that entitle somebody to payment.</p>
<p>When somebody views a movie through a window? Nobody is entitled to money.</p>
<p>When somebody listens to a street performer? Nobody is entitled to money.</p>
<p>When somebody plays a video game at a friend&#8217;s? Nobody is entitled to money.</p>
<p>When somebody copies said video game from their friend? Nobody is entitled to money.</p>
<p>When somebody walks into a store and agrees to exchange money for a good? Then, and only then, is somebody entitled to money. <em>Only</em> then.</p>
<p>There are absolutely zero excuses for &#8220;wanting&#8221; money but not &#8220;getting&#8221; it. If you&#8217;re not able or willing to find a counterparty with whom to perform an exchange on mutually agreed terms, you&#8217;re entitled to exactly nothing. Just like everybody else. Specifically including people who create art and want to be paid for creating art, or for that matter, anybody doing anything they like. Nobody owns the fuzzy, wishy-washy and generally handwavy &#8220;fruits of their labor&#8221;. They own exactly what they can exchange in a mutually negotiated transaction with a voluntary and willing counterparty. Nothing less, nothing more.</p>
<p>This is called a market economy, and it works so vastly superior to all other alternatives tried because all people do their own valuations of the value of goods or services all the time in a decentralized fashion, rather than somebody centralized trying to establish a &#8220;proper&#8221; value for goods and services. That kind of hubris has been tried from time to time in various forms of centralization of the economy, and it has always resulted in either huge shortages, or huge surplus stocks resulting in huge shortages elsewhere. Nobody simply has the brainpower to assess the continuous valuation and re-valuation of millions of other people.</p>
<p>When planned economies have been tried &#8211; notably under communism &#8211; they look fine on the surface until too many people are starving and lack basic hygiene essentials because of said shortages. At that point, the first protesters are generally jailed as political prisoners. Sometimes, they&#8217;re murdered by the regime &#8220;for the cause&#8221;, whatever that is &#8211; the murdered generally don&#8217;t care. Eventually, the whole fairytale idea of one person being a better valuator of something than millions of people doing the same thing breaks down, and the Maskirovka falls.</p>
<p>The copyright monopoly is a strong <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/the-copyright-monopoly-is-a-limitation-of-property-rights-110320/">limitation</a> of the property rights that are essential to a market economy, and indeed a limitation of the market economy itself. The copyright monopoly is therefore not just completely immoral from this angle, but also damaging to the economy as a whole.</p>
<p>So what does this have to do with the &#8220;authors must be paid&#8221; cliché? Everything. Since you&#8217;re neither buyer nor seller, you&#8217;re not a party to the transaction. Therefore, frankly and literally, it&#8217;s none of your business. When a third party makes a copy of a game, a third party who was not party to the original transaction, that third party has absolutely no obligation whatsoever to the parties in the original transaction: no sale has been made.</p>
<p><strong>When you&#8217;re repeating the blatant cliché of &#8220;authors must be paid&#8221;, you&#8217;re asserting a right to intervene in a market transaction between two parties where you were not involved in the transaction or negotiations. This is the direct opposite of a market economy. And when suggesting the cliché as a rule, or law, you&#8217;re advocating a planned interventionary economy &#8211; literally a communist economy.</strong></p>
<p>Put differently, other people&#8217;s business failures are neither your moral, legal, or business problem to solve. Trying to blame your customer&#8217;s morals for the weaknesses in your own business plan &#8211; your inability to find a voluntary counterparty with whom to make an exchange, a &#8220;sale&#8221; &#8211; is the last step before your business dies, and frankly, it&#8217;s rather unworthy. This is where the copyright industry is currently finding itself.</p>
<p>And as we&#8217;ve seen before, making a copy of something &#8211; in violation of the copyright monopoly or not, that doesn&#8217;t matter &#8211; is merely <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/copying-and-sharing-was-always-a-natural-right-restricting-copying-never-was-150802/">exercising</a> your own property rights: rearranging the magnetic fields on your own property according to what you&#8217;re observing with your own tools and senses. Suggesting such an action to constitute a fantasy voluntary agreed transaction with a fantasy counterparty is suggesting a planned economy, the kind that didn&#8217;t work at all under communism.</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">
<div style="float:right;height:130px;width:39px;margin-left:20px;margin-right:10px"><img src="media/98818a80.Rick_Falkvinge_39x130.jpg" data-original-source="http://falkvinge.net/wp-content/themes/WpNewspaper/images/falkvinge/Rick_Falkvinge_39x130.jpg" style="border:none;-moz-box-shadow:none;-webkit-box-shadow:none" class="quimby_search_image"></div>
<p><span style="color:#3F3F3F;font-size:125%">About The</span> <span style="color:#FF3C78;font-size:125%">Author</span></p>
</h3>
<p style="font-family:PTSansRegular,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-weight:400;line-height:150%;margin-bottom:14px"><small>Rick Falkvinge is a regular columnist on TorrentFreak, sharing his thoughts every other week. He is the founder of the Swedish and first Pirate Party, a whisky aficionado, and a low-altitude motorcycle pilot. His blog at <a href="http://falkvinge.net">falkvinge.net</a> focuses on information policy.</small></p>
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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="https://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=115348
title: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 12/21/15
uri: Top-10-Most-Pirated-Movies-of-The-Week-12-21-15
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/heM0iScZKuM/
content:
<p><img src="media/a70e7fc3.theintern.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/theintern.jpg" alt="theintern" width="300" height="208" class="alignright size-full wp-image-115350">This week we have six newcomers in our chart. </p>
<p>The Intern 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-121415/">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>(3)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_intern/">The Intern</a> (Webrip)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2361509/">7.4</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-DEy3mylCs">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>2</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_peanuts_movie/">The Peanuts Movie</a> (DVDscr)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2452042/">7.7</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVR4E6Q6u5g>trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>3</strong></td>
<td>(1)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pan_2015/">Pan</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3332064/">6.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHl8F60t-ss">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>4</strong></td>
<td>(2)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_martian/">The Martian</a> (Subbed HDRip) </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3659388/?">8.2</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej3ioOneTy8">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>5</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_revenant_2015/">The Revenant</a> (DVDscr) </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1663202/">?.?</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoebZZ8K5N0">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>6</strong></td>
<td>(4)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maze_runner_the_scorch_trials/">Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4046784/">6.8</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-44_igsZtgU">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>7</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_lobster/">The Lobster</a> (Web-DL)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3464902/">7.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR_NcqD-Gfs">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>8</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sicario_2015/?">Sicario</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3397884/">8.0</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR0SDT2GeFg">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>9</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/creed_2015/">Creed</a> (DVDscr) </td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3076658/">8.5</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv554B7YHk4">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>10</strong></td>
<td>(&#8230;)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_hateful_eight/">The Hateful Eight</a> (DVDscr)</td>
<td><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3460252/">9.1</a> / <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_UI1GzaWv0">trailer</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115161
title: The Hateful Eight and The Revenant Screeners Leaked Online
uri: The-Hateful-Eight-and-The-Revenant-Screeners-Leaked-Online
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/u6jbO2Br2Ko/
content:
<p><img src="media/625b75a6.cofeeleak1.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/cofeeleak1.jpg" alt="cofeeleak" width="180" height="207" class="alignright size-full wp-image-18717">All year round unauthorized copies of movies appear online following a recording in a cinema or after being &#8216;ripped&#8217; from a DVD or Blu-ray disc. However, when the &#8216;Oscar season&#8217; begins in November, greater treasures are on the horizon.</p>
<p>Every year so-called &#8216;screener&#8217; copies of the most critically acclaimed films are &#8216;securely&#8217; sent out for review but with few exceptions these movies leak to the Internet. This grants pirates the ability to watch big titles in a quality rarely experienced for such early releases.</p>
<p>This year is no exception, with movies such as Straight Outta Compton, Brooklyn, Room, The Peanuts Movie and Carol all leaking during recent days. However, this past weekend delivered the most controversial leaks so far. </p>
<p>While Sylvester Stallone is likely to be angry that his movie &#8216;Creed&#8217; is now doing the rounds on torrent sites (TorrentFreak estimates at least 100,000 downloads thus far), that will pale into insignificance compared with the wrath likely to be consuming the Tarantino household right now.</p>
<p><center><strong>Creed</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/c32be11b.creed.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/creed.png" alt="creed" width="640" height="300" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-115370"></center></p>
<p>After being scheduled for a December 25 cinema debut, Quentin&#8217;s latest work &#8216;The Hateful Eight&#8217; is now being guzzled up by excited Internet users around the globe. Before Sunday had even drawn to a close the movie had been downloaded more than 100,000 times but at the time of writing those numbers have swelled to more like 220,000.</p>
<p>While not in the quality Tarantino envisioned for his Ultra Panavision 70mm masterpiece, the copy is extremely clean and free from timestamps and &#8216;property of&#8217; watermarks. Whether it has other secret markings will remain to be seen but there&#8217;s certainly nothing that spoils the viewing experience.</p>
<p><center><strong>The Hateful Eight</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/0cc773a8.hatefuleight.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/hatefuleight.png" alt="hatefuleight" width="640" height="281" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-115362"></center></p>
<p>But when it comes to mass appeal the leak of Alejandro G. Iñárritu&#8217;s &#8216;The Revenant&#8217; is likely to take some beating.</p>
<p>Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and also slated for a Christmas day release, by Sunday this tale of vengeance had clocked up in excess of 180,000 downloads. Today those totals have reached an &#8216;impressive&#8217; 300,000.</p>
<p><center><strong>The Revenant</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/41a2d952.therevenant.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/therevenant.png" alt="therevenant" width="640" height="312" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-115363"></center></p>
<p>Again, the quality is extremely good for such an early release and there are no obtrusive markers to spoil the experience. Although as ever some purists are likely to prefer an even better copy, this is perfectly good enough to be shown on most TVs and likely to be the best to appear before an official DVD release.</p>
<p>Considering the noise made last year when The Expendables 3 leaked before its official release, the leaking of AAA titles like those detailed above are likely to stir up anti-piracy sentiment in Hollywood like never before. That being said, it appears that we&#8217;re only just getting started.</p>
<p>Hive-CM8, one of the groups behind the leaks, says it has obtained copies of dozens of screeners and is preparing to leak them out one by one during the days to come.</p>
<p>&#8220;DVDScreener 1 of 40,&#8221; the group announced. &#8220;Will do them all one after each other, started with the hottest title of this year, the rest will follow.&#8221;</p>
<p>Yesterday that batch continued with the leak of the Tom Hardy Krays movie &#8216;Legend&#8217; and continued with &#8216;In the Heart of the Sea&#8217;. Only time will tell which movies will appear next but this is a huge provocation from CM8 and may yet illicit a law enforcement response.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115367
title: Hackers Grab Deluge and qBitTorrent User Databases
uri: Hackers-Grab-Deluge-and-qBitTorrent-User-Databases
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/8ZGHDvcRpJk/
content:
<p><img src="media/9fe55fb8.databoss.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/databoss.jpg" alt="databoss" width="230" height="230" class="alignright size-full wp-image-115389">Several torrent related websites have reportedly been compromised by hackers, exposing the personal details of thousands of members.</p>
<p>Among the targeted sites are the forums of torrent clients <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deluge_(software)">Deluge</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QBittorrent">qBitTorrent</a>, of which the user databases appeared online several days ago. </p>
<p>Both forums have thousands of members, whose emails, hashed passwords and other information was posted on the website Databoss.io. </p>
<p>The same site also lists the user database of the torrent site SumoTorrent.sx, which was reportedly breached earlier. </p>
<p><center><strong>Databoss</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/5be95801.compro.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/compro.png" alt="compro" width="600" height="357" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-115376"></center></p>
<p>TorrentFreak reached out to the Deluge team, who have taken down their site as a precaution. This means that the popular cross-platform torrent client can&#8217;t be downloaded at the moment. </p>
<p>The Databoss hacker(s) placed a hello.txt file on the site as proof for the breach, but it&#8217;s not clear how the site was compromised. </p>
<p><center><img src="media/39a9ad28.delugehello.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/delugehello.png" alt="delugehello" width="473" height="103" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-115390"></center></p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re currently working with our hosting provider to identify and resolve the issue and we&#8217;ve taken down the site until that time,&#8221; the Deluge team informs TF.</p>
<p>In any case, for now Deluge advises its forum members to change their passwords at other services, if they used the same password more than once. </p>
<p>The qBitTorrent team informs TF that they are looking into the issue on their end. They have disabled the forums as a precaution and plan to release a detailed statement later on.</p>
<p>SumoTorrent, meanwhile, informs us that they are not aware of any breach, but they are investigating the claims. </p>
<p>The Databoss.io website is selling access to the hacked information, starting at $2 per day. </p>
<p>For now no plaintext passwords are available for the torrent related sites, although this may change in the near future. &#8220;The databases are in the process of being cracked to the highest percentage possible,&#8221; Databoss <a href="https://realityforum.net/Thread-Databoss-io-DB-Search-Tool?pid=100553#pid100553">writes</a> on RealityForum.</p>
<p>However, at the time of writing the website is inaccessible. <a href="https://realityforum.net/Thread-Databoss-io-DB-Search-Tool?pid=101457#pid101457">According</a> to the person in charge, the site was pulled offline temporarily after an <a href="media/bbdfaaf6.4KzZ8Oj.png" data-original-source="http://i.imgur.com/4KzZ8Oj.png">abuse complaint</a> from the owner of another affected site, realforums.org.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115447
title: Error 451: There’s Now an HTTP Code for Internet Censorship
uri: Error-451-There-s-Now-an-HTTP-Code-for-Internet-Censorship
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/FVqsMFEpnQg/
content:
<p><img src="media/e0550a94.451.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/451.png" alt="451" width="280" height="82" class="alignright size-full wp-image-115450">Domain name blocking has become one of the entertainment industries’ go-to methods for reducing online copyright infringement.</p>
<p>Blocking requests from both the music and movie sector are widespread around Europe, with The Pirate Bay has being one of the main targets.</p>
<p>At the moment all ISPs use different notifications to show that a website is blocked. In the UK for example, <a href="media/e90b063d.virgin-blocked.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/virgin-blocked.jpg">Virgin</a>, <a href="media/2eb5a36f.blockbt.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/blockbt.jpg">BT</a> and <a href="media/dd7fc1d8.SKY-blocked.jpg" data-original-source="https://torrentfreak.com/images/SKY-blocked.jpg">Sky</a> all have a custom message, some being more descriptive than others.</p>
<p>This issue prompted <a href="https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/201x/2012/06/20/Latin-Scholar-451">Tim Bray</a> to suggest a special HTTP status code for legal blockades. He noticed that some ISPs were using the &#8220;403 Forbidden&#8221; code for a Pirate Bay block, which is not what it was intended for.</p>
<p>After a long review process the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has now <a href="https://www.mnot.net/blog/2015/12/18/451">approved</a> this new <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-httpbis-legally-restricted-status/">HTTP status code</a>. </p>
<p>There is no obligation for ISPs or other parties to use the new status. The <a href="http://www.451unavailable.org/">451 Unavailable project</a> suggests that ideally it should be used to provide the public with additional details including a copy of the court order.  </p>
<p>&#8220;A really good Error 451 message would tell their customers how to challenge a block, how long the block&#8217;s expected to last, where the relevant legal documents are and which legal authority imposed the blocking order,&#8221; they write.</p>
<p>The 451 Unavailable group says it will encourage ISPs to show 451 errors for legal blockades and it eventually hopes to reduce the scope of widespread blocking.</p>
<p>Interestingly, the most recent 451 draft already gives people some suggestions how to bypass court ordered blockades on their own, mentioning VPNs and Tor as possible workarounds.</p>
<p>&#8220;Note that in many cases clients can still access the denied resource by using technical countermeasures such as a VPN or the Tor network.&#8221;</p>
<p>While some HTTP errors numbers were arbitrarily chosen, 451 refers to Ray Bradbury&#8217;s dystopian novel <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_451">Fahrenheit 451</a> which is about censorship and suppression of information.</p>
<p>In general, more openness about court ordered blockades is welcome, especially because the process is too often shrouded in secrecy. That said, the day that the web gets a special HTTP status code for censorship is hardly something to celebrate. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115436
title: BPI Removes Anti-Piracy Bosses and Reorganizes
uri: BPI-Removes-Anti-Piracy-Bosses-and-Reorganizes
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/fwau5aspp4c/
content:
<p><img src="media/cb62421b.bpi.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/bpi.png" alt="bpi" width="222" height="106" class="alignright size-full wp-image-94190">When it comes to music-focused anti-piracy activity in the UK, the British Recorded Music Industry (BPI) is the absolute market leader. Acting on behalf of many hundreds of recording industry members, there&#8217;s little doubt that the BPI has its finger on the pulse of local infringement.</p>
<p>While the effects of its work can at times be <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/online-music-pirates-hit-with-lengthy-jail-sentences-141111/">very public</a>, the group&#8217;s anti-piracy activities are mostly carried out behind closed doors, from the removing of <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/music-industry-reports-200-millionth-pirate-link-to-google-150507/">hundreds millions of links</a> from Google&#8217;s search results to the wholesale blocking of <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/uk-blocking-more-than-100-pirate-sites-after-new-court-order-150324/">hundreds of &#8216;pirate&#8217; websites</a>.</p>
<p>But despite these powerful moves, the BPI feels that it can do better. Previously the group operated its Copyright Protection Unit (CPU) and Internet Investigations unit as separate entities but will now restructure so that the former effectively absorbs the latter.</p>
<p>Speaking with <a href="http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/bpi-reorganises-cpu-team-to-boost-anti-piracy-work/063711">Music Week</a> the BPI confirmed that there will be at least two high-profile casualties following the reshuffle.</p>
<p>David Wood, Director of the Copyright Protection Unit, was responsible for tackling copyright infringement both on and offline. He was also responsible for managing the BPI&#8217;s Regional Investigators and its in-house Internet Investigations Team. He will now move on.</p>
<p>Also stepping aside is John Hodge, the BPI&#8217;s Head of Internet Investigations. A former police officer working in Internet Child Protection, Hodge had maintained his role at the BPI since July 2011 while liaising with Europol and Interpol, among others.</p>
<p>The BPI said that while it values the contributions of Wood and Hodge, the restructuring will allow its Copyright Protection Unit to focus on removing illegal content and blocking websites. It will also continue its &#8220;Follow the Money&#8221; approach by targeting advertisers, payment processors and web hosting services.</p>
<p>An as-yet-unnamed individual will become the new head of the BPI&#8217;s reshuffled Copyright Protection Unit (CPU) and will continue the organization&#8217;s work with the police and Trading Standards while investigating piracy both on and offline.</p>
<p>&#8220;The way people discover and consume music has changed beyond recognition since the early days of our anti-piracy work,&#8221; said BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor.</p>
<p>&#8220;Copyright infringement remains a challenge but we have made substantial progress against it in the UK, removing hundreds of millions of links to illegal copies and blocking access to the most damaging illegal sites, while continuing to remove physical counterfeit discs and hard drives from sale and prosecute those who seek to make money from distributing music illegally.&#8221;</p>
<p>But while the BPI has often focused on the stick, Taylor says that the BPI will also seek to encourage consumers &#8220;to value music and understand why they should choose to source it legally.&#8221;</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115418
title: Routing ‘Feature’ Can Expose VPN Users’ Real IP-Addresses
uri: Routing-Feature-Can-Expose-VPN-Users-Real-IP-Addresses
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/rmwY-V49jes/
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">A few weeks ago we covered a <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/huge-security-flaw-can-expose-vpn-users-real-ip-adresses-151126/">security flaw</a> which allowed attackers to uncover the real IP-addresses of VPN users, if their providers allow forwarding on their network. </p>
<p>The news was picked up widely as it affected millions of users. However, it is just one of the many possible exploits VPN users are facing. </p>
<p>This week another issue was highlighted by <a href="https://medium.com/@ValdikSS/another-critical-vpn-vulnerability-and-why-port-fail-is-bullshit-352b2ebd22e2#.bvtyzf9no">ProstoVPN</a>. This &#8220;vulnerability&#8221; affects both users with a direct connection and those with routers that have UPnP port forwarding enabled. </p>
<p>The issue boils down to a rather basic network routing feature where UDP listening software (e.g. torrent clients) respond to packets that are sent to the user&#8217;s ISP IP-address, through the VPN interface. </p>
<p>This means that a potential attacker can link a VPN IP-address to a user&#8217;s ISP IP-address. </p>
<p><center><strong>The problem</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/8ca73949.route.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/route.png" alt="route" width="600" height="235" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-115462"></center></p>
<p>The issue affects users on all operating systems and is not always easy to fix on the user end. VPN providers with custom software can address it, but with the standard OpenVPN software users have to take action themselves.</p>
<p>While the scope of the issue is large, as many users and providers have yet to address the issue, it requires quite a bit of effort to carry out an attack. It basically requires the attacker to send UDP packets to the entire Internet.</p>
<p>In addition, there&#8217;s the possibility of false positives which means that it&#8217;s harder to pinpoint the exact ISP IP-address. With this in mind, it seems unlikely that monitoring companies will attempt to expose every BitTorrent user with a VPN. </p>
<p>ProstoVPN informs TorrentFreak that they alerted 11 providers, and two confirmed that they have fixed the issue with a software update. </p>
<p>&#8220;Information about this &#8216;feature&#8217; was sent to 11 VPN providers and only five of them replied: Private Internet Access and Perfect Privacy have released updated software which blocks incoming connections.&#8221; </p>
<p>Not all providers were equally responsive and one suggested that the issue should be addressed by the users. There is some truth to that, but the same provider does protect its users against similar problems on the user-side, such as DNS, IPv6 and WebRTC leaks.</p>
<p>While there&#8217;s no need for outright panic, it is a good development that these type of problems are being highlighted. It prompts VPN providers to take action and users to remain vigilant.</p>
<p>That said, it also shows that 100% anonymity is pretty much impossible.</p>
<p>More details on the routing &#8220;feature&#8221; and its consequences are available in <a href="https://medium.com/@ValdikSS/another-critical-vpn-vulnerability-and-why-port-fail-is-bullshit-352b2ebd22e2#.4pz9k7m1t">ProstoVPN&#8217;s article</a> and in the statement <a href="https://www.perfect-privacy.com/blog/2015/12/21/wrong-way-security-problem-exposes-real-ip/">published</a> by Perfect Privacy.</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> TorGuard informs TF that they were one of the notified VPN providers and that they&#8217;ve addressed the issue. </p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115452
title: Kim Dotcom Can Be Extradited to the United States, Judge Rules
uri: Kim-Dotcom-Can-Be-Extradited-to-the-United-States-Judge-Rules
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/__0Wn490wLk/
content:
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-76556" src="media/5b2669f1.dotcom-laptop.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/dotcom-laptop.jpg" alt="dotcom-laptop" width="233" height="170">After expending hundreds of hours of legal resources since the momentous raid on Megaupload in 2012, the U.S. authorities left no stone unturned in their efforts to have Kim Dotcom and colleagues Mathias Ortmann, Finn Batato and Bram van der Kolk extradited from New Zealand to face justice in the United States.</p>
<p>Those efforts culminated in an extradition hearing that <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-extradition-hearing-gets-underway-150921/">began in September</a> and was scheduled to last just four weeks. In the event the process lasted more than two and half months and was punctuated by several <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/dotcoms-extradition-hearing-ambushed-with-new-evidence-151123/">moments of drama</a>.</p>
<p>At the end of the hearing in November, Judge Nevin Dawson retired to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-slams-u-s-bullies-as-extradition-hearing-ends-151124/">consider his decision</a> and a few moments ago released his much anticipated ruling.</p>
<p>In a blow to the Megaupload founder and his former colleagues, Judge Dawson ruled that the quartet can indeed be sent to the United States to face charges of copyright infringement, conspiracy, money laundering and racketeering.</p>
<p>Judge Dawson did not determine guilt or otherwise but found that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) had presented enough evidence for New Zealand to grant a request from the the United States to extradite. Dawson said that Dotcom and his colleagues had not done enough to undermine the case.</p>
<p>However, while Judge Dawson has rendered his decision, that does not mark the end of the battle. Speaking with TorrentFreak earlier today, Kim Dotcom said that whatever the outcome, win or lose, appeals from both sides were likely.</p>
<p>&#8220;The appeal route is High Court, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court. If I lose, [it goes to a] decision by Minister of Justice, then to a High Court judicial review of the Minister&#8217;s decision. [Then it&#8217;s the ] end of the road,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>Ira Rothkin, head of Dotcom&#8217;s legal team, reiterated this on Twitter moments after the verdict was announced.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">The <a href="https://twitter.com/KimDotcom">@KimDotcom</a> team looks forward to having the US request for extradition reviewed in the High Court. We have no other comments at this time</p>
<p>— Ira Rothken (@rothken) <a href="https://twitter.com/rothken/status/679479594513072128">December 23, 2015</a></p></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">We believe the dist ct was wrong. Today&#8217;s decision rendered the NZ ISP criminal copyright safe harbor illusory. Justice was not served today</p>
<p>— Ira Rothken (@rothken) <a href="https://twitter.com/rothken/status/679482599622836224">December 23, 2015</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async="" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>In any event (and pending an appeal) the decision by Judge Dawson does not mean that Dotcom and his former colleagues will be forced to leave the country. That decision is left to Justice Minister Amy Adams who under New Zealand&#8217;s Extradition Act decides whether extraditions can go ahead.</p>
<p>In the meantime Dotcom, Mathias Ortmann, Finn Batato and Bram van der Kolk will continue to get bail, despite Judge Dawson noting that there was now a heightened flight risk. They must report twice a week to a police station.</p>
<p><em>Breaking news, updates to follow</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115500
title: FBI Investigates Hollywood Ties to Pirated ‘Hateful Eight’ Screener
uri: FBI-Investigates-Hollywood-Ties-to-Pirated-Hateful-Eight-Screene
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/a17KK-aI9xY/
content:
<p><img src="media/e21f211d.fbianti.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/fbianti.jpg" alt="fbianti" width="225" height="207" class="alignright size-large wp-image-115502">Over the past several days more than a dozen <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/the-hateful-eight-and-the-revenant-leaked-online-151221/">high quality screeners</a> of Hollywood films have appeared online, including The Hateful Eight, The Revenant and Steve Jobs.</p>
<p>Screeners are advance copies of recent movies, which are generally sent out to critics and awards voters. These high quality releases are subject to intense security precautions by the studios, as they are highly sought after by online pirates.</p>
<p>This year there appears to be a serious breach in the security process and Hollywood has involved the FBI to uncover where. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hateful-eight-pirated-screener-traced-850899">THR</a> now reports that a watermark on the leaked copy of  Tarantino&#8217;s The Hateful Eight points to Andrew Kosove, the co-CEO of production-finance company <a href="http://www.alconent.com/">Alcon Entertainment</a>.</p>
<p>The screener that was intended for Kosove was reportedly signed off by an office assistant at the company. The Hollywood executive, however, says he never received the copy.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve never seen this DVD. It&#8217;s never touched my hands. We&#8217;re going to do more than cooperate with the FBI. We&#8217;re going to conduct our own investigation to find out what happened,&#8221; Kosove told THR. </p>
<p>The screener eventually ended up online where it was released by the P2P-group Hive-CM8. The copy of The Hateful Eight is not the only leak to originate from this group, but it&#8217;s unknown whether any of the other releases are also linked to Alcon Entertainment&#8217;s co-CEO.</p>
<p>The Hollywood company is cooperating with the FBI and the film&#8217;s distributor The Weinstein Company to find out what exactly happened. Kosove hopes that the feds can help to get to the bottom of the matter. </p>
<p>&#8220;At the moment, nobody knows anything, but I promise we will find out. And I am praying that it had nothing to do with anyone at our beloved company,” he <a href="http://deadline.com/2015/12/fbi-investigating-theft-of-the-hateful-eight-screener-linked-to-alcon-1201671457/">told</a> Deadline.</p>
<p>Every year more than a dozen screeners leak online, often with direct ties to entertainment industry insiders. </p>
<p>Last year a pirated copy of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was <a href="http://deadline.com/2015/12/fbi-investigating-theft-of-the-hateful-eight-screener-linked-to-alcon-1201671457/">linked</a> to Ellen DeGeneres, and Howard Stern&#8217;s name was also <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/super-8-screener-leaks-with-howard-sterns-name-all-over-it-110807/">connected</a> to a Super 8 screener. </p>
<p>At the time of writing The Hateful Eight has been shared more than a million times through various unauthorized channels. The film is set to premiere in the U.S. on Christmas day.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115602
title: iLok2 DRM System Appears to Have Been Cracked
uri: iLok2-DRM-System-Appears-to-Have-Been-Cracked
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/s3fTUpzp0Jg/
content:
<p><img src="media/eba4c6a8.piratkeyb.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/piratkeyb.png" alt="piratkeyb" width="275" height="194" class="alignright size-full wp-image-108110">With the majority of all commercially available software slushing round on the Internet in pirate form, companies have always sought secure anti-piracy mechanisms to protect their products.</p>
<p>One such solution is iLok from security company <a href="https://www.paceap.com">PACE</a>. Now on its second generation, iLok2 is a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Software-Authorization-hundreds-software-licenses/dp/B004JRVQX0">relatively cheap</a> proprietary USB dongle that acts as a license storage device for software protected by PACE Anti-Piracy. While iLok1 allows customers to carry up to 118 licenses, iLok2 can carry up to 500.</p>
<p>&#8220;Once a license is delivered to an iLok account, your user simply downloads the license to their iLok. It&#8217;s as simple as dragging and dropping,&#8221; the company explains.</p>
<p>&#8220;The license is stored safely and securely inside the solid-state iLok smart key and can then be used to provide the authorization for protected software to run on any computer where that software is installed.&#8221;</p>
<p><img src="media/6880fd09.ilok.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ilok.jpg" alt="ilok" width="550" height="409" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-115606"></p>
<p>Over time, iLok appears to have gained a lot of traction within the pro-audio community, those individuals using sophisticated and often very expensive software such as Avid&#8217;s Pro Tools to create music. Licenses are managed from within the iLok License Manager, as illustrated in the image below.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/b1bbd0df.ilok-manager.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/ilok-manager.jpg" alt="ilok-manager" width="629" height="319" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-115609"></center></p>
<p>However, after remaining somewhat secure iLok2 &#8211; and by extension all of the software development companies that use PACE&#8217;s system &#8211; appear to have a problem on their hands. During the past several days dozens of pieces of software that use the iLok system have started to appear online.</p>
<p><center><img src="media/f71b9058.audioutopia.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/audioutopia.png" alt="audioutopia" width="497" height="337" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-115611"></center></p>
<p>The releases come courtesy of cracking group AudioUTOPIA who explain with their Pro Tools release how their technique completely negates the need for the iLok system to be in place.</p>
<p>&#8220;Pro Tools setup will install the iLok driver however it&#8217;s not necessary for the release to work, you can disable it by pressing Windows key+R then typing services.msc, find &#8220;PACE License Services&#8221; right click and choose stop,&#8221; the group explains.</p>
<p>&#8220;Additionally you can removed the entire thing by going to Windows programs and features and uninstalling &#8220;PACE License Support Win64.&#8221;</p>
<p><center><img src="media/cb83a162.audioutopia-nfo.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/audioutopia-nfo.jpg" alt="audioutopia-nfo" width="550" height="300" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-115613"></center></p>
<p>Whether AudioUTOPIA&#8217;s crack represents a permanent defeat of the iLok system remains to be seen but currently pirates are celebrating a flood of software just in time for the festive season.</p>
<p>&#8220;Oh boy! Awesome fuckin release!&#8221; declared one. &#8220;I stopped believing in Santa a long time ago but I may just have to re-evaluate that assessment.&#8221;</p>
<p>The reverse could very well be the case in the PACE household this Christmas.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115465
title: Hollywood Fights Screener Leaks With Thousands of Takedowns
uri: Hollywood-Fights-Screener-Leaks-With-Thousands-of-Takedowns
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/z-7M9h3omIQ/
content:
<p><img src="media/45dfdda4.hatef.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/hatef.jpg" alt="hatef" width="300" height="201" class="alignright size-full wp-image-115548">Last weekend several high quality screener copies started to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/the-hateful-eight-and-the-revenant-leaked-online-151221/">leak online</a>. </p>
<p>More than a dozen screeners have leaked thus far, including titles such as The Hateful Eight, The Revenant, Creed, Concussion and Steve Jobs. And according to one release &#8216;group&#8217; many more are coming.</p>
<p>For Hollywood the prospect of so many quality leaks just before Christmas is a disaster, especially since several of the movies have yet to premiere in theaters.</p>
<p>The FBI is trying to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/fbi-investigates-hollywood-ties-to-pirated-hateful-eight-screener-151223/">catch the source</a> of the leaks and has already traced The Hateful Eight screener back to a Hollywood executive. In the meantime, several Hollywood studios have gone into damage control mode.</p>
<p>To limit the availability of the movies various studios have instructed several piracy monitoring companies to locate copies online and target them with takedown requests. In just one day, Google alone received thousands of takedown requests. </p>
<p>This week The Weinstein Company sent Google its <a href="http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/removals/copyright/owners/28018/The-Weinstein-Company-TWC/">first batch</a> of DMCA notices in nearly a year, asking the search engine to remove <a href="https://www.lumendatabase.org/notices/11631141">1,067 links across 189 different domains</a>. File-hosting services Rapidgator and Uploaded were the top targets, with more than 100 links each.</p>
<p>Entertainment Film Distributors is also protecting its stake in The Hateful Eight, with varying success. While Google removed many links, it took no action against a <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Piracy/comments/3xp79g/consistently_updated_dvd_screener_list_includes/">Reddit thread</a> which discussed the latest leaks. Rightly so, as the topic doesn&#8217;t appear to link to any infringing material.</p>
<p><center><strong>Infringing Reddit thread?</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/325406c8.redditscr.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/redditscr.png" alt="redditscr" width="600" height="126" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-115594"></center></p>
<p>The Hateful Eight is not the only leak that has triggered a lot of takedown notices. Several copyright holders are sending a lot of notices for The Revenant, Columbia Pictures is <a href="https://www.lumendatabase.org/notices/11637334">targeting</a> Concussion, while Twentieth Century Fox is <a href="https://www.lumendatabase.org/notices/11631302">doing the same</a> for The Peanuts Movie. NBC Universal is <a href="https://www.lumendatabase.org/notices/11629567">protecting</a> Legend, and so on.</p>
<p>In addition to Google, many other online streaming and torrent sites are being contacted directly by the movie studio&#8217;s representatives. On some torrent sites copies of the leaked screeners almost completely <a href="media/7543d352.hate.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/hate.png">disappeared</a> at one point, and new uploads continue to be removed. </p>
<p>Below is a screenshot of a torrent page for the Legend screener, which KickassTorrents removed after it was notified by a rightsholder.</p>
<p><center><strong>One of the removed torrents at KAT</strong><br></br></center><center><img src="media/a1f1e499.kat-scr.png" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/kat-scr.png" alt="kat-scr" width="600" height="175" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-115593"></center></p>
<p>While these takedown notices are not new, the volume appears to be much larger than when regular leaks appear online. This is no surprise, as several of the leaked films are not even in theaters yet, which makes them more likely to be pirated.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for the Hollywood studios not all sites are receptive to takedown notices. The Pirate Bay, for example, notoriously ignores such requests and the leaked screeners remain widely available there. </p>
<p>So whether the takedown avalanche will actually deter pirates has yet to be seen.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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=115564
title: Kim Dotcom Challenges U.S. Govt. in Christmas Address
uri: Kim-Dotcom-Challenges-U-S-Govt-in-Christmas-Address
url: http://feed.torrentfreak.com/~r/Torrentfreak/~3/Td4iU2VZ29E/
content:
<p><img src="media/a8342b9c.santadotcom.jpg" data-original-source="http://torrentfreak.com/images/santadotcom.jpg" alt="santadotcom" width="279" height="172" class="alignright size-full wp-image-115618">I thought this Christmas I would recount with you some of my experiences over the last four years to help bolster debate on what is an appropriate role for government in the Internet copyright policy debate between Hollywood and Internet technologies.</p>
<p>I continue to have hope that the New Year will bring freedom for my colleagues and me, hope to millions of others striving for fair and predictable rules governing the Internet, and wisdom to political leaders for making good decisions on whether and how armed police forces and government spies should be utilized in Internet copyright matters.</p>
<p><strong>1.     Raid and Seizure of Nearly Everything</strong></p>
<p>It has been almost four years since helicopters and paramilitary police officers descended on my peaceful mansion in Coatesville, New Zealand.</p>
<p>As a personal birthday gift from the United States government, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/mmObwguVmEI">armed with automatic weapons</a>, side harms, bullet-proof vests and attack dogs, they pulled my pregnant wife, infant children, staff and friends out into the cold morning air to make a Hollywood spectacle of an arrest that could have been executed with a simple knock on my door.</p>
<p>So began my first-hand education in the high-stakes game of international copyright law, extradition treaties, global politics and the power Hollywood wields through the U.S. government.</p>
<p>Just after the raid my attorney, Ira Rothken, aptly stated that the government was acting like a &#8220;copyright extremist&#8221; by taking down one of the world&#8217;s largest cloud storage services &#8220;without any notice or chance for Megaupload to be heard in a court of law.&#8221; The <a href="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/01/were-just-like-youtube-kkmegaupload-lawyer-tells-ars/">result</a> is both &#8220;offensive to the rights of Megaupload but also to the rights of millions of consumers worldwide&#8221; who stored personal data with the service.</p>
<p>​That same day, the U.S. government enlisted authorities in Hong Kong, Germany, New Zealand,  the Philippines, Canada and the Netherlands to seize every asset imaginable, from bank accounts to computer servers, from cars to mobile phones.  I, of course, watched from a jail cell – guilty until proven innocent. It would take about a month and a ton of legal wrangling before the court released me on bail.</p>
<p><strong>2.     Dubious Legal Theories/Lessig</strong></p>
<p>Over the course of these years, I have learned with ever greater conviction what I knew in my gut just had to be true &#8211; Megaupload and my colleagues and I should not be prosecuted for criminal copyright infringement operating a cloud storage site.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/presidential-candidate-lawrence-lessig-steps-up-to-assist-kim-dotcom-150916/">powerful opinion</a> from Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig, a leading if not the leading Internet Copyright authority in the U.S. (and the World), completely dismantled the core of the United States case.  Professor Lessig revealed the complete lack of a criminal statute for secondary copyright infringement. He summarized his thirty-seven page dissection (<em><a href="media/10116009.LessigKimDotcomRothkenLaw.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.techfirm.com/storage/LessigKimDotcomRothkenLaw.pdf">pdf</a></em>) of the United States case at the start:</p>
<p>&#8220;It is my opinion that the Superseding Indictment and Record of the Case filed by the United States Department of Justice (&#8216;DOJ&#8217;) do not meet the requirements necessary to support a prima facie case that would be recognized by United States federal law and subject to the extradition treaties between New Zealand and the United States.  On the whole, the filings are not reliable.&#8221;</p>
<p>The fallacy of the case against us was clearly articulated to the world.  I felt a sense of validation of my integrity, while at the same time the pain of the grim reality taught by the preceding years, that right does not necessarily beat might.</p>
<p>Assuming the Government disagrees with Professor Lessig how can a non lawyer like me be held criminally liable or have what is known as criminal mens rea when even leading legal scholars disagree on what the criminal law is in a case of first impression? Professor Lessig knows that pain, living the memory of his friend Aaron Swartz, and I am forever grateful for his providing his opinion for no compensation, no doubt at least in part in his honor.</p>
<p><strong>3.     Complete Shutdown of Megaupload/Consumer Access</strong></p>
<p>​One of the most painful and angering aspects of this whole prosecution, arrest and seizure is not their impact on me, which has been devastating, but on the wholesale shutdown of Megupload globally, the loss of hundreds of jobs, and the severing of consumers and businesses from their own data, rightfully stored on Megaupload and lawfully shared with friends, family, colleagues and collaborators.    Just two examples are those of, Michael Weinberg, a staff attorney at the rights watchdog Public Knowledge, who <a href="http://arstechnica. com/gadgets/2012/01/megaupload-wasnt-just-for-pirates-angry-users-out-of-luck-for-now/">remarked</a>:</p>
<p>&#8220;As luck would have it, over the weekend I used my home laptop to pull down the stream of the House Judiciary Committee [Stop Online Piracy Act] markup. I wanted to transfer it here to work so that I could cut it up into a video we were using. I uploaded it, but before I had a chance to download it Megaupload was shut down. I can’t speak for everything happening on the site, but Megaupload was providing me a completely legitimate service for a completely legitimate end.&#8221;</p>
<p>And Kyle Goodwin, who has fought, <a href="https://www.eff.org/document/kyle-goodwin-motion-return-property">with the aid</a> of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, to get the U.S. government to <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-user-asks-court-to-return-his-files-150824/">let him have his data</a>.  Mr. Goodwin used Megaupload to run a business making children’s sports videos for parents.  His counsel articulated the U.S. government’s disregard for the rights of legitimate users:</p>
<p>&#8220;In no area of commercial or personal activity is the government allowed to seize property without taking reasonable measures to avoid unnecessary harm and loss of commercial value. That should be no less true when the property is information.</p>
<p>&#8220;Thus, if the government is going to get into the business of seizing Internet properties used to host a wide range of content — infringing and not — it must implement procedures and standards for protecting the property and due process rights of innocents such as Mr. Goodwin who use those services for legitimate purposes. Since the government seems uninterested in developing those processes and standards itself, this case should serve as a starting point for the judiciary to do so.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>4.     Misleading basis for Shutdown (39 Files etc.)</strong></p>
<p>One of the most upsetting abuses we learned was how the U.S. prosecution team mischaracterized facts and omitted exculpatory evidence from its applications for warrants to seize Megaupload’s domain names.  My legal team outlined this in their Federal Court submissions.</p>
<p>In summary Megaupload was cooperating with a U.S. government investigation and search warrant into alleged infringement by a third-party user of the service.   Megaupload at the request of the DOJ left intact certain files identified to it by the government, in order to preserve the status quo and the integrity of the FBI’s investigation. Subsequently, in its applications to seize the company’s domain names, the government would tell the federal court that the company had been told about those infringing files or movies, but had failed to take them down, omitting the fact that Megaupload did so <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-assisted-fbi-vs-ninjavideo-but-evidence-then-used-against-them-121121/">in order to cooperate with the ongoing government request</a> and investigation.</p>
<p>The prosecution’s selective omission flipped the <a href="http://www.wired. com/threatlevel/2012/11/megaupload-investigation-roots/">import of the facts on their head</a>, turning government cooperation into erroneous criminal intent. Moreover, the government’s twisted characterization was the core direct evidence of intent it offered to the court in support of its applications. According to my lawyer&#8217;s submissions had the exculpatory evidence been included in the applications, it seems likely that the warrants could not have issued.</p>
<p>It is difficult to imagine a more abusive tactic. The domain orders were requested from a federal magistrate judge on an ex parte basis; no one was in court to correct the prosecution’s story or to explain why the seizure orders should not be issued.  If the U.S. government decided to act properly, to be forthright, not to omit key facts selectively to suit its purpose, the warrant may not have been issued and Megaupload would still be in business.  Now it is too late; the company became extinct the moment its domain names were seized.  The question keeps coming to mind, who are the real, “pirates”?</p>
<p><strong>5.     Destruction of Data</strong></p>
<p>I find it astonishing that the U.S. government was able to seize all our data and funds and kill our company, then take no responsibility for preserving the data belonging to innocent users and important evidence for prosecuting and defending a criminal copyright case.</p>
<p>The Megaupload servers in Virginia alone contained about 25 petabytes of data, yet the government allowed those to be taken offline for lack of funding.  Moreover, the U.S. government initially was content to let the data on the servers be destroyed, and although that has not occurred, the equipment has been <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/hosting-company-wants-to-wipe-1103-megaupload-servers-150814/">gathering dust for many years</a> and is in danger of deteriorating.</p>
<p>As I write this it seems likely that the DOJ permitted the destruction data on the Megaupload servers in the Netherlands. The U.S. government will not agree to release a single penny of Megaupload funds to allow for consumers to get access to their data, or to preserve the evidence, or even to mount a legal defense in the United States.</p>
<p><strong>6.     Illegal Spying</strong></p>
<p>While it is now public knowledge, when we discovered the truth we were stunned that a New Zealand government intelligence arm was persuaded to illegally spy on me.  Those due process abuses were eventually brought to light in court proceedings, forcing New Zealand’s Prime Minister to issue a <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/9569986/Kim-Dotcom-NZ-Prime-Minister-apologises-over- unlawful-spy-operation.html">public apology</a>.</p>
<p>Even though they admitted the facts of their misconduct, the damage was done not only to me but to the integrity of our democracy as a whole.  </p>
<p><strong>7.     Illegally removing data from NZ</strong></p>
<p>Several years ago, the New Zealand court determined that the U.S. government had transferred hard drive data belonging to my colleagues and me out of New Zealand in violation of New Zealand law.</p>
<p>Years later, the U.S. authorities have refused to return <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/police-ordered-to-return-clones-of-dotcoms-seized-data-140908/">the data</a>, despite the fact that they were acquired illegally and in violation of my privacy rights, and notwithstanding their importance to any defense against the criminal charges. The United States has availed themselves of the New Zealand courts to try to extradite me but they refuse to follow that same court&#8217;s orders.</p>
<p><strong>8.     Interference on access to own evidence</strong></p>
<p>​One further frustrating aspect of trying to put together a complete defense over the past four years has been the New Zealand government’s refusal to return our own computers and data that were seized on the day of the raid.  1000 days later and not until the virtual eve of the extradition hearing, that began in late September, 2015, were materials reluctantly returned.  Having succeeded in their effort to make us fight with our hands behind our backs, the government acted as though there was no harm done.  </p>
<p><strong>9.     Starve out strategy while presumed innocent/Blocking Payment to US Experts and Lawyers</strong></p>
<p> ​I have learned at least one good lesson.  I learned that the judicial system of a small nation such as New Zealand can stand tall for the rights of the accused and give real meaning to the term “innocent until proven guilty.”  While the extradition process has been in motion, I have at least been allowed access to my money to live and defend myself by the New Zealand courts.</p>
<p>But again the United States refused to honor or give comity to the New Zealand court orders resulting in our inability to use such unfrozen funds to pay anyone who is a US citizen such as <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-defendants-dont-need-expert-witnesses-u-s-argues-151009/">US lawyers and expert witnesses</a> to assist at the extradition hearing. I was fortunate to have my US lawyer Ira Rothken generously assist and work with Professor Lessig for no payment but we were unable to retain numerous technical and other experts to testify.</p>
<p><strong>10.  Fugitive Disentitlement while lawfully opposing extradition</strong></p>
<p>The U.S. DOJ doubled-down on its starve-out strategy in 2014 with the filing of a civil forfeiture action against the seized assets and the application of the “<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/u-s-government-brands-kim-dotcom-fugitive-spies-others-141120/">fugitive disentitlement</a> doctrine.”</p>
<p>Civil forfeiture allows the U.S. DOJ to go after assets it alleges are the proceeds of a crime.  Claimants are able to file claims and oppose the action – that is, UNLESS they are “FUGITIVES.”  Despite never residing in or even visiting the United States, the U.S. DOJ asserted and the U.S. District Court agreed that I was a fugitive, because I could voluntarily surrender to the United States, travel in chains and be locked in a cell pending a trial in Alexandria, Virginia.</p>
<p>Since I was unwilling to do so without an agreement on living conditions and access to funds, which the U.S. DOJ would not hear of, I was not allowed to oppose the civil forfeiture and, by default judgment, the U.S. District Court ordered all our previously seized assets to be <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/u-s-government-wins-dozens-of-millions-from-kim-dotcom-150326/">completely forfeited</a> to the United States.</p>
<p>Fortunately, even though the United States opposed release of my funds held in New Zealand and Hong Kong, the courts in those countries demonstrated a greater respect to natural justice.</p>
<p>Orders by the courts in both those countries have released restrained or so called &#8220;forfeited&#8221; funds for living and legal expenses, enabling me to at least pay for my New Zealand counsel.</p>
<p>The U.S. strategy was not without impact, though, as in the eyes of the United States, all our forfeited assets now belong to the United States. While funds have been released by New Zealand and Hong Kong to challenge extradition, I am not able to use those funds for anyone but New Zealand counsel.   This has deprived me of critical tools (including evidence stored on servers, payments to US counsel, and payments to legal, technical and industry expert witnesses) to defend an extradition proceeding of this magnitude and complexity.</p>
<p>I hope the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals will reverse the “fugitive disentitlement” ruling, we will prevail in the civil forfeiture case and we will have access to our funds.  Otherwise, if we are extradited, I will be penniless upon arrival in the United States.</p>
<p>If the criminal prosecution goes to trial, defending it will be at an extraordinary cost.  A huge amount will be needed for e-discovery, likely in the millions of dollars.  Further legal and expert fees will be at a level far beyond expenditure to date in New Zealand, which has been in the tens of millions.</p>
<p>With no funds, I would be left reliant on the Public Defender. That office is in no position or expertise to defend a copyright case of this magnitude – the “largest criminal copyright case in history.”</p>
<p><strong>11.  Duty of Candor Violations/92B/Erroneous Use of Simple Fraud Theory</strong></p>
<p>​As I understand it, the U.S. government is supposed to present its extradition requests to New Zealand with a “Duty of Candor.”   Looking back on how the initial seizure warrants were obtained, one might doubt that “Candor” was a high priority.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, close scrutiny of basic evidence in the Record of the Case (“ROC”) revealed a failure of that duty.  For example, evidence was misrepresented and simple quotations of emails and Skype message were cherry-picked, taken out of context or even improperly translated to paint an intended adversarial picture, rather than present candid facts. US translations of German communications are demonstrably inaccurate and self-serving.</p>
<p>For example, the US mistranslates a quote to imply something more sinister than actually stated.  The US translation of a phrase is presented as, “at some point a judge will be convinced about how evil we are and then we’re in trouble.”  Three independent translators, however, have translated the phrase as, “<a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-finally-launches-extradition-defense-151102/">Because at some stage a judge will be talked into how bad we allegedly are and then it will be a mess.</a>”</p>
<p>In another quote, the US translation, “since the special people uploaded and promoted more” implies a sinister scheme with others, when, in fact, the independent translation was merely that, “People have uploaded and promoted more since the special.”</p>
<p>For all such translations, the US has not made available the original text.  Moreover, the US has not made available surrounding context which informs tenor of communications relied upon, including both German translations and English communications.</p>
<p>The legal arguments presented by our legal team reveal the failure of the duty of candor.  A particularly interesting one is that fact the New Zealand Copyright Act contains a section 92B, which creates a safe harbor for a cloud storage ISP from criminal copyright liability arising out of user site usage. The statute overtly provides for a criminal safe harbor.</p>
<p>From a logic perspective my lawyer&#8217;s submissions <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/dotcom-copyright-charges-not-enough-for-extradition-151003/">argued</a> that we shouldn&#8217;t have to even disprove criminal liability to avail ourselves of the criminal safe harbor otherwise the safe harbor would be rendered meaningless.</p>
<p>Not to be blindsided and ever creative, the U.S., ably represented by New Zealand’s Crown Law, came up with a new twist – instead of seeking extradition for copyright infringement, they decided to call it “fraud.”  Nevermind that the U.S. indictment did not allege fraud (for good reason, since according to our submissions US case law clearly said that copyright preempts fraud).</p>
<p>This argument by the U.S. ultimately revealed that the prosecution would go to any lengths, create any argument, misstate any fact, to win their case.  Justice and fairness been tossed out long ago, at least before the start of 2012.</p>
<p><strong>12. It&#8217;s political</strong></p>
<p>If you have read all of the above you may wonder why the US Government is acting so badly. This case is a political thriller <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-joe-biden-ordered-the-megaupload-shutdown-120703/">authored and produced by the MPAA</a> and its Senator for hire Chris Dodd. His lobbying, calling in favors and close relationships within the White House made this unprecedented abuse of power possible. If you are intrigued to learn more you may want to read my whitepaper <em>(<a href="media/0031e95d.whitepaper.pdf" data-original-source="http://www.kim.com/whitepaper.pdf">pdf</a>)</em></p>
<p>Now, the next phase of this saga is in the hands of New Zealand District Judge Dawson.  Having patiently listened to submissions and testimony for two months, he must wade through the sea of novel arguments to determine if I and my fellow Megaupload associates should be extradited to the United States to fight the first of its kind criminal prosecution for secondary copyright infringement.</p>
<p>Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you. </p>
<p>Kim Dotcom</p>
<p><em>Update: On Wednesday, Judge Dawson determined that Kim Dotcom and his former Megaupload associates are <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-can-be-extradited-to-the-united-states-judge-rules-151223/">eligible for extradition</a> to the United States.</em></p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://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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