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Torrentfreak: “Reddit Rejects 62% of All Copyright Complaints” plus 1 more
Torrentfreak: “Reddit Rejects 62% of All Copyright Complaints” plus 1 more |
| Reddit Rejects 62% of All Copyright Complaints Posted: 30 Jan 2015 02:18 AM PST
Founded in 2005, the vocal SOPA opponent‘s last set of published stats (Oct 2014) paint an awesome picture: 174 million unique visitors from 186 countries viewed some 6.1 billion pages. Aside from posting the latest breaking news, AMAs, plus a million items in between, it will come as no surprise that in 2014 some of Reddit’s users also infringed copyright. Details of subsequent complaints have previously remained private but thanks to the publication of Reddit’s very first transparency report, we now have more of an insight. While the company has some fascinating thoughts on copyright (which we’ll come to in a moment) it’s notable how few takedown requests Reddit receives.
Interestingly and unlike those who send the notices, Reddit reveals that “real humans” examine each and every request received. It’s clear that in many cases they don’t like what they see. From 176 DMCA complaints received, Reddit removed content in just 76 instances, 38% compliance overall. For a variety of reasons, in 62% of cases Reddit rejected notices completely. Overbroad As previously reported here on TF, on many occasions copyright holders have approached Google in an attempt to have entire Reddit communities removed from its indexes. The search engine mostly rejects those requests and Reddit isn’t impressed by them either. “We received many copyright takedown requests for entire subreddits. We (and the DMCA) require specific identification of allegedly infringing content, not broad demands to delete entire reddit communities,” the company reveals. Links don’t infringe copyright Reddit doesn’t host any content of its own but instead users can post links to material hosted elsewhere, which they do in their millions every day. However, when those links point to infringing content such as movies, music or TV shows, copyright holders tend to see that as facilitation of infringement. Nevertheless, Reddit has its own opinions on what breaches the law. “A significant percentage of the copyright takedown requests we received were for user-submitted URLs that link to content hosted on other websites. Because links do not generally infringe copyright, we exercise extra scrutiny in assessing takedowns for links,” the company says. Of course, Google might argue the same point but instead it removes millions of links to content every single week. Notices fail to meet legal requirements Under the DMCA a copyright holder can request content to be removed from a third-party website via the sending of a properly formatted DMCA notice. Such notices must include: – A physical or electronic signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright holder According to Reddit, many notice senders fail to make the grade. “We rejected many copyright takedown requests because they did not include the information required by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA),” the company reports. Conclusion Overall and despite its millions of users, it appears that Reddit does not have a significant copyright infringement problem, despite the fact that several sub-reddits are dedicated to linking to infringing content. For now most copyright holders are ignoring the site, while others prefer to complain to Google instead. Reddit’s 2014 Transparency Report can be downloaded here (pdf). Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and anonymous VPN services.    |
| MPAA Trademark Forces “Rated R” Beer To Drop Its Name Posted: 29 Jan 2015 11:21 AM PST
A few weeks ago the MPAA sent a cease and desist letter to Minneapolis beer brewery 612 Brew, who’re known for their tasty beers including the popular “Rated R” brand. The movie industry group pointed out that the company was using the “Rated R” trademark without permission and urged the beer maker to drop the name to avoid confusion. The MPAA registered “Rated R” at the trademark office in the eighties as a certification mark, indicating that a movie is rated unsuitable for children under 17, unless they’re accompanied by an adult. While movie ratings have nothing to do with beer, the MPAA took offense at the name after the brewery filed their own trademark application. According to 612 Brew co-founder Kasak, the MPAA didn’t want the beer makers to use any of the “Rated” variants. “[Our beer] could have been PG, PG-13 or R. It didn’t matter. As long as it contained the word ‘rated’ it would still get flagged,” Kasak told Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal. An MPAA spokesperson confirmed that the group sent a cease and desist letter but further details are not available. The brewery first responded to the demands by arguing that the Rated R name can be used as they clearly operate in a different industry. The MPAA wasn’t convinced though, so 612 decided that it was easiest to change the name. The trademark specifically notes that the MPAA doesn’t have an exclusive right to the word “rated,” but 612 Brew decided to go for a different variant. Starting this year the name of “Rated R” beer was changed to “Unrated,” which isn’t trademarked by the MPAA. While the change is a setback for the brewery it’s co-founder doesn’t believe it will harm business in the long run. “It’s going to take some time for people to get used to it, but it will be OK. It’s a great beer and they’ll drink it regardless of the name,” Kasak notes. The brewery now has to hope that the “unrated” name won’t cause any headaches in the future. A quick search reveals that there’s an “unrated” trademark application in progress by a “yoga pants” outfit, so fingers crossed. Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and anonymous VPN services.   |
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Torrentfreak: “Music Group Threatens Popcorn Time’s Blog Platform” plus 1 more
Torrentfreak: “Music Group Threatens Popcorn Time’s Blog Platform” plus 1 more |
| Music Group Threatens Popcorn Time’s Blog Platform Posted: 29 Jan 2015 02:36 AM PST
Of course, after serving millions of users in a short space of time, copyright holders have their eyes on the now-several forks of the popular project. Today we have news of yet another effort to limit the software’s reach. PopcornTime.io is considered by many to be the true successor to the original Popcorn Time project that was shut down just weeks after it launched in 2014. Its development team is proudly open source and operates with an ethos closely aligned with that of the original team. It also receives similar legal threats and the latest to involve the project is somewhat of a head-scratcher. PopcornTime.io has a blog where it publishes important updates. The latest entry heralds the project’s latest Android client in all its bug-fixed glory. It’s presented using the Ghost open source blogging platform and quite bizarrely copyright holders are trying to change that. “The Greek equivalent of RIAA are threatening @TryGhost with legal action because we host @popcorntimetv's blog,” Ghost founder John O’Nolan said this week. “Good luck with that, Greece.” Somewhat intrigued, TorrentFreak contacted O’Nolan – the former Deputy Head of the WordPress UI Group – who confirmed the threats. “We were incredibly shocked to be contacted by a representative in 2015 requesting the personal information of one of our users without any basis. The clear lack of understanding here is worrying on many levels,” O’Nolan told TF. And it gets worse. In the first instance O’Nolan thought that his company was actually hosting Popcorn Time’s blog, but in fact its being hosted by the project itself. All O’Nolan does is offer the completely neutral Ghost blogging platform. To try and get to the bottom of this curious situation we contacted the organization targeting Popcorn Time. AEPI, the Greek Society for the Protection of Intellectual Property, did not officially respond to our request for comment. However, we did manage to learn more about this music group’s claim. It appears that since Popcorn Time allows people to download movies and TV shows that have music playing in the background, AEPI believes that Popcorn Time should pay royalties and/or a music licensing fee to do so legally in Greece. While it seems unlikely that the project is interested in any such license, the complaint to Ghost has only warmed relations between the blogging platform and Popcorn Time. “If you ever have a need for more security/encryption features – don't hesitate to reach out,” O’Nolan informed the project. “Likewise if you have any trouble with your current host, we'll host you.” And as far as Popcorn Time are concerned, there’s only one blogging platform for them. “We use Ghost as our blogging platform because it’s lightweight yet packed full of features. Unlike WordPress you can concentrate on writing your post. Throw in the fact it’s open source and written on Node.js and it’s the perfect match!” the team told TF. It’s not been a good 2015 for AEPI thus far. Earlier this month the anti-piracy group lost its bid to have various torrent sites blocked by local ISPs. The Athens Court ruled that barring access to torrent sites such as KickassTorrents and The Pirate Bay would be disproportionate, unconstitutional, and would hinder ISPs’ entrepreneurial freedoms. Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and anonymous VPN services.   |
| How Cunning VOD Pirates Plundered Taken 3 Posted: 28 Jan 2015 01:06 PM PST
As it happened that didn’t matter too much since most downloaders were already preoccupied with the recent flood of high quality Oscar screeners. Nevertheless, those who ventured into a cinema to record Taken 3 are likely to have exposed themselves to considerable risk. In many countries one can end up in jail for such activities, especially when recording is followed by uploading to the Internet. But just a week later new events meant that the Taken 3 pirates’ dance with danger would largely be forgotten. Last Thursday an HD copy of Taken 3 appeared on all major torrent sites but thanks to an earlier tipoff, that came as no surprise to us. Several days earlier a source already told TF that a “pristine” copy of Taken 3 would become available on January 22. So how did he know? The answer lies thousands of miles away in the Middle East. OSN is a pay TV network with its headquarters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The network offers international entertainment content such as movies, TV shows and sporting events. Perhaps surprisingly to readers in the West, it also provides access to movies still running in U.S. theaters. As can be seen from the image of an OSN TV screen below, Taken 3 was due to air on the PPV network on January 22.  TF was assured that a copy would quickly by pirated using OSN as several other popular movies had also been ‘capped’ from the same source in recent times. Sure enough, the first copies to appear online last Thursday all appeared with tell-tale Arabic subtitles or a suspiciously narrow image window where they’d been cropped out.  While it’s not easy to say whether all ‘subbed’ copies now online originate from the first original ‘capping’ of Taken 3, we know that the first ‘big’ copy on Western sites (uploaded by a group called CPG) was not the first overall. Those honors fell to a group called “weleef” who uploaded this “exclusive” to Arabic forum ArabScene shortly after the first showings on OSN.  Of course, thanks to this source people from all around the globe were able to watch a good copy of the movie, despite it still playing in cinemas in the United States and elsewhere. Sadly, even those wanting to pay for the movie in the U.S. will have to wait until April 2015 for a VOD release. Why Hollywood treats citizens in the Middle East and Asia better than its home audience is anyone’s guess, but if defeating piracy is the goal the practice might be backfiring. Our source says that a Chinese VOD site already has 50 Shades of Grey listed for an end of February release, two weeks after its Valentine’s Day premiere in the U.S. Only a month to find out if that leaks too. Update: A new and non-subtitled copy of Taken 3 is now flourishing online. The source? An OSN set-top box… Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and anonymous VPN services.   |
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Torrentfreak: “Canadian Government Spies on Millions of File-Sharers” plus 2 more
Torrentfreak: “Canadian Government Spies on Millions of File-Sharers” plus 2 more |
- Canadian Government Spies on Millions of File-Sharers
- Amazon Bans BitTorrent App FrostWire Over Piracy Concerns
- Pirate Bay Won’t Make A Full Comeback, Staff Revolt
| Canadian Government Spies on Millions of File-Sharers Posted: 28 Jan 2015 05:33 AM PST
While the public nature of these networks is perfect for those looking to eavesdrop, individuals who use file-hosting sites are often under the impression that their transfers cannot be monitored by third parties since transactions take place privately from user to site via HTTP. That assumption has today been blown completely out of the water amid revelations that Canada’s top electronic surveillance agency has been spying on millions of downloads from more than 100 file-sharing sites. Led by the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), Canada’s equivalent of the NSA, and codenamed LEVITATION, the project unveils widespread Internet surveillance carried out by Canadian authorities. A document obtained by U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden and released to CBC News shows that in an effort to track down extremists the spy agency monitors up to 15 million downloads carried out by users around the world every day.  According to the 2012 document, 102 file-sharing platforms were monitored by CSE. Just three were named – RapidShare, SendSpace, and the now defunct Megaupload. None of the sites were required to cooperate with the Canadian government since CSE had its own special capabilities. “A separate secret CSE operation codenamed ATOMIC BANJO obtains the data directly from internet cables that it has tapped into, and the agency then sifts out the unique IP address of each computer that downloaded files from the targeted websites,” The Intercept‘s analysis of the document notes. Once harvested those IP addresses are cross-referenced with vast amounts of additional data already intercepted by the United States’ NSA and its British counterpart GCHQ. Subsequent searches have the ability to show a list of other websites visited by those downloading from file-hosting sites. Further associations can then be made with Facebook or Google accounts (via Google analytics cookies) which have the potential to link to names, addresses and other personal details. It’s a potent mix but one apparently designed to weed out just a small number of files from millions of daily events.  According to the LEVITATION documents the system has the ability to track downloads in countries across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and North America. Under law, CSE isn't allowed to spy on Canadians, but IP addresses belonging to a web server in Montreal appeared in a list of “suspicious” downloads. Also monitored by CSE were downloads carried out by citizens located in closely allied countries including the U.S., UK, Germany and Spain. “CSE is clearly mandated to collect foreign signals intelligence to protect Canada and Canadians from a variety of threats to our national security, including terrorism,” CSE spokesman Andrew McLaughlin told CBC. While it may be of comfort for Canadians to learn that the government is only interested in a small number of files being exchanged outside the country’s borders, mass surveillance of this kind always has the potential to unnerve when mission-creep raises its head. Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and anonymous VPN services.   |
| Amazon Bans BitTorrent App FrostWire Over Piracy Concerns Posted: 28 Jan 2015 01:26 AM PST
Various copyright holder groups frequently report “piracy-enabling” apps to Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon, alongside requests for the stores to take them offline. The stores themselves also screen for potentially problematic software. Apple, for example, has notoriously banned all BitTorrent related apps. This week, Amazon is following in Apple’s footsteps by banning one of the most used BitTorrent clients from its store. The Android version of FrostWire had been listed for well over a year but Amazon recently had a change of heart. FrostWire developer Angel Leon tells TF that the app was removed without prior warning. When he asked the company for additional details, he was told that Amazon sees his app as a pirate tool. “In reviewing your app, we determined that it can be used to facilitate the piracy or illegal download of content. Any facilitation of piracy or illegal downloads is not allowed in our program,” Amazon’s support team writes.  Leon was baffled by the response. FrostWire had been a member of the Developer Select program for over a year and always made sure to avoid any links to piracy. On the contrary, FrostWire was actively promoting Creative Commons downloads and other legal content. “We have never promoted illegal file sharing, we actually promote creative commons downloads, and free legal downloads from soundcloud, archive.org. The app is also a full blown music player, but none of this probably counts,” Leon tells us. “Web browsers and email clients are still there, programs that also fall in the category of being ‘used to facilitate the piracy or illegal download of content’,” he adds, pointing out the arbitrary decision. While it’s not clear why Amazon changed its stance towards FrostWire, it wouldn’t be a surprise if pressure from copyright holders played a role. FrostWire’s developer believes that the mobile developer industry may have to come up with a less censorship prone store in the future. There’s a need for a decentralized app store that secures the interests of both iOS and Android developers. For now, Leon hopes that other stores will be less eager to pull the plug on perfectly legal apps. While it may seem to be a small decision for the stores, having a popular app removed can ruin a developer’s entire business. The beauty of FrostWire and other BitTorrent clients is that they offer the freedom to share files with people from all over the world without being censored. Restricting access to apps that make this possible will harm society, Leon believes. “This is a freedom which eventually protects society from the likes of totalitarian governments, something some of us at FrostWire have lived first hand in Latin America, something that forced me and so many Venezuelans to leave our countries and start again from scratch in the US,” Leon concludes. Despite being banned from Amazon’s store, Kindle users will still be able to get updates via the FrostWire website. A special installer for Kindle will be available soon. Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and anonymous VPN services.   |
| Pirate Bay Won’t Make A Full Comeback, Staff Revolt Posted: 27 Jan 2015 11:11 AM PST
Those in control of the domain have yet to make an official announcement but several sources inform TF that the site won’t make a full comeback. Instead, The Pirate Bay is expected to launch a trimmed down version without room for the dozens of moderators and admins who looked after the site over the past decade. This lighter version of The Pirate Bay will be easier to operate but the plan has also upset many former staffers. This includes people who have been with the site for over a decade, removing fake torrents and other types of spam. Several admins and moderators have responded to the news with anger and are now openly distancing themselves from the thepiratebay.se site that was their home for years. “I wish I had better news to come with. The launch that is about to take place on February 1 is not us,” says WTC-SWE, one of the lead admins of The Pirate Bay. “It was until some dickhead decided to take TPB crew out of the picture. He thinks a site can be run without any staff at all and at the same time keeping up with fakes, internal issues etc,” he adds. What stings them the most is that many dedicated individuals, who put countless hours into keeping the site functioning, now appear to be being pushed aside on a whim. “Personally I won’t accept this neither will any of the crew that’s been active for almost 10-11 years. As an admin and human, I won’t stand aside and accept this kind of behavior. This is the worst scenario that could happen,” WTC-SWE says. “You don’t treat people like horseshit,” he adds. The staff, now in open revolt, have closed the official #thepiratebay IRC channel on EFnet to the public. They won’t offer support anymore for a site that they have no ‘control’ over, but warn people who do want to visit it to be cautious of malware. Instead, the TPB former crew members are now preparing to launch their own version of the site. This spin-off will be operated from a new domain and will have several long-time mods and admins on board. WTC-SWE says that they are in possession of a TPB backup which will be used to revive the old site in full. The full staff of moderators and admins remains under his wings and will start over at a home. “It’s only a matter of time. I will need to blast the whole coding and clean up all the mess. The real TPB will be back with proper staff and all,” WTC-SWE says. Thus far, the people running the official thepiratebay.se domain have remained quiet. In a few days, when the count-down completes, we are likely to know more about their vision for the site’s future. To be continued… Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and anonymous VPN services.   |
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Torrentfreak: “Spanish Government Orders Pirate Bay Blockade” plus 1 more
Torrentfreak: “Spanish Government Orders Pirate Bay Blockade” plus 1 more |
| Spanish Government Orders Pirate Bay Blockade Posted: 27 Jan 2015 02:39 AM PST
After a serious of tweaks and adjustments to local copyright law, January 1st the country introduced tough new legislation backed up by hefty punishments for site operators. Potential €600,000 fines were enough to scare some sites offline. Others, such as Pablo Soto’s Torrents.fm, disappeared without comment. While the climate in Spain is clearly a different one in 2015, there are now fresh signs of a new crackdown. Spanish users of local ISP Vodafone have been reporting that their visits to The Pirate Bay are being redirected to a new URL – Castor.vodafone.es. Domain stats reveal that ThePirateBay.se and ThePirateBay.org are indeed two of the top referrers to that URL and that 100% of its traffic comes from Spain. When Vodafone users began accusing their ISP of blocking The Pirate Bay without a court order, local media approached Vodafone for comment. In a statement yesterday the ISP said it had no knowledge of any blockade. This morning, however, Vodafone changed its mind. The company now confirms it has received a blocking order from the Spanish government. Vodafone says that it has an obligation to comply with an order “issued by a competent authority”, in this case, the Ministry of Culture. “In the current Copyright Act, there is a list of authorities who can order the blocking of a website to comply with legislation. That’s what we did,” a source at the company said. Speaking with Gizmodo in Spain, Vodafone could not confirm the exact date when it began blocking the site but said it complied with the official request around Christmas. That would certainly fall into line with early problems experienced by some users. It is currently unclear whether other ISPs in Spain have received the same instructions from the Ministry of Culture since ThePirateBay.se remains accessible via all ISPs except Vodafone. Other major ISPs including Movistar and Orange say they cannot currently confirm if they have received similar blocking instructions from the government. Today The Pirate Bay remains non-functional as a torrent site but its landing page, currently adorned with a phoenix, suggests a return to glory this coming weekend. If it does, Vodafone users will need a workaround. Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and anonymous VPN services.   |
| Unprecedented Music Piracy Collapse Fails to Boost Revenues Posted: 26 Jan 2015 10:43 AM PST
To date and despite various threats not a single file-sharer has been prosecuted. No sites – not even the Pirate Bay – have been blocked. However, news coming out of Norway suggests that at least as far as the music industry goes, those legislative weapons are now obsolete. During December 2014 music industry group IFPI conducted a nationwide survey among under 30-year-olds and discovered some amazing things about the piracy landscape in Norway. According to the survey results, just 4% of respondents are now using illegal file-sharing platforms to obtain music. While that figure is certainly impressive, MBW compares that finding with the results of a similar 2009 IFPI survey which found that a huge 70% of the population under 30 used those platforms to obtain music.  The drop is certainly dramatic, especially when coupled with the fact that less than 1% of respondents now cite file-sharing networks as their main source of obtaining music. What is telling, however, is that IFPI Norway chief Marte Thorsby did not connect the drop with anti-piracy measures. "We are now offering services that are both better and more user-friendly than illegal platforms. In [the past] five years, we have virtually eliminated illegal file sharing in the music industry," Thorsby said. The December survey also found that 80% of under 30-year-olds now use streaming services as their main source of music. "Younger audiences are using streaming services to the greatest extent. When older audiences [start] embracing these services we will probably see a somewhat different distribution of revenues,” Thorsby told MBW. “Hopefully this will also involve a better economy for several Norwegian artists and record companies.” But while the drop in piracy will certainly be welcomed by the industry, it appears young people fleeing file-sharing networks has done nothing to boost revenues. In 2009 revenues were NOK 592 million ($75.94m) yet by 2014 there had only been a modest increase to NOK 601 million ($77.1m). That’s just a 1.5% uplift in five years, not accounting for inflation. Place that into the equation and in real terms revenues are down. That being said, that particular period witnessed a dramatic change in the supply model, with physical giving way massively to digital purchases. In 2009 just 15% of content was supplied in digital format but by 2014 that had reached 86%. For IFPI to claim the virtual elimination of music piracy is certainly an important if not unprecedented event but the take-home is simple. Provide people with effective and engaging legal alternatives and piracy becomes irrelevant. Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and anonymous VPN services.   |
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Torrentfreak: “Old Pirate Bay Will Share $100,000 With Devs, Mods and Uploaders” plus 3 more
Torrentfreak: “Old Pirate Bay Will Share $100,000 With Devs, Mods and Uploaders” plus 3 more |
- Old Pirate Bay Will Share $100,000 With Devs, Mods and Uploaders
- Italy Launches Largest Ever Pirate Site Blockade
- Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 01/26/15
- Phoenix Hints At Imminent Pirate Bay Comeback
| Old Pirate Bay Will Share $100,000 With Devs, Mods and Uploaders Posted: 26 Jan 2015 05:45 AM PST
While the site's operators are not affiliated with the original site, they wanted to offer a hideout for wandering TPB users. This hasn’t been without success as the site is now pulling in millions of visitors per day. Despite its popularity the OldPirateBay still lacks many of the features The Pirate Bay had. There is currently no upload feature for example, nor is there a moderator crew to keep the site clean. The Isohunt.to team previously called on the community to improve the project. This has already led to several improvements through the OpenBay's GitHub repository and with a big cash injection they hope to facilitate the development. “In order to boost that process we are announcing an unprecedented move,” Isohunt.to announces today. “$100,000 for developing OldPirateBay.org, are you ready for that?! Anyone can take part in the website development and moderation which will result in public recognition. Also addition to your pay check would be a nice surprise,” they add. The money will be shared through a contest. Starting next month $10,000 in cash prizes, paid in Bitcoin, will be awarded to the developers who contribute to the top features. From March 1, OldPirateBay will have upload and moderation capabilities. This will include a ranking system where the top contributors and moderators can divide $5,000 in Bitcoin per group each month. “The idea behind this message is to empower the community to create OldPirateBay.org as they see it. And we're ready to reward the most active participants along the way,” the Isohunt.to team notes. While the site was started as a temporary replacement it will remain online if the Pirate Bay does indeed return next week. This creates an interesting situation as OldPirateBay already outranks the original site in Google’s search engine. The people behind OldPirateBay believe that the community should decide the long-term fate of the site. If there’s enough interest to keep the site growing then they are willing to stimulate this process. “The main idea is that community should develop the site in the way they want. So if there will be enough initiative the site will be developed by people. We just want to stimulate it,” Isohunt.to concludes. A full description of the contest details will be available on the OldPirateBay website in the near future. Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and anonymous VPN services.   | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Italy Launches Largest Ever Pirate Site Blockade Posted: 26 Jan 2015 01:54 AM PST
Over the past several years dozens of domains have been censored locally and a new operation has upped that tally significantly following a complaint from a major broadcaster. Sky Italia is a digital satellite television platform owned by Sky Plc, the TV company founded by Rupert Murdoch. 21st Century Fox owns a controlling 39% of the shares in Sky Plc and with a turnover of more than £7.6 billion ($11.41 billion) it’s one of the largest media companies in the world. To protect its bottom line, in 2014 Sky Italia filed a complaint with authorities against more than 120 websites said to broadcast sporting events, concerts, music, plus film and television works without rightsholders’ permission. A subsequent investigation was coordinated by the Public Prosecutor of Rome and entrusted to deputy prosecutors Nello Rossi and Eugenio Albamontes. Assistance was provided by the Special Unit for Broadcasting and Publishing (Nucleo Speciale Radiodiffusione Editoria). Authorities say that pirate content was offered by the sites in a number of ways but streaming in particular, both of live events and via on-demand. Many provided helpful schedules to assist users with planning. With all sites operating outside Italian territory, local authorities decided to take action to render them inaccessible in the country. A sweep was ordered by magistrate Gaspare Sturzo and this morning 124 websites are reported blocked via local Internet service providers. The names of most sites hit in ‘Operation Match Off’ have not been released but authorities have pointed out that ‘sportlemon.tv’ was registered in the name of Gottfrid Svartholm. It seems unlikely that the Pirate Bay founder had any operational connections to the site but the domain was registered by PRQ, his former company in Sweden. In common with previous cases, advertising is being blamed for the revenue generated by these unauthorized sites. The Guardia di Finanza (GdF), the law enforcement agency responsible for dealing with financial crime and whose Special Command Unit carried out the operation, said site users were met with aggressive ads and click-fraud techniques. Italy has been working hard to counter the rise of advertising on pirate sites. Last summer a Memorandum of Understanding between the online advertising industry (including Google) and the music and movie industries signaled the creation of a central body to tackle the piracy issue. But despite the agreement it was found that “known brands” were still advertising on the now-blocked sites. As a result authorities are now conducting an investigation into the agencies that placed the ads for companies in the financial, real estate, betting, retail and communications sector. Enzo Mazza, chief of FIMI, Italy's answer to the RIAA, said the action against the domains was welcome. “The Fiscal Police from Rome carried out a very sophisticated operation including the economic angle of the case. This is the largest criminal action involving site blocking ever carried out,” Mazza told TorrentFreak. “Some sites were also offering music concerts in addition to soccer and sport. We congratulate the special unit of the Fiscal Police and the public prosecutor from Rome for the operation.” Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and anonymous VPN services.   | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 01/26/15 Posted: 26 Jan 2015 12:45 AM PST
Interstellar is the most downloaded movie. 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. RSS feed for the weekly movie download chart.
Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and anonymous VPN services.   | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Phoenix Hints At Imminent Pirate Bay Comeback Posted: 25 Jan 2015 09:06 AM PST
The policemen had instructions to shut down the largest threat to the entertainment industry at the time – The Pirate Bay's servers. The raid was successful, but while various copyright holder groups claimed a major victory, the Pirate Bay team wasn’t sitting still. Thanks to a backup made by Fredrik Neij at the last minute, The Pirate Bay returned online in three days. Seemingly unimpressed by the raid, TPB renamed itself to "The Police Bay" complete with a new logo shooting cannon balls at Hollywood. A few days later this logo was replaced by a Phoenix, a reference to the site rising from its digital ashes. Last December The Pirate Bay was raided for the second time. This time around there was no quick comeback, but a new update that was added to the site today suggests that it’s coming. After nearly nine years the Phoenix is once again present on the site’s homepage, offering hope to estranged Pirate Bay users. Although nothing has been confirmed officially, this is by far the most concrete hint that TPB is working hard on a comeback. The counter that’s still running down suggests that TPB will return in full glory February 1st, so we should know more within a week. Tick tock, tick tock…  Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and anonymous VPN services.   | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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