Software and Data Piracy 420 Piracy 2012-02-06T18:15:38 Neal Pointer barry.david.adams@googlemail.com TorrentFreak 2012-02-06T06:54:39

BTjunkie, one of the largest BitTorrent indexes on the Internet, has decided to shut down voluntarily today. A combination of legal actions against fellow file-sharing sites and time-consuming projects have led to the drastic decision that takes out one the main players in the BitTorrent landscape. Source: BitTorrent Giant BTjunkie Shuts Down For Good

143390a3a0b544a5212378dd67e24db3 TorrentFreak 2012-02-05T14:03:24

For The Pirate Bay team simply copying bits and bytes is not enough. They want you to 'download a car', literally, so with that goal in mind they added a 3D-printing section to their website last month. A Gimmick? Not really. Canadian Charles Randall is one of the first to show off his new 'physible' Pirate Bay ship, downloaded off BitTorrent and printed in three dimensions. The auto industry is shaking in its boots.Source: First Downloaded and 3D Printed Pirate Bay Ship Arrives

8b55b8584c11a332207c793f02905f17 Photo Attorney 2012-02-05T02:01:35

Even copyright attorneys get infringed. David Oppenheimer of Performance Impressions, LLC, a client of our firm, recently found 14 of my photos on a different attorney website. He figured correctly that the uses (two examples shown below) weren’t authorized. (Note: not only is the text not mine, it’s not correct for the most part). As explained in [...]

ff1475504c5f98c26b57dea67bf0c73f TorrentFreak 2012-02-02T20:30:08

A 28-year old man from Comstock Park, Michigan, has been arrested and charged with criminal copyright infringement. Yonjo Quiroa is the alleged operator of nine of the sixteen streaming related domain names that were seized a few hours ago as part of 'Operation Fake Sweep'. Source: Feds Arrest Streaming Site Operator for Copyright Infringement

45e8ad63176402eb250425c38b946c7b TorrentFreak 2012-02-02T17:13:40

In the wake of the Megaupload shutdown, authorities in Hong Kong say they will set up a center to investigate electronic crime and copyright infringement later this year. Although there has been no suggestion of wrong-doing, the news will almost certainly unsettle other cyberlocker services such as Filesonic, Uploading, Uploaded.to, Zshare and Filepost, all of which have a presence in the region.Source: Megaupload: Hong Kong Mulls Copyright Crackdown

357b3a2ba06400cd7b8a5a3d5c264158 TorrentFreak 2012-01-31T21:54:08

An anti-piracy group say they have monitored decreased usage of cyberlockers that withdrew their rewards programs in the wake of the Megaupload shutdown and increases for those that maintained them. What is required now, the Hollywood-backed group says, is a "burden of proof reversal" which would require hosts to prove that their businesses are not built on piracy, or face being held liable.Source: Cyberlocker Burden of Proof Should Be Reversed, Anti-Piracy Group Says

8586b7135e158b32049cf6b6bfa5b88d Photo Attorney 2012-01-28T04:26:04

One of the first questions photographers ask when deciding whether to file a copyright lawsuit is “what will it cost?”  While each case and circumstances differ, there are some general guidelines. As previously identified in my May 17, 2011 blog entry, the initial filing fee paid to the court for federal lawsuits is $350.  As [...]

6a4c09467e24275b3856e0a03d8b928b TorrentFreak 2012-01-27T18:32:13

At a behind-closed-doors meeting facilitated by the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport, copyright holders have handed out a list of demands to Google, Bing and Yahoo. To curb the growing piracy problem, Hollywood and the major music labels want the search engines to de-list popular filesharing sites such as The Pirate Bay, and give higher ranking to authorized sites.Source: Copyright Industry Calls For Broad Search Engine Censorship

e1acfd4da7aeadc1e6f8dcd9f6b5d8ac TorrentFreak 2012-01-26T19:07:54

A new WordPress plugin makes it dead easy to uncensor blocked websites. In just a few clicks people can setup their own proxy site with the popular blogging software. An essential tool for people whose speech is restricted by oppressive regimes, and handy for downloaders in The Netherlands, Italy, Finland and other countries where ISPs are blocking The Pirate Bay. Additionally, the plugin partially defeats the PIPA and SOPA bills in the US.Source: WordPress Plugin Unblocks Censored Sites, Including The Pirate Bay

9d0d781ba8d9e7a8a09be7e415480843 Dan Rayburn - StreamingMediaBlog.com 2012-01-25T16:59:07

All sessions from the Streaming Media West 2011 show in LA this past November are now online and available for on-demand viewing at www.streamingmedia.com/videos You may re-purpose these videos as you wish. Due to some technical issues we had with the recordings, one session entitled, "Making a Living on YouTube" was not able to be archived and two of the...

837b78caae0869ccb3a3d76c249716be TorrentFreak 2012-01-24T16:27:42

You wouldn't download a car, the Internet meme predicted. But if The Pirate Bay has its way that action will be a reality in the years to come. In preparation for this world-changing day, the world's biggest torrent site has just premiered a new section containing the plans for physical items that can be downloaded then printed out. Today its a plastic pirate ship, but one tomorrow in a decade or two it may well be a car.Source: The Pirate Bay Wants You To Really Download A Car

691b545e3ff85c9960dc3856c8947180 Photo Attorney 2012-01-23T02:38:30

I researched for weeks, test drove many models, and ordered my new car in September. It finally arrived mid-December. Today, while stopped at a red light during a snow storm, a driver lost control of his car and side-swiped me (damage shown above). My neck and back are stiff and sore. I’ve already spent time [...]

68157ec50205140c3e45f71b06d778d0 TorrentFreak 2012-01-23T00:30:16

The top 10 most downloaded movies on BitTorrent, 'Special Forces' tops the chart this week, followed by 'In time'. 'Seeking Justice' completes the top three.Source: Top 10 Most Pirated Movies on BitTorrent

a3fe70310c3c89bb657352fb9a6d3ec8 The Liberty Papers 2012-01-22T09:00:54

“Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don’t mean to do harm-but the harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves.” – T.S. [...]

0cade190ad1dfcf5f1f9b207ae7e6964 TorrentFreak 2012-01-21T11:18:06

A second administrator of NinjaVideo, one of the first targets of the US government's Operation in Our Sites, has been sentenced. Matthew Smith, known online as Dead1ne, received 14 months in prison, two years supervised release, and was ordered to pay back just over $172,000 he allegedly earned from the site.Source: Second NinjaVideo Admin Jailed For Copyright Infringement

0994be99309bb41659caa629f5c14ad8 TorrentFreak 2012-01-18T13:13:46

January 18, 2012, will still be talked about decades from now. It is the day tens of thousands of websites, including giants such as Google, Wikipedia and Reddit, decided to take a stand against what they see as a hostile takeover of the Internet by Hollywood, the recording industry, and other rightsholders. As it faces two draconian anti-piracy bills, the free Internet is at stake. Whatever the outcome may be, history is being made today.Source: Historic: The Internet Protests Anti-Piracy Bills

a6c7ae8c7abbfaecc092a67f31e9c50f TorrentFreak 2012-01-18T11:32:18

This morning millions of Internet users in Germany have woken to find their online music listening options reduced. Music streaming service Grooveshark has self-censored in the country, citing "unreasonably high" licensing costs imposed by local music rights collections group GEMA. In other news, Grooveshark is now trying to unmask the 'whistleblower' who recently landed them in so much legal trouble with the major labels.Source: Grooveshark Blocks German Users Over Licensing Costs

3f208a97532646492fb4ecf2d875f14f Photo Attorney 2012-01-14T15:36:50

“It has been a generally accepted theory, but a false one, that infringement of copyright only takes place when copies are made for public sale or performance, and not when they are intended merely for personal use.” Musical News, vol. 8, pg. 314 (April 6, 1895).  HT: Terry Hart over at Copyhype.com.

37eda6eab6c1bf68c3f7806b9aa74ef1 The Liberty Papers 2012-01-10T20:39:11

Radley Balko: Greece adds pedophiles, exhibitionists, and kleptomaniacs to list of disabilities eligible for state benefits. Sounds like some politicians are ready to retire. Hah!

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