Music piracy research - news archive

Domain Blocking Will Encourage Yet More Fraud and Scams

“There is nothing new about the techniques of domain blocking used to target criminals in the Stop Online Piracy Act,” the MPAA’s Paul Hortenstine wrote. “They are currently used to protect consumers and combat all kinds of harmful behavior including spam, phishing, malware, viruses, copyright infringement and other forms of Internet crime,” he added. But anyone with an understanding of the file-sharing space during the last decade will know that what SOPA domain blocking will actually bring is a whole lot more phishing, scams, malware and viruses. And here’s why.

Torrent Freak, 2011, December 31st | Language: EN | 667 words

2011: Piracy Wars and Internet Censorship

Looking back at the past 12 months it’s fair to conclude that 2011 was the year that the entertainment industries focused on piracy-fueled Internet censorship. Domain seizures, DNS blockades, raids and arrests dominated the news, and the threat of the SOPA and PIPA bills in the US left millions of Internet users worried. Let’s see how events unfolded.

Torrent Freak, 2011, December 31st | Language: EN | 1473 words

[VIDEO] Fast Five tops illegal download charts

Torrent Freak collected the data for the list from thousands of BitTorrent trackers, as well as other sources, but the results do not take into account films which were illegally streamed rather than downloaded. The overall number of downloads was lower than in 2010, suggesting that people may be switching to increasingly available legal alternatives such as LoveFilm, YouTube and Netflix.

The Guardian, 2011, December 30th | Language: EN | 394 words

Could Amazon, Twitter, Google go dark to protest anti-piracy law?

Amazon, Google and Facebook are so up-in-arms over federal anti-piracy legislation that the tech companies are considering boycotting the internet. It would be an attention-grabbing ‘nuclear option’ protest that could block traffic to some of the biggest online sites. The tech companies are angry about the Protect IP Act in the Senate and a house version called the Stop Online Piracy Act.

Tech Flash, 2011, December 30th | Language: EN | 309 words

Google's SOPA press stunt: Can we truly hold them liable?

Should search engines be held liable for facilitating access to potentially copyrighted material?

Zdnet, 2011, December 30th | Language: EN | 224 words

High time the big names took plunge into the legal stream

WITH THE UK’s We7, the Sweden’s Spotify and Ireland’s own Eircom Musichub, there is no excuse (not that one should ever exist) to illegally download music. The above services vary in quality and price structures – some people love them, some spend their time finding fault with them.

Irish Times, 2011, December 30th | Language: EN | 708 words

Behind the music: What mattered in the music industry in 2011

At one point, sales of Adele albums alone reportedly represented almost 7% of the entire record market, effectively making Beggars Group – which includes XL – a small major. The girl from north London was responsible for giving the industry respite from a plunging spiral in 2011.

The Guardian, 2011, December 29th | Language: EN | 964 words

SOPA Stinks: Move your domain day (Video)

If you go into Google and search the term “SOPA”, (ignore Google's attempt to correct this term with “soap”), you will find people from all over the political spectrum giving their opinions on why this bill, currently before Congress, is unconstitutional. It's also in violation of many parts of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a monumental piece of legislation that has shaped the course of the Internet and the institution of online "safe spaces" since 1998.

Washington Times, 2011, December 29th | Language: EN | 879 words

Pricing, not Piracy, Hurts Culture Trade (Part 3): William Patry

In a comprehensive study of how media is consumed around the world, the Social Science Research Council concluded: “Media piracy has been called ‘a global scourge,’ an ‘international plague,’ and ‘nirvana for criminals,’ but it is probably better described as a global pricing problem.”

Bloomberg News, 2011, December 29th | Language: EN | 1165 words

15 Percent of US File-Sharers Hide Their IP-Address, More to Folllow

New data gathered through telephone interviews with thousands of adults reveals that in the US 15 percent of all file-sharers take measures to hide their IP-address. Some VPN and proxy providers have doubled their customer base in 2011, and this upward trend is bound to continue in the coming year.

Torrent Freak, 2011, December 29th | Language: EN | 612 words

New Spanish Minister Cracks Down on Piracy

Wert said he saw culture as a keystone of intellectual property law. "Very soon we'll have news. But I will say with complete clarity that none of the objectives that we are considering is compatible with the existence of legal loopholes that allow for the abuse of intellectual property or the pillaging of creators." More than 77 percent of the digital content consumed in Spain in the first half of 2011 was pirated, according to a study conducted by the Observatory of Piracy and Consumption Habits of Digital Content (...)

Hollywood Reporter, 2011, December 28th | Language: EN | 442 words

Boycott forces Go Daddy U-turn on anti-piracy law backing

As we reported last week, Go Daddy customers were being encouraged to transfer their domain names away from the company as a result of its strong support for the proposed SOPA bill. SOPA is particularly relevant to the domain name industry as it calls for American ISPs to block domains of sites determined to be facilitating piracy.

The Register, 2011, December 28th | Language: EN | 361 words

Censoring the Internet Won't Protect Intellectual Property

IP theft is a real problem. Government overreaction isn't the way to solve it. (...) I think piracy really is a problem. At the same time, I think that the technology is what it is, and companies have had to find new and innovative ways to prevent piracy. A few years ago, you basically had the choice of watching a show on television, renting it when it came out on DVD months later, or downloading it illegally online.

Forbes, 2011, December 27th | Language: EN | 925 words

RCom shuts access to file-sharing sites

In an attempt to reduce movie piracy, Reliance Communications (RCom) shuts file-sharing sites when flicks produced by its sister company Reliance Entertainment are released. Currently, a number of such sites are not accessible on RCom’s internet, as Reliance Entertainment’s Don 2 is running in theatres.

Business Standard, 2011, December 27th | Language: EN | 530 words

Music in the Air: How Spotify, Pandora, and Facebook are changing the way we listen

Before, music was hugely personal. While some build their identity around music, seeking out other fans of specific artists and bonding, or distinguishing themselves with their erudite tastes in the latest indie, many simply plug in their headphones and occasionally peruse their favorite genres and the Top 40.

Harvard Independent, 2011, December 26th | Language: EN | 573 words

While Drafting SOPA, the U.S. House Harbors BitTorrent Pirates

In recent weeks we discovered BitTorrent pirates at the RIAA, Sony, Fox, Universal and even law-abiding organizations such as the Department of Homeland Security.

Torrent Freak, 2011, December 26th | Language: EN | 595 words

Why “Safe Harbor” Laws Are Disastrous For Free Speech

In reality, things are not black and white, but rather, many expressions are somewhere on a scale of gray. But the effect of these “safe harbor” provisions is that no companies want to risk liability, and so, they choose to succumb for an expression that is even in the slightest doubt of not being perfectly crystalline white as snow.

Torrent Freak, 2011, December 25th | Language: EN | 750 words

Skrillex: Happy Holidays! Pirate My Music, I’ll Still Love You

As he drops his brand new album, Skrillex tells fans that don’t have the money to go ahead and pirate it instead.

Torrent Freak, 2011, December 25th | Language: EN | 419 words

Go Daddy’s SOPA Entanglement

It’s one thing for congresscritters who wouldn’t known an Internet Protocol (IP) address from a domain name to support the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), it’s another thing entirely for a top Internet domain registry company like Go Daddy to support SOPA.

Zdnet, 2011, December 25th | Language: EN | 466 words

Dutch Parliament: Downloading Movies and Music Will Stay Legal

In an attempt to reduce widespread piracy in the Netherlands, the government there recently introduced a plan that would make downloading movies and music unlawful. However, this proposal was binned yesterday by a motion from the Dutch parliament due to concerns it would restrict the free flow of information, invade the privacy of citizens and invite copyright trolls. Instead, they encourage the entertainment industry to focus their attention on providing authorized alternatives.

Torrent Freak, 2011, December 24th | Language: EN | 476 words

GoDaddy Says It No Longer Supports Proposed Online Piracy Legislation

Go Daddy Group Inc. joined Google (GOOG) Inc. in opposing a Hollywood-backed online-piracy bill, reversing its position on U.S. legislation designed to combat illegally copied films and TV content. (...) Go Daddy, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, has proposed changes to limits on domain-name filtering, the consequences of “frivolous” claims on the Internet, as well as tweaks to provisions in the bill that protect free speech, the company said in a statement today.

Bloomberg News, 2011, December 24th | Language: EN | 367 words

The Great SOPA Conspiracy Theory

It’s not a stretch to imagine that the reason big media companies want SOPA to pass goes beyond just hampering piracy. Rather, it would give them massive amounts of control over the internet, as they can deem which sites are harmful to their brand and effectively censor them should they link to anything remotely resembling their copyrighted material.

Forbes, 2011, December 23rd | Language: EN | 540 words

Piracy vs. privacy in the online world

Tryst in Adams Morgan is a cavernous coffee shop almost always filled with people clacking away on their laptops. Washington-based freelancers jokingly refer to it as their office thanks to the free wireless Internet on weekdays. Last month, a customer used that wireless to order up more than a latte. Someone sitting in the café downloaded three episodes of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” using a torrent file.

Washington Post, 2011, December 23rd | Language: EN | 680 words

Studio 100 laat liedjes van Spotify halen

Alle liedjes van Studio 100 zijn weggehaald bij Spotify, de online muziekdienst die sinds half november in ons land actief is. 'Onze muziek was zonder onze toestemming online gezet', zegt een woordvoerster van Studio 100. Het bedrijf van K3, Mega Mindy en Bumba is wél in zee gegaan met Belgacom om programma's van Studio 100 op aanvraag aan te bieden via Belgacom TV. Spotify wou een partnership aangaan met Belgacom, maar dat lukte niet.

De Standaard, 2011, December 23rd | Language: NL | 145 words

Case Closed: Piraterij in 2011

Wel of geen downloadverbod? Dat was de grote vraag dit jaar in auteursrechtenland. In de Tweede Kamer werd erover gesproken, en ook Brussel roert zich op het gebied van wetgeving. Een Europese handelsdelegatie sloot bovendien het omstreden verdrag ACTA, over piraterij. In Amerika wordt momenteel gesproken over de vergaande wet SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act), die piraterij aan banden moet leggen (...). Aan de andere kant regende het berichten over nieuwe streamingdiensten.

Vpro, 2011, December 23rd | Language: NL | 1588 words

It’s Time Hollywood Faced the Music Over Preventing Internet Piracy: View

SOPA and its Senate cousin, the Protect Intellectual Property Act, could also prove overly disruptive -- Google Chairman Eric Schmidt says they would “break the Internet” -- by allowing the film industry or, if that doesn’t work, the U.S. to give domain-name registrars and advertising networks just five days to cease directing traffic to a site or starve it of ad revenue. It’s not hard to imagine how that might chill free speech or be abused by a politically ambitious U.S. attorney general.

Bloomberg News, 2011, December 22nd | Language: EN | 836 words

Nieuwe Amerikaanse wet is ‘internetcensuur'

De voorgestelde Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) ‘zou de Amerikaanse regering de macht geven om het web te censureren met technieken die gelijkaardig zijn aan degene die worden gebruikt in China, Maleisië en Japan.' Dat staat in een open brief die vorige week als een advertentie werd gepubliceerd in de New York Times, de Washington Post en andere kranten.

De Standaard, 2011, December 22nd | Language: NL | 478 words

Scribd protests SOPA with disappearing act

Scribd, which has aimed to do for document sharing what Spotify has done for music, is protesting two bills in Congress, the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act, by making some of the words in documents posted to its site disappear. The site allows its members to post documents they’re reading or discussing, and the company is worried that the two bills — if broadly interpreted — could result in its site being pulled from the Web completely.

Washington Post, 2011, December 21st | Language: EN | 123 words

Spanish novelist claims she will have to give up writing because of illegal ebook downloads

Etxebarria, who won the Planeta prize in 2004 – worth £500,000 – wrote on her Facebook page: "Given that I have today discovered that more illegal copies of my book have been downloaded than I have sold, I am announcing officially that I will not publish another book for a long time".

Telegraph, 2011, December 21st | Language: EN | 220 words

Record labels criticise Google over illegal downloads

The IFPI said guarantees Google had made about copyright infringement 12 months ago "remained unfulfilled". It conceded that the search engine had made "modest steps", but alleged it was profiting from piracy. In response, Google declined to comment on what it called a "press stunt".

Bbc, 2011, December 21st | Language: EN | 651 words

Wanneer is linken illegaal?

"In beginsel is linken legaal, er zijn uitzonderlijke gevallen waarbij het onrechtmatig is. Maar een openbaarmaking en daardoor een directe inbreuk op het auteursecht? Nee. Ik hoop dan ook dat de rechter gehakt maakt van de inbreukaanklacht. Als er wordt geoordeeld dat links inbreuk maken op auteursrecht, zou dat echt schokkend zijn. Dat zou een slechte stap zijn, dan ontstaat een onwerkbare situatie," aldus Arnoud Engelfriet, jurist bij ICTRecht. (...) In andere gevallen hebben rechters wel geoordeeld dat linken naar illegale content onrechtmatig is. Maar dat ging meestal over partijen die dat op grote schaal deden, zoals speciale zoekmachines en indexen als ZoekMP3 en Mininova. Voor de duidelijkheid: in deze gevallen oordeelde de rechter dat van openbaarmaking geen sprake was.

Webwereld, 2011, December 21st | Language: NL | 813 words

Ofcom grills pirates, loses report under fridge for two years

And that's probably the most interesting thing about the studies. For its quantitative study, Kantar uses three methods: face-to-face interviews, and telephone and email surveys - and we get the chance to compare answers from each. With the presence of an interviewer responders tended to report lower copyright infringement activity online. Kantar speculates that might be because of guilt - or suspicion about the interviewer's agenda. As the firm puts it: "The presence of the interviewer might make people think harder about moral issues, and lead to more considered responses."

The Register, 2011, December 21st | Language: EN | 1386 words

Anti-piracy laws will smash internet, US constitution

Legal experts are warning that the proposed PROTECT IP and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) legislation, currently working their way through Congress, will damage the world's DNS system, cripple attempts to get better online security and violate free speech rights in the US constitution.

The Register, 2011, December 20th | Language: | 747 words

Record Industry Loses P2P Case in Spain

Pablo Soto and his companies were sued for 13 million euros by the four major music groups and trade group Promusicae for providing file-sharing applications that profit from the exchange of copyrighted material. According to a report at El Mundo, the judges in the case ruled Soto and his companies offer a neutral technical function and found the plaintiffs are not actually in competition with the defendant.

Billboard, 2011, December 20th | Language: EN | 320 words

IFPI and RIAA Patronize Google With Anti-Piracy “Report Card”

The IFPI has told Google it must try harder with its copyright enforcement activities. In its patronizing teacher/student style “Report Card”, the music industry group says the search giant profits from digital piracy, puts up barriers to make life difficult for rightsholders, engages in destructive rhetoric and raises alarmist, self-serving criticism to any legislative proposal designed to thwart infringement.

Torrent Freak, 2011, December 20th | Language: EN | 805 words

Google ‘needs to do more’ to tackle piracy – IFPI

In response, Frances Moore, chief executive of IFPI has said, “Google has taken steps to work with rights holders to tackle digital piracy. There is a lot more to be done if the world’s most popular search engine is not to continue to be abused as a vehicle for piracy.

Music Week, 2011, December 20th | Language: EN | 301 words

Anti-Piracy Campaigns Suffer Legal Setbacks in Ireland and Spain

The Irish Data Commission has reportedly given Ireland’s largest telecoms company Eircom three weeks to respond to an instruction to halt its “three strikes policy” which meant people caught downloading copyright material could have their broadband cut off for a year after they had been warned three times.

Wall Street Journal, 2011, December 20th | Language: EN | 360 words

Rapper protests piracy bill with ‘SOPA Cabana’

In a photo montage that features 86 people (and one cat), Bull rails against SOPA, reiterating fears that the legislation could limit freedom of speech and particularly hurt the rap community, which often uses samples of other tracks and beats to supplement their own songs.

Washington Post, 2011, December 20th | Language: EN | 430 words

'Ultraviolet enige kans voor winkels tegen Apple'

Ultraviolet zorgt voor problemen bij de retailers, maar toch is het voor hen de enige serieuze mogelijkheid om Apple tegenwicht te bieden bij de verkoop van films.

Webwereld, 2011, December 20th | Language: NL | 747 words

Three Strikes Approach Rejected By Irish Data Protection Commissioner, Gov't Seeks Censorship Plan Instead

Back in 2009, the IFPI sued the ISP Eircom for copyright infringement, and the latter settled by agreeing to implement a three strikes policy. The Irish Recorded Music Association then started sending letters to other Irish ISPs demanding they do the same. One Irish judge approved the three strikes approach, but another judge ruled ISPs were under no legal obligation to implement it.

Techdirt, 2011, December 19th | Language: EN | 414 words

iTunes onderhandelt nog met Buma/Stemra

De uitrol van Apples muziekdienst iTunes Match in Nederland wacht op onderhandelingen met auteursrechtenorganisatie Buma/Stemra. Terwijl de service vorige week wel beschikbaar kwam in België, Frankrijk, Duitsland en Engeland valt er in Nederland nog niets van te bekennen.

MacFan, 2011, December 19th | Language: NL | 356 words

Illegal downloading to be curbed by Government order

Minister of State for Enterprise Seán Sherlock is to publish an order early in the new year that is expected to allow music publishers, film producers and other parties to go to court to prevent internet service providers from allowing their customers access to pirate websites.

Irish Times, 2011, December 19th | Language: EN | 422 words

One Year Later: Google’s Report Card on Making Copyright Work Better Online

In early December 2010, Kent Walker, General Counsel at Google, issued a blog post about Google’s commitment to work on developing new ways to make copyright work better online Google posted an update on its efforts in September. Below [follow link to PDF] is an evaluation of each of Google’s specific commitments and an overall grade.

IFPI, 2011, December 19th | Language: EN | 2118 words

Anti-piracy bill could kill DNSSEC

“Without being able to secure the DNS system we still have gaping holes that need to be closed. This is a giant step backward in that regard,” Trend Micro senior researcher Paul Ferguson said. Browser makers that build implementations of DNSSEC could risk liability under SOPA, according to Stewart Baker, partner in the Washington office of law firm Steptoe & Johnson.

SC Magazine, 2011, December 18th | Language: EN | 373 words

"Free Ride" author urges realistic anti-piracy tactics

In "Free Ride," Levine examines how technology companies and other "digital parasites" are threatening the livelihood of those culture industries, particularly institutions like Warner Bros. and the New York Times, by offering content that they didn't make.

Reuters, 2011, December 18th | Language: EN | 1461 words

RIAA and Homeland Security Caught Downloading Torrents

If there’s one organization known for its crusade against online piracy, it’s the RIAA. Nevertheless, even in the RIAA’s headquarters several people use BitTorrent to download pirated music, movies, TV-shows and software. And they are in good company. The Department of Homeland Security – known for seizing pirate domain names – also harbors hundreds of BitTorrent pirates.

Torrent Freak, 2011, December 17th | Language: EN | 499 words

This Is The Contract Will.i.am Signed With MegaUpload...

The contract was shared with Digital Music News early this morning, and is also being submitted as evidence in federal court by MegaUpload. Just last week, will.i.am attorney Ken Hertz told the Hollywood Reporter that the 'MegaUpload Song' was totally unauthorized, and the reason for a YouTube takedown request by the artist. This contract suggests the complete opposite.

Digital Music News, 2011, December 17th | Language: EN | 141 words

5 excuses voor Buma's downloadverkeer

Wat is de verklaring voor het opduiken van twee ip-adressen van muziekrechtenwaakhond Buma/Stemra in een database van torrentverkeer? Buma heeft er zelf één gegeven, om die vervolgens stilletjes weer in te trekken. Webwereld schotelt vijf mogelijke verklaringen voor.

Webwereld, 2011, December 17th | Language: NL | 1246 words

'Universal had Megauploadvideo niet mogen verwijderen'

Youtube ontkent dat Universal Music Group content waar het geen auteursrechten op heeft van de videowebsite kan verwijderen. De site reageert daarmee op een brief van Universal waarin het beweert een deal te hebben met Youtube waardoor het filmpjes offline kan halen.

Nu, 2011, December 17th | Language: NL | 227 words

Everything you need to know about Congress’s online piracy bills, in one post

All day yesterday and today, the House Judiciary Committee has been debating its controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). The Senate Judiciary Committee has already passed a similar bill. Copyright holders, including the music and film industries, say the new legislation is utterly essential for battling rampant Internet piracy.

Washington Post, 2011, December 16th | Language: EN | 1234 words

A YouTube Takedown Raises Questions Over Media Influence

Under what circumstances can a big media company demand that YouTube remove a video? (...) Within hours, the video was taken down at Universal’s behest. Megaupload petitioned the United States District Court in San Jose, Calif., for a temporary injunction to restore the video. It also accused Universal of abusing the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the federal law that governs how Web sites like YouTube deal with claims of copyright violation.

The New York Times, 2011, December 16th | Language: EN | 573 words

Megaupload, Universal and the DMCA-less Mega Song Takedown

Last week, Megaupload’s Mega Song was on its way to becoming a viral hit, only to be removed from YouTube by a Universal Music takedown demand. Following the filing of a Megaupload lawsuit the song is now back online, but Universal are standing firm. The label says that they have a private arrangement with YouTube that falls outside of the DMCA, and that essentially they can take down any content they like, whether they own the copyrights or not. Ben Jones takes a closer look at the mechanics.

Torrent Freak, 2011, December 16th | Language: EN | 778 words

Apple iTunes match music service launches with outage

Apple has rolled out its iTunes Match cloud music service to the UK and other parts of the world. For a fee Apple scans users' libraries, allowing songs to be replaced with higher quality versions. These can then be accessed from other Apple devices. The service has been described as an "amnesty for music pirates" although it does not formally protect users against copyright infringement prosecutions.

Bbc, 2011, December 16th | Language: EN | 689 words

SOPA attracts plenty of supporters during House debate

After a marathon debate on the Stop Online Piracy Act, it's clear that the Hollywood-backed bill enjoys enthusiastic support among key members of the U.S. House of Representatives and is one step closer to becoming law. That became obvious after every legislative attempt to defang, rewrite, or significantly alter SOPA over nearly a 12-hour period today ended in victories for large copyright holders--and defeat upon defeat for the bill's critics.

Cnet, 2011, December 16th | Language: EN | 882 words

Revealing the Habits of Copyright Advocates

The site works by collecting Internet Protocol addresses, which identify an individual computer at a given time, from torrent sites and connecting them to material downloaded to those same addresses, then displaying a list of content, which often contains copyrighted material. (...) Ter-Saakov said he believes youhavedownloaded.com indexes about 20 percent of the file-sharing activity on the Internet. He maintains that the site was created merely as a proof-of-concept, and that it doesn’t have any commercial application.

The New York Times, 2011, December 16th | Language: EN | 1033 words

SOPA backers think they can suppress The Pirate Bay

The latest measure was the OPEN Act, but it turns out this one didn’t stop The Pirate Bay, thus, drawing the copyright holders’ discontent. According to the statements of the large copyright owners, the OPEN Act is not working because it is valid only for the websites that are located in U.S., whereas The Pirate Bay is located in Sweden.

Daily Gossip, 2011, December 15th | Language: EN | 395 words

Film, Music Industries Battle Leading Internet Companies Over Online Piracy

U.S. film, TV and music producers are taking aim at leading Internet companies for allowing Web users to easily search and access pirated media. Jeffrey Brown explores options for policing pirated media with the Open Internet Coalition's Markham Erickson and the Motion Picture Association of America's Michael O'Leary.

PBS, 2011, December 15th | Language: EN | 50 words

The Unintended Consequences of SOPA, Driving with a Phone, and Patents

Almost everyone knows that the common practice of illegally downloading music or movies is wrong. So I understand why the movie studios and similar companies support this act. There has also been a proliferation of sites selling goods with fake labels and even medications that aren't what they say they are. But there are already laws that deal with these issues, such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's "takedown" provisions.

Pc Magazine, 2011, December 15th | Language: EN | 931 words

MPAA anti-piracy legislation point-man blames Google

In the wake of scathing series of attacks that have portrayed the new legislation in Orwellian terms, Michael O'Leary, who has played point man for the Motion Picture Assn. of America in the battle over the latest piracy bill, said that the act has been misrepresented as "draconian" by its opponents. He lays the blame squarely at the feet of Google and other tech giants.

Reuters, 2011, December 15th | Language: EN | 587 words

French President’s Residence ‘Busted’ For BitTorrent Piracy

French President Nicholas Sarkozy is a man who has championed some of the most aggressive anti-piracy legislation in Europe. But today it’s revealed that the occupants of his very own office and home are responsible for a nice selection of pirate downloads using BitTorrent. Three strikes? Those with access to the Presidential Palace’s IP addresses have already doubled that quota.

Torrent Freak, 2011, December 15th | Language: EN | 420 words

Kim Schmitz daagt muziekindustrie uit

Hij laat sterren als Kanye West en Snoop Dogg reclame maken voor zijn website vol gepirateerde muziek en dient dan een klacht in tegen muziekreus Universal. Kim Schmitz zet de goegemeente nog maar eens een ferme neus.

De Standaard, 2011, December 14th | Language: NL | 1197 words

The Internet is Not Solely Populated by Pirates and Thieves

Comedian Louis CK conducted an experiment this past week that could change the InterWebs forever. At least, it may change how people promote and consume content online, as well as how they feel about file swapping. Rather than go the traditional route of signing up with a major production company to film his standup routine and sell it to HBO or some other pay cable outlet, Louis CK decided he would produce the show himself and sell it himself, via the Web.

Pc World, 2011, December 14th | Language: EN | 1084 words

Sheet Music Industry Market Research Report Now Available from IBISWorld

According to a latest report from IBISWorld, easier access to legitimate sheet music online will facilitate industry sales by increasing the selection and accessibility for consumers. Publishers that are best able to protect their sheet music from piracy, while successfully selling digital products, will benefit from diminished production costs in this transition. Online potential for sheet music is expected to be a driver for stronger industry performance. Yet, free services, including lyric sites, karaoke on YouTube, instructional videos and music sharing are threatening this potential.

San Francisco Chronicle, 2011, December 14th | Language: EN | 871 words

FBI shuts down Atlanta hub for music, movie piracy

Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said Ahn and Ndhlovu mass-produced hundreds of thousands of counterfeit music CDs and DVD movies in a pirating operation that appeared to be the largest of its kind in the southeastern United States.

CBS Atlanta, 2011, December 14th | Language: EN | 208 words

Lines Drawn on Antipiracy Bills

For years, pirated movies, television shows and music have been on the Internet. And for just as long, Hollywood and the entertainment business have been trying and failing to stop it. But with more and faster broadband networks as well as powerful and speedy computers, the playing of illegally copied music and movies is booming as are sales of counterfeit goods from auto parts to pharmaceuticals.

The New York Times, 2011, December 14th | Language: EN | 1098 words

Silicon Valley execs blast SOPA in open letter

Many of Silicon Valley's most successful entrepreneurs and executives are warning of the dangers of the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act in a new open letter to Washington, D.C. It's signed by Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, PayPal co-founder Elon Musk, Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang, among others.

Cnet, 2011, December 14th | Language: EN | 657 words

NDAA Set To Become Law: The Terror Is Nearer Than Ever

Combined, NDAA and SOPA simply destroy American democracy. That isn't hype. That isn't exaggeration. Within a few days, your freedom of speech will be gone -- post something controversial online, and the government can legally "disappear" it.

Business Insider, 2011, December 14th | Language: EN | 442 words

‘You Have Downloaded:' File-Sharing Tracker is Watching You Online

A new web site, "You Have Downloaded," tracks what users have downloaded from file-sharing sites based on IP addresses. The site intends to scare and worry users who download music, movies, TV shows and applications frequently without precautions.

International Business Times, 2011, December 13th | Language: EN | 366 words

Website tracks illegal downloads and guess who’s on the list?

Illegal downloaders beware! A new website called youhavedownloaded.com is collecting information about what files you are downloading from file-sharing site. The site has a database created from publicly available information which includes more than 52 million IP addresses, 110,000 torrents, and 1.9 million files. Visit the site and it will scan your IP address and inform you of what, if any, files you’ve downloaded.

Digital Home Canada, 2011, December 13th | Language: EN | 278 words

O.E.C.D. Calls on Members to Defend Internet Freedoms

As a rising tide of digital dissent raises alarms in many capitals around the world, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Tuesday called on member countries to “promote and protect the global free flow of information” online.

The New York Times, 2011, December 13th | Language: EN | 874 words

Two File-Sharers Fined Total of $725,000, Others Asked To Pay Thousands

Two long-standing file-sharing cases have just been concluded and both defendants have been hit with extraordinarily harsh punishments. A 36-year-old received a 4 month jail sentence and a fine equivalent to $433,000, and a 22-year-old received a fine of $291,600. Meanwhile, the anti-piracy group behind the action is sending “pay-up-or-else” letters to Internet subscribers, and not always getting it right.

Torrent Freak, 2011, December 13th | Language: EN | 552 words

MPAA's Dodd says Hollywood is pro-Internet but anti-piracy

Motion Picture Assn. of America chief Christopher J. Dodd sought to counter criticism that Hollywood is trying to censor the Internet via pending legislation to crack down on online piracy, telling a liberal Washington think tank Tuesday that the industry's fate is tied to technology.

Los Angeles Times, 2011, December 13th | Language: EN | 427 words

RIAA defends sue-the-fans nonsense

Kennedy recently responded to an article in Nashville newspaper The Tennessean that was critical of the trade body’s large lobbying spend, and its record in combating online piracy, especially its now dropped policy of suing individual file-sharers. She says that the US record industry never expected to stop piracy outright by suing individuals who illegally used file-sharing platforms, but instead aimed to curtail the growth of P2P usage and to educate the kids about the rules of copyright.

The CMU Website, 2011, December 12th | Language: EN | 500 words

HADOPI Wants To Research File Downloads: Shouldn't It Have Done That First?

The French three-strikes scheme known as HADOPI (actually the name of the government agency that oversees its implementation) is a perfect example of such dogma-based legislation: no research was done into how files were being shared or even whether they did any harm (there's a fair amount of evidence that file sharing increases sales).

Techdirt, 2011, December 12th | Language: EN | 382 words

Business Matters: Flaws in the Argument That Spotify Will 'Never' Be Profitable

Spotify et al do indeed face some challenging financial prospects. But "never" is probably not the best word to use when talking about the profitability of a digital music startup. Instead, let's take a long-term view of Spotify, somewhere between the near term (one to three years) and eternity (the timeline implied by the word never). Contracts with rights owners are near-term restraints on profitability. But over a longer period of time, Spotify has a chance to gain more leverage in negotiations and get more favorable terms. Look at the download market (iTunes) and the brick-and-mortar retail market (Walmart, Best Buy) for market leaders who wield negotiating power with record labels.

Billboard, 2011, December 12th | Language: EN | 849 words

Bijna de helft van de Vlamingen heeft ooit iets gestolen

(...) bijna tweederde (66,2 procent) heeft al muziek, software, films en tv-series illegaal gedownload.

De Standaard, 2011, December 12th | Language: NL | 253 words

Why Spotify can never be profitable: The secret demands of record labels

These details aren’t well-known because digital music service deals are always wrapped tightly with strict non-disclosure agreements. For the first time, people are talking, and these previously secret demands are being made public.

GigaOm, 2011, December 11th | Language: EN | 1174 words

Social media sites may face legal actions for users violating copyright laws

In July, a Delhi High Court judgement created new uncertainties about the extent to which so-called 'internet intermediaries', who provide a forum where users can put up content (YouTube or Twitter are examples), could bear the blame if users uploaded songs or movies that violated copyright.

The Economic Times, 2011, December 11th | Language: EN | 535 words

Megaupload-affaire: copyrightmaffia gaat te ver

Megaupload is momenteel de leidende rebel tegen de malafide entertainmentindustrie en hun dictatoriale machtslust. Want hoewel Megaupload door die industrie is geclassificeerd als een officiële KUDTSITE © boordevol illegaal gejatte copyright content™, heeft Megaupload nu iets om mee terug te slaan: een muziekvideo waaraan diverse bekende artiesten hebben meegewerkt en waarvan Megaupload netjes de rechten heeft ontvangen.

Geen Stijl, 2011, December 10th | Language: NL | 256 words

Kanye West, Diddy, Will.I.Am, More Participate in Video Endorsing MegaUpload Storage Site

In one of the stranger endorsements we've seen in recent months, a battery of superstar artists - including Kanye West, Diddy, Snopp Dogg, Will.I.Am, Alicia Keys, Lil Jon, Chris Brown, Jamie Foxx and more -- have participated in a song and expensive-looking video/commercial endorsing MegaUpload, a storage locker site that the RIAA has lambasted for piracy.

Billboard, 2011, December 9th | Language: EN | 578 words

Kort verslag BREIN van de tweede termijn Algemeen Overleg Auteursrecht van de Tweede Kamer met de staatssecretaris van Justitie & Veiligheid

BREIN benadrukt dat het voor de groei en bloei van legaal aanbod op internet nodig is dat de illegale 'internetwinkels' gesloten kunnen worden. Daarvoor is nodig dat naast het ongeautoriseerd uploaden ook het ongeautoriseerd downloaden van andermans werk een inbreuk op diens auteursrecht is (...)

Stichting Brein, 2011, December 9th | Language: NL | 618 words

YouTube Acquires RightsFlow to Manage Music Royalties

It won't change YouTube for regular users; the video platform will use RightsFlow's database of help match songs to their publishers so that they can be properly compensated. "As new ways of consuming music have emerged, RightsFlow has been at the forefront of solving the complex issues of licensing and royalty payment management," YouTube wrote in a blog post.

Pc Magazine, 2011, December 9th | Language: EN | 409 words

Youth increasingly apathetic towards internet piracy

At the ACMA Young Citizens in a Changing Media World forum earlier this week, one of the young speakers said young people “don’t care” about internet piracy because the moral codes of their generation differ from those of generations before them.

Computer World Australia, 2011, December 9th | Language: EN | 946 words

Spotify Radio conducts music with Pandora-like app

"We've built a radio app on top of our platform," said Spotify co-founder and Chief Executive Daniel Ek, announcing the app today at the LeWeb show here. And he lost no time baiting his rival: "It's kind of like Pandora, but with unlimited skipping and unlimited stations." (...) "Why we started Spotify was as a reaction to that. It was obvious," Ek said. "We felt the most important thing was we had to create a product that was better than piracy."

Cnet, 2011, December 9th | Language: EN | 679 words

UltraViolet lights on UK

Major US studios, including Warner Bros and NBCUniversal, are backing the launch, which currently has 21 content suppliers signed up. The UK move, widely reported in the US, comes two months after the service debuted stateside. UV features a ‘pay once, play anywhere’ business model that allows users to download a piece of content and then watch it on up to 12 devices by inputting a unique code.

C21Media, 2011, December 9th | Language: EN | 207 words

Belgische artiesten goed voor 30 procent muziekverkoop in Vlaanderen

Belgische artiesten waren de voorbije tien jaar telkens goed voor minstens dertig procent van het aantal verkochte muziekalbums in Vlaanderen. Dat blijkt uit cijfers die vrijdag verspreid werden door de Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA).

De Standaard, 2011, December 9th | Language: NL | 257 words

RIAA Label Artists & A-List Stars Endorse Megaupload In New Song

MegaUpload is currently being portrayed by the MPAA and RIAA as one of the world’s leading rogue sites. But top music stars including P Diddy, Will.i.am, Alicia Keys, Snoop Dogg and Kanye West disagree and are giving the site their full support in a brand new song. TorrentFreak caught up with the elusive founder of MegaUpload, Kim Dotcom, who shrugged off “this rogue nonsense” and told us he wants content owners to get paid.

Torrent Freak, 2011, December 9th | Language: EN | 965 words

Why artists and indies shouldn't write Spotify off – at least not yet

A few weeks ago a tweet by Mercury-nominated artist Jon Hopkins caused a stir on music and technology sites. "Got paid £8 for 90,000 plays. Fuck Spotify," it said. He later added: "Radio 1 pay about £50 for each play." Taking these tweets at face value, dozens of bloggers weighed in on the debate – on one side were those who claimed Spotify would kill the music industry and on the other people who thought artists should accept that that's how much they'd get paid from now on, many of them claiming "at least it's better than piracy".

The Guardian, 2011, December 8th | Language: EN | 1295 words

Alternate anti-piracy bill released; Hollywood not biting

However, it faces a huge roadblock. In a statement released after Issa and Wyden unveiled their proposal, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) came out swinging, saying the proposal doesn't go far enough. The MPAA has been one of the major forces behind the current anti-piracy legislation, with its mogul members taking the rare step of converging on Washington, D.C. on Wednesday for the association's annual meeting and to show their support for the two bills -- the PROTECT IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act -- currently making their way through Congress.

Reuters, 2011, December 8th | Language: EN | 777 words

Save the Internet: Take Action Against SOPA

Yet that’s exactly what we’re seeing with the fight against an effort in Congress to radically reform the Internet. The effort springs from the very real fear on behalf of the content creators in America – the television, movie and music industries – of the threat posed by online piracy. Every time someone illegally downloads a movie or a song, these industries lose money.

Forbes, 2011, December 8th | Language: EN | 610 words

Deezer CEO Cracks Global Music Deal

Axel Dauchez, CEO of Deezer, led the negotiations in the notoriously convoluted world of global music rights. “To do a deal with the record labels is difficult,” he said. “But doing deals with the publishers is much harder.” (...)

Wall Street Journal, 2011, December 8th | Language: EN | 673 words

Internet piracy down as government toughens regulations

Internet piracy has been a chronic problem hindering the development of China's dynamic digital industry, but it is finally subsiding as a result of tightened government control and heightened copyright awareness in the business circle. (...) Statistics from the China-based Internet Laboratory show that an average machine's quantity of installed pirated software dropped about 10 percent from 0.78 set in 2009 to 0.7 set in 2010. The overall installation rate of pirated software dropped from 14 percent in 2009 to 12 percent in 2010.

Xinhua, 2011, December 8th | Language: EN | 659 words

Deezer betreedt streaming-arena

a het Zweedse Spotify is nu ook het Franse Deezer beschikbaar voor Belgische klanten. Dertien miljoen liedjes voor vijf euro per maand. (...) Ze zullen aankondigen dat de online muziekdienst de komende weken beschikbaar zal zijn in bijna honderd landen. Na Frankrijk en, sinds september, Groot-Brittannië is België vandaag het volgende land waar muziekfans via Deezer kunnen streamen. (...) Sabam krijgt voor zijn auteurs het microbedrag van 0,001 euro per afgespeeld nummer, evenveel als de platenfirma's. Nogal wat kleinere platenfirma's vinden echter dat de online muziekdiensten de fans afleren om muziek ook aan te kopen.

De Standaard, 2011, December 7th | Language: NL | 583 words

Neutraal in hart en downloads

De Zwitserse overheid blijft illegale downloads tolereren. Zo'n negatieve impact hebben die niet, vindt ze.

De Standaard, 2011, December 7th | Language: NL | 17 words

Downloadverbod alleen bij grote schade

Internetters die films en muziek downloaden zonder daarmee grote schade aan te richten, hoeven niet bang te zijn dat producenten hen voor de rechter gaan slepen. Alleen fanatieke downloaders krijgen last van het downloadverbod dat staatssecretaris Fred Teeven (Veiligheid en Justitie) wil instellen.

De Telegraaf, 2011, December 7th | Language: NL | 278 words

Think Tank addresses anti-piracy critics

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation study addresses criticism of the proposed PROTECT IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act. (...) “It is not the tool of DNS blocking that is at issue, but the legal regime in which the tool is allowed to be used,” the study says. “Some of these opponents of PIPA/SOPA are more interested in protecting access to free illegal content than they are in protecting free speech.

Advanced Television, 2011, December 7th | Language: EN | 399 words

Private copy: Barnier tries to crack the nut

Talks between right-holders and makers of electronic goods will restart at the beginning of 2012 to try and find a solution to the sensitive issue of levies to compensate artists for the copying of their works. Existing EU rules on copyright date back to 2001 and envisage a “fair compensation” for right-holders to offset the potential financial losses that authors are likely to suffer from the copying of their works – whether books, films or music.

EurActiv, 2011, December 7th | Language: EN | 1013 words

Rechter gebiedt online betalingsprovider identiteitsgegevens aan BREIN af te geven

Eerder verstrekten online betalingsproviders al gegevens op vrijwillige basis maar dit keer moest BREIN de betalingsprovider dagvaarden om de gegevens te verkrijgen. De voorzieningenrechter van de rechtbank Den Haag toetste of aan de bovengenoemde criteria van de Hoge Raad was voldaan en wees de vordering van BREIN toe.

Stichting Brein, 2011, December 6th | Language: NL | 338 words

It's Hollywood vs. Silicon Valley in battle over online piracy bill

With all the partisan gridlock in Washington these days, it's nice to know that not all fights split along Democrat vs. Republican lines. In the struggle against Internet piracy, for example, the sides in their most simplest terms boil down to Silicon Valley vs. Hollywood, with members of the two political parties lining up on both teams.

Mercury News, 2011, December 5th | Language: EN | 1191 words

Internationale strijd tegen 'release groepen' en 'top sites' gaat door

Vorige week voerde de politie in Duitsland, Zwitserland en Hongarije een actie uit tegen twee 'top sites' die door twee 'release groepen' gebruikt werden om illegaal films te verspreiden. Naast inbeslagname van servers in datacentra in Zwitserland en Hongarije, werden in Duitsland de woningen van zeven verdachten doorzocht.

Stichting Brein, 2011, December 5th | Language: NL | 463 words

Anti-Piracy Group Blackmails ISPs to Censor The Pirate Bay

After a court ordered two of the largest Belgian Internet service providers to prevent their users accessing The Pirate Bay, the local anti-piracy outfit is now urging other ISPs to do the same. Internet providers who refuse to give in to this request within 10 days will be taken to court, a threatening letter explains. The blackmailing tactic seems to have worked, as one of the smaller ISPs has already disabled access to The Pirate Bay.

Torrent Freak, 2011, December 5th | Language: EN | 546 words

Uitbetalingen Spotify 3e kwartaal 2011

Digimuziek, 2011, December 5th | Language: NL | 283 words

Are you finished with physical media?

The flipside to all of this is, if you never touched "it," are movies and music real to you? If you're young now and never buy and hold them, how do you think that will affect your "relationship" with your favorite movies and music in the decades to come? When I pick out a LP I bought 30 or 40 years ago, and played dozens or hundreds of times, the music feels like it's part of my DNA. But if your music or movies are in the cloud, it has to feel different. Or it doesn't feel like anything at all.

Cnet, 2011, December 3rd | Language: EN | 362 words

Student Bay Admin Prosecuted in Sweden

After a process lasting more than three years, a man from Sweden has finally been prosecuted for his role in the operations of Student Bay, a site dedicated to the sharing of textbooks. Despite prosecution attempts to link a Pirate Bay founder to the site, the 23-year-old is the only person in the spotlight. An apology requested by The Pirate Bay for wrongful accusations appears to have gone unfulfilled.

Torrent Freak, 2011, December 3rd | Language: EN | 659 words

RIAA: Piracy is “Under Control” But Wait – “Rampant Theft” Continues

Some people believe that anti-piracy groups do a hateful and cynical job, and achieve little other than negative publicity. Others maintain that they are absolutely necessary to protect the livelihoods of the world’s creative industries, and without them the world would be a worse place.

Torrent Freak, 2011, December 2nd | Language: EN | 873 words

Swiss Govt: Downloading Movies and Music Will Stay Legal

One in three people in Switzerland download unauthorized music, movies and games from the Internet and since last year the government has been wondering what to do about it. This week their response was published and it was crystal clear. Not only will downloading for personal use stay completely legal, but the copyright holders won’t suffer because of it, since people eventually spend the money saved on entertainment products.

Torrent Freak, 2011, December 2nd | Language: EN | 679 words

Who Writes the Bills Anyways?

MPAA exec Michael O’Leary said in an afternoon press call that the agency “will come forward with language that will address some of the legitimate concerns,” of those opposed to the bill, including Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Zynga and myriad other Web companies and advocacy groups.

Open Congress, 2011, December 2nd | Language: EN | 311 words

Gary Vaynerchuk: 'Wat is de return on investment van je moeder?'

'Wat kunnen we leren van Lady Gaga?', vraagt professor Anderson zich af. Met een uitgekiende sociale mediastrategie slaagde Gaga erin uit te groeien tot een popicoon, ook al kalft de klassieke muziekverkoop door piraterij jaar na jaar af.

De Standaard, 2011, December 2nd | Language: NL | 990 words

Brein wil illegale downloadplatforms aanpakken en niet de gebruikers

BREIN stelt dat verdere ontwikkeling en groei van de online markt voorop staat en dat daarvoor de illegale concurrentie de pas moet kunnen worden afgesneden. Up- of downloadende consumenten worden niet lastig gevallen en hooguit met voorlichting benaderd.

Stichting Brein, 2011, December 1st | Language: NL | 412 words

Copyright Act could defang infringement notices: iiNet

The problem arises because under Australia’s Copyright Act, someone accused of infringement (for example, by way of lawyer’s letters) has the right to demand that the accuser “put up or shut up”. A “groundless threats” action allows the accused to say “take me to court immediately, or stop harassing me”.

The Register, 2011, December 1st | Language: EN | 678 words

Bestuurslid Nederlandse Sabam [Stichting Brein] corrupt

Aan de telefoon met de zaakwaarnemer van artiest Melchior Rietveldt geeft het bestuurslid aan dat hij bereid is een vordering van Rietveldt in de vergadering te brengen als hij een derde van de opbrengst krijgt.

Zdnet, 2011, December 1st | Language: NL | 240 words

Copyright Corruption Scandal Surrounds Anti-Piracy Campaign

Anti-piracy group BREIN is caught up in a huge copyright scandal in the Netherlands. A musician who composed a track for use at a local film festival later found it being used without permission in an anti-piracy campaign. He is now claiming at least a million euros for the unauthorized distribution of his work on DVDs. To make matters even worse, a board member of a royalty collection agency offered to to help the composer to recoup the money, but only if he received 33% of the loot.

Torrent Freak, 2011, December 1st | Language: EN | 747 words

Stichting Brein: geen downloadverbod, dan individuele uploaders vervolgen

De piraterijbestrijder neemt in felle bewoordingen afstand van de uitkomst en dreigt individuele uploaders aan te klagen als de politiek afziet van een downloadverbod. “Als downloaden uit evident illegale bron niet onrechtmatig wordt en de toegang tot sites die illegaal downloaden faciliteren niet geblokkeerd mag worden, dan zit er voor rechthebbenden die hun recht willen handhaven niets anders op dan de huidige wetgeving gebruiken voor het privaatrechtelijk vervolgen van individuele gebruikers die illegaal uploaden.”

Vpro, 2011, December 1st | Language: NL | 470 words

Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, ISPs, All Served With Streaming Site Blocking Demand

Following the introduction of a ’3 strikes’ mechanism targeting regular Internet users, as reported earlier this week moves are underway in France to strangle the finances of streaming and direct download (DDL) sites. Today the direction of the multi-pronged action becomes even more clear. Three umbrella organizations representing the rights of more than 100 movie and TV-related companies have gone to court in order to have video streaming sites blocked on the Internet.

Torrent Freak, 2011, December 1st | Language: EN | 489 words