Archive for the ‘Litigation’ Category
Tech companies are being held to a higher standard. They have only themselves to blame
Posted: 2013/05/22 in Bandwidth Management, Blocking, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Filtering, Jurisprudence, Litigation, Net Neutrality, New Business Models, Privacy / Data Protection, Stats / reports, Tech EvolutionLet’s see: freedom of information, freedom of speech, freedom of innovation, net neutrality, mere conduit, never deep packet inspection, never ad injection, unlimited downloading, right to privacy, no blocking, no filtering, court orders always…
Internet service providers in the UK have today begun blocking one of the world’s largest streaming movie portals
Posted: 2013/05/20 in Blocking, Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, File Sharing, Filtering, Illegal File Sharing, Jurisprudence, Litigation, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech EvolutionIn a follow up to similar actions, the MPAA obtained a High Court order which compels all major ISPs to begin blocking Movie2K, a massive site with millions of visitors each month.
(…)
TorrentFreak can confirm that in the last week of April several of the UK’s leading ISPs including BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk, and almost certainly O2, EE and Sky, received a copy of a High Court order compelling them to block the sites.
BT have already begun blocking the site in the UK and Virgin Media inform us that they too will initiate a blockade today.
“Virgin Media has received an order from the Courts requiring it to prevent access to Download4All and Movie2K in order to help protect against copyright infringement,” a spokesperson told TorrentFreak.
“As a responsible ISP, Virgin Media complies with court orders addressed to the company, but strongly believes that changing consumer behaviour to tackle copyright infringement also needs compelling legal alternatives to give consumers access to great content at the right price.”
More:
http://torrentfreak.com/uk-isps-block-huge-movie-site-movie2k-proxy-immediately-unblocks-130520/
Mass Layoffs At Rapidshare. Signs Of Demise, Or Just Cashing The Chips?
Posted: 2013/05/18 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, File Sharing, Illegal File Sharing, Litigation, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech EvolutionRapidshare, once one of the world’s premier file hosting and sharing websites has just laid off 45 of the company’s 60 employees according to the Swiss news portal 20min. The company, once the epitome of file hosting on the Web is facing hard times after it changed its business model dramatically in the past year.
More:
http://www.ghacks.net/2013/05/17/mass-layoffs-are-signs-of-rapidshares-demise/
“Unfortunately, we have to part with a number of employees,” Sidler told the paper, adding: “But RapidShare will continue to operate, and we have concrete plans for our future.”
That future likely won’t look at all like RapidShare’s past: The company used to run the world’s most popular one-click file hoster, and was frequented by millions of file sharers looking for safer alternatives when music labels and others started to go after P2P users. However, Rapidshare quickly found itself in court, and fought long legal battles with rights holders in Germany and elsewhere.
More:
http://gigaom.com/2013/05/17/rapidshare-mass-layoffs/
Previously:
Rapidshare Boss And Internet Millionaire Christian Alexander Schmid Buys Himself A New Lair, Possibly With Use Of Middle Man
http://vrritti.com/2013/05/02/rapidshare-boss-and-internet-millionaire-christian-alexander-schmid-buys-himself-a-new-lair-possibly-with-use-of-middle-man/
Increasingly Likely That Algemeen Dagblad vs Joris Demmink Court Case Is A Charade
Posted: 2013/05/17 in Education / Awareness, Litigation, Stats / reportsBoth parties – via their lawyers Olaf Trojan (Bird & Bird, defending newspaper Algemeen Dagblad which made accusations against Joris Demmink based on new ‘evidence’) and Harro Knijff (De Brauw, Blackstone, Westbroek – defending former Secretary General of the Dutch Justice Department and alleged pedophile Joris Demmink), seemed to agree to postpone proceedings, at least until July 2013 and possibly even August 2013.
The latter has been disclosed by third party “De Roestige Spijker“, a foundation longing to be added to the case as one of the complainants. Both Trojan and Knijff are opposing a situation whereby “De Roestige Spijker” would be allowed to intervene and join this particular court case, to plea against Demmink.
Lawyer Matthijs Kaaks of “De Roestige Spijker” has sent a letter to the court of law in Rotterdam, indicating that such a delay is unacceptable. The foundation itself is baffled by this behaviour, especially coming from Harro Knijff as the latter has stated in October 2012 that he would want deal with this matter as swiftly as possible, to clear the reputation of his client.
There have been those who claimed that the ‘new evidence’ against Joris Demmink has been intentionally produced, possibly but not neccesarily by Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad itself, to offer Demmink an opportunity to finally and convincingly debunk the associated allegations. One of the crucial issues being the fact that the evidence has been based on statements from notorious criminals, rather than abuse victims without criminal records.
Dutch language news articles:
http://www.klokkenluideronline.is/artikel/23455/pedo-advocaat-knijff-op-het-hakblok
http://www.deroestigespijker.nl/pagina/module/pleidooi-in-zaak-roestige-spijke.html
Previously:
Who Took The Bait? Demmink, Newspaper AD Or You And Me? Newspaper Algemeen Dagblad Now Subpoenaed By Joris Demmink
http://vrritti.com/2013/02/05/who-took-the-bait-demmink-newspaper-ad-or-you-and-me-newspaper-algemeen-dagblad-now-subpoenaed-by-joris-demmink/
Dutch Secretary General And Alleged Pedophile Joris Demmink To Sue Dutch Newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. Distraction Technique?
http://vrritti.com/2012/10/08/dutch-secretary-general-and-alleged-pedophile-joris-demmink-to-sue-dutch-newspaper-algemeen-dagblad-distraction-technique/
and
http://vrritti.com/?s=demmink&submit=Search
Face It, Google Iz Da Bozz: Huge population of YouTube copyright owners denied class action status
Posted: 2013/05/17 in Education / Awareness, Google, Litigation, Stats / reportsThe same judge who handed Viacom another defeat in its copyright infringement lawsuit against YouTube last month has denied class-action status to a huge population of video copyright owners whose works were posted on YouTube without their permission.
In a case running parallel to the infamous Viacom v. YouTube suit the English Premier League, French Tennis Federation, and various music publishers sued the Google-owned YouTube in 2007 “on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated,” and in 2010 formally asked to be certified as a class. The proposed class would contain people or entities whose copyrighted work was posted on YouTube on or after April 15, 2005 without their permission.
More:
Four Anonymous/Lulzsec hackers handed jail sentences: 20 months suspended, 24 months, 30 months and even 32 months
Posted: 2013/05/16 in Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Jurisprudence, Litigation, Network Security, Organized Crime, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy, Stats / reportsConvicts: Ryan Cleary, Jake Davis, Mustafa al-Bassam and Ryan Ackroyd
Targets included the CIA, the U.S. Air Force, Sony Pictures, games maker EA, News International and the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency
- hacking into the US Air Force’s computers and possession of indecent images of babies and children;
- possession of images showing child abuse;
- stealing emails, credit card details and passwords from their targets’ computer servers and crashing victims’ websites with distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks;
- providing the software to carry out attacks and posting stolen data online;
- stealing data from Sony;
- redirecting visitors trying to visit the Sun newspaper’s site to a fake story about News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch committing suicide;
- an unauthorised act to impair the operation of a computer;
- hacking and launching cyber-attacks against organisations including the CIA and Soca.
German Federal Court: Embedded YouTube videos do not infringe copyright under current German law, but they could violate European rules
Posted: 2013/05/16 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Google, Jurisprudence, Litigation, Public Policy, Stats / reportsThe court said that it has referred a case about YouTube embeds to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg for an opinion, and has not reached a final ruling.
The court found that embedded YouTube videos don’t infringe the copyright of the rights holder because an embedded video is a link to content on another website.
This doesn’t violate the German Copyright Act because it is the owner of the website that originally posted the video who has responsibility for making it accessible to the public.
Pirate Bay Domain Registrar(s) Assist(s) Copyright Infringement. Perhaps Not Only In Sweden?
Posted: 2013/05/16 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, File Sharing, Illegal File Sharing, Jurisprudence, Litigation, Stats / reportsThe organization responsible for Sweden’s top-level domain is facing court action after refusing to disable or seize two domains operated by The Pirate Bay. The Internet Infrastructure Foundation, the body that administers the .SE TLD and engages in projects to better the Internet, now faces a court showdown. The prosecution office is claiming that the foundation is guilty of assisting those who assist others to engage in copyright infringement.
Kim Dotcom Granted Supreme Court Appeal Over U.S. Evidence
Posted: 2013/05/16 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, File Sharing, Illegal File Sharing, Litigation, Public Policy, Stats / reportsMegaupload founder Kim Dotcom and his alleged co-conspirators have been thrown a lifeline in their ongoing extradition battle in New Zealand. Previously it was decided that Dotcom could not examine the mountains of evidence being withheld by U.S. authorities, but the Supreme Court has now granted an appeal, so the matter can be settled at the country’s highest court.
“I am looking forward to the NZ Supreme Court review in our case and getting the discovery needed for a fair extradition hearing,” Dotcom commented on the news.
If the Supreme Court sides with Kim Dotcom and his associates, the evidence disclosed would be hugely helpful in ongoing legal battles on multiple continents. This includes the pending extradition battle in New Zealand.
Meanwhile, Megaupload’s lawyers haven’t been sitting still. In the United States they have a request pending to dismiss the case against the company, and last week two of their top lawyers released a white paper accusing the Obama administration of taking instructions from Hollywood.
Over in Europe, Germany was also added to the mix, with Megaupload lawyer Robert Amsterdam asking the Government there to intervene. Amsterdam argues that the human rights of Dotcom, a German citizen, have been violated by the U.S., and he wants the authorities to raise this issue in Washington.
More:
http://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-supreme-court-appeal-over-u-s-evidence-130516/
The Ebook Pricing Email That Steve Jobs Sent to James Murdoch
Posted: 2013/05/16 in Education / Awareness, Litigation, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech EvolutionMurdoch, ultimately in control of what happens at Harper Collins, was approached by Steve Jobs to undermine Amazon’s $9.99 e-book pricing model, reports All Things D. Jobs explains in the email that he thinks Haper Collins should “throw in with Apple and see if we can all make a go of this to create a real mainstream e-books market at $12.99 and $14.99.”
That said, the rest of the email softens the overall message: those prices are really suggested as caps, and Jobs admits that the idea might not work out. But it is clear that the plan was to organize a market which charged more than Amazon.
More:
http://gizmodo.com/the-price-fixing-email-that-steve-jobs-sent-to-james-mu-507348524
UK Student Admits Breaching Sony Copyrights With Leak of PS3 SDK
Posted: 2013/05/15 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, File Sharing, Illegal File Sharing, Jurisprudence, Litigation, Stats / reportsLast year an Internet user known as El Nomeo leaked version 3.70 of Sony’s Playstation3 SDK online. Yesterday the man appeared in a UK court and pleaded guilty to charges of copyright infringement. He’ll be sentenced next month.
More:
http://torrentfreak.com/uk-student-admits-breaching-sony-copyrights-with-leak-of-ps3-sdk-130515/
SONY hacker gets year of house arrest. But not for hacking
Posted: 2013/05/14 in Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Jurisprudence, Litigation, Network Security, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy, Stats / reportsA West Side man suspected of helping crash Sony’s online game servers worldwide in 2008 will spend a year on house arrest. But not for the hacking.
Instead, Todd M. Miller, 23, was sentenced yesterday in federal court for obstructing a federal investigation because he smashed his computers, halting an FBI investigation into his hacking. U.S. District Judge Peter C. Economus said Miller was part of the KCUF clan, a group of hackers who organized an attack on Sony’s computer servers in San Diego in 2008 and beyond. After the FBI interviewed Miller in 2011, they returned with a search warrant and found that his hard drives were missing and he had smashed his computers.
Without the computers, the FBI did not have enough evidence to pursue hacking charges against Miller and another unnamed Columbus man, according to court records. Miller, who has a ninth-grade education, told the judge that he was “immature and ignorant and caught up with the wrong people at the wrong time” when he destroyed the computers. He said he has learned his lesson.
“You will not see me again,” he told Economus.
The judge also sentenced him to three years probation and ordered him to get his high-school equivalence certificate. Miller could have been sentenced to 20 years in prison and fined $250,000. Economus told Miller he could “see no purpose in sentencing you to prison” because Miller has a full-time job and some stability in his life after a tumultuous childhood.
French report lists 75 proposals to help the country’s film, music, TV and publishing industry adapt to the digital revolution
Posted: 2013/05/13 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, File Sharing, Illegal File Sharing, Legislation, Litigation, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports, Tech EvolutionA report due to be presented to the French president and culture minister on 13 May calls for the dissolution of the Hadopi anti-piracy authority and for its functions to be taken over by audiovisual regulator CSA, Journal du Dimanche reports. The report on “Act 2 of the cultural exception” includes 75 proposals to help the country’s film, music, TV and publishing industry adapt to the digital revolution. Its author, former Canal Plus chairman Pierre Lescure, proposes replacing the suspension of internet service with fines for persistent illegal downloaders. Hadopi will disappear, but there will still be a system of regulation provided by the CSA, said a presidential advisor.
Other proposals include relaxing the chronology for films to be carried on TV and online video. The VoD window would be brought forward to three, rather than four months, after cinema release. The report also suggests reviewing the so-called “Cope tax” on ISPs and the private copy tax on recording supports. It does not address the Colin and Collin report that proposed taxing US internet giants, which is currently being discussed by the National Digital Council.
http://www.telecompaper.com/news/govt-study-proposes-dissolving-hadopi-report–942930
The first hints of what can be expected from the report on cultural content in the digital era by Pierre Lescure, which will be handed to President François Hollande today at 12pm, have been leaked.
Among the 75 expected proposals, the report plans to tax connected devices such as smartphones and tablets as well as getting rid of Hadopi.
Hadopi, the authority, set up by Nicolas Sarkozy to fight illegal downloads, will be abolished and its remit transferred to TV regulator CSA which would become the new regulator for digital cultural offerings.
The tax on connected devices will include connected TV sets and aims to compensate the content value transfer from consumers who are increasingly accustomed to getting free content to manufacturers and high-priced devices.
The report, compiled by the former Canal+ Group CEO, also aims to enable consumers to access movies 18 months after their theatrical release, instead of the current 36 months, through VOD.
Barrister Barbara Hewson at Hardwicke in London in desperate need of training about effects of sexual abuse on children (and adults)
Posted: 2013/05/12 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Jurisprudence, Legislation, Litigation, Organized Crime, Public Policy, Stats / reports…or regarding the atrocities in the Soviet Union for that matter…And by her logic, she would probably not support the persecution of (old) Nazis…
Barbara Hewson writes:
- With its emphasis on outcomes over process, the post-Savile witch-hunting of ageing celebs echoes the Soviet Union.
- I do not support the persecution of old men. The manipulation of the rule of law by the Savile Inquisition – otherwise known as Operation Yewtree – and its attendant zealots poses a far graver threat to society than anything Jimmy Savile ever did.
- What is strikingly different today is how Britain’s law-enforcement apparatus has been infiltrated by moral crusaders, like the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) and the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC). Both groups take part in Operation Yewtree, which looks into alleged offences both by and not by Savile.
- These pressure groups have a vested interest in universalising the notion of abuse, making it almost as prevalent as original sin, but with the modern complication that it carries no possibility of redemption, only ‘survival’. The problem with this approach is that it makes abuse banal, and reduces the sympathy that we should feel for victims of really serious assaults.
- But the most remarkable facet of the Savile scandal is how adult complainants are invited to act like children. Hence we have witnessed the strange spectacle of mature adults calling a children’s charity to complain about the distant past.
- (Is she really suggesting that the following is the only type of conduct displayed by Savile and his friends???) Touching a 17-year-old’s breast, kissing a 13-year-old, or putting one’s hand up a 16-year-old’s skirt, are not remotely comparable to the horrors of the Ealing Vicarage assaults and gang rape, or the Fordingbridge gang rape and murders, both dating from 1986. Anyone suggesting otherwise has lost touch with reality.
- Ordinarily, Hall’s misdemeanors would not be prosecuted, and certainly not decades after the event. What we have here is the manipulation of the British criminal-justice system to produce scapegoats on demand. It is a grotesque spectacle.
- It’s time to end this prurient charade, which has nothing to do with justice or the public interest. Adults and law-enforcement agencies must stop fetishising victimhood. Instead, we should focus on arming today’s youngsters with the savoir-faire and social skills to avoid drifting into compromising situations, and prosecute modern crime. As for law reform, now regrettably necessary, my recommendations are: remove complainant anonymity; introduce a strict statute of limitations for criminal prosecutions and civil actions; and reduce the age of consent to 13. (Ah, what she actually may be after is damage control in relation her group of close friends, by limiting the amount of potential targets and complainants. We have seen that one before…The only thing that Hewson is proving here is that the police in the UK is doing a good job and some people are finally starting to feel threatened).
FileServe Hit With $1,000,000 Movie Piracy Lawsuit
Posted: 2013/05/11 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, File Sharing, Illegal File Sharing, Litigation, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution“FileServe is a website that sells access to large amounts of unauthorized intellectual property to the public, including California residents, without paying the rightful owners of that property,” the filmmakers write.
More:
http://torrentfreak.com/fileserve-sued-for-copyright-infringement-by-movie-company-130511/
MegaUpload’s Kim Dotcom: “The key to making money on the Internet is global instant availability of content at a fair price”
Posted: 2013/05/11 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, File Sharing, Illegal File Sharing, Litigation, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution“You can’t release content exclusively in the US and 3-6 months later in other markets. That encourages piracy. The Internet is about NOW.”
“There are so many ways for content creators to monetize their product online. Isn’t it insane that a company like Google, that creates no content, is the most valuable Internet company in the world? If the content industry would get together and create a realtime global online marketplace for content they would create the most valuable Internet company.”
“I think Bitcoin is great and Mega is accepting Bitcoin through one of our resellers. Digital currencies are the future and together with other innovations they will replace the ways we deal with money today. So obviously there will be a fight around this because the big banks won’t want to give up their license to print money with bogus fees for every transfer you make.”
“Chris Dodd has weakened the MPAA and Hollywood substantially with this attack against me. Because in the coming years they will have to deal with the fallout of this attack. Its coming back like a boomerang and it will hit them on the head. The good old days of buying favors and writing the laws they want are over. This case is going to stop copyright extremism and provide better rights to users. New legislation will be much more balanced and focus on users rights. Mark my words :-)”
“I have said many times that I am against piracy. I think copyrights have a right to exist. People who create content should be rewarded. No question. But I am against copyright extremism. I am against a content business model that encourages piracy. Believe me there would be much less of it if everyone everywhere could just access content and pay a fair price for it. Megaupload has not caused the piracy problem just like your spoon doesn’t cause you to gain weight. Megaupload was a tool.”
“Just have a look at Youtube and the amount of infringements you can find there every day. A US court has just confirmed that Youtube is protected by same harbor laws even if they have general knowledge of infringements and even if they welcome it. Megaupload deserved the same protection. “
More:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10882223
Google Wins Vertical Search Antitrust Case In Germany
Posted: 2013/05/09 in Education / Awareness, Google, Jurisprudence, Litigation, New Business Models, Online advertising, Stats / reportsIn a German case that could have broader antitrust implications in Europe, Google defeated a petition for an injunction brought by a German online weather trade group, Verband Deutscher Wetterdienstleister. The case is interesting because it involves a private antitrust action against Google and directly addresses the “search bias” argument made by Google critics.
More:
http://searchengineland.com/google-wins-vertical-search-antitrust-case-in-germany-158544
All Your Thoughts/Ideas/Theories Are Belong To Us
Posted: 2013/05/08 in Education / Awareness, Jurisprudence, Litigation, Stats / reportsGerman court convicts, sentences BitTorrent site operator to nearly 4 years
Posted: 2013/05/08 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, File Sharing, Illegal File Sharing, Jurisprudence, Litigation, Online advertising, Organized Crime, Public Policy, Stats / reportsA German district court in the western city of Aachen has handed down one of the harshest sentences for abetting copyright infringement: three years and 10 months in prison.
The 33-year-old alleged operator of the Russian-hosted torrent.to, who was named only as “Jens. R” in court documents, remains under investigation for fraudulent bankruptcy filings and embezzlement. Other than pleading not guilty, Jens R. did not offer a defense in the case and is expected to appeal.
Like similar sites, such as the Pirate Bay, the defendant was accused of selling ads against links to torrent files.
Disguise. EU rules Google’s Motorola abused patents in seeking injunction against Apple. Google undoubtedly shaking in fear
Posted: 2013/05/06 in Education / Awareness, Google, Litigation, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports, Tech EvolutionIn a preliminary ruling, the European Commission has determined that Google’s Motorola Mobility abused its dominance in mobile patents when it sought an injunction against Apple’s iPhone in Germany.
The EU’s ruling made on Monday could set the stage for antitrust charges to be filed against Google, according to The New York Times. Motorola had initially sought a legal injunction against Apple’s iPhone over a standard-essential patent related to GSM technology.
Motorola had initially committed the patent to be subject to Fair, Reasonable and Non-Descriminatory licensing, or FRAND. That means the company must offer a licensing agreement to competitors asking for it.
Because of that, Apple argued that Motorola’s injunction efforts were illegally leveraging patents the company was obligated to license. The heated matter even prompted mobile rival Microsoft to join the fray with Apple against Motorola.
On Monday, the European Union’s executive body declared Motorola’s injunction was “an abuse of a dominant position prohibited by E.U. antitrust rules.” Google officially acquired Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion a year ago.
“I think that companies should spend their time innovating and competing on the merits of the products they offer — not misusing their intellectual property rights to hold up competitors to the detriment of innovation and consumer choice,” Joaquin Almunia, the E.U. competition commissioner, said in a statement on the matter on Monday.
MegaUpload’s Kim Dotcom Wants To Meet Up With United States Attorney General Eric Holder
Posted: 2013/05/05 in Copyright, Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, File Sharing, Illegal File Sharing, Litigation, Organized Crime, Public Policy, Stats / reportsHolder will be in New Zealand to join the Quintet meeting with his four counterpart Attorneys General from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
But Kim Dotcom — the notorious Auckland-based, German-born internet entrepreneur and founder of the massive global file-sharing websites Megaupload and Mega — is working hard to ensure that Holder’s fleeting visit is neither unnoticed nor routine. Kim Dotcom is offering $500 to anyone who can capture footage of Holder in Auckland and set it to music — specifically Dotcom’s own Megaupload song.
Dotcom has a gripe with Eric Holder. It is the United States Attorney General who is leading the effort to extradite Kim Dotcom to the United States to face copyright, racketeering, money-laundering and other charges, laid out in a 72-page indictmentfiled by the United States government last year.
More:
http://www.theglobalmail.org/feature/dirty-tricks-dotcom/610/
See also:
http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/05/03/usa-courts-holder-megaupload-idINDEE94200920130503
