The usual gang of RIAA-funded suspects have introduced a bill that would boost US intellectual property laws and the penalties that go along with them, and allow the U.S. government to seize computers, says Ars Technica.
By December 4, 2007
The MPAA’s “University Toolkit,” a controversial suite of programs designed to help colleges monitor their networks for copyright infringement has been taken down for copyright infringement. Life is mysterious and magical, isn’t it? [BoingBoing]
J.K. Rowling Sues To Stop Publication Of Fan-Written Potter Reference Book
By November 14, 2007
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling takes a dim view of independently authored reference books, it seems. She’s joined a lawsuit to stop the publication of a fan-written reference book based on a website that she herself admitted to using while fact checking her writing.
New Bill Would Cut Financial Aid To Schools Who Don't Police P2P, Sign Up With Napster
By November 12, 2007
Ars Technica is reporting that there is a provision in a massive new education bill that would punish schools that don’t police p2p traffic on their networks by cutting federal financial aid. In addition, the bill requires that schools offer an industry approved alternative to file sharing, such as Napster or Rhapsody.
MediaDefender's Emails Hit The Internet: Entrapment? The New York Attorney General's Office?
By September 17, 2007
MediaDefender, a company that “disrupts” p2p on behalf of record labels and movie studios, suffered an embarrassing leak this weekend when 700MB of internal company emails were distributed on the internet. Oops!
The MPAA's New Secret Weapon: DVD Sniffing Dogs!
By August 29, 2007
The MPAA is serious about stopping piracy—so serious that they’ve hired DVD-sniffing dogs to patrol border-crossings. No, we’re not kidding. DVD-sniffing dogs are real and they’re already on the job!
Is Warner Bros. Filming Audiences In An Attempt To Stop Piracy?
By August 20, 2007
Here’s the creepiest complaint we’ve received in a long, long time. Reader Sam says he was filmed by a security guard contracted by Time/Warner during a recent showing of The Invasion at an AMC movie theater.
Teen Faces Charges For Recording 20 Seconds of "Transformers"
By August 2, 2007
Don’t use your digital camera in a theater to record 20 seconds of the movie Transformers (even if it’s just to show your little brother) or you could face 1 year in jail and a $2,500 fine.
CCIA Starts Online Petition Defending Fair Use
By August 1, 2007
The CCIA, an industry trade group representing the interests of the likes of Google and Microsoft, asked us to let you know they’ve started an online petition at DefendFairUse.org.
Meet The "CCIA": Google, Microsoft's Industry Group Attacks Copyright Bullying
By August 1, 2007
Google, Microsoft, and others speaking through the Computer and Communications Industry Association or CCIA, have announced their intention to file a complaint with the FCC accusing copyright holders such as Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the MPAA and the RIAA of “overstating” their rights in various consumer warnings.
University Of Kansas' New File Sharing Rule: One Strike And You're Out
By July 22, 2007
The University of Kansas has a harsh message for its students: illegally download copyrighted material and you’ll spend the rest of your college days checking Facebook in the computer lab. The university previously operated under a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy. From Kansas University ResNet:
AT&T's New Copyright Protection Plan: Read Everyone's Data!
By June 16, 2007
AT&T has announced a plan to keep pirated content off their network by peeking at everyone’s data to see if it contains copyrighted material. The plan, which the telecom somehow claims will “not violate user privacy,” will only target repeat offenders.
Digg Goes Ape$#@*!
By May 2, 2007
A wide-scale user revolt is disrupting popular social news networking Digg. It’s a protest over Digg acquiescing to MPAA pressure and deleting a 15,000+ dugg story about a crack for the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray DRM system.
Jack Valenti, Architect of the MPAA Movie Rating System, Dies At 85
By April 27, 2007
Valenti was a special assistant and confidant to President Lyndon Johnson when he was lured to Hollywood in 1966 by movie moguls Lew Wasserman and Arthur Krim. A lifelong film lover, he once cited the 1966 film ”A Man for All Seasons” as his all-time favorite.
RIAA, MPAA vs China: US Takes Pirating Complaints To The WTO
By April 10, 2007
On Monday, the dispute got even hotter as the United States formally sued China in world trade court.
The RIAA And MPAA Need To Lie
By April 7, 2007
The RIAA and MPAA are telling California legislators that lies and deceit are an integral part of their anti-piracy strategy. The importance of lying, masterfully demonstrated by Jim Carrey in his 1997 hit “Liar Liar,” is at issue as California legislators mull a measure that would ban pretexting. Otherwise known as lying, pretexting involves the use of “false statements and other misleading practices to get personal information.”
MPAA's Most Wanted: MPAA Compiles List Of Top 25 "Pirate" Universities
By April 2, 2007
It wasn’t too long ago that the RIAA compiled their list of the universities most infested by alleged music pirates, and now it seems the MPAA is following suit. The RIAA used their list to target universities, sending threatening letters to the school’s administration, insisting that they forward “settlement letters” to students who matched IP addresses the record companies had harvested from P2P sharing programs. Now the MPAA has a list of its own, compiled at the request of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary. Read the list inside…
