The folks at Disney have patented a search engine that ranks and filters out results based on “authenticity” metrics, allowing it to exclude “undesirable” results, which it describes only as “results referencing piracy websites, child pornography websites, and/or the like,” lumping in people trying to watch Finding Nemo for free with dangerous sexual predators. [More]
piracy
MPAA, Theater Owners Adopt Zero-Tolerance Policy Toward Google Glass
By 10.29.14
In “who hates Google Glass owners today?” news, the Motion Picture Association of America and the National Association of Theatre Owners have updated their joint anti-piracy policy to add wearable electronics devices — but really just Google Glass — to the list of verboten items to operate while enjoying that movie you should have just waited to watch on your TV. [More]
Google Fights Piracy (And Makes A Buck) With Ads For Legal Downloads In Search Results
By 10.20.14
Have you been wanting to catch up on Game of Thrones but don’t have HBO (or a friend who will share her HBO Go login info)? People who search for things like “Game of Thrones Download” on Google are now being greeted by ads from services offering legal ways to pay for the content you’re after. [More]
MPAA Swears It’s Not Pushing For More Anti-Piracy Legislation
By 9.12.14
A few years back, the entertainment industry used its unique charms (read: money) to glamour several members of Congress into supporting the Stop Online Piracy Act, one of the few pieces of legislation to draw almost universal disdain from everyone other than the industry that backed it, as it would have exacerbated the shoot-first-maybe-investigate-later model already in place thanks to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Thankfully, some Congressional aides actually look at the Internet and sensed the public backlash wasn’t worth the campaign donations that their bosses were still going to get anyway, and SOPA failed. Now the industry says it wants to combat piracy by winning over consumers instead of arresting teenagers. [More]
Leaked Movie About Kicking Butt Vanishes From File-Sharing Sites After Butt-Kicking From Courts
By 8.19.14
For decades, we’ve all been sitting through FBI warnings before our movies. Those warnings tell us that sharing media is very wrong, piracy is bad, and we will all get into trouble for doing it. So the operators of file-sharing torrent sites know they might end up on risky legal ground. But what they might not expect is to have their websites removed from the internet for them before they even know they’re being sued. [More]
Alamo Drafthouse Bans Google Glass Use From Its Theaters
By 6.10.14
The Google Glass face computer is such a new invention and there are so few out in the wild that etiquette and rules haven’t quite caught up yet. Now that any random member of the American public with $1,500 and a tolerance for being stared at can buy the device, rules are cropping up. Like at Alamo Drafthouse, a small chain of movie theaters that has now banned the devices from its theaters. [More]
NBC Says It Stopped 45,000 Instances Of Video Piracy During Sochi Olympics
By 2.27.14
When there’s a $775 million broadcasting investment on the line, you better believe that a network like NBC is going to go after video pirates just like Peter Pan and his gang in Neverland. In this case, Neverland was the Winter Olympics in Sochi, an event that NBC says it protected its rights by busting 45,000 instances of illegally posted videos or pirated streams. [More]
The Artist Currently Known As Prince Is Suing 22 Accused Bootleggers For $1M Each
By 1.28.14
Recording artist Prince wants some of his fans to give him $22 million. Emphasis on the “some” — just the 22 people his piracy lawsuit accuses of bootlegging his live performances and publishing them on the Internet. [More]
Man Wearing Google Glass Claims Movie Theater Called FBI To Arrest Him For Piracy
By 1.21.14
UPDATE: A spokesman for AMC Theatres responded to Consumerist’s request for comment, saying the company takes movie theft “very seriously,” which is why the feds got involved. [More]
MPAA Wants Theaters To Call Cops On People Who Dare Take A Photo During A Movie
By 11.14.13
The Motion Picture Association of America has released new best practices guidelines for movie theater operators who want to crack down on that worst of crimes — the shaky-cam pirated movie. To that end, the MPAA is suggesting a zero-tolerance policy, not just for people caught trying to record a motion picture, but for anyone who dares to take out their cellphone to take a photo during a screening. [More]
Breaking Bad Finale Has Already Been Pirated More Than 500,000 Times
By 9.30.13
Plenty of people tuned into AMC last night to watch the finale of Breaking Bad (Spoiler Alert: Jesse and Walter have been living under a transparent dome the whole time!). And hundreds of thousands more around the globe chose to get their hands on the episode via less-than-legitimate methods, even in countries where it is incredibly easy to get the show on the cheap. [More]
BitTorrent Users Try, Unsuccessfully, To Trigger Copyright Alert System
By 4.29.13
The recently launched Copyright Alert System — a joint venture between big-time content creators and the major Internet service providers — is supposed to trigger a series of alerts and warnings when a subscriber of a participating ISP appears to be illegally sharing copyrighted content. But some who put CAS to the test say they were able to share several items without being flagged. [More]
Report: House Of Representatives Apparently Can’t Get Enough Pirated Episodes Of ‘Dexter’
By 1.16.13
Pardon us, U.S. House of Representatives — is that… is that mud on your face? Don’t worry, you’re not the only government group to get caught allegedly downloading pirated content from the Internets. A new report claims that someone or multiple someones in the offices of the U.S. House of Representatives have been catching up on TV and movies by illegally downloading content recently. [More]
Game Of Thrones Is King Of Pirated TV Shows
By 12.26.12
While there may be various scheming parties vying for the Iron Throne in King’s Landing, HBO’s Game of Thrones is the undisputed champ in the rankings of the 2012’s most-pirated TV shows. [More]
Anti-Piracy Porn Lawyer: “I’m The Original Copyright Troll”
By 10.15.12
We’ve written quite a bit recently about strong-arm tactics used by lawyers representing the porn industry to squeeze settlements out of alleged file sharers who would rather pay up than have their names publicly linked to downloaded porn. One attorney who has made millions from this practice says he is fully aware that everyone hates him. [More]
Google Switches Up Its Search Engine To Shun Sites Suspected Of Peddling Pirated Content
By 8.13.12
Google is making some tweaks in how its search engine runs in order to crack down on any sites that could possibly be promoting or hosting pirated entertainment content. As for why, well, there are a few prevailing thoughts. Perhaps it’s because the entertainment industry wouldn’t get off Google’s back for letting users find free movies and music on the Internet or maybe Google just wants to impress the cool kids of Hollywood so it doesn’t get sued. [More]
No, You Didn't Rent A Pirated DVD From Redbox
By 3.30.12
Nathan didn’t know who it was replacing Redbox DVDs with ripped and burned copies in his city, but he approved. Kinda. He like pirated copies better, without all of the un-skippable trailers and other nonsense that studios cram on DVDs. “I don’t know who this vigilante is, but I’m thankful for him,” he wrote. Only there was no vigilante stealing discs from Redbox en masse. This Sony DVD-R with the movie title written in felt-tip pen is an official, legal copy of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” [More]
Angry Birds CEO: "Piracy May Not Be A Bad Thing"
By 2.1.12
While lawmakers and Hollywood execs try to come up with ways to combat piracy in ham-fisted, knee-jerk ways that punish everyone, the CEO of Rovio Mobile — better known as the company that makes Angry Birds — has joined his voice to more sensible suits who see online piracy as an opportunity to learn and grow. [More]
