Wikipedia prides itself on being neutral… so why is it taking itself down to protest something political? According to their official explanation of the protest decision, the members of the Wikimedia Foundation feel that “although Wikipedia’s articles are neutral, its existence is not.” [More]
piracy
SOPA and PIPA Far From Dead, Despite Concerns Of White House And Changes To Bills
By 1.17.12
Although the White House this weekend expressed “serious reservations” about elements of the pending anti-piracy bills SOPA and PIPA, and House leaders have said they will not conduct hearings on their bill any time soon, the legislation is far from dead. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said this weekend that he hopes to open debate on the Senate’s version later this month. And House sponsor Lamar Smith said he will continue work on that chamber’s version. Internet protests planned for tomorrow, in which some of the web’s largest sites will go offline for 24 hours, are expected to go ahead as scheduled. [More]
"Thor" And "Kung Fu Panda" Were Popular With Pirates This Year
By 12.30.11
While sailing the seven seas of legally questionable file sharing, freeloaders apparently cast their treasure nets for the likes of Thor, Glee, Kung Fu Panda 2 and Green Lantern. Those titles were reportedly among the most searched-for BitTorrent phrases in 2011. [More]
RIAA On Illegal Dexter Downloads: "It Wasn't Us"
By 12.21.11
Earlier this week, we told you about how the torrent freaks at TorrentFreak claimed to have discovered that some people at anti-piracy stalwart the Recording Industry Association of America had been illegally using BitTorrent to download copyrighted material, including five full seasons of Showtime hit Dexter. RIAA has since come out with an explanation, one that sounds exactly like the defense used by the very people it has pushed to have prosecuted — “it wasn’t us.” [More]
Report: Someone At The RIAA Downloaded $9 Million Worth Of Pirated Dexter Episodes
By 12.20.11
The hallowed halls of the Recording Industry Association of America, where all music is bought at full price and never shared, lest people face violations of up to $150,000 per pirated item, has reportedly been infiltrated by ne’er-do-wells who think they can BitTorrent copyrighted material at work and not be caught. [More]
Man Sentenced To Year In Prison For Leaking So-So Wolverine Movie
By 12.20.11
The New York man who pleaded guilty to uploading a nearly finished work print of X-Men Origins: Wolverine to the internet a month before it hit theaters, has been sentenced to a year behind bars in federal prison for letting the world see how mediocre the movie was before they had to pay $10 to see it at the theater. [More]
These Are The Most Pirated Movies
By 10.13.11
Although it’s tough for bean counters to take much joy in their product being massively pirated, there’s little question that popularity with the freeloaders translates to success with paying customers. That’s why it’s not much of a surprise that Avatar, the all-time highest-grossing film, is also the most pirated. [More]
Lawsuit Claims 70-Year-Old Woman Illegally Downloaded Porn
By 7.18.11
“Grandma, what are you doing on the Internet? Oh, downloading porn illegally?” Yeah, that scenario doesn’t seem too likely, but nonetheless, a 70-year-old woman is being told to pay up in a settlement pushed by a Chicago law firm, claiming she and others pirated porn. [More]
Comcast, Verizon, Others Hop On Board Anti-Piracy "Copyright Alert System"
By 7.7.11
We know, because you’ve told us, that a number of you prefer to get your movies and premium TV via less-than-legal internet sources. We’re not going to judge you for that, but you may soon begin seeing notices from the new Copyright Alert System to let you know that they are aware of your dirty downloads and would you kindly stop. [More]
Few Pirated Titles Named In Copyright Infringement Case Against CBS Interactive
By 6.2.11
A copyright lawsuit against CBS Interactive, the parent company of CNET, claims the company helped others infringe on copyrights by promoting and profiting on LimeWire downloads via Download.com in 2008. But when asked to provide a list of songs and movies that CNET allegedly helped others pirate, the plaintiffs came up with only six obscure titles: one movie (2007’s Fish Tales) and five songs which don’t yet have U.S. copyright registration. [More]
California Law Would Allow Raids Of Suspected Piracy Facilities Without Warrants
By 5.19.11
If anti-piracy California legislation becomes law, authorities will be able to enter facilities suspected of pirating movie and music discs and seize equipment without first receiving warrants. [More]
Author Pirates Copies Of Own Books To Put Them In E-book Format
By 5.16.11
Most publishers and some authors believe online piracy robs them of potential income, but at least one writer has managed to turn the digital pilfering of his wares into a potential gain. He says he’s downloaded copies of out-of-print work with the idea of converting the files into legit e-books he can sell. [More]
23,000 Who Downloaded Stallone Flick Face Lawsuit
By 5.10.11
Hopefully 23,000 users who allegedly illegally downloaded The Expendables really, really enjoyed the movie, because now they’ll be paying for it with fear and loathing brought on by a lawsuit, as well as possibly tons of money. [More]
Rappers Sue CBS Interactive, Alleging It Profited From Music Piracy
By 5.5.11
A lawsuit led by rap artists alleges CBS Interactive, the parent company of CNET, aided copyright infringement by promoting and profiting on downloads of file-sharing service LimeWire. [More]
Judge Rules IP Addresses Aren't People, Blocking Subpoenas
By 5.4.11
In a decision that could have long-term implications for cybercrime prosecution, a U.S. District judge ruled that IP addresses do not directly represent people, and thus aren’t fair criteria for copyright holders to subpoena individuals. [More]
Sony Can Sift Through Alleged Hacker's PayPal Records
By 3.17.11
In it’s all-out legal quest to stomp an alleged hacker who released a PS3 jailbreak, Sony continues to seem to get whatever information it wants via legal channels. After being allowed to collect the IP addresses of anyone who visited the alleged hacker’s site, Sony has now been given the go-ahead from a federal magistrate to collect the man’s PayPal records. [More]
Hackers Breach Nintendo 3DS Defenses Right After Device Debuts In Japan
By 2.28.11
A major reason for a video game company to come out with a new device is to make it safer from attacks by modders who find ways to let the systems play unlicensed games, as well as swipe copies of legit titles. Nintendo’s honeymoon for the 3DS handheld — which was just released in Japan and comes to the U.S. in late March — is now over before it really started. [More]
Movie Pirates Mourn: MPAA Puts The Smackdown On 50 Torrent Sites
By 1.31.11
If you listen very closely, you can just hear the agonized shrieks of torrent site users bemoaning the loss of their favorite movie-providing sites. The Motion Picture Association of America joined forces with Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN to shut down 12 torrent sites in the U.S. and 39 more abroad. [More]
