The elite cyber-squad freedom fighters of the The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) released findings today that Comcast does indeed meddle with peer-to-peer file sharing. They’re also giving away some software you can install to test your own ISP. The FCC still has yet to respond to complaints and reports of Comcast’s interference.
piracy
Walgreen Planning DVD-Burning Kiosks To Sell Movies
By 10.29.07
Sometime next year, Walgreen will introduce kiosks where customers can select and purchase movies—mostly older ones that aren’t as frequently stocked in stores—and have them burned onto DVDs while they wait (for about 15 minutes). Although the idea seems like one that someone should have had years ago, it wasn’t a commercial possibility until last month, when the organization responsible for licensing CSS—the widespread copy restriction software that’s coded into pretty much every Hollywood DVD release—expanded its licensing structure to make room for business models like this one.
Your Cash Isn't Good Enough For Apple's Precious iPhone
By 10.28.07
Four benjamins will no longer get you an iPhone, now that Apple is requiring credit cards for all iPhone purchases. The new policy, which is billed as an anti-piracy initiative, also prevents customers from buying more than two iPhones per visit. Apple claims the policy went into effect this Thursday, however we received the following tip more than a week ago:
By 10.18.07
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Media companies including CBS Corp., Microsoft Corp., News Corp.’s Fox and MySpace, Viacom, Walt Disney and NBC have all agreed to some über-pact of copyright “guidelines” to protect their work, and have said they will announce the details later today. “The agreed principles include using technology to eliminate copyright-infringing content uploaded by users to Web sites and blocking any material before it is publicly accessible.” [Reuters]
"In Rainbows" Pirated A Lot, Despite Name-Your-Price Deal
By 10.18.07
Radiohead may have moved 1.2 million copies of its new album “In Rainbows” when it was released last week, but according to industry analysts, over 500,000 copies were downloaded through old-fashioned file sharing networks, eroding the perceived success of the distribution plan and possibly hindering similar release plans for other artists in the future.
Appeals Court Says Hacking Your DirecTV Not The Same As Commercial Piracy
By 9.13.07
While piracy funds kills babies, we support the idea of people being free to modify devices they have purchased with they money they earned through blood, sweat and toil, so we were glad to hear that an appeals court said that hacking your DirecTV card shouldn’t be penalized under a more punitive clause of the Federal Communications Act.
The MPAA's New Secret Weapon: DVD Sniffing Dogs!
By 8.29.07
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!
"Bioshock" Comes With Nasty DRM That Sets Off Anti-Virus Software, Ruins Everyone's Day
By 8.23.07
We’ve been hearing all this fantastic sh*t about how we omg, totally have to get Bioshock right now. Well, it seems that although the game is cool, the DRM is a huge pain in the ass.
Teen Pleads Guilty In "20 Seconds Of Transformers" Piracy Case
By 8.23.07
The teenager who was arrested for filming 20 seconds of Transformers on her Canon Powershot camera (a still camera that takes short movies) has plead guilty to the charges, says Wired’s Threat Level blog.
Is Warner Bros. Filming Audiences In An Attempt To Stop Piracy?
By 8.20.07
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.
Chinese Fake Harry Potter Is Awesome; Also A Dragon
By 8.11.07
Officials might consider counterfeit Chinese “translations” of copyrighted work illegal, but we like to think of them as the marketplace’s version of outsider art; it’s like fanfic and Lulu.com got together and opened up a bookstore in Shanghai. The New York Times teases its readers with awesome excerpts from a handful of recent Harry Potter knockoffs, with titles far better than the real ones:
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Harry Potter and the Chinese Porcelain Doll
Harry Potter and the Leopard-Walk-Up-to-Dragon
Harry Potter and the Chinese Overseas Students at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Blockbuster Tries To Thwart Netflix, Gobbles Up Movie Download Service
By 8.10.07
Blockbuster has purchased Movielink, an ailing movie download service cobbled together by film studios to combat online piracy. The deal will give Blockbuster access to movies from Sony, Universal, Paramount, MGM, and Warner Brothers. Netflix’s download service, by contrast, offers a limited selection of mostly older movies. The deal is the latest salvo fired in the consumer-friendly war of the movie rental services. No word yet on how long hackers might take to crack the new download service.
French Nab 16-Year-Old Harry Potter Fan For Posting Translation Online
By 8.9.07
In the U.S., teens blithely record movie clips; in France, they produce “near professional” translations. A 16-year-old French kid translated the final Harry Potter book and posted it online within days of its late July release, and now could face a heavy fine as well as charges for violating intellectual property rights. Police are also questioning other minors who may have helped.
University Of Kansas' New File Sharing Rule: One Strike And You're Out
By 7.22.07
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:
By 6.28.07
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Here’s a clever way to get the RIAA to drop a groundless piracy lawsuit against you: demand that they provide actual proof.
Blockbuster Sends Customer Bootlegged Copy Of Tenchi in Tokyo Three Times
By 6.24.07
Poor Tinky. All he wanted was for Blockbuster to send him volume two of the Japanese anime Fushingi Yuugi. He ordered the DVD three times, but Blockbuster will only send a Chinese bootleg of Tenchi in Tokyo.
Each time, it’s been marked in the queue as the wrong disc and sent back. The second time, I sent an email and received a generic response. Today, the third time we’ve received the same wrong disc, I placed notes on the disc’s sleeve and the disc itself, hoping that will get someone’s attention [not likely!].
If regular customer service won’t help fight Chinese bootleggers, Tinky should summon executive customer service in his quest to liberate Fushingi Yuugi. Contact information for Blockbuster Chairman of the Board and CEO John Antioco, after the jump…
University of Nebraska Will Bill RIAA $11 For Each Threatening Letter Received
By 3.26.07
The university has estimated that each complaint – basically a warning that a computer on the UNL campus is being used to pirate music – costs about $11 to process, Weir said. So the university wants to be paid for its trouble. Wiltse’s letter to the Denver firm representing the RIAA asked the recording industry to reimburse NU for the cost of finding the offending students.
