Rightsholders Say Latest Article 13 Text Won’t Close the Value Gap
This September, the European Parliament backed the controversial Article 13 proposals, something that was met with a chorus of support from the entertainment industries, the music sector in particular. The final text of Article 13 is yet to be finalized so the EU Parliament will need to vote again, once that’s completed. However, as Article 13 mutates to address the concerns of opponents, rightsholders have been expressing...
Nintendo Targets Sellers of Pirated Switch Games in Court
At the start of the year the infamous hacking group Team Xecutor announced an ‘unstoppable’ Nintendo Switch hack. This made it possible to load pirated games onto the popular console, an opportunity many people have taken advantage of. Some have taken it a step further by offering Nintendo Switch “modifications” for sale, specifically mentioning the Team Xecuter hack. This is what California resident Mikel...
DoJ Indicts Five Men For Pre-Release Movie & TV Show Piracy
Public sharing of movies and TV shows before their commercial release is considered to be one of the most damaging types of piracy. With no official copies on the market, entertainment companies are unable to compete in what would ordinarily be the most profitable window of opportunity for sales. That’s why, year after year, individuals who leak content early become targets for law enforcement. Yesterday the Department of...
Tech Giants Warn US Govt. Against EU’s ‘Article 13’ Plans
Under President Trump, the United States has worked hard to put several new trade deals in place. The administration is also working on a new trade agreement with the EU for which the US Trade Representative recently asked the public for input. This week the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which includes Amazon, Cloudflare, Facebook, and Google as members, sent in its thoughts. The submission includes a...
Bell & Videotron File Criminal Complaint Against IPTV Provider
While regular torrent and streaming sites are still a big hit with online pirates, dedicated IPTV services are becoming increasingly popular with consumers. These services, which can be difficult to tell apart from official offerings, typically supply access to hundreds of otherwise premium channels at a knockdown price. This disruption is something that broadcasters and rightsholders all over the world are keen to bring to an end. In...
Google Gets a Slap on the Wrist For Site-Blocking Failures
Last year, Russian introduced new legislation that can see search engines fined for offering links to VPNs and other anonymizers that have been banned in the country. Fines can also be issued to search engines that fail to connect to a resource offering up-to-date information on what domains should be rendered inaccessible. This database (known as FGIS), should have been utilized by Google, but for reasons that remain unclear, the...
