Rightsholders Want U.S. “Know Your Customer” Proposal to Include Domain Name Services
Many people see optional anonymity as a key feature of the Internet but increasingly there are calls for stricter identity checks. While a full-blown ‘Internet passport’ is not yet required anywhere just yet, ‘know your customer’ requirements are increasingly common as a means to deter fraud and abuse. “Know Your Customer” Rules In recent years, copyright holders and industry groups have argued to expand these identity verification...
DISH Sued Two IPTV Resellers: First Case Dismissed, Second Owes $30m
Last November, IPTV subscription resellers operating from channels4cheap.com (C4C) and purchase-iptv.com found themselves being sued by broadcaster DISH Network. After what appears to have been a handful of trouble-free years of trading, the lawsuit named Texas residents John Gwaka Magembe and Joyce Berry as the alleged operators of the C4C website. The decision to sell packages branded as Beast TV, a service that was taken down three...
Court Keeps DMCA Subpoena Shortcut Closed, Restricts Piracy Settlements
Tracking BitTorrent pirates isn’t all that hard since IP addresses are openly broadcasted. With help from Internet providers, these addresses can then be linked to account holders. ISPs don’t hand over this data voluntarily; they typically require a subpoena or court order before taking action. In the United States, subpoenas are typically obtained by filing a copyright complaint in federal court against a “John Doe” who’s known only...
Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 04/29/2024
The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. Downloading content without permission is copyright infringement. These torrent download statistics are only meant to provide further insight into piracy trends. All data are gathered from public resources. This week we have three newcomers on the list. “Dune: Part Two” is the most downloaded title. The most...
Operation Anime Phase 2: New Anti-Piracy Crackdown Executed in Brazil
In February 2023, Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security revealed an extension to Operation 404, an ongoing anti-piracy operation to disrupt websites and apps involved in online piracy. The purpose of 404-offshoot Operation Anime was to “suppress crimes committed against intellectual property” with a specific focus on piracy of Japanese cartoons, better known as anime. Several sites were shut down including goyabu.com and...
Anti-Piracy Veteran Tim Kuik Retires After Leading BREIN for a Quarter Century
In the summer of 2009, hackers from all over the world gathered at an outdoor conference near Vierhouten in the Netherlands. The event was mostly a meetup of like-minded geeks, but one person stood out a mile; Tim Kuik, director of anti-piracy group BREIN. Kuik joined a panel discussion where he calmly explained why his organization helped rightsholders to shut down pirate sites. The group was winning its lawsuit against Mininova at...
