RARBG’s Demise Gave These Torrent Sites a Huge Boost in Traffic
The sudden closure of torrent site RARBG three months ago will be remembered as one of the most significant since the invention of the protocol, and despite competition from a laundry list of candidates. Operating a large public torrent site for 15 years is a considerable feat. Doing so in an incredibly hostile environment, as one of the world’s most recognizable ‘pirate’ brands, is certainly unusual. Doing so with virtually no...
YouTube Defeats Mexican Movie Tycoon’s Piracy Lawsuit
Two years ago, Spanish-born movie tycoon Carlos Vasallo sued YouTube at a Florida federal court over various piracy-related claims. The actor and producer owns the rights to the world’s largest collection of Mexican and Latin American movies, many of which are illegally shared on YouTube. The lawsuit accused YouTube of not doing enough to stop people from uploading pirated copies of Vasallo’s content. Those allegations aren’t new, but...
Govts. Must ‘Encourage or Compel’ Internet Companies to Fight Piracy
To address counterfeiting and piracy, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) invited submissions from the private sector detailing effective anti-piracy strategies and those envisioned for the future. In advance of a roundtable scheduled for October 3, submissions from rightsholders and their representatives have called for pirate site blocking in the United States and amendments to the DMCA that would allow for instant...
Lithuania’s Media Watchdog Issues First-Ever ‘Fines’ to Torrenting Movie Pirates
A few weeks ago, Lithuania amended its Code of Administrative Offenses, allowing media watchdog LRTK to fine pirates, without going to court. This legislative change is the latest attempt to deter piracy in the European country. The potential fines should make pirates reconsider their habits, the idea goes. Monitoring Pirates While this plan may be sound on paper, there are some challenges to overcome. Tracking pirates isn’t always...
Google Removes ‘Pirate’ URLs from Users’ Privately Saved Links
For many people, Google is the go-to starting point when they need to find something on the web. With just a few keystrokes, the search engine can find virtually anything. The company also has many other tools to browse and organize the web, including the Chrome browser and YouTube. All these products and services fall under the umbrella of the company Alphabet. While the various departments are largely run separately, there is plenty...
Putin’s Cinema Fund Rejects Movie Piracy, Fuming Cinema Boss Demands Barbie
If piracy had its own Olympics, Russian competitors would be among the favorites to bring home the gold, or so the stereotype dictates. Yet for the last 18 months, multiple threats to legalize piracy of Western movies have not only faltered, but have thus far reached no obvious conclusion. From former president Dimitry Medvedev who called for mass piracy out of spite, to reluctant cinema workers with no movies to screen but families...
