Kentucky Pirate IPTV Lawsuit Heads For $5.7m Damages in a Parallel Universe
In October 2021 when DISH Network filed yet another lawsuit against a pair of IPTV sellers in the United States, nothing stood out as particularly unusual. The lawsuit named Kevin Hibdon and James Meadows, the alleged operators of Louisville Media Box, a local one-stop-shop catering to the community’s pirate IPTV needs. Based on a simple Google search, the good people of Kentucky and indeed residents of any town or city on the planet,...
Internet Provider Must Pay $47m Bond to Appeal Piracy Liability Judgment
Last fall, a Texas federal jury found Grande Communications liable for willful contributory copyright infringement and ordered the ISP to pay $47 million in damages to a group of record labels. District Court Judge David Ezra confirmed the judgment in January. This was a clear mistake, according to Grande, which hoped to have it overturned. Do-Over Denied In March, the Internet provider filed a renewed motion for judgment as a matter...
Italian Pirate IPTV Customers Risk a 5,000 Euro Fine Starting August 8, 2023
Unanimously approved by the Chamber of Deputies back in March and then unanimously approved by the Senate earlier this month, Italy’s new anti-piracy law has just been unanimously approved by telecoms regulator AGCOM. In a statement published Thursday, AGCOM welcomed the amendments to Online Copyright Enforcement regulation 680/13/CONS, which concern measures to counter the illegal distribution of live sports streams, as laid out in...
Sci-Hub’s Alexandra Elbakyan Receives EFF Award for Providing Access to Scientific Knowledge
There are thousands of pirate sites on the Internet but only a few will receive a permanent entry in the history books. That includes Sci-Hub. Founded by Kazakhstani computer programmer Alexandria Elbakyan, the shadow library provides free access to millions of academic publications. As such, it’s an essential tool for less privileged students and researchers around the world. Tearing Down Paywalls Since 2011 Without Sci-Hub, many...
Sky Targets Sky Go & Now TV Decryption Key Software as Piracy Wars Continue
Sky has fought piracy mechanisms of all kinds over the years. From set-top box modifications to viewing card tampering, blocking, even full PC-based emulation, the pay TV company has seen it all. Exploits that are relatively easy to pull off and work at scale are considered serious threats. Last month we reported on the sale of Sky encryption keys on platforms including Telegram. That type of thing has been going on for some time, but...
YouTube Rippers’ Appeal of RIAA’s $83 Million Piracy Win Moves Forward
In 2021, the RIAA secured a major victory in its piracy lawsuit against YouTube-rippers FLVTO.biz and 2conv.com, and their Russian operator Tofig Kurbanov. A Virginia federal court issued a default judgment in favor of the RIAA, which represented several prominent music companies. Following this win, the RIAA demanded $83 million in damages for the widespread copyright infringement that allegedly took place through the sites. The...
