Court Orders Cloudflare to Block and Identify ‘Pirate Site’ Customer
Internet infrastructure company Cloudflare provides a range of connectivity and security services to millions of customers around the globe. In addition to Fortune 500 companies and governments across various continents, the American company also provides its services to pirate sites. In recent years, rightsholders have urged Cloudflare to take a more proactive stance against piracy. Their primary concern is that Cloudflare ‘hides’...
Sony Loses as CJEU Rules Datel’s RAM Data ‘Cheat’ Non-Copyright Infringing
The legal battle in Germany between Sony Entertainment Interactive and cheat cartridge seller Datel has been ongoing for well over a decade. Sony had hoped to end sales of Datel’s Action Replay PSP and Tilt FX. These products enabled users of Sony’s PSP console to modify gameplay by tweaking code, thereby obtaining extra ‘lives’ and similar ‘cheat’ features. According to Sony, Datel’s software intervened in the ‘program flow’ of its...
TorrentGalaxy Has a Rough Start Under New Owners
TorrentGalaxy has had its fair share of issues over the past few months. In June, many users feared that the site had thrown in the towel, displaying only a cryptic message that read “4ever?” to visitors. This came as a surprise, even to the site’s top staffers, who had no clue what was going on. The site eventually returned as if nothing ever happened and resumed its operations. The purpose of the downtime was never clarified and...
Pirate IPTV Server Shut Down as City of London Police Target UK ‘Bulk Seller’
Police and anti-piracy groups in the UK appear to be following through with a pledge to keep cracking down on those involved in the pirate IPTV ecosystem. Most arrests recently have targeted IPTV subscription resellers, i.e those who buy subscriptions and sell them on to friends, family, and increasingly anyone on social media, at a profit. A report from the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at City of London Police...
IPTV Piracy Lawsuit Targets ‘DMCA Ignored’ Host in $42M Lawsuit
As famously pointed out by The Pirate Bay’s Anakata in response to a Dreamworks takedown notice 20 years ago, the DMCA does not apply to countries outside the United States. While technically correct, ignoring takedown notices isn’t risk-free; inaction can increase risk where none previously existed. DMCA notices and equivalents issued under the EU’s E-Commerce Directive, for example, not only aim to counter infringement. They also...
Discord Disputes DMCA Subpoena, Rejects Role as ‘Anti-Piracy’ Partner
Under U.S. law, rightsholders have an option to identify alleged copyright infringers, without directly having to file a lawsuit. Instead, they can request a DMCA subpoena. These documents are typically signed by a court clerk and don’t require any judicial oversight. Specifically, they allow rightsholders to obtain the personal details of anonymous alleged infringers through third-party service providers. Foreign companies are also...
