RIAA’s Flags Latest Piracy Threats, Sees a Future for AI
The artificial intelligence boom promises progress and innovation but, at the same time, it poses a threat to existing industries. Over the past two years, dozens of lawsuits were filed against technology companies. Most of these amount to copyright infringement complaints, challenging the unauthorized use of protected works as AI training data. The RIAA and its members are also involved in these legal battles. The music group is a...
Flawless IPTV Kingpin’s 11-Year Prison Sentence Upheld at Court of Appeal
In May 2023, five men behind pirate IPTV service Flawless TV were sentenced at Chesterfield Justice Center in the UK. After a five-year investigation involving four territorial police forces, three regional Trading Standards units, plus entities from the private sector, the men were sentenced to over 30 years’ prison on various counts, primarily conspiracy to defraud. Mark Gould, described as the mastermind of the operation, received...
Appeal Court Affirms Piracy Liability Verdict Against ISP Grande, Vacates $47m Damages Award
In late 2022, several of the world’s largest music companies including Warner Bros. and Sony Music prevailed in their lawsuit against Internet provider Grande Communications. The record labels accused the Astound-owned ISP of not doing enough to stop pirating subscribers. Specifically, they alleged that the company failed to terminate repeat infringers. The trial lasted more than two weeks and ended in a resounding victory for the...
Kim Dotcom Fends Off Arrest Before Conspiracy Theories & Reality Collide
Kim Dotcom’s war of attrition, against the governments of New Zealand and the United States, seems to have entered a new phase. After 12 years of legal action, New Zealand Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith approved Dotcom’s extradition to the United States back in August. New Zealand Herald recently obtained a copy of the order. As far as we know, the order still hasn’t been published in full, but it did authorize Dotcom’s immediate...
Court Orders Seizure of Real Estate & Vehicles in Pirate IPTV Investigation
As Italy’s measures continue against pirate IPTV providers and any entity directly or indirectly associated with them, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that those who carry out infringement exist in the physical world. Until suspects are confronted in this environment, the risk of recurring infringement never really goes away. Law enforcement in Italy will be hoping that an investigation in the city of Lecce will produce lasting...
ACE Targets Piracy Giant HiAnime.to and Dozens of Other Streaming Sites
The anime industry has experienced a surge in popularity, but this growth is not limited to legal streaming platforms. A significant portion of the demand for anime arrives from unofficial channels, with several major pirate websites dedicated solely to anime content. The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) recognizes this as a serious threat and is not sitting idly by. ACE Crackdown A few weeks ago, ACE booked one of its...
