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...
After Historic Win, MPA Battles Endless FMovies, Soap2Day & 123Movie Clones
Six years ago when attention was focused elsewhere, the MPA warned that lacking legislation and rising broadband penetration would eventually transform Vietnam into a major online headache for rightsholders. Yet perhaps not even the MPA expected sites like FMovies and Aniwatch to attract hundreds of millions of visitors every month. Coupled with a complex and politically sensitive environment in Vietnam, where established anti-piracy...
Rightsholders Seek U.S. Help to Collect $1.4 Million Piracy Judgment Against Cloudflare
Popular Internet infrastructure service Cloudflare has come under pressure from copyright holders in recent years. The company offers its services to millions of customers including multinationals, governments, but also some of the world’s leading pirate sites. These pirate sites have proven to be quite a headache for Cloudflare. For example, rightsholders continue to complain that the company helps pirates conceal their hosting...
