![\"target\"](\"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/targetmiss.jpg\")
In the past, rightsholders have frequently complained that takedown requests can be futile. Even if pirate sites take action, content can swiftly reappear.<\/p>\nIn the past, rightsholders have frequently complained that takedown requests can be futile. Even if pirate sites take action, content can swiftly reappear.<\/p>\n
Taking down entire websites has always been the weapon of choice, but that doesn\u2019t always solve the problem either. <\/p>\n
When public pirate sites first became popular at the beginning of the century, many operated as central hubs. Their operators communicated with users regularly, and many fostered a sense of community. There were competitions<\/a>, merchandise<\/a>, and the Pirate Bay took its early activism <\/a>to the streets<\/a> of Stockholm more than once.<\/p>\n After several prominent sites lost legal battles, the mood changed. Running a popular pirate site was much more than a public act of defiance: it was also a criminal offense with potential prison sentences attached. The Pirate Bay was a pioneer<\/a> on this front too, and it wouldn\u2019t be the last.<\/p>\n Legal pressure motivated public pirate site operators to stay in the shadows. If rightsholders can\u2019t track you down, they can\u2019t touch you, the theory went. While that is still true to a certain degree today, anti-piracy groups were busy adding site blocking to their arsenal. <\/p>\n The Pirate Bay was one of the prime targets of early site-blocking requests in various countries<\/a>. This led to soaring popularity for Pirate Bay proxies, which facilitated access to the original site in blocked regions. Despite having no connections to the original team, many proxies adopted Pirate Bay branding, which didn\u2019t bother users all that much.<\/p>\n While proxies were often launched as a means to \u2018unblock\u2019 sites, they also provided an opportunity for outsiders to generate profit. And with more sites getting blocked, full-on copycats began to emerge. These sites typically had little to do with the originals they copied but used their branding to draw traffic and sell advertisements. <\/p>\n Eventually even the demise of popular sites became a potential goldmine for others, with popular brands living on and continuing to generate profit. Some of these copycats may have had more traditional pirate interests in mind, but others simply saw them as platforms for malicious ad campaigns. The problem for many users was telling them apart.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Today, the exploitation of pirate brands comes in many forms. Streaming sites are particularly popular but due to various enforcement measures, domains are increasingly seen as disposable. Since branding persists, recognized brands are valuable assets.<\/p>\n The Motion Picture Association\u2019s latest enforcement effort highlights several examples.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, the MPA requested two DMCA subpoenas at a California federal court on behalf of its anti-piracy arm, ACE<\/a>. The requests ask Cloudflare and the .to domain registry (Tonic<\/a>) to hand over all identifying information they hold on alleged pirate site domains. <\/p>\n The Cloudflare subpoena lists 46 domain names in total. This includes sites that the MPA recently flagged to the U.S. Government as \u201cnotorious piracy markets<\/a>\u201c, such as Cineby.app and Nunflix.org, classified as major threats in the new \u201chydra site\u201d category.<\/p>\n At the same time, the subpoena also lists names of pirate brands that the MPA and ACE targeted in the past, sometimes on more than one occasion.<\/p>\n Fmovies.co and Fmovies.ro, for example, are clearly inspired by the world\u2019s largest piracy ring. ACE helped to shut this operation down in 2024<\/a>, and two Vietnamese operators received suspended prison sentences<\/a> for their involvement with the massive piracy network. However, the brand lives on in many forms. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n The same applies to Cuevana, a popular streaming portal in Latin America, of which ACE has helped to shut down several iterations<\/a> previously. Despite these efforts and the related criminal investigations, the latest subpoena application targets Cuevana.is and cuevana3cc.me. <\/p>\n The same is true for other domain names such as aniwave.se and 123moviesfree.net. The piracy portals that popularized these brands are long gone<\/a>, but they live on through various incarnations, giving prospective pirates a familiar brand to look for. <\/p>\n Through the DMCA subpoenas, MPA hopes that Cloudflare and Tonic will provide information to accurately identify the operators of these and other sites. While many sites provide false data to avoid enforcement, these efforts have also proven fruitful in the past. <\/p>\n All the .to domain names are targeted through both companies, which will be helpful to compare the associated user data, including names, IP addresses, payment details, and other information.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n At the time of writing, the DMCA subpoenas have yet to be signed off by a court clerk. Cloudflare and Tonic generally don\u2019t oppose these requests, so that is merely a formality. The real challenge for MPA and ACE is to permanently bury these zombie brands. That\u2019s not going to be as easy.<\/p>\n \u2014<\/em><\/p>\n A list of all the targeted domain names is available below. The declarations linked to the two DMCA subpoenas can be found here (pdf)<\/a> and here (pdf)<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u2013 123moviesfree.net From: TF<\/a>, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.<\/p>\nFrom Pirate Sites to Pirate Brands<\/h2>\n
![\"fmovies](\"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/fmovieslogos.png\")
<\/center><\/p>\nMPA Hunts Ghosts of the Past<\/h2>\n
![\"fmovies](\"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/fmovies-ani.png\")
<\/center><\/p>\nIdentifying the Operators<\/h2>\n
![\"cloudflare\"](\"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cloudflare-subpoe.png\")
<\/center><\/p>\n
\n\u2013 430hdd.com
\n\u2013 animedefenders.me
\n\u2013 animekai.ac
\n\u2013 animekai.cc
\n\u2013 animekai.to
\n\u2013 animeyy.com
\n\u2013 anigo.to
\n\u2013 aniwave.se
\n\u2013 baan-series.online
\n\u2013 bingewatch.to
\n\u2013 bronat.lat
\n\u2013 bstsrs.in
\n\u2013 cineby.app
\n\u2013 cinecalidad.rs
\n\u2013 comandoplay.com
\n\u2013 cuevana.is
\n\u2013 cuevana3cc.me
\n\u2013 doomovie-free.com
\n\u2013 dopebox.to
\n\u2013 flixhq.to
\n\u2013 fmovies.co
\n\u2013 fmovies.ro
\n\u2013 goyabu.to
\n\u2013 hdtodayz.to
\n\u2013 hianime.bz
\n\u2013 hianime.cx
\n\u2013 hianime.pe
\n\u2013 hianimez.is
\n\u2013 himovies.sx
\n\u2013 jkanime.net
\n\u2013 miruro.to
\n\u2013 movies2watch.tv
\n\u2013 moviesjoy.plus
\n\u2013 nunflix.org
\n\u2013 opmovies.tv
\n\u2013 peelink2.com
\n\u2013 pelisplushd.to
\n\u2013 pelispop.lat
\n\u2013 piratetv.pro
\n\u2013 portalultautv.biz
\n\u2013 streamingunity.co
\n\u2013 theflixertv.to
\n\u2013 topsrs.day
\n\u2013 westream.to
\n\u2013 yflix.to<\/p>\n