Anti-piracy // Current

Value of Unlicensed Music Worldwide in 2007 was US $69 Billion

The value of unlicensed (in some cases known as pirated) music trafficked on P2P networks in 2007 was US$69 billion, according to... more

bgonsoulin
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Chinese Hackers Crack Microsoft Anti-Piracy ‘Black Screen of Death’

On October 20, Microsoft China announced that they would release an anti-piracy patch in China called the “Black Screen of... more

TravG73
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Anti-Piracy Lobby Gains Power Over Internet Subscribers

The deals between ISPs and anti-piracy organizations are a worrying trend. In just a few months entertainment industry representatives managed to convince ISPs and governments that they should have the right to accuse and warn Internet subscribers, without solid proof. The question that remains unanswered is whether these warnings will have any effect.

The power of the entertainment industry and anti-piracy lobbyists is growing rapidly. In the UK, six major ISPs have teamed up with the music industry to start mass warning filesharers. France has gone even further, recently adopting a law that will enable the entertainment industry to disconnect alleged pirates on their third warning. Similar methods are proposed throughout the rest of the world.

It’s quite scary if you think about it. In France the right to access the Internet now rests on the shoddy evidence of anti-piracy units, evidence that is known to be inaccurate. Christine Albanel, the French Minister for Culture recently quoted research that allegedly found that 97% of all file-sharers will stop downloading copyrighted content when they receive a warning, but this seems to be very unlikely.

Unfortunately, the minister failed to name the resource for the study, but it does raise some interesting questions. All these new agreements and policies have strong faith in the deterrent function of these so called warnings, but thus far there is no evidence that these actually have any effect. That’s right, millions of people are now receiving warnings (sometimes even threats), and they may very well lead to nothing.

You would think that the government would at least get some solid proof of the deterrent effect of these letters but, perhaps even more importantly, check the validity of the anti-piracy evidence before they allow the entertainment industry to start contacting millions of citizens with intimidating letters. It might turn out that thousands of users receive a letter for something they didn’t do, and that wouldn’t be the first time that had happened. On the other hand, even those who are correctly accused might not change their behavior so easily.

Warning letters will most likely make most pirates more cautious, and they will find ways to get what they want more anonymously. Whatever happens, it wont stop the most of them from getting what they want. As Justin Milne of Telstra BigPond, Australia’s largest Internet provider put it: “There’s no one thing that you can do that is going to fix the problem (but) when people think about this area, they often look to ISPs to provide the silver bullet.”

So how can “pirates” be stopped then? This is not an easy question to answer. Right now, 50% of all BitTorrent traffic is generated by people who download TV-episodes, something that’s available for free in most countries, but not available on demand. It might be a good start for the entertainment industry to rethink their outdated business models, experiment and use peer-to-peer technology to fulfill the ever growing demand for media online. The deals between ISPs and anti-piracy organizations are a worrying trend. In just a few months entertainment industry... more

Sons_Of_Liberty
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4 months ago

‘Declaration on the World Economy‘ - G8 Pushes Anti-Piracy Trade Agreement

Fresh out of the G8 meetings ‘Declaration on the World Economy‘, passages under the heading ‘Protection of Intellectual Property Rights’ suggest member states want the international anti-piracy agreement ready for implementation sooner than some expected, as it reads:

We encourage the acceleration of negotiations to establish a new international legal framework, ACTA, and seek to complete the negotiation by the end of this year.

This date is consistent (surprise, surprise) with that which the US Trade Representative has set as its own timetable for ACTA.

How We Can Slam On The Brakes

So what can be done, and what hope do we have over ACTA? Well, firstly, there are internal contradictions in the process that might make its progress less than smooth. The inclusion of the ‘3 strikes’ rule for kicking P2P users from their ISP contract is a case in point — the European Parliament is actually very suspicious of the 3 strikes rule and the UK government is reportedly desperately looking for alternatives to this political hot potato, which only months ago was portrayed as a fait accompli. This raises the possibility of a showdown between ACTA and the European Parliament.

Secondly, the European Commission has no mandate to implement criminal sanctions on copyright matters - this is down to the individual member states who will be very wary about antagonizing their electorates. Since these criminal sanctions are seen by players like the RIAA as a key ‘virtue’ of ACTA - without which it would be a ‘dodo’ - the shakiness of the legal base for inclusion of criminal sanctions is a big issue.

Thirdly and relatedly, the secrecy around ACTA is a potential pitfall. A mandate should have been obtained from the Commission to negotiate the Treaty, but if it exists it has been declared too secret, or at least ‘confidential’ to bring out. Since this document would very likely have to include a rationale for allowing the Commission to negotiate beyond its power on criminal sanctions, it may be rather suspect. European TorrentFreak readers should immediately write to your MEP in your Member State and ask them to request a copy of the mandate, so that we can get a copy of it online and look at how the EU justifies negotiating an ACTA that includes criminal measures. Since the US wants ACTA to be signed before Bush leaves office, a derailing tactic like this has a good chance of working.

ACT against ACTA before it’s too late…

Fresh out of the G8 meetings ‘Declaration on the World Economy‘, passages under the heading ‘Protection of... more

Sons_Of_Liberty
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5 months ago

Guilty verdict in first online music piracy trial means up to five years in jail

"A 25-year-old Brooklyn man has been found guilty of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement in what the Recording Industry Association of America describes as the first-ever federal trial for online criminal copyright infringement primarily featuring music.

Barry Gitarts was convicted Thursday by a federal jury in Virginia, according to the U.S Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. He now faces up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release. In addition, he must "make full restitution" to record labels.

This is no mere file sharing case, so if you share the odd file now and again, you don't need to worry about facing charges like this. Under the pseudonym "Dextro," Gitarts was charged with administering a server in Texas for an underground file sharing group called Apocalypse Production Crew.

APC members traded music, games, movies and software amongst themselves but trial testimony portrayed APC as what the RIAA termed a "first provider" or "release group" of pirated content.

According to the RIAA, evidence presented in the case showed that he received payment from the leader of the group in return for this work.

"For the first time ever, a criminal online music piracy case went to trial, and the jury rendered a swift and unanimous verdict," said Brad Buckles, executive vice president of the RIAA's anti-piracy division. "The crimes committed here -- as well as the harm to the music community -- are severe, and so are the consequences.

"We congratulate and thank the U.S. Attorney's office for its work on this case and the larger crackdown against the internet piracy rings that are responsible for leaks of pre-release music weeks and sometimes months before retail release. Groups like APC that specialize in leaking pre-release music are at the top of the piracy pyramid and the efforts of federal law enforcement have dealt a real blow to these kinds of operations."

Gitarts appears to be the 15th APC member to be convicted for criminal copyright infringement as part of U.S. Department of Justice's long-running Operation Fastlink campaign, but his is the first case that went to trial. An RIAA spokesman told Wired.com that the two new wrinkles in this case are that it went to trial and that the charges centered on music.

U.S. District Court Judge Liam O'Grady will sentence Gitarts on Aug. 8".

By Eliot Van Buskirk"A 25-year-old Brooklyn man has been found guilty of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement in what the... more