LibertyVoice

A woman who says she was incorrectly accused of sharing copyrighted material on BitTorrent has filed a harassment lawsuit against a copyright troll. Porn outfit Hard Drive productions had demanded $3,400 to make their threatened lawsuit go away but their target not only says she’s innocent and harassed, but also that porn cannot be copyrighted. So, does filmed sex promote scientific progress or constitute useful art? A court may soon have to decide.

Source: You Can’t Copyright Porn, Harassed BitTorrent Defendant Insists

Following a hearing today at the High Court in New Zealand, Kim Dotcom was again denied bail. The Megaupload founder, who authorities insist will likely flee should he be released, told the court that he’d been kicked and punched by police during his arrest. Dotcom added that during his time in prison he had been approached not only by women wanting to be his friend, but by an expert document forger.

Source: Megaupload Founder Accuses Police of Assault, Denied Bail Again

Today’s Supreme Court rejection against The Pirate Bay signals the start of a new campaign targeting 150 file-sharing sites, say anti-piracy figures. A lawyer for the Hollywood movie studios says she expects Swedish sites and those providing them with infrastructure will stop their activities today. Antipiratbyran say they will take legal action against those that don’t.

Source: Pirate Bay Verdict SignalsThreat Of Huge New Anti-Piracy Campaign

While MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom will remain in custody for at least another month, two indicted members of the so-called “Mega Conspiracy” were granted bail this morning. Their privacy, however, will have to wait. On top of the revelation that the FBI monitored Skype calls as far back as 2007, officials are now assessing whether the defendant’s homes are suitable for “electronic monitoring”.

Source: Two MegaUpload Ops Bailed, But Government Wants Surveillance

During an appearance in court today, his third in less than a week, Kim Dotcom was informed that bail had been denied. The judge rejected the MegaUpload founder’s bid for freedom while he awaits extradition to the US and remanded him in custody until late February. Three other alleged co-conspirators will learn of their fate tomorrow.

Source: MegaUpload Founder Again Denied Bail, High Court Appeal Launched

In a New Zealand court today, a judge delayed the decision to grant or deny bail to Kim Dotcom, the larger than life founder of Megaupload.com. The prosecutor said that since multi-millionaire Dotcom had multiple identities, four dozen credit cards and a history of “fleeing criminal charges” he represented a flight risk “on the extreme end of the scale”. In the meantime, two other site operators were arrested in Europe.

Source: Judge Delays Megaupload Bail Decision, More Site Operators Arrested

A second administrator of NinjaVideo, one of the first targets of the US government’s Operation in Our Sites, has been sentenced. Matthew Smith, known online as Dead1ne, received 14 months in prison, two years supervised release, and was ordered to pay back just over $172,000 he allegedly earned from the site.

Source: Second NinjaVideo Admin Jailed For Copyright Infringement

This morning millions of Internet users in Germany have woken to find their online music listening options reduced. Music streaming service Grooveshark has self-censored in the country, citing “unreasonably high” licensing costs imposed by local music rights collections group GEMA. In other news, Grooveshark is now trying to unmask the ‘whistleblower’ who recently landed them in so much legal trouble with the major labels.

Source: Grooveshark Blocks German Users Over Licensing Costs

Although the major label members of the RIAA publicly ended their file-sharing settlement schemes in the United States, surprisingly they are continuing with a similar project elsewhere. Using the same IP address-based evidence, Universal, Sony, EMI and Warner are sending out controversial cash settlement demands in Germany where recipients have little alternative than to pay up.

Source: RIAA Labels Demand Cash from Alleged BitTorrent Pirates

Today, lawyer Andrew Crossley from the now defunct ACS:Law faced the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal over his disastrous foray into ‘speculative invoicing’ – the chasing down of alleged file-sharers with the sole aim of receiving cash settlements. In a surprising turn-around from previous displays of bravado, Crossley contested only one of the seven charges against him. The Tribunal suspended him from acting as a lawyer for 2 years.

Source: ACS:Law Anti-Piracy Lawyer Suspended For 2 Years