LibertyVoice

Freedom and internet

MPAA Joins Google, Facebook, EFF In Repeat Infringer Copyright Battle

As the battle over the DMCA’s requirements and boundaries heats up, Google, Facebook, the EFF, Public Knowledge and now the MPAA have become involved in a copyright case currently being heard by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Is it enough for a site to perform takedowns when copyright holders demand them, or must it also take additional steps to remove repeat infringers?

Source: MPAA Joins Google, Facebook, EFF In Repeat Infringer Copyright Battle

Court Kicks Out Copyright Troll Who Has “No Desire To Litigate”

In yet another mass lawsuit against alleged file-sharers, a California court has said that while it’s sympathetic towards the plight of the copyright holder, it will not assist it to identify BitTorrent users. It’s a shame that technology that enables infringement has outpaced technology that prevents it, the judge wrote, but added that his court won’t work with copyright holders who pursue settlement programs with no intention to litigate.

Source: Court Kicks Out Copyright Troll Who Has “No Desire To Litigate”

Pirate Bay Damages Rise 60%, Police Ready Hunt For Missing Founder

After failing to hand himself over to authorities as required in January, Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm lost his chance to serve his sentence in an open prison. As a final surrender deadline looms, it’s been revealed that interest charges being applied since May 2006 have boosted the damages award against the site’s founders by 60% to nearly $11 million, a huge $4.06 million uplift.

Source: Pirate Bay Damages Rise 60%, Police Ready Hunt For Missing Founder

Hotfile Researcher Discredits MPAA-Funded Piracy Study

The MPAA and file-hosting service Hotfile are ramping up their battle in court. To back up the claim that Hotfile is a piracy haven, the MPAA recently commissioned a study which stated that over 90% of all downloads through the site are infringing. However, in a confidential report obtained by TorrentFreak, a researcher hired by Hotfile points out that the MPAA’s report is both “unreliable” and “unscientific”.

Source: Hotfile Researcher Discredits MPAA-Funded Piracy Study

Kim Dotcom: The US Government is Wrong, Here’s Why

For the first time since his arrest in January, Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom is responding to allegations in what he calls the “MPAA-sponsored” indictment. Eager to fight back, Dotcom refutes several “nonsense” claims made by the Government. In addition, he shows that Mega wasn’t a big bad pirate haven, but a legitimate service that may have been shutdown for political reasons.

Source: Kim Dotcom: The US Government is Wrong, Here’s Why

Google Strikes Back After MPAA Objects To Hotfile Intervention

Google recently filed an amicus brief in which it suggested that the movie companies of the MPAA were misleading the court in their case against file-hosting service Hotfile. In response the MPAA objected to Google’s intervention with claims that the search giant is only interested in influencing the law in its own favor. Now Google is striking back stating that the welfare of legitimate businesses and the climate of free expression online is at stake.

Source: Google Strikes Back After MPAA Objects To Hotfile Intervention

Judge: BitTorrent Downloads Are Protected Anonymous Speech (Updated)

Miami Judge Marc Schumacher has issued a landmark order in which he protects accused BitTorrent downloaders from mass-lawsuits filed by copyright holders. One of the main arguments of the judge is that these “fishing expeditions” violate BitTorrent users’ right to anonymous speech, which is protected by the constitution. The order effectively kills all BitTorrent lawsuits in Florida state courts.

Source: Judge: BitTorrent Downloads Are Protected Anonymous Speech (Updated)

Pirate Bay Founders To Spend Sentences In Three Separate Jails

The founders of The Pirate Bay, convicted in 2009 of copyright infringement offenses, have learned where they are to be held during their sentences. The trio – Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neik and Gottfrid Svartholm – will be separated and held in three locations around Sweden. But according to Sunde’s lawyer, a further appeal might already be underway.

Source: Pirate Bay Founders To Spend Sentences In Three Separate Jails

Google Defends Hotfile (and Megaupload) in Court

Google has filed a brief at a federal court in Florida defending the file-hosting site Hotfile in its case against the MPAA. The search giant accuses the movie companies of misleading the court and argues that Hotfile is protected under the DMCA’s safe harbor. Indirectly, Google is also refuting claims being made by the US government in the criminal case against Megaupload.

Source: Google Defends Hotfile (and Megaupload) in Court

Pirate Bay ‘Financier’ Will Serve Sentence Electronically Tagged

Carl Lundström, one of the persons convicted in The Pirate Bay trial, will not be going to jail for his role in the operations of The Pirate Bay. The millionaire, who gave the site a crucial helping hand with hardware and other services in its early days, was sentenced to four months in prison but will now spend that time in a Swedish apartment. He will be electronically monitored and allowed to leave in order to attend a government-arranged job.

Source: Pirate Bay ‘Financier’ Will Serve Sentence Electronically Tagged

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