Attorneys with the American Bar Association are advising the government on dealing with online piracy through a 113-page white paper titled “A Call for Action for Online Piracy and Counterfeiting Legislation.” While they suggest many measures similar to SOPA and PIPA, the lawyers also advise against suing the file-sharers because it is usually counterproductive, costing more money than they recover, and it can also be bad PR for the copyright holders.  Continue reading Bar Association Pushes for Change in Online Piracy Legislation

Major film studios — including 20th Century Fox, Disney, Paramount, Universal, Columbia Pictures and Warner Bros. — have filed a civil lawsuit against the now defunct entertainment website Megaupload and its founder, Kim Dotcom. The studios claim that visitors to the Hong Kong-based site illegally downloaded thousands of copyrighted works. Damages could reach a maximum of $150,000 for each infringement. In addition, four music labels filed a similar lawsuit yesterday. Continue reading Studios and Music Labels File Lawsuits Against Megaupload

Known for filing copyright infringement lawsuits, musician Prince has targeted 22 individuals for posting links of his live concerts and posting them on Facebook and blogs, and filed a lawsuit for $22 million in damages. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court in the Northern District of California. Only two of the defendants are referenced by their real names in the lawsuit, and the others are referenced by their online usernames.  Continue reading Music: Prince Sues Facebook Users for Copyright Infringement

Several countries have launched “graduated response” initiatives in an effort to reduce online piracy, but new findings from U.S. and French researchers suggest the measures do not have the intended effect. Last year, the U.S. implemented its six-strikes system to warn infringing file-sharers, and then penalize them after multiple warnings. Although the penalties range from a fine to a prolonged Internet disconnection, the study suggests this does not prevent piracy.  Continue reading Research Suggests Strikes Systems Not Curbing Online Piracy

Netflix and YouTube continue to dominate as the most-used video services in North America, according to new data published in Sandvine’s Global Internet Phenomena Report. The two services combined were responsible for more than half of all peak residential North American downstream traffic during September. Together, Hulu and Amazon accounted for a mere three percent of peak downstream traffic. Netflix alone accounted for nearly 32 percent of downstream traffic. Continue reading Netflix is Biggest Source of Internet Traffic in North America

The Motion Picture Association of America announced that the file sharing search engine isoHunt is shutting down and will pay movie studios 110 million dollars in damages. The search engine has been fighting with studios since 2006, but is finally reaching its demise due to a court ruling that says it enables users to pirate copyrighted works. The site enables users to find files on peer-to-peer networks utilizing BitTorrent file sharing software.

Continue reading Victory for Hollywood Studios: Court Rules Against isoHunt

An article in MIT Technology Review this week looks at the history and trends involving content distribution and suggests that Hollywood should consider adopting methods that are similar to those related to media piracy. While efforts to combat piracy continue, some question the perceived impact of file-sharing and other techniques, suggesting the film industry might be better served by adopting new ways to distribute its content and gain potential exposure. Continue reading Should the Film Industry Embrace Piracy-Related Technologies?

“Downloaded” is a new documentary that examines the rise and fall of music file-sharing service Napster. The film tells the story of Napster co-founders Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker while providing details of the service’s launch in 1998 through its eventual 2011 acquisition by Rhapsody. It examines the downloading generation, resulting changes to the music industry, piracy and legal arguments, and the impact of services such as Spotify and iTunes. Continue reading Napster Documentary: The Music, the Battle, the Revolution

BitTorrent announced the BitTorrent Bundle earlier this week, a new format that provides access to free content in addition to a gateway to other material. It offers content creators a new means of distributing and monetizing their work outside the confines of traditional methods. BitTorrent continues its efforts to transform the file-sharing software into a legitimate platform for movies and music. Continue reading BitTorrent Bundle Provides New Options for Content Creators

Last week, Cinedigm announced it was partnering with BitTorrent to help promote the release of Dante Ariola’s “Arthur Newman,” starring Colin Firth and Emily Blunt, which debuted in limited release over the weekend. In less than five days, users of the file-sharing app downloaded one million copies of the film’s 10-minute preview. By comparison, the studio’s official trailer had less than 20,000 views on YouTube over the past three weeks. Continue reading Will BitTorrent Prove a Viable Marketing Tool for Hollywood?

Swedish-based video-on-demand firm Voddler has launched LiveShelf, which the company describes as the world’s first legal film storage and sharing service. It is currently available to users in Scandinavia and Spain, with expansion into Europe and Russia expected shortly. The product combines digital locker technology with file sharing, allowing users to invite friends to stream their legally acquired films via the Internet. Continue reading Voddler Launches Legal Movie Storage and Sharing Service

The Pirate Bay, which has been using bandwidth provided to the site by Sweden’s Pirate Party, is no longer in Sweden, according to Torrent Freak. Following threats of legal action from a local anti-piracy group Rights Alliance in its home country, the pirating site packed up and left last week, handing over responsibilities to pirate parties in Norway and Spain. Continue reading The Pirate Bay Moves Out of Sweden Under Legal Threat

SoShare is a new tool from BitTorrent designed for sending large files from person to person, allowing users to send bundles of up to 1TB for free. The app combines BitTorrent file transfer technology with cloud caching, so users can access files even when the sender is offline. The SoShare software — which targets media creators such as musicians, photographers and filmmakers — keeps files available for up to 30 days. Continue reading BitTorrent Launches SoShare App for Sharing Media Files

Filmmaker Simon Klose released his documentary on the founders of The Pirate Bay last week. “TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away From Keyboard” follows the founders over a four year period of time, through their ongoing legal struggles, technical issues and battles with large corporations. In an interview with The Verge, Klose shares his thoughts about online piracy, file-sharing, Kim Dotcom, politics and international copyright laws. Continue reading Pirate Bay Documentary Filmmaker on Politics of File-Sharing

Kim Dotcom, the founder of defunct Megaupload.com, has launched a new website called “Mega.” The file-sharing site drew half a million users within its first 14 hours of operation. Dotcom, who has been battling prosecutors since Megaupload’s assets were seized, claims the new site is legal and compliant with copyright law. However, U.S. prosecutors declined to comment. Continue reading Kim Dotcom Debuts File-Sharing Service to Replace Megaupload