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  • Comcast, BitTorrent To Work Together On Network Traffic - WSJ.com

    Long at loggerheads, cable provider Comcast Corp. and popular file-sharing company BitTorrent Inc. now are working together.

    The deal comes as BitTorrent, which became known for developing software technology widely used to illegally share files, is trying to reinvent itself.

    online.wsj.com/...SB120658178504567453.html - Preview

    52 bittorrent comcast net neutrality on 2008-03-27

    • The companies are in talks to collaborate on ways to run BitTorrent's technology more smoothly on Comcast's broadband network, and allow Comcast to transport video files more effectively over its own network in the future, said Tony Warner, Comcast's chief technology officer.
  • Goodbye Torrentspy

    • We have decided on our own, not due to any court order or agreement, to bring
      the Torrentspy.com search engine to an end and thus we permanently closed down
      worldwide on March 24, 2008.


      The legal climate in the USA for copyright, privacy of search requests, and
      links to torrent files in search results is simply too hostile. We spent the
      last two years, and hundreds of thousands of dollars, defending the rights of
      our users and ourselves.

      Ultimately the Court demanded actions that in our view were inconsistent with
      our privacy policy, traditional court rules, and International law; therefore,
      we now feel compelled to provide the ultimate method of privacy protection for
      our users - permanent shutdown.

  • Iceland’s Largest BitTorrent Tracker Wins in Court | TorrentFreak

    However, justice works swifter in Iceland than it does in the US, and after only 4 months, the case has been to court.

    The decision, however, was as surprising as it was swift. Instead of deciding for or against the defendants, the court simply dismissed the case. It is likely, however, that the plaintiffs will appeal the decision to the Icelandic ‘Supreme Court’ (Hæstiréttur).

    torrentfreak.com/orrentis-case-dismissed-080328 - Preview

    52 bittorrent decision iceland lawsuit mpaa on 2008-03-28

    • The verdict, (available in Icelandic here) seems to hinge on the fact that under Icelandic laws,
      searching for files, or providing accessibility to them, is legal, as long as
      the files provided by the service are not themselves copyrighted. Torrent files,
      are not themselves copyrighted, but are instead metadata – data about data-
      describing copyrighted material, as indeed are reviews.


      Svavar Lúthersson, owner of torrents.is, told TorrentFreak in a response to
      the court ruling “I’m very glad they came to this decision although it came as a
      surprise for myself and the plaintiffs. I will have to consult with my lawyer as
      to what this decision means regarding the preliminary injunction but currently
      it’s still in effect.”

  • Swedish ISP Refuses To Block The Pirate Bay | TorrentFreak

    Now that the IFPI has realized that it can’t sue every file-sharer in the world, it tries to force ISPs to block their customers from accessing filesharing sites such as The Pirate Bay. The IFPI recently forced an Israeli ISP to block access to HTTPShare.com - which boosted its visitors significantly - but it’s the block it achieved against The Pirate Bay in Denmark that is currently being used as leverage against other ISPs, this time in Sweden.

    torrentfreak.com/ses-to-block-pirate-bay-080327 - Preview

    52 ifpi isps net neutrality sweden on 2008-03-28 and saved by 2 people

    • One such ISP is Telia Sonera, the dominant
      internet provider in Sweden with a total of 106 million subscribers across
      Europe. According to a report,
      they have received a letter from the IFPI which states that legal measures will
      be taken against them unless they block The Pirate Bay initially, and also some
      other (as yet unnamed) sites connected to it.


      However, Telia is highly experienced in its field and has a very clear
      understanding of its obligations under the law, law which does not require them
      to block sites or filter content.

  • Innocent man pinched by RIAA asks SCOTUS for attorney's fees

    Cliff Thompson, a San Antonio resident sued by the RIAA for copyright infringement, has asked the Supreme Court to decide whether the record labels should be forced to pay attorneys' fees in cases where they voluntarily dismiss copyright infringement cases. Thompson was sued by the RIAA in 2006 for allegedly using KaZaA to distribute music, but the labels dismissed their case against him once it became apparent that his adult daughter was the KaZaA user in question.

    arstechnica.com/...scotus-for-attorneys-fees.html - Preview

    52 lawsuit riaa scotus on 2008-03-26 and saved by 2 people

    • Thompson sought an award of attorneys' fees, arguing that since he was the prevailing party in the copyright infringement lawsuit, he was entitled to have his legal bills paid for by the RIAA. The problem is that different courts do not handle attorneys' fees in copyright infringement cases uniformly. The judge in Virgin v. Thompson denied his request, citing a "purported lack of responsiveness," and Thompson was thwarted once again at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
  • IP hypocrisy: US likes WTO rulings only when it wins

    Two ongoing cases illustrate the point. First, the European Union is pushing for the US to change a pair of rules that it calls "long-standing trade irritants." Despite World Trade Organization rulings against it, the US has not yet corrected either case for a period of several years. Ambassador John Bruton, who represents the EU in the US, said in a statement late last week that he wants to see the matters resolved.

    arstechnica.com/...rulings-only-when-it-wins.html - Preview

    52 treaty united states wipo wto on 2008-03-26 and saved by 5 people

    • Two ongoing cases illustrate the point. First, the European
      Union is pushing for the US to change a
      pair of rules that it calls "long-standing trade irritants." Despite World
      Trade Organization rulings against it, the US has not yet corrected either case
      for a period of several years. Ambassador John Bruton, who represents the EU in
      the US, said in a statement
      late last week that he wants to see the matters resolved.
  • SlySoft on Blu-ray BD+ crack: next time it will be easier

    Van Heuen is very optimistic that the Blu-ray Disc Association won't be able to squash this crack using technological methods. But what about the law? SlySoft is based on the isle of Antigua, where the only "heat" SlySoft can expect is from the sun.

    arstechnica.com/...finitively-cracked-update.html - Preview

    52 blu ray crack drm on 2008-03-26

    • Although the BD+ scheme is designed to be dynamically updated, van Heuen isn't worried. Noting that the entire BD+ scheme is "not economical to be done even once," he wryly points out that "the customer pays the additional cost." There are some "attacks" against SlySoft's crack that the BDA could roll out, but Slysoft is prepared to address them, van Heuen added.
  • Call For Help: Caught Downloading Copyrighted Material—Now What?

    I recently followed Lifehacker's guide to BitTorrent and set my laptop up with the uTorrent program. Using a combination of PizzaTorrent and uTorrent, I downloaded several movies and albums, perhaps 30 in all. Yesterday I received a letter in the mail from Cablevision (my ISP) saying that Paramount/Dreamworks had filed a complaint with them regarding my illegal download of one of their films.

    lifehacker.com/...g-copyrighted-materialnow-what - Preview

    52 bittorrent comcast isps mpaa on 2008-03-26 and saved by 9 people

  • Sony BMG plans online music subscription service

    'The simplest option would be a flat rate under which a monthly payment would provide access to our entire music catalogue for all digital players, including Apple's Ipod,' he added.

    money.cnn.com/...AFX-0013-23994410.htm - Preview

    52 music sony subscription on 2008-03-26

    • BERLIN Thomson Financial - Music company Sony (NYSE:SNE) BMG wants to launch a subscription plan to give clients unlimited access to its digital catalogue, chief executive Rolf Schmidt-Holtz said.
  • South Park Studios

    South Park fans rejoice!

    www.southparkstudios.com - Preview

    52 south park streaming tv on 2008-03-24 and saved by 239 people

  • Portals tune in full TV episodes

    With Hulu going live this month, the portals that are distribution partners for this NBC Universal-News Corp. online video joint venture continue to focus on streaming full-length episodes and building out content around popular TV shows.

    www.hollywoodreporter.com/...acf24cbb5b53e8db3f515f2e2f9438 - Preview

    52 hulu portals tv on 2008-03-23

    • With Hulu going live this month, the portals that are distribution
      partners for this NBC Universal-News Corp. online video joint
      venture continue to focus on streaming full-length episodes and
      building out content around popular TV shows.
    • For AOL TV, streaming full episodes is a new endeavor. The Time
      Warner-owned site -- the only portal to offer ABC primetime shows
      in addition to Hulu and CBS content -- started streaming Feb. 14,
      and AOL TV and Moviefone publisher Kristin Rolla said "30 Rock" and
      "Jericho" have been the most popular shows thus far.
  • ABC’s Digital Chief Says Current Non-Hulu Strategy Is Working OK

    What may not be so widely recognized, however, is that ABC obtains rates for video ads streamed in association with its content that “are comparable to TV rates.” In excess of $20-per-thousand, in fact.

    mashable.com/abc-hulu - Preview

    52 abs fox hulu nbc on 2008-03-23

    • What may not be so widely recognized, however, is that ABC obtains rates for video ads streamed in association with its content that “are comparable to TV rates.” In excess of $20-per-thousand, in fact.
  • ‘Good’ Pirates Help Companies Sell More Products | TorrentFreak

    • If you are downloading stuff you wouldn’t have bought in the first place, according to economist Karen Croxson, you are probably doing the company that created the product a big favor. You, Mr ‘Good’ Pirate, are telling your friends, adding to the media ‘buzz’ and driving up sales.
  • Billy Bragg Tells Bebo To Give Some Of The Millions To The Musicians

    But reading his opinion piece published in today’s New York Times concerning what he calls “the royalty scam” conducted by Internet music portals like MySpace and Bebo, I can’t help but say: wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

    mashable.com/...bragg-bebo - Preview

    52 bebo billy bragg music myspace on 2008-03-23 and saved by 2 people

    • Don’t get me wrong. I believe in just payment to musicians on radio, whether over-the-air or over-the-Web, as well as through CD and download sales. I think that the record companies have provided the majority of working musicians with ridiculous contractual conditions and have not delivered what I would consider to be a fair percentage of retail income. I think a good portion of “signed” artists deserve more. A lot more. But as far as social networks like MySpace and Bebo are concerned, there’s really no basis to demand that they provide royalties. They didn’t start their businesses with the aim of directly sustaining musicians,
  • Economist: Copyright is dead - Media Wonk - Blog on ContentAgenda.com - 1500000150

    The most enthusiastically glum was Gerry Faulhaber, a professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and the former chief economist for the FCC. According to Faulhaber, copyright is a dead letter.

    www.contentagenda.com/...630023663.html - Preview

    52 business fcc on 2008-03-22 and saved by 8 people

  • BBC NEWS | Technology | Legal battle over Warcraft 'bot'

    The makers of World of Warcraft are locked in a legal battle with a firm that has produced a tool to automate many actions in the virtual world.

    Blizzard is suing Michael Donnelly, the creator of the MMO Glider program, which performs key tasks in the game automatically, such as fighting.

    news.bbc.co.uk/...7314353.stm - Preview

    52 virtual worlds warcraft world of warcraft wow on 2008-03-26 and saved by 2 people

    • Mr Donnelly says his tool does not infringe Blizzard's copyright because no "copy" of the Warcraft game client software is ever made.


      Blizzard has said the tool infringes copyright because it copies the game into RAM in order to avoid detection by anti-cheat software.


      The two parties are now awaiting a summary judgement in the case.

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