E-Commerce News: Piracy

Thursday - May 8, 2008

Microsoft's Zune and NBC's downloadable television shows stand at the center of the latest digital rights management dustup. On Wednesday, a report suggested that Microsoft might build a copyright manager into every Zune player, ostensibly in response to an NBC demand for copyright protections of its downloadable content. The report qualified that the development was only a possibility, not a certainty. However, the article suggested that Microsoft was willing to attempt to develop a program that would filter out unauthorized copies of copyrighted material. [More...]

Defunct TorrentSpy Slammed With $110M Judgment in MPAA Suit

Thursday - May 8, 2008

A federal judge in Los Angeles has awarded the MPAA $110 million in compensation from Valence Media, operator of the now-defunct file-sharing Web site TorrentSpy. U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper ordered Valence Media to pay $30,000 for each copyright infringement of nearly 3,700 movies and television programs that were downloaded. The MPAA took TorrentSpy to court in February 2006. [More...]

The Beauty of Not Asking Permission

Tuesday - April 1, 2008

Last year, when Viacom visited YouTube and spotted shows from MTV, Comedy Central and other content producers it owns, it decided to act quickly -- and the only quick reaction a company of Viacom's size is capable of in that sort of situation is to sue. Only after many months did other giant TV networks put the finishing touches on Hulu, a site that does basically the same thing that YouTube had been doing. [More...]

iTunes and the Social Contract of Fair Use

Monday - March 31, 2008

I was busy working on a present for a few close friends recently when an alarming message popped up on my computer screen. The iTunes message informed me that "my" license permitted me to make only seven copies of the playlist I was burning. Unfortunately, the gift I was putting together was for eight of my friends. [More...]

Pirates of the Caribbean? Antigua Firm Cracks Blu-ray DRM

Friday - March 21, 2008

A small company based on the tiny Caribbean island of Antigua in the West Indies has broken the highly vaunted BD+ copy protection scheme for Blu-ray discs. The company, SlySoft, produces software that helps customers rip DVDs, HD DVDs, and now, of course, Blu-ray discs into a digital format that's not hindered by copy-protection shackles. [More...]

File-Sharers Fight Back, Apple Mulls Subscriptions, China Cracks Down

Friday - March 21, 2008

Since the RIAA and record companies began their campaign of suing college students, grandmothers, children, single moms and anyone else who might have shared a song over peer-to-peer networks, most people on the receiving end of the lawsuits have meekly agreed to pay settlements amounting to far less than the RIAA warned they could be sued for. A handful have fought back, though. [More...]

SIIA Lobs Lawsuits at Alleged eBay Pirates

Thursday - March 20, 2008

The Software and Information Industry Association filed eight more lawsuits against eBay sellers the group says are hawking pirated versions of software from Adobe, bringing to 17 the number of suits filed so far this year. The SIIA said it filed suits against sellers based in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas. [More...]

Japanese ISPs Agree to Shut Down Illegal File-Sharers

Monday - March 17, 2008

Japan's four major Internet service provider organizations have agreed to cut off Internet access for users who repeatedly copy gaming software and music illegally online. The organizations, which include the nation's Telecom Service Association and the Telecommunications Carriers Association, represent about 1,000 large and small domestic providers, Daily Yomiuri Online reported on Saturday. [More...]

Sweden Aims to Shed Status as Haven for Pirates

Friday - March 14, 2008

Sweden, long the home of Internet pirates, may not be a safe haven for them any more. The Swedish government is working on legislation that will force Internet service providers to disclose IP addresses used for illegal file-sharing to the legal owners of those rights. However, the owners of the rights must get a court order and furnish proof supporting their allegations of infringement. [More...]

MPAA Chief: Net Neutrality Hamstrings Antipiracy Efforts

Thursday - March 13, 2008

Net neutrality would make it harder for the movie industry to fight piracy, Dan Glickman, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, told attendees at the movie industry's annual ShoWest convention in Las Vegas. Net neutrality is "a clever name," Glickman said. [More...]

Cops Raid 51 CeBIT Booths in Patent Crackdown

Friday - March 7, 2008

German police raided 51 booths of companies suspected of showing pirated products at electronics show CeBIT 2008, which runs through Sunday in Hannover, Germany. More than 180 police and customs officials participated in the swoop. They removed 68 cartons filled with devices, documents and advertising material. [More...]

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