The makers of the Oscar-winning movie Dallas Buyers Club are displaying some dubious tactics in their ongoing crackdown on BitTorrent pirates. In California, the filmmakers recently asked an accused pirate to submit to a polygraph test, but changed their opinion after he agreed.
Source: Filmmakers Ask “Pirate” to Take Polygraph, Backtrack When He Agrees – TorrentFreak
Anti-piracy outfit Rightscorp has just turned in another set of dismal results. During the past three months revenues plummeted 78% versus the same period last year with the company recording a net loss of $784,000. Pirates, it appears, are becoming harder to track and threaten.
Source: Rightscorp Revenues Collapse, Pirates Too Hard to Track – TorrentFreak
I remember the launch of iTunes in 2001. Hurrying home from the MacWorld conference in San Francisco, downloading the app, making a stack of CDs next to my Powerbook, ripping them as fast as my machine would go. Rip, Mix, Burn, baby!
HBO is not only taking action against people who download pirated copies of Game of Thrones, the company is also targeting those who predict what’s going to happen in future episodes. YouTube user Frikidoctor has had several videos taken down due to copyright complaints, including one where no infringing video or sound was used.
Source: HBO Censors Game of Thrones Spoilers With Dubious Copyright Claims – TorrentFreak
The boss of a prominent ISP in Sweden has criticized moves by the government which could criminalize hundreds of thousands of Internet users. Bahnhof CEO Jon Karlung says the country is stuck in the past when it calls for harsher punishments for file-sharing and should instead concentrate on developing better legal options.
Source: ISP Boss Criticizes Calls to Criminalize File-Sharers – TorrentFreak
Vice Media, a company valued at $2.5 billion whose CEO once spent $300,000 on dinner, wants ViceVersa, an unsigned Los Angeles indie band whose members are struggling to pay rent, to change its name — or else. In a cease-and-desist letter sent to the band, a copy of which was obtained by The Huffington Post, the media behemoth says the three-piece rock outfit’s name and logo both sound and look too similar to Vice’s own name and logo. The band, the letter argues, is “infringing on the exclusive rights held by Vice Media in the VICE® Mark” and is “likely to confuse consumers as to the source of services offered under [ViceVersa’s] mark, and wrongly implies that Vice Media sponsors, endorses or is otherwise affiliated with [ViceVersa].”
Source: Vice Media Sends Cease And Desist To ViceVersa Over Trademark Infringement | Techdirt
This month, the Zappa Family Trust, which owns the rights to Mr. Zappa’s music, informed Dweezil that he did not have permission to tour as Zappa Plays Zappa — the name is a trademark owned by the trust — and that he risked copyright infringement damages of $150,000 each time he played a song without proper permission.
Source: Zappa Threatens Zappa Over Zappa Plays Zappa | Techdirt
Given that Booking.com filed the trademark application as a “travel agency service,” Booking.com’s lawsuit, filed April 15 in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, states “there is no evidence in the entire history of Booking.com’s use of its trademark that any consumers or users of travel agency services refer to such sites as ‘Booking.com’s.’”
A Booking.com-commissioned survey found that 75 percent of its users “recognize BOOKING.COM as a trademark, not a common name,” the suit states.
Source: Priceline Throws A Fit And Sues USPTO For Not Granting Them Booking.com Trademark | Techdirt
Linking to pirated content that is already available to the public can not be seen as copyright infringement under the European Copyright Directive. This is the advice Advocate General Melchior Wathelet has sent to the EU Court of Justice, in what may turn out to be a landmark case.
Source: Linking to Pirated Content Is Not Copyright Infringement, Says EU Court Adviser – TorrentFreak
Anti-piracy outfit Rightscorp says that it’s working on a new method to extract cash settlements from suspected Internet pirates. The company says new technology will lock users’ browsers and prevent Internet access until they pay a fine. To encourage ISPs to play along, Rightscorp says the system could help to limit their copyright liability.
Source: Rightscorp Plans to Hijack Pirates’ Browsers Until a Fine is Paid – TorrentFreak
