If you get a letter through the post accusing you of Internet piracy, you must be guilty. That’s the message from most copyright trolls and infuriatingly, even some ‘neutral’ lawyers commenting on these cases. But while it might seem daunting, putting up a fight is not only the right thing to do, but can also cause claimants to back off.
Source: No Copyright Trolls, Your Evidence Isn’t Flawless – TorrentFreak
A software pirate is facing the most unusual punishment ever seen in a copyright infringement action. The man lost a case brought by an anti-piracy group but couldn’t pay damages, so instead agreed to star in PSA showcasing his life as a pirate. If that film doesn’t get 200K hits on YouTube, he’ll be required to pay a large fine.
Source: Busted Pirate Told to Get 200K YouTube Hits or Face Huge Fine – TorrentFreak
State bar regulators say Hansmeier hid money, lied in court.
Source: Legal regulators move in on Prenda’s Paul Hansmeier, who may get disbarred | Ars Technica
U.S. Internet provider Cox Communications is scheduled to go to trial soon, defending itself against copyright infringement claims from two music companies. In a new motion Cox asks the court to prohibit the use of any material claiming that BitTorrent equals piracy. BitTorrent has plenty legitimate uses and equating it to infringement would mislead the jury during trial, the ISP argues.
Source: BitTorrent Usage Doesn’t Equal Piracy, Cox Tells Court – TorrentFreak
The seminal Anne Frank’s Diary is elevated to public domain in a month and a half. But the foundation holding the copyright is trying legal trickery to extend its monopoly by decades, and almost nobody reports it as the fraud it is.
Source: Anne Frank Scandal: An Underreported Copyright Monopoly Abuse – TorrentFreak
The ISP under legal pressure to block The Pirate Bay in Sweden has criticized efforts to make the provider an accomplice in other people’s crimes. In a joint statement two key executives of Telenor / Bredbandsbolaget warn that folding to the wishes of private copyright holder interests could mark the beginning of the end for the open Internet.
Source: Pirate Bay Censorship Marks the End of Open Internet, ISP Warns – TorrentFreak
The Pirate Bay remains freely accessible in the Netherlands pending the outcome of a landmark lawsuit. Before making a final decision, the Dutch Supreme Court wants clarification from the EU Court of Justice on several issues. Among other things, the EU Court must decide whether The Pirate Bay communicates illegal content to the public.
Source: EU Court of Justice to Decide on Legality of Pirate Bay Blockades – TorrentFreak
As Kim Dotcom’s extradition defense enters its second day, the court has heard that none of the 13 charges against the Megaupload founder are enough to extradite him to the United States. The U.S. is characterizing the alleged offenses as extraditable fraud but Dotcom’s team believes that copyright violations can not be prosecuted as such.
Source: Dotcom: Copyright Charges Not Enough For Extradition – TorrentFreak
The story in Sweden is somewhat famous. Sweden was home to the Pirate Bay and had sky high piracy rates. And then Spotify — a company also born in Sweden — launched at home. And piracy rates fell off a cliff. But only for music. Piracy for other products such as TV and movies remained high. Under pressure from the US, Sweden passed a strict anti-piracy law, IPRED. And, when it went into effect, there was a notable decline in piracy rates… but, within months, those rates rebounded to where they had been before, as people quickly figured out new ways to do what they were doing before. And then Netflix launched in Sweden. And piracy rates for TV and movies dropped.
