The MPAA has started to push hard to close down websites that could allow users to upload copyrighted movies. The MPAA in some cases isn't simply trying to shut the websites down, it is going after owners and administrators of the websites as evidenced by the legal trouble Megaupload and its owners are going through. Google has now filed a brief in federal court in Florida to defend one of the most recent targets of the MPAA called Hotfile.
Read The Full Story
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 series developer platform hands-on
- Huawei Ascend P6 hands-on (Just don’t ask about Beauty Shot)
- SlashGear 101: PRISM, FISA, and the modern NSA
- Mad Catz Project M.O.J.O. hands-on
- iOS 7 and the rebirth of iPhone
- NVIDIA SHIELD as mini game console: hands-on with Nyko PlayPad Pro
- Nyko Xbox One, PlayStation 4 Charge Bases eyes-on with NVIDIA SHIELD bonus
‘copyright’ Stories
Google files brief to defend Hotfile in federal court
22 Chinese authors Sue Apple over copyright
Back in early January, we talked a bit about Apple facing a lawsuit over copyright infringement filed by nine different Chinese writers in Beijing. The writers alleged that Apple was selling their works on iTunes without permission. BBC News reports that now the 22 Chinese authors are suing Apple for a combined £5 million over alleged copyright infringement.
Read The Full Story
RapidShare ordered to filter user uploads
Popular online file sharing service RapidShare has been ordered by the Higher Regional court of Hamburg to proactively filter user uploads to prevent illegal sharing of copyrighted content. The court's decision upholds three separate rulings that involved complaints brought on by music rights conglomerate GEMA and two by book publishers.
Read The Full Story
Megaupload says a number of users are from the US government
The legal fight to extradite Kim Dotcom, the main man behind Megaupload continues to rage. Dotcom and other principles at the file storage site are facing multiple charges ranging from copyright infringement to racketeering and money laundering. As part of the legal campaign, the website was shut down leaving users with no access to files they had saved there.
Read The Full Story
Extradition papers filed in Megaupload legal saga
Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom has been fighting extradition from New Zealand to the United States. The US government wants to extradite Dotcom and three other associates who helped run Megaupload while it was operational. The three associates include Mathias Ortmann, Bran van der Kolk and Finn Batato.
Read The Full Story
Broadcasters try to kill Aereo in court
A few weeks back a new subscription TV service called Aereo was announced to help you cut your cable connection and free the shows you like to watch to go where you want to watch them. The company planned to use thousands of tiny antennas that were connected to the web to stream the OTA content. The company hopes to launch on March 14 streaming free over the air content to phones, tablets, and computers for $12 a month. The service also has cloud-based DVR that gave viewers the ability to pause shows.
Read The Full Story
Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom gives first interview since arrest
If you've been following the drama centering around Megaupload, the founder of the site, Kim Dotcom, has given his first interview since he was arrested over alleged copyright infringement. Dotcom is facing a litany of charges by the FBI in the US that include copyright infringement, money laundering, and racketeering. The man still maintains that he's no piracy king, and that he will win in court. I can't help but feel a win in court is unlikely.
Read The Full Story
Piracy goes 3D as Physibles eye your 3D printer
The next copyright controversies will be over physical replicas of digitally distributed objects, it's suggested, using 3D printers and CNC machines to bypass stores and instead print off your own clothes, gadgets and other items. Although currently far-fetched, the "data objects that are able (and feasible) to become physical" - dubbed Physibles by The Pirate Bay - are tipped to be the next hot online commodity, as users share files and design-owners attempt to limit access.
Read The Full Story
Megaupload: Seven charged, Anti-piracy stance a sham say Feds
Seven have been charged in the Megaupload copyright shutdown case, including site founder Kim “Dr. Evil” Dotcom, as more details on the $500m suit emerge. At least four of the seven have been arrested so far, the NYTimes reports, though the company’s legal team has said in a statement that “Megaupload believes the government is wrong on the facts, wrong on the law.” The dramatic shutdown of Megaupload and the seizure of around $50m in assets led to swift response by the hacking community, with collective Anonymous taking down the Department of Justice’s site, along with the RIAA, MPAA and Universal Music.
Wikipedia blackout a “broad global message” about SOPA/PIPA peril says Wales
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has defended the online encyclopedia's decision to stage a global blackout in protest of SOPA and PIPA this week, arguing "US law, as it impacts the internet, can affect everyone." Wales hopes the blackout - which will see the English-language version of Wikipedia replaced with an open letter encouraging US citizens to contact their Representatives and voice their concerns with the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect Intellectual Property Act - will prompt even those outside of the US to contact friends and family living there and encourage them to speak up on the proposed legislation, he told the Telegraph, as "a broad global message" about censorship.
Read The Full Story
Church of Kopimism file sharing religion recognized in Sweden
Sharing is a central tenant in many faiths around the world, but somehow, I don't think this is quite what they had in mind. In Sweden, where piracy is a legitimate political affiliation, a religious group that eschews copyright in favor of freely sharing media has been officially verified by the state. According to the website of the "Church of Kopimism", the Swedish government granted their application for regiligious recognition. The Kopimists worship information, not any specific person or diety.
Read The Full Story
Do Universal Music and Google have a backroom YouTube deal?
This may be one of the most bizarre things I have read about YouTube and Google. Granted you need a giant grain of salt with this, but if the implication is true, this is wrong on so many levels. Universal Music has been trying to kill pirates of its own artists' work and stop piracy in general and has taken to some extremes in the fight. For instance, it has been trying to kill MegaUpload using censorship in the US for a while.
Read The Full Story
REVIEWS
- POPULAR STORIES THIS WEEK
- Xbox One E3 demos were played on Windows gaming PCs
- Apple's Mac Pro 2013 and the Form vs. Function War
- Galaxy S4 Zoom vs Galaxy Camera vs iPhone 5 vs Nokia 808 hardware photos leak
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 leaked again in black as Note 8.0 companion
- iOS 7 device compatibility chart unveils iPad aesthetics
- Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare coming spring 2014
- Nokia Lumia 925 Review
- Xbox head: "We're over-delivering value" with Xbox One
- RECENT COMMENTS
