To back up their demands for tougher anti-piracy laws, the music industry often promotes statistics that show how drastically sales improve when they have their way. This week the music industry did this again by claiming that the French three-strikes law has been highly effective and has boosted iTunes sales…
On Sunday we reported on a “we the people” petition asking the White House to investigate the MPAA’s alleged bribery practices. Today the petition reached its goal of 25.000 votes, but that’s not the only pressure that Washington is facing over the issue. Before the Obama Administration has a chance…
You wouldn't download a car, the Internet meme predicted. But if The Pirate Bay has its way that action will be a reality in the years to come. In preparation for this world-changing day, the world's biggest torrent site has just premiered a new section containing the plans for physical…
As last week's arrest of Megaupload owner Kim Dotcom emphasized, the main character in the SOPA/PIPA debate is the foreign 'thief'. He’s everywhere—robbing Americans of their creativity, jobs, and money. Worse, he’s enjoying himself. As the Chamber of Commerce put it: “The criminals behind these sites are laughing all the…
Over the weekend there have been numerous reports on the fallout of the MegaUpload raids, many addressing the issue what it means for tech startups who just thought they were a bit safer when PIPA and SOPA got delayed. Needless to say there are worries all over. “For months we…
A few days after top lawyer Robert Bennett announced he would defend MegaUpload vigorously in their upcoming trial, he has been forced to withdraw from the case. A source says that this drastic decision was made because the case conflicts with the interests of another client of Bennett's law firm…
This is a guest article from SearchFreak, an internet engineer and chief executive of an Internet business that provides services to millions of users. After Wikipedia and several thousand other sites staged a blackout recently, everybody nows knows about SOPA and PIPA. But this is not the only piece of…
In the wake of last week's Megaupload shutdown, some of the biggest names in the market are taking drastic action. During the last 48 hours many sites have completely withdrawn their systems for paying uploaders when their files are shared with others, but one of the most dramatic moves came…