German Pirate Party Provokes With ‘Pirated’ Big Brand Poster Campaign

The Pirates of Lower Saxony, Germany, kicked off their election campaign yesterday with a provocative and clever poster campaign. Engaging in exactly the kind of activity closely associated with the worldwide Pirate Party movement, the German Pirates have copied and remixed the designs and logos of several famous brands to…

President Obama Chats About Kim Dotcom

President Barack Obama and New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key talked about Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom before a meeting at the East Asia Summit in Cambodia. The leaders didn't comment on what was said during the private chat, but Dotcom took up the news to forward a request. He asked…

RIAA Hammers Google With DMCA Takedowns In Six Strikes Prelude

Very soon the six strikes anti-piracy program will kick off in the United States but the RIAA isn't just sitting back and presuming that it will be an anti-piracy cure-all. Since early November the recording industry group has massively upped the number of DMCA notices it issues to make content…

Most Cyberlocker Uploaders Not Driven by Cash Rewards

Most people who upload files to cyberlockers make less than minimum wage from their activities according to researchers from Boston's Northeastern University and Eurécom in France. The researchers analyzed the click rates at several link-sites, and conclude that the overall impact of affiliate programs on piracy may be overstated.

Batman Beats James Bond…. On BitTorrent

With a million downloads in just a few days The Dark Knight Rises has the honor of being the most pirated movie on BitTorrent this week. The last installment of the Batman trilogy beats Skyfall, another 2012 blockbuster movie.

But Does It Copy Macrovision, I Mean, Run Linux?

Two decades ago, old VCRs were in disproportionately high demand. Newer ones were unable to copy movies as they were distorted by a special signal. Hollywood is fighting for this war on equipment owners to carry over to general-purpose computers. Will they succeed?

Megaupload Search Warrant Requests Ignored Massive Non-Infringing Use

As a direct result of the Megaupload raid many legitimate users of the site lost access to their personal files. To find out why the Government put the interests of copyright holders before those of the public, one user convinced the court to unseal the seizure warrant matarials. Surprisingly, however,…