Anti-Piracy Gang Launches their own Video Download Site to Trap People
Written by Ernesto on July 04, 2007Media Defender, a notorious anti piracy gang working for the MPAA, RIAA and several independent media production companies, just launched their very own video upload service called “miivi.com”. The sole purpose of the site is to trap people into uploading copyrighted material, and bust them for doing so.
Media Defender is known for their shady tactics. Besides launching video upload services, they also trap people into downloading fake torrents so they can collect IP addresses, and send copyright infringement letters to ISPs.
Fortunately, most of the IPs of these fake BitTorrent trackers are already blocked by blocklist software like PeerGuardian. However, they still manage to collect the IP addresses of thousands of users who do fall for this trap.
And Now they try to do the same with their “fake” video download service. They have registered a new domain and launched a video upload / download site with a web 2.0-ish name: miivi.com. Miivi claims to offer hight speed downloads of blockbuster movies like “300” (don’t download), hereby luring people into downloading copyrighted content.
Apparently the cease and desist letters they send to P2P users and video sharing sites like YouTube and other are not enough. At the bottom of this article is a screenshot of the WHOIS info, it speaks for itself. No matter how wrong ‘piracy’ might seem to some people, this is NOT the way to fight it.
My suggestion is: upload and download as much legal content as you can, titled “THIS SITE IS A SCAM“, let’s see if their servers can handle the stress.
Update: Miivi is down now, seems like the plan worked….
Update: they changed their WHOIS info.
Previously: OiNK.me.uk is Dead, Long Live OiNK.cd
Next: The Pirate Bay Wants MediaDefender to Walk the Plank to Bankruptcy
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I could be wrong, but isn’t entrapment itself illegal?
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Don’t bother with 2461 Santa Monica Blvd., that address encompasses several businesses. There is a Popeyes, Quiznos, and most notably “AIM Mail Center No. 4″. It is basically just a PO Box for their legit and (alleged) illegit names.
In case you’d like to have written correspondence with MediaDefender’s CEO Randy Saaf, or its President Octavio Hererra, you’re more likely to reach them at MediaDefender’s registered executive office:
1601 Cloverfield Blvd, Ste. 400 South, Santa Monica, CA 90404
(310) 956-3300
That also happens to be the registered address of MediaDefender’s parent company, ArtistDirect, Inc.
While you’re writing, maybe you’d like to drop a line to AD’s CEO Jonathan Diamond, or Corporate Controller Rene Rousselet?
I would not be suprised if WHOIS started showing sites in the names of their consulting affiliates and/or shareholding companies (if that’s even possible), like WNT Consulting Group LLC, WNT07 Holdings LLC, etc…
Alucard wrote:
i cant believe so many people missed this
“they also trap people into downloading fake torrents ”
if its a fake torrent then youve done nothing wrong
example,
you download what you believe to be the new transformers movie, when played, only shows a blank picture that just grey, no sound no nothing.
this is a fake file, and since this is not the copyrighted material then downloading it wasent illegal since you dont have a copy of the actual copyrighted work. they have nothing on you, any cease and dissest letters can be viewed as harrassment.
these are easily fought in court, or simply and better still…ignored since no laws were broken
Bad logic. If you download a file you THINK is say, 300, and it turns out that it isn’t, technically, you still went through the process of downloading 300. The thought that you can’t be charged for illegal downloading simply because it wasn’t the actual 300 is silly.
By the way, nice name. I’m a Castlevania man myself.
Your logic is incredibly flawed.
It doesn’t matter what someone says you think you were doing. I can offer to buy “pot” off someone and they sell me oregano. If a cop comes along to arrest me for buying pot, it won’t hold up since an illegal sale never happened. You need the evidence which would be the copy of 300 downloaded and on your computer. Since it isn’t there and was never downloaded then it means nothing. I might have a shareware bowling game on my computer titled “300″. Considering your logic, I could be arrested for having that?
Try again sparky.
As far as checking the State of California Business Search, (official Corp & LLC registrar for the State of CA) look here — http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/list.html
As of 4/11/08 nothing with Miivi in it is listed as a Corp or LLC.
Tisk, tisk — they couldn’t even afford the $85 to file an LLC in California.
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