TorrentFreak

A torrent site owner who was arrested in 2008 but later found “not guilty” in court has been targeted again. The man, who runs Latvia’s biggest torrent site, says that following the filing of a new copyright case the country’s Economic Police turned up at his house and handcuffed him. The Latvian says he was subsequently beaten by three policemen, an attack which resulted in concussion. His domain has also been seized.

Following requests from some copyright holders, search giant Google has relaxed its DMCA restrictions allowing for more takedown notices to be processed. As a result the number of URLs being removed from Google continues to shoot up, surpassing the record-breaking 4.4 million mark this week. Both Google and the RIAA are happy with the progress being made but the former says it will keep a close eye on abusive practices.

Preferring to handle file-sharing in its own way, Cox was one of the few large ISPs that refused to take part in the United States’ “six-strikes” scheme. Cox operates its own 10+ strikes program featuring warnings and temporary Internet restrictions in the early stages. The Internet provider stops short of detailing the end-game but if earlier statements are to believed, repeat infringers are likely to have their accounts terminated.

In addition to the usual information-based movie-focused smartphone apps that pull content from iMDb and other sources, over in India they’re taking things to the next level with a brand new product. The iPhone application “Indian Movie Cop” not only educates users about movies in general, but also allows them to report piracy “in real [...]

As music industry bodies battle the unrelenting unauthorized availability of their content online, DMCA notices are being sent in ever-increasing volumes. In the UK the BPI sends huge numbers of these takedown requests to Google pretty much every day and in the process have just reached another milestone. According to MusicWeek, in March the BPI [...]

As Russia tries to find a balanced solution to the thorny issue of Internet piracy, the head of a government department responsible for communications and information technology says that attacking Internet users is not the solution. Speaking at the launch of a nationwide campaign to promote legal eBook purchases, Vladimir Grigoryev said that the government has no intention of holding downloaders liable or having them sent to court.

IFPI wants governments worldwide to facilitate plans to tackle online piracy, whether voluntary or not. The music group’s CEO Frances Moore mentions the U.S. six-strikes program as a prime example. On paper the agreement between copyright holders and ISPs was voluntary, but Moore reveals that Vice President Joe Biden was one of the driving forces behind it.