TorrentFreak

Warner Bros. and Intel’s daughter company Digital Content Protection have filed a lawsuit against a hardware manufacturer that creates devices enabling consumers to bypass HDCP copy protection. The devices, which presumably use the leaked HDCP master key to convert digital to analog signals, can be useful for connecting digital devices to analog displays. However, they could also be used by pirates to copy pay-per-view, on-demand, and other premium content.

The UK Pirate Party has taken down its popular Pirate Bay proxy. While no official statement has yet been released, it’s believed that legal threats made by music industry group BPI are behind the unexpected move. The decision comes a few days after six individual Pirate Party members received a letter from the BPI’s solicitors. In addition to taking down the proxy, the Pirate Party have also pulled their legal battle fundraiser campaign.

After being targeted by Voltage Pictures, the company behind the Hurt Locker and thousands of copyright troll lawsuits in the United States, Canadian ISP TekSavvy chose not to oppose the studio in court at yesterday’s hearing. TekSavvy CEO Marc Gaudrault said that after looking at the issue from every possible direction, he ultimately decided that the ISP could not get involved in disputing the merits of the case. Instead, TekSavvy gained a delay in proceedings to further notify customers.

Popular Canadian ISP TekSavvy is warning its customers that BitTorrent trolls have been calling and will likely strike in the weeks to come. Voltage Pictures, the company that sued thousands in the United States over its Hurt Locker movie, monitored TekSavvy users sharing two dozen of its titles during September and October and will go to court next week to obtain their identities. What will follow is a claim for more than CAD$10,000, but will people really pay that to make a weak case go away?

The major recording labels are on a fresh High Court mission to force Ireland’s Internet service providers to block The Pirate Bay. The site is already blocked by major ISP Eircom, but the big four of EMI, Sony, Universal and Warner Music want more and are seeking an injunction against four other ISPs including UPC and Vodafone.

The epic battle to stop UK student Richard O’Dwyer being extradited to the United States is finally over. His excited mother Julia contacted TorrentFreak from New York with news that all necessary paperwork had been signed and that a brief court appearance had effectively ended legal action against her son. Richard thanks all those who supported him and says he is looking forward to getting his life back on track.

A ruling by a High Court judge today means that New Zealand’s spy agency will have to reveal details of their secret surveillance of Kim Dotcom. The decision, which will see the Government Communications Security Bureau added to Dotcom’s lawsuit over an illegal January raid on his mansion, means that the GCSB may now be sued for damages after it was revealed the agency illegally spied on him.