Recording Industry Negotiates With BitTorrent and NZB Sites
Written by enigmax on November 24, 2008Earlier in November, South Africa’s recording industry body RiSA took action against the country’s largest BitTorrent and NZB sites. BitFarm and Newshost looked to be in peril but a lawyer experienced in dealing with RiSA stepped up to help them. Now it appears that a negotiated settlement could be on the horizon.
On November 6th we reported that RiSA, South Africa’s version of the RIAA, had taken steps to get three sites – BitFarm, Newshost and NinjaCentral shut down on copyright infringement grounds. RiSA sent letters of complaint to the country’s Internet Service Providers association ISPA, demanding the effective takedown of the sites. However, help was at hand.
Lawyer Reinhardt Buys from Buys Inc. Attorneys, who had previous experience of defending against RiSA threats, offered to represent the sites free of charge, telling TorrentFreak, “Sites that collect, index and host so-called torrents are legal in South Africa – the content of such sites is not only protected by the constitutional right to free speech, but is also outside the scope of any copyright claims.”
In correspondence with ISPA, Buys refuted the allegations made against BitFarm and NewsHost, stating that RiSA failed to comply with the Electronic Communications and Transaction Act 25 of 2002 and acted unconstitutionally in dealing with the takedown requests from RiSA.
According to a new report, immediately after Buys’ correspondence, RiSA responded saying that they are prepared to work with Buys’ clients BitFarm and Newshost “to ensure that the rights and interests of all parties are respected under the law,” with Sony BMG Managing Director and RiSa board member Keith Lister providing assurances that while these negotiations take place, further takedown notices would be suspended.
“I am not at liberty to disclose current mutual undertakings / progress, but I’m confident that this whole thing might still have a happy ending,” Buys told mybroadband.co.za.
However, the language used by RiSA is not completely conciliatory, stating that there should be no doubt over “our willingness – and our capacity – to protect the economic and constitutional right of our members and, through them, the rights and interests of a large number of South Africans.”
At the time of publication, both BitFarm and Newshost are operational. A third smaller private BitTorrent site, NinjaCentral, appears to be in the process of closing.
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23 Responses
1st, pay for nothing pirate it all
They are just trying to cover that they did something unconstitutional by making it look like they wish to cooperate with the lawjer to “do the right thing”.
What ideally should be done is pressing the illegal action they commited trough the legal system and getting them punnished for it.
What will happen is that the legal costs to do what should be done will be so high that its nearly impossible to do, because these groups have so much money to trow around and so much lawjers to keep the legal process in limbo for eternity, while they proceed to sue these sites anyway.
So all they can do really is cooperate and meet the demands these copyright mafiosi put forward. And offcource after a while shutting down their sites because you won’t be able provide much of any content anymore.
Until governments start to take action against the mafia tactics these organisations use, this will just keep going on.
Btw, cut out the “1st post” bullocks, its rediculous and pointless, not to mention that the comments that usually are added to the 1st post comments are not good for the cause.
r/Jan
My idea of a happy ending is alot different from theres.. heheh..
but really though, the only ‘Happy ending’ there will ever be with this BS is for them to go f*ck themselves and leave the torrent sites alone.
Ha, I don’t buy it. These snakes have something up their sleeves. Just watch.
Keep spending those hard-earned dollars, Hollywood!
haha always a laugh with the industry’s fools.
“to protect the economic and constitutional right of our members and, through them, the rights and interests of a large number of South Africans”
you seriously think you protect the rights of a large number of south africans? FS is international morrons, the only one intrested in south african music are the people who explicitly love that type of music. (and i dont think the ammount can be expressed in millions)
it seems that they get payed to spew BS:)
@3
Indeed, the best happy ending is where RiSA just disbands and disestablishes. As long as RiSA exists, they still won’t have learned a thing. The only way for RiSA to leave the sites alone is for RiSA no longer to exist.
Roze
http://www.10ch.org/
Hollywood studios and the recording industry probably spend more money trying to catch pirates that they say they lose to pirates. If they stop pumping money into nonsense then they will have just that much more to put into their pockets. Thats what they want to do anyway right?
Visit P2P Tech Time
http://www.p2ptechtime.com
How can they close the torrent sites, if there not breaking any Soth African copyright laws?
That’s just plump crazy
http://www.aquariumfish.me
@2,3,4 – Well said guys, am totally with ya.
AFriiiccaaaaaaaaaa
ROFL… Ninja beats ALL the other sites taken down. ALL!!!
NINJA FOR LIFE!!!
Seems they finally realized they stepped out side of their safe zone eh? This just proves they have no true backbone, going after the weaker who cant possible hold up in court against them. Dont work out a deal, sue them straight out. What they did is wrong, and theyve been charging us with it, time to return the favor!
http://bluehumor.co.cc
This is so crazy!
http://TorrentMoon.com
seems to me that by negotiating with RiSA, the 3 sites are admitting they were in the wrong. surely RiSA are the guilty ones and should be creeping profusly.
Ninjacentral are NOT closing. By the way, Ninjacentral are smaller because they are 100% private unlike BitFarm. NC has a much stronger community and better quality.
There is announcement on ninjacentral which says they ARE closing. Go figure.
http://norgestorrenten.org/signup.php
Why is it that all the record and film companies target torrent sites that are truthfully just search engines? If they wanted piracy stopped then they should have a try at closing Yahoo, Google and MSN but they wont because they are Multi Million pound companies! After all where are all the torrent sites listed?
@2 said: “What will happen is that the legal costs to do what should be done will be so high that its nearly impossible to do”
Apparently you missed the part where the article said the lawyer will represent for free.
[img]http://www.bitfarm.co.za/pic//smilies/bitcool.gif[/img]
BitFarm is the biggest tracker in Africa. They have twice as much as NC and are more a community ste then a torrent site. They have LANs, year end get together and the best staff you can get.
I Think,?t’s Good…
http://www.demlisohbet.com
of all the places in the world i`d think that africa is the last one to go for copyright infringement haha this is ridicilous
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