TorrentFreak

Starting October last year French Internet users have been receiving letters as part of the three-strikes system built-in to the controversial Hadopi anti-piracy legislation. This week the agency responsible for the warnings gave out details on the scope of the operation. In the last 9 months 18 Million file-sharers were tracked, but due to limited capacity ‘only’ 470,000 warnings were sent out to first-time offenders.

The alleged operators of one of France’s most popular file-sharing links forums have been arrested. The site, known as Liberty Land, had been in operation since 2009 and had 800,000 members. It provided links to a wide variety of material including movies, music and software. Three men, aged between 25 and 30, now face jail sentences of up to 5 years and fines of $700,000.

The owner of a file-sharing site active more than 5 years ago went on trial today in the French capital, Paris. Vincent Valade is accused by entertainment companies of profiting heavily from the unauthorized distribution of more than 7,000 movies. If convicted he faces up to 3 years in jail, 300,000 euros in fines and compensation settlements running to millions of euros.

Following pressure from the US Government, Canada is preparing to ram through a revamped copyright bill that will have disastrous consequences for consumers. Michael Geist, prof. E-commerce Law in Ottawa, previously described the bill as “the most anti-consumer copyright bill in Canadian history.” Canadians who’re concerned about this development should act, before January 31. “Bill [...]

Cyberlockers are the new fall guys for the entertainment industry it seems, as yet more news comes in of action being taken against MegaUpload, one of the largest one-click download sites. According to reports from users and the site itself, MegaUpload is being blocked or slowed down by Orange, one of the major ISPs in France. MegaUpload has publicly outed the ISP, that on its turn denies all accusations.

In the first few months following the adoption of the three-strikes anti-piracy legislation in France, online piracy has increased significantly. Instead of stopping, file-sharers are seeking alternatives to bypass the new law. Perhaps even more striking is that new research reveals that disconnecting file-sharers will actually hurt the revenues of the music industry.

After extended legal battles, France’s President Sarkozy finally got his way. This year will see some of the most aggressive anti-piracy action against citizens which, if ministers are to be believed, will dramatically reduce online piracy. This might be possible, if the measures weren’t so easily circumvented.