Together with the charity Childnet, IFPI recently launched a campaign to educate kids, teachers and parents about the dangers of filesharing. Ironically, the legal alternatives they suggest direct the kids to LimeWire, Kazaa and sites that sell hardcore adult movies.
A 31 year old file-sharer escaped prison this morning when he received a heavy fine and a suspended sentence for uploading music and movies. The court refrained from putting the defendant in prison, saying that the music industry needs to take some responsibility for the current situation.
Over six months have passed since the popular private BitTorrent tracker OiNK was raided in a joint effort by Dutch and British law enforcement. Today, the bail date for OiNK admin Alan Ellis has been extended for the third time, now until the 1st of July.
The last year has seen the IFPI shift its focus from the individual filesharer, to their ISPs. After Denmark, Norway and Ireland, the anti-piracy lobbyists have now announced that they will go after a Swedish ISP, claiming that the company facilitates copyright infringement.
The only expert witness used in the case where the IFPI campaigned for The Pirate Bay to be blocked in Denmark, was previously employed by the IFPI. Now working for an anti-piracy company, Kristian Løkkegaard used to work for a law firm serving the IFPI but the court didn’t know this.
A Swedish hip-hop artist who the IFPI used as leverage in their legal battle against The Pirate Bay, wants nothing to do with the case. Without consultation, the IFPI were claiming damages on his behalf from The Pirate Bay, even though they don’t even own the rights to his music.
The Pirate Bay has announced that it will file a complaint to ask for compensation from the IFPI for the traffic which was destined for its site, but blocked by the Danish ISP Tele2. If they win, the money will be spent on funding independent artists who share their music for free on filesharing sites.
Any organization reaching a major anniversary would be proud of this fact, with press releases, interviews and celebration. The IFPI hasn’t said anything about reaching its 75th birthday. Instead, one of their staff has edited their Wikipedia page to keep their roots a secret. So what exactly do they want to hide?
The IFPI has announced that it demands $2.5 million from the Pirate Bay in the upcoming court case, to cover the damages they suffered from 24 music albums that were made available on the popular BitTorrent tracker.
