BitTorrent Comic Tracker Re-Opens Despite Marvel and DC Threats
Written by enigmax on November 24, 2007The Z-Cult FM comic book tracker has re-opened despite threats from Marvel and DC comics. “Contrary to popular belief, United States’ laws are not, in fact, applicable outside America” they told TorrentFreak. As comic publisher SLG comes out in support of this torrent site, Z-Cult restarts its trackers.
A few days ago we reported on the legal pressures being experienced by the Z-Cult FM comic tracker. At the time, site admin ‘Serj’ explained: “We got legal letters from both Marvel and DC Comics who have been working together to send us these legal threats. We are currently dealing with the legal issues and they have given us 3 days before they are forced to take anymore action.”
Since then, the Z-Cult FM trackers haven’t been operating as the admins try to sort out the legal issues. In the first instance, Marvel Comics demanded that Z-Cult FM respond to their demands within 3 days which they have been trying to do. However, the staff concerned at Marvel went off on their Thanksgiving break and were unavailable to discuss anything with the Z-Cult FM admins.
Additionally, Marvel has been demanding certain files from Z-Cult FM - files they don’t have, admin ‘Serj’ told TorrentFreak:
“Z-Cult pointed out that we do not in fact hold any of the files that Marvel have demanded we provide to them. If Marvel understood how BitTorrent works, they would realize this.”
Having been let down by Marvel’s lack of interest in meeting their own deadlines and their apparent refusal to recognize that US law isn’t valid worldwide, ‘Serj’ continues:
“Contrary to popular belief, United States’ laws are not, in fact, applicable outside America. In view of the pressure from Z-Cult’s 70 000+ members, all comic fans, and as Marvel have not been available to discuss the matter, Z-Cult has decided to restart the trackers.”
Z-Cult is very keen to point out how they try to work with copyright holders to help them protect their interests. Serj explains how the system works:
“Z-Cult has a clear posting on the site that says it will remove postings on request (with a modicum of proof of ownership), and in fact has already done so in a number of instances. Indeed, some companies, such as Slave Labor Graphics and Hack/Slash, having previously requested removal of their material later relented, acknowledging the role the site has in growing readership and fandom.”
Indeed, SLG Publishing seem very pleased with Z-Cult FM, and are giving Z-Cult support during these difficult times by giving permission for fans to upload and share their comics legally on the tracker.
A statement from SLG reads:
To the members of Z-Cult:
SLG publishing would like to thank the moderators and forumers of Z-Cult for the respect they have shown in regards to our ban request. Obviously, our preference is to have each comic legally paid for, and the efforts undertaken to honor this desire have clearly shown that Z-Cult is not a forum overrun by those expecting a free ride. In return, we have decided to lift the ban from our independently published titles being distributed on Z-Cult. Of course, this is not an entirely selfless act - we hope that exposure to our large library of titles will help encourage support of our legal download site, www.eyemelt.com. It is our belief that there is a market for legally downloadable comic books, and we hope that we can prove this to the comics industry by showing success through our our digital distribution system.
Unfortunately we cannot lift the ban on any SLG/Disney titles, for reasons that should be obvious. These titles are limited to: The Haunted Mansion, Tron, Gargoyles and Wonderland. Our apologies for being unable to allow sharing on these particular titles.
For those of you who took the time and effort to report and remove our material, and particularly to those who undertook the process of re-uploading your torrents over and over without complaint, thank you.
SLG Publishing
Serj finishes up with a big ‘thank you’ to SLG Publishing for their support:
“We would like to thank SLG for working with us rather than against us and hope this is the beginning of a new way for our users to enjoy the comic books of other publishers.”
Rest assured we’ll keep regular readers and comic fans updated on this story as it develops.
Previously: Movie Director Uses BitTorrent as Lawyers Chase Those Downloading His Movie
Next: The Pirate Bay Cancels OiNK Replacement
70 Responses
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You guys are idiots.
You’re breaking the law and costing Marvel/DC (and the smaller independent comic companies) money.
If they cant make money from comics, then they will stop making comics and then we all lose.
At least acknowledge that you’re doing wrong, dont try and justify it or demonize Marvel/DC for your crime.
[quote comment="222777"]the comic industry was on the endangered list but thanks to careful breeding programs by the likes of z-cult, it is once again thriving.
don’t push it dc/marvel…you are biting the hand that feeds you[/quote]
Sean:
If I bought the comic, its mine. If I choose to share it with my online friends it ought to be my decision. I resent you calling me and my frieds here ‘idiots’. And yes, some laws are wrong and meaunt to be changed. Ever hear of the boston tea party? Millions and millions of people globally use P2P. Why is that? The people have spoken. There is a need they are filling. No greedy corporate monster runs my life. I will often thesedays see a comic online, download a few issues, and go out and buy or subscribe to the title becuase of sites like Z-cult.
[quote comment="223629"]You guys are idiots.
You’re breaking the law and costing Marvel/DC (and the smaller independent comic companies) money.
If they cant make money from comics, then they will stop making comics and then we all lose.
At least acknowledge that you’re doing wrong, dont try and justify it or demonize Marvel/DC for your crime.[/quote]
Without “pirating” things like music, movies or comics online, I wouldn’t have bought even half of the things I have. P2P lets me experiment and try out new things, without the risk of paying for something I otherwise wouldn’t want. As long as filesharing lives, I’ll be spending more of my $$ to companies that otherwise wouldn’t see a dime from me.
Why do they care if people download scans of comics from the 70s/80s/90s that they don’t publish and are out of print!? Great for historical research. I have discovered comics I read in the late 70s/early 80s which I had to download a whole torrent and go thru issue-by-issue to figure out which ones I had read. I could understand if these comics were in print now and I didn’t buy them at Books-A-Million because I downloaded them, but even a lot of graphic novels from this period are out of print.
[quote comment="223672"]
Sean:
If I bought the comic, its mine. If I choose to share it with my online friends it ought to be my decision. I resent you calling me and my frieds here ‘idiots’. And yes, some laws are wrong and meaunt to be changed. Ever hear of the boston tea party? Millions and millions of people globally use P2P. Why is that? The people have spoken. There is a need they are filling. No greedy corporate monster runs my life. I will often thesedays see a comic online, download a few issues, and go out and buy or subscribe to the title becuase of sites like Z-cult.[/quote]
[quote comment="223686"]
Without “pirating” things like music, movies or comics online, I wouldn’t have bought even half of the things I have. P2P lets me experiment and try out new things, without the risk of paying for something I otherwise wouldn’t want. As long as filesharing lives, I’ll be spending more of my $$ to companies that otherwise wouldn’t see a dime from me.[/quote]
Whether laws need to be changed (in your opinion), they are still legally binding and you have to be aware that you’re doing wrong. There is no way you can argue out of that.
I’m not stupid and i know people will bend and break laws, but i really get annoyed when law breakers blame the companies their ripping off for trying to protect their products.
How would you like it if i came to your work place and stole whatever you manufactured. I bet you would take precautions to stop it happening. I think the word i’m looking for is hypocrisy.
dissapointment is very high
“Whether laws need to be changed (in your opinion), they are still legally binding and you have to be aware that you’re doing wrong. There is no way you can argue out of that.”
Tell that to the Woman in Saudi Arabia who is getting 200 whiplashes by court order after being gang-raped. It’s the applicable law over there for lascivious behaviour, so if we follow your line of thinking, this must be the right thing to do, because it’s legally binding and we can’t argue our way out of that, correct?
Sean Wrote: Whether laws need to be changed (in your opinion), they are still legally binding and you have to be aware that you’re doing wrong. There is no way you can argue out of that.
I’m not stupid and i know people will bend and break laws, but i really get annoyed when law breakers blame the companies their ripping off for trying to protect their products.
How would you like it if i came to your work place and stole whatever you manufactured. I bet you would take precautions to stop it happening. I think the word i’m looking for is hypocrisy.
Sean: Contrary to popular belief, United States’ laws are not, in fact, applicable outside America.
Marvel & DC comics are nothing more than Souless, greedy, evil corporations sheltering their most precious in all the World, everyone else’s money. Their product is overpriced. If the charged a FAIR market value their product would not be pirated as much. Read this Sean: FACT: Prior to the advent of P2P the comic book industry was bottoming out in bankrupcy. P2P has given them FREE advertising, captivating a whole new generation. Marvel simply copied Z-cult in Flash 9, naively thinking this format cannot be copied. I have looked at their copy cat site. They stole the idea for their site from P2P or Z-cult. MAYBE we should sue them for their lameness? However, this generation is different. If we buy the comic, AGAIN, its ours…if WE the people choose to share it, we will. AGAIN Sean: Sharing is NOT STEALING. If I legally buy a product and share with my friends it should be my choice.
Even tho Marvel & DC et all have the right to protect their material, They ripped me off 25 years ago on a piece of artwork that they used. I couldn’t do anything of course. Happily I was there when Phil Seuling was fighting for independant distribution and saw the hell he put up with to get us that freedom. Sadly I was there when Marvel pulled the plug on us. The only good thing was that my friend Steve Geppi got the remains. The first show I did was 40 years ago, I guess you can say I have retired now, never got a gold watch tho. I couldn’t afford to buy any comics now as it is. My thanks to Zcult for allowing me to keep my hand in it for just awhile longer.
[quote comment="223759"]“Whether laws need to be changed (in your opinion), they are still legally binding and you have to be aware that you’re doing wrong. There is no way you can argue out of that.”
Tell that to the Woman in Saudi Arabia who is getting 200 whiplashes by court order after being gang-raped. It’s the applicable law over there for lascivious behaviour, so if we follow your line of thinking, this must be the right thing to do, because it’s legally binding and we can’t argue our way out of that, correct?[/quote]
Fuckin’ A, bubba, Fuckin’ A.
[quote comment="223759"]“Whether laws need to be changed (in your opinion), they are still legally binding and you have to be aware that you’re doing wrong. There is no way you can argue out of that.”
Tell that to the Woman in Saudi Arabia who is getting 200 whiplashes by court order after being gang-raped. It’s the applicable law over there for lascivious behaviour, so if we follow your line of thinking, this must be the right thing to do, because it’s legally binding and we can’t argue our way out of that, correct?[/quote]
[quote comment="223865"]Sean Wrote: Whether laws need to be changed (in your opinion), they are still legally binding and you have to be aware that you’re doing wrong. There is no way you can argue out of that.
I’m not stupid and i know people will bend and break laws, but i really get annoyed when law breakers blame the companies their ripping off for trying to protect their products.
How would you like it if i came to your work place and stole whatever you manufactured. I bet you would take precautions to stop it happening. I think the word i’m looking for is hypocrisy.
Sean: Contrary to popular belief, United States’ laws are not, in fact, applicable outside America.
Marvel & DC comics are nothing more than Souless, greedy, evil corporations sheltering their most precious in all the World, everyone else’s money. Their product is overpriced. If the charged a FAIR market value their product would not be pirated as much. Read this Sean: FACT: Prior to the advent of P2P the comic book industry was bottoming out in bankrupcy. P2P has given them FREE advertising, captivating a whole new generation. Marvel simply copied Z-cult in Flash 9, naively thinking this format cannot be copied. I have looked at their copy cat site. They stole the idea for their site from P2P or Z-cult. MAYBE we should sue them for their lameness?
However, this generation is different. If we buy the comic, AGAIN, its ours…if WE the people choose to share it, we will. AGAIN Sean: Sharing is NOT STEALING. If I legally buy a product and share with my friends it should be my choice.[/quote]
After viewing these comments I would have to agree.
If u interesting in downloading by torrent client and u looking for good invite from good web site go through this link http://tracker-invites.org/index.php?referredby=2546 and make registry and have invite and trade invite also good luck
Personally I don’t read comics, but my boyfriend is a collector. What he does is he still buys, just not opening them, that’s the time when he would download to read. In the end, nothing lost right? He paid for them..
According to their forums Z-Cult has also removed Marvel and DC comics. By request of those publishers.
The site will stay up, but they arrent sure of their future.
RIAA and MArvel/DC deserve to have their comics stolen right out from under them because of the complete CRAP storylines they force on their fans. Look, if I buy a 2.99 pamphlet, I expect a story worth that price, not some arbitrary bullshitadvertisement filled piece of soap-opera trash novella spinoff with sections that don’t apply to the characters which I’m trying to enjoy. The same with teh RIAA, if they didn’t put out CRAP they wouldn’t have this priacy issue. The problem in both industries is that there are no epic events happening, therefore their products cannot “sell themselves” in the eyes of the consumer. This leads to over advertising shitty products, piracy due to lack of enthusiasm… etc etc. I’m sure that the high prices in other ares of peoples lives contribute to the problems alos. In short, 2.99 is still 2.99 and when I buy something like say… CIVIL WAR (and tie-in), or SILENT WAR… or I don’t wanna look back on my purchase and say “What the hell did I spend my money on?? That was CRAP!!”
-Furthermore, how can someone sit and read comics on their computers for hours, especially something the length of a graphic novel, such as the Secret Wars saga?? Isn’t that were the comic companies make most of their money anyways, through the collections??
I would like to let DC know you better do something. What about people that live in areas with right now NO bookstores and no comic purchase places available for several months. I have been an avid reader since 70s. Also hello what if you have no Credit Card. Not everyone believes in plastic
I m a very big fan of dc and marvel comics n since i m have not been able to acquire a lot of comics through the regular supply here which is done through gotham comics … one of my friends suggested i should download comics from here .. as this gives a very wide range of comics to download from… i would b very glad if someone could tell me how … as most of us here r comic lovers plz consider my response as a SOS call ha ha ha .. later my e mail add is dorjieegem78@gmail.com
I use comic downloads to see if book is worth buying. Zooming in and out of a cbr file is not my idea of an reading a series. Nothing beats lounging with a comic book for a relaxation but those bastards (esp. Marvel) are too greedy like all moguls out there.
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