Hollywood's MPAA has submitted an amicus curiae brief in support of several major record labels, hoping to overturn a verdict in favor of the stream ripping sites FLVTO.biz and 2Conv.com. The group fears that the verdict will serve as a roadmap for foreign pirates who want to evade US Courts. Unlike the District Court concluded, the MPAA says the sites are "quintessentially commercial."
In conjunction with Europol, police forces in Spain, UK, and Denmark, have carried out what is being described as the "largest ever" operation against a pirate IPTV network. Five people have been arrested, accused of crimes including IP violations, fraud, and money laundering.
The popular "Save The Internet!" petition, which urges lawmakers to vote against Article 13 of the EU Copyright Directive, reached a new milestone of five million signatories today. The petition is part of an intensifying campaign which also features offline demonstrations and Wikipedia blackouts. Meanwhile, supporters of Article 13 are not sitting still either.
Three men from the UK have been jailed for a total of 17 years for running a pirate streaming operation. The sentences were handed down after a four-week trial during which they stood accused of defrauding the Premier League while generating more than £5 million in revenues over a decade of operations.
All 24 movies from the iTunes exclusive 4K "James Bond Collection" have leaked online. This is further evidence to suggest that pirates have found a way to decrypt 4K source files from the iTunes store. How, exactly, remains a mystery.
Rising privacy-focused search engine Qwant is calling for the Copyright Directive to be passed by the EU Parliament. Founder Eric Léandri says his platform is ready to pay creators for use of their works but is calling for an external database of copyrighted works as a reference point. Last year, however, the company said that Article 13 presented a "risk for fundamental rights and freedoms."
The popular game YouTuber “Golden Modz” has admitted to posting copyright-infringing videos that displayed Fortnite cheats and hacks. Brandon Lucas, owner of the channel, agreed to an undisclosed settlement and a permanent injunction that prevents him from promoting Fortnite cheats going forward. The “Golden Modz” channel remains online and appears to have switched focus to GTA V.
Four men in the UK have received sentences of up to four-and-half years for running a torrent site that leaked movies online, sometimes in advance of their theatrical release. Most notably, the quartet shared The Expendables 3. All four pleaded guilty to defrauding Lionsgate Films and members of the MPAA to the tune of $11.2m.
Texas-based Internet provider Grande Communications has no right to a safe harbor defense in its case against several RIAA backed record labels. The ruling from the Texan federal court puts the ISP at a severe disadvantage for the upcoming trial, where it's accused of being liable for copyright infringements allegedly committed by its users.