This week several news sites reported that leaked copies of 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales' had surfaced on The Pirate Bay. The findings came shortly after Disney said hackers had attempted to extort the company, with threats to leak an upcoming film. As it turns out, however, pirates and reporters were 'trolled.'
The Premier League and its anti-piracy partners have begun blocking some illicit IPTV streams in the UK after obtaining a High Court injunction earlier this year. However, providers are already countering the efforts in various ways, including tweaks to their Kodi addons.
With ExtraTorrent's closure this week another BitTorrent giant has fallen. While many torrent sites have come and gone over the years, ExtraTorrent's departure also means that several prominent torrent uploaders are without a home. That said, after a few days it appears that several of these groups will carry on, keeping the ET spirit alive.
After more than ten years, the private TV torrent tracker Freshon.tv has decided to shut its doors. The site's operators note that they have lost interest in the project and prefer to move on. Meanwhile, other private trackers have lined up to take in refugees.
Sony Interactive Entertainment has filed seven lawsuits in the Moscow City Court targeting sites that offer its gaming titles without permission. The aim is to have the sites blocked permanently by Russian ISPs, so that users can longer access the sites by regular means.
'Pirate' sites Sci-Hub and LibGen face millions of dollars in damages in a lawsuit filed by Elsevier, one of the largest academic publishers. Elsevier has requested a default judgment of $15 million against the defendants for their "truly egregious conduct" and "staggering" infringement.
Members of the European Parliament will vote today on draft rules that would allow citizens to enjoy legally purchased music and movie streaming subscriptions when they travel to another EU country. It's hoped that improved access to content will help to dampen frustrations and reduce Internet piracy.
In 2017 there's a trend of people threatening to leak movies online unless a ransom is paid. With Disney refusing to pay in a similar situation this week, there are clear signs that perpetrators can and do get caught. That was the case with a plot against Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, a record-breaking movie taking India by storm.