Nearly 40% of all Singaporeans download or stream movies, TV-shows, and sports events for free, a new study reveals. The primary reason to turn to pirate sources is that they're free. Although most pirates know that they may run into viruses and malware, the lure of free content is simply too strong.
Actor Vishal Krishna, who also takes a prominent anti-piracy stance in the local film industry, was at the center of extraordinary scenes last night in India. Following reports that a prominent site operator had been arrested, Vishal was mobbed by excited members of the press brandishing a swathe of microphones. Clearly, Internet piracy is a big deal in India these days.
A few years ago Netflix wasn't all too worried about piracy but now that it produces a lot of original content, this has changed. The company now has a "Global Copyright Protection Group" and also enlists its 'own' stars to address the issue head on. The executive board of 'Cali Cartel' in the hit series Narcos threatens to 'kill' those who dare to download the show from "shitty websites."
In 2014, police in Germany revealed a manhunt for two brothers said to be behind streaming sites Movie4K and KinoX. Unusually, authorities claimed the pair were violent and possibly armed, hardly common traits among pirate site operators. It's now been revealed that one of the brothers has handed himself into the German embassy in Kosovo.
SceneAccess has thrown in the towel. Its admins pulled the plug on the private tracker after operating for more than a decade. According to a public notice, the decision was the result of dwindling donations, which made it hard to pay the bills.
Last week the world's leading YouTube ripping site shut down after reaching a settlement with several major record labels and its representatives. The shutdown of YouTube-MP3 followed a lawsuit in the US, but many music industry insiders feel that it shouldn't have got that far. Instead, they want Google and YouTube to address the ripping problem at its root.
The operator of several music piracy sites has pleaded guilty to criminal copyright infringement. Artur Sargsyan ran ShareBeast, a platform claimed by the RIAA to be the largest music piracy site in the United States. The 29-year-old also operated the AlbumJams and NewJams linking sites from his base in California.
The top 10 most downloaded movies on BitTorrent are in again. 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales' tops the chart this week, followed by ‘Hitman's Bodyguard'. 'Wonder Woman' completes the top three.