The Gnutella-based download client LimeWire has ceased all its operations after a U.S. federal judge granted a request from the RIAA. Limewire was ordered to disable all functionalities in the current application to prevent users from sharing copyrighted material. The verdict is expected to have an unprecedented impact on the P2P file-sharing landscape.
After failing to do business with some of the leading companies in the entertainment sector, a developer has turned from gamekeeper to poacher. As a protest against what he describes as big business support for online piracy, the dev has transformed his anti-piracy system into a pretty snappy music download site and says he won't turn it off until his demands are met.
A new Internet traffic trends report released by the Canadian broadband management company Sandvine reveals that global P2P traffic is expanding, with BitTorrent as the key player. In North America, more than half of all upstream traffic (53.3%) on an average day can be attributed to P2P. The report further signals some really interesting regional differences in P2P use, such as the dominance of Ares in Latin America.
As authorities, rightsholders and ISPs in Denmark negotiate behind an agreed press blackout over the possible introduction of a 3 strikes-style file-sharing regime, the government is set to commit tax payers' money to the overall plan. The Ministry of Culture says it will help fund a public anti-piracy campaign and will match any financial contributions made by the entertainment industries and ISPs.
The top 10 most downloaded movies on BitTorrent, 'Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps' tops the chart this week, followed by 'Resident Evil: Afterlife'. 'Red' completes the top three.
While the RIAA and file-sharers have been slugging it out in settlement agreements and high-profile legal actions in recent years, at times the voices of the artists themselves have been drowned out. Some, however, have been so loud it has proven impossible to ignore them. Whether they love file-sharing, hate it, or sit happily on the fence, the opinions of artists matter.
Earlier this year book piracy surged after the introduction of the iPad. Although some publishers and authors fear that this will cause their revenues to dwindle, there are plenty of signs that the opposite will happen. This week, comic book writer Steve Lieber said that his sales went through the roof after pirated scans were shared on 4Chan, and he's not alone.
After warnings this week that retail copies had been stolen from a pressing plant, a leak of Call of Duty: Black Ops, the follow up to last year's mind-bogglingly successful Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, seemed inevitable. As Activision sends in investigators directly to people with a copy, thousands of people on The Pirate Bay are waiting for a torrent to complete - but is it the real deal?