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BREIN Shuts Down 393 Torrent Sites, No One Notices
,----[ Quote ]
| Working on behalf of the MPAA and their
| Hollywood studio partners, anti-piracy outfit
| BREIN achieved a notable victory last year when
| it partially shut down Mininova. This success,
| however, appears to be just the tip of the
| iceberg. Did you know BREIN shut down 393
| torrent sites in 2009? No? Neither did we.
`----
http://torrentfreak.com/brein-shuts-down-393-torrent-sites-no-one-notices-100110/
Are Rights Holders Making a Fortune With P2P Lawsuits?
,----[ Quote ]
| A new study released by a German consumer
| advocacy group is estimating that entertainment
| and software companies sent roughly 450,000
| cease-and-desist letters to local file sharers
| alone in 2009, yielding some $370 million in
| damages. Thatâs a steep jump from 2008, when the
| group tracked closer to 250,000 of such cases.
`----
http://newteevee.com/2010/01/09/are-rights-holders-making-a-fortune-with-p2p-lawsuits/
Recent:
Broadband consumers to foot Â500m bill to tackle online piracy
,----[ Quote ]
| Proposals to suspend the internet
| connections of those who repeatedly share
| music and films online will leave consumers
| with a bill for Â500 million, ministers
| have admitted.
`----
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article6969105.ece
Pirate Party: one to watch in 2010
,----[ Quote ]
| Threatening to cut off people's net access
| is therefore seen as a vastly
| disproportionate punishment, almost akin to
| cutting someone's tongue off. While young
| female voters also tend to vote Pirate
| Party, compared to older voters, they do so
| less than male voters. The Pirate
| movement's task, therefore is twofold: to
| get women to vote for us in the same
| numbers that men do (which should be
| doable, since women use the internet as
| much as men), and to make sure that each
| years' intake of new 18 year old voters
| supports us, while existing supporters
| continue to support us. If we do that
| across Europe, we'll win.
`----
http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/blog/2009/dec/27/pirate-party-one-watch-2010/
uTorrent Users Double to 52 Million in a Year
,----[ Quote ]
| uTorrent â the preferred Bittorrent client
| for many BitTorrent users â has been doing
| really well in 2009. Contrary to reports
| claiming that BitTorrent and P2P usage has
| been declining, in the last year uTorrent
| nearly doubled its userbase to 52 million
| unique users a month.
`----
http://torrentfreak.com/utorrent-users-double-to-52-million-in-a-year-091225/
UK Lawyers Drop âNon-Viableâ File-Sharing Cases
,----[ Quote ]
| Lawyers who told thousands of individuals
| that they held proof of their illicit file-
| sharing, have made a surprise announcement.
| ACS:Law, who help companies generate
| revenue from porn movie copyrights, say
| they are dropping many cases because
| litigation is neither viable nor beneficial
| to their clients.
`----
http://torrentfreak.com/uk-lawyers-drop-non-viable-file-sharing-cases-091226/
Sarkozy's cronies make song and dance of it
,----[ Quote ]
| The video is not only an unwanted internet
| triumph â it has got the Jeunes Populaires into
| legal hot water. The group obtained permission
| to use the song, written and recorded by the
| French-Canadians Luc Plamondon and Christian St-
| Roch in 1976. By mistake, the video used another
| version, recorded recently by a Quebec singer,
| Marie-Mai. Legal negotiations are in progess.
`----
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/sarkozys-cronies-make-song-and-%20dance-of-it-1843098.html
Bryan Cave Partner Chosen for Commerce Post
,----[ Quote ]
| Kevin Wolf, a partner in the Washington office
| of Bryan Cave who raised money for President
| Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, is the president's
| pick for a top trade position.
`----
http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2009/12/bryan-cave-partner-chosen-for-commerce-post.html
Biden Convenes 'Piracy Summit' That Appears To Be Entirely One-Sided
,----[ Quote ]
| Notice that there aren't any consumer rights
| representatives. No one from technology
| companies. No one representing a viewpoint
| from outside of these industries of how they
| might be abusing claims of "piracy" to prop
| up obsolete business models. Instead, it's
| just the echo chamber. The same folks who
| have been misleading politicians for ages.
| And, of course, whenever you get a summit
| like this, expect some sort of misguided
| "action" to follow. Update: Public Knowledge
| has put out a statement, noting how one-
| sided this gathering is, and questioning why
| politicians are attending what appears to be
| an industry gathering on how to prop up a
| business model. Update 2: In the press
| release (pdf) about this, Biden's office has
| the gall to claim this "will bring together
| all of the stakeholders." Ha! It's 100%
| entertainment industry interests. No tech.
| No consumer advocates. No ISPs. This is a
| complete joke. Update 3: This just gets more
| and more ridiculous. Reporter Ryan Reilly
| was covering the "summit," posting the
| seating chart and quoting Biden as saying
| that "piracy" is "flat unadulterated theft"
| but it looks like Reilly has now been kicked
| out of the summit. Openness and transparency
| apparently doesn't apply when it involves
| propping up one small industry's obsolete
| business model.
`----
http://techdirt.com/articles/20091215/0200387354.shtml
IP Czar Focused On Protecting Jobs, Not Promoting Progress?
,----[ Quote ]
| Then, on being questioned she appeared to
| support Hollywood's position that any net
| neutrality laws won't apply to mandating
| content filters on ISPs. It's looking like
| -- just as was initially feared -- this
| position is really to get Hollywood's own
| representative in the White House. What a
| shame. If you must have an "IP Czar"
| shouldn't it be someone who's actually
| focused on making sure progress is being
| promoted, rather than someone who wants to
| blindly crack down on infringement with no
| thought towards whether or not it makes
| sense?
`----
http://techdirt.com/articles/20091106/0214196822.shtml
And Of Course: DOJ Announces New Focus, Funding On Intellectual Property
Enforcement
,----[ Quote ]
| As we all know by now, the new administration hired a bunch of the
| entertainment industry's favorite lawyers, and during the confirmation
| hearings for the most senior among them, a desire to have the Justice
| Department focus more on intellectual property was a key point.
`----
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090828/1325116042.shtml
Department of Justice Announces Over $1.9 Million in Grants for Criminal
Intellectual Property Enforcement
http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-27-2009/0005084111&EDATE=
US Fed Gov. Says All Music Downloads Are Theft
,----[ Quote ]
| Nearly all US government employees and contractors are subject to mandatory
| annual information security briefings. This year the official briefing flatly
| states that all downloaded music is stolen. The occasionally breathless tone
| of the briefing and the various minor errors contained therein are funny but
| the real eye-opener is a 'secure the building' exercise where employees
| stumble across security problems and resolve them.
`----
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/09/08/26/1956201/US-Fed-Govt-Says-All-Music-Downloads-Are-Theft?art_pos=2
Obama Administration Reiterates Its Support Of Secretive, Industry Written ACTA
,----[ Quote ]
| We've been bothered by the incredibly secretive (except if you happen to be
| in the entertainment industry) ACTA Treaty negotiations for quite some time
| now. This is the industry-led effort to get a bunch of nations to agree to
| draconian and damaging new copyright laws by sneaking them through as a
| secretive "international treaty," such that countries are then compelled to
| change their copyright laws to "be in compliance with international
| agreements." It's a really sneaky trick that Hollywood has used for years.
`----
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090614/1819325224.shtml
U.S. Targets Canada Over Copyright in Special 301 Report
,----[ Quote ]
| The move is not unexpected, given recent comments from Vice President Joe
| Biden and U.S. Congressional panels as well as the demands from U.S. lobby
| groups.
`----
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/3911/125/
Former RIAA Lawyer At DOJ Will Only Avoid RIAA Issues For A Year
,----[ Quote ]
| Plenty of folks have noted that the Justice Department has been the landing
| place for a number of RIAA lawyers. Some have suggested not to get too worked
| up about this, given that the Obama administration's ethics rules supposedly
| forbade those lawyers from being involved in issues related to their former
| work.
`----
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090501/0209474714.shtml
Obama Names Craig Mundie to Sci-Tech Advisory Council
http://microsoftontheissues.com/cs/blogs/mscorp/archive/2009/04/27/obama-names-craig-mundie-to-sci-tech-advisory-council.aspx
Joe Biden promises a blank check to the entertainment cartel
,----[ Quote ]
| VP Joe Biden stood up in front of a bunch of Hollywood execs and promised to
| appoint a copyright czar, and furthermore, that this would be the "right"
| person to protect their interests. I would have voted Dem in the last
| election, if I got a vote, but make no mistakes: the Dems are the party of
| stupid copyright laws.
`----
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/04/22/joe-biden-promises-a.html
Administration Lobbyist Ban Not Doing What It's Supposed To Do
,----[ Quote ]
| We've already seen how the Justice Department is, for example, being filled
| with lawyers who regularly worked with the RIAA, MPAA and BSA -- three of the
| biggest copyright lobbying organizations, and those individuals have wasted
| no time in expressing their desire to continue pushing those industry's
| viewpoints in their new positions.
`----
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090422/0419234608.shtml
Copyright debate heats up over Obama appointments
,----[ Quote ]
| The president has, in fact, filled out some high-level Justice Department
| positions with lawyers favored by the copyright industry, including attorneys
| who have represented the Recording Industry Association of America and the
| Business Software Alliance. The signatories of the April 2 letter said the
| Justice Department's intervention last month in favor of a record label in a
| file-sharing case heightens their concern.
`----
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10223549-38.html
Biden promises 'right person' as new U.S. copyright czar
,----[ Quote ]
| "It's pure theft, stolen from the artists and quite frankly from the American
| people as consequence of loss of jobs and as a consequence of loss of
| income," Biden said, according to a White House pool report.
`----
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10224689-38.html
MPAA reaches out to lawmakers
,----[ Quote ]
| The occasion: the second biennial summit sponsored by the industry's chief
| lobbying arm, the Motion Picture Assn. of America.
`----
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118002688.html?categoryId=18&cs=1
I got you, babe
,----[ Quote ]
| Obama is whistling the music industry's tune
`----
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/15/i-got-you-babe-obama-is-whistling-the-music-indust/
Obama Taps 5th RIAA Lawyer to Justice Dept.
,----[ Quote ]
| President Barack Obama is tapping another RIAA attorney into the Justice
| Department.
|
| Monday's naming of Ian Gershengorn, to become the department's deputy
| assistant attorney of the Civil Division, comes more than a week after nearly
| two-dozen public interest groups, trade pacts and library coalitions urged
| the new president to quit filling his administration with lawyers plucked
| from the Recording Industry Association of America.
|
| The move makes it five RIAA lawyers Obama has appointed to the Justice
| Department.
`----
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2009/04/obama-taps-fift.html
Obama administration sides with RIAA in P2P suit
,----[ Quote ]
| The Obama administration has sided with the recording industry in a copyright
| lawsuit against an alleged peer-to-peer pirate, a move that echoes arguments
| previously made by the Bush administration.
`----
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10201831-38.html
Obama Sides With RIAA, Supports $150,000 Fine per Music Track
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2009/03/obama-sides-wit.html
U.S. Sides with RIAA in Filesharing Case
http://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/legal_blog_watch/2009/03/us-sides-with-riaa-in-filesharing-case.html
Obama Administration Claims Copyright Treaty Involves State Secrets?!?
,----[ Quote ]
| When the Obama administration took over, there was a public stance that this
| administration was going to be more transparent -- especially with regards to
| things like Freedom of Information Act requests. The nonprofit group
| Knowledge Ecology International took that to heart and filed an FOIA request
| to get more info on ACTA. The US Trade Representative's Office responded
| denying the request, saying that the information was "classified in the
| interest of national security pursuant to Executive Order 12958." This is a
| treaty about changing copyright law, not sending missiles somewhere. To claim
| that it's a national security matter is just downright scary. As KEI points
| out, the text of the documents requested have been available to tons of
| people, including more than 30 governments around the world and lobbyists
| from the entertainment industry, pharma industry and publishing industry.
`----
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090313/1456154113.shtml
Obama names Doerr, Phillips to economic board
,----[ Quote ]
| Two Silicon Valley leaders have been appointed by President Obama to a
| 16-person committee that's charged with offering economic advice during what
| has become an unusually sharp and deep recession.
|
| John Doerr, the billionaire venture capitalist at Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield
| & Byers, is one. Doerr was involved in funding companies including Google,
| Amazon.com, Sun Microsystems, and Cypress Semiconductor; he currently serves
| on the board of companies including Amazon and Google and has recently turned
| his attention to green tech.
|
| Charles Phillips, the president of Oracle, is another. Phillips became
| president in May 2003 and previously was with Morgan Stanley's Institutional
| Securities Division. He's a Linux aficionado and said in 2005: "On demand is
| the future of software for many years to come and we are building it on
| Linux."
`----
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10158505-38.html
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