TorrentFreak Email Update |
- Kim Dotcom Lashes Out Against “Corrupt” US Government
- Megaupload Trial May Never Happen, Judge Says
- YouTube Liable For Copyright Infringements, Court Rules
- Google’s Piracy Filter Cuts “Pirate Bay” Searches in Half, But…
| Kim Dotcom Lashes Out Against “Corrupt” US Government Posted: 20 Apr 2012 02:31 PM PDT
While some defendants might respond with relief upon hearing such news, Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom is only becoming more furious at the people who destroyed his businesses. “The US government has terminated Megaupload, Megavideo and 10 other subsidiaries, including a company called N1 Limited that was developing a clothing line,” Dotcom told TorrentFreak. “They destroyed 220 jobs. Millions of legitimate Mega users have no access to their files.” If Judge O’Grady is to be believed all this damage could very well have been for nothing because the authorities simply can’t serve foreign companies. This could lead one to wonder whether the whole setup was to simply destroy Mega’s businesses. This is certainly a theory Dotcom subscribes to, and it’s not the only dirty trick Megaupload’s founder believes the US Government is playing. The US is structurally denying Megaupload the chance to put up a fair fight. “We are refused access to the evidence that clears us, we are refused funds to pay our lawyers, we are refused to pick the lawyers we want to represent us and have any chance for a fair trial,” Dotcom says. For Megaupload the worst part is that the damage can’t be undone. The site has been completely destroyed as well as the plans to become a publicly traded company. “We have already been served a death sentence without trial and even if we are found ‘not guilty’ which we will, the damage can never be repaired,” Dotcom says. And why? According to Megaupload's founder it is quite clear that the Mega investigation was a 'gift' to Hollywood, facilitated by corrupt forces. “This Mega takedown was possible because of corruption on the highest political level, serving the interests of the copyright extremists in Hollywood,” he says. “Mega has become a re-election pawn.” Dotcom is confident that these forces will eventually be exposed. “It is just a matter of time until the truth comes out. We are working on that and we are making good progress,” Dotcom concludes. Source: Kim Dotcom Lashes Out Against “Corrupt” US Government
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| Megaupload Trial May Never Happen, Judge Says Posted: 20 Apr 2012 12:31 PM PDT
Charges in the indictment include engaging in a racketeering conspiracy, conspiring to commit copyright infringement, conspiring to commit money laundering and two substantive counts of criminal copyright infringement. While the prosecution is hoping to have Megaupload tried in the US, breaking news suggests that this may never happen. It turns out that the US judge handling the case has serious doubts whether it will ever go to trial due to a procedural error. “I frankly don’t know that we are ever going to have a trial in this matter,” Judge O’Grady said as reported by the NZ Herald. Judge O’Grady informed the FBI that Megaupload was never served with criminal charges, which is a requirement to start the trial. The origin of this problem is not merely a matter of oversight. Megaupload’s lawyer Ira Rothken says that unlike people, companies can’t be served outside US jurisdiction. “My understanding as to why they haven’t done that is because they can’t. We don’t believe Megaupload can be served in a criminal matter because it is not located within the jurisdiction of the United States,” Rothken says. Megaupload’s lawyer adds that he doesn’t understand why the US authorities weren’t aware of this problem before. As a result Judge O’Grady noted that Megaupload is “kind of hanging out there.” If this issue indeed prevents Megaupload from being tried in the US, it would be a blunder of epic proportions. And it is not the first “procedural” mistake either. Last month the New Zealand High Court declared the order used to seize Dotcom's property "null and void" after it was discovered that the police had acted under a court order that should have never been granted. The error dates back to January when the police applied for the order granting them permission to seize Dotcom's property. Rather than applying for an interim restraining order, the Police Commissioner applied for a foreign restraining order instead. The exact ramifications of the failure to serve will become apparent in the near future. Update: Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom responds, and he’s not happy. Source: Megaupload Trial May Never Happen, Judge Says
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| YouTube Liable For Copyright Infringements, Court Rules Posted: 20 Apr 2012 10:58 AM PDT
Rather than come to the negotiated settlement preferred by YouTube, GEMA commenced legal proceedings on copyright grounds against the Google-owned video site. The action concerned 12 specific music videos uploaded by YouTube users to which GEMA owns the rights but for which YouTube paid no royalties. GEMA argued that YouTube hadn’t done enough to monitor content submitted to the site. Today a court in Hamburg ruled that YouTube is indeed responsible for the material its users upload to the site, despite the site having state-of-the-art filters which aim to detect and remove infringing content. Presiding Judge Heiner Steeneck said his ruling gave both sides a reason to declare victory. GEMA wanted YouTube to take responsibility for videos uploaded in the past as well as those uploaded in the future but that was denied. "YouTube isn't the perpetrator here, it's those people who illegally upload songs," Steeneck said. "That's why YouTube doesn't have to search all videos uploaded in the past. It only has to help detect videos from the moment it is alerted about possible violations." Although YouTube operates its ‘ContentID’ anti-piracy system which detects infringements by way of digital fingerprints, the court ruled that in isolation that is insufficient. In addition YouTube must now filter by keyword too. Both sides say they are considering their options and are yet to announce whether they will appeal the ruling. Source: YouTube Liable For Copyright Infringements, Court Rules
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| Google’s Piracy Filter Cuts “Pirate Bay” Searches in Half, But… Posted: 20 Apr 2012 08:04 AM PDT
Google users searching for terms like "torrent", "BitTorrent" and "RapidShare" will notice that no suggestions or search results appear before they type the full word. The underlying idea is that Google will curb piracy by driving fewer visitors to these sites. Last November several Pirate Bay related keywords were added, and to a certain degree Google’s efforts have been remarkably effective. If we inspect the search volumes for “The Pirate Bay” and “Pirate Bay” we see that the number of searches has been cut in half. However, the real question is whether this actually does something to prohibit people from using The Pirate Bay website. “Pirate Bay” search drop
It could be that fewer people accidentally stumble upon the notorious torrent site than before. Previously “The Pirate Bay” showed up as the top suggestion when people typed in “The,” which probably led to a few hundred curious visitors a day. This is no longer the case. However, the majority of the people who search for “Pirate Bay” are existing users who use this as a shortcut instead of having to type the full URL. It is doubtful that these people suddenly stopped using the torrent site. Indeed, as is usually the case with censorship, the net routes around it. In this case Google’s algorithm picked up a new popular search that allows Pirate Bay users to access their favorite site with just three keystrokes. Where searches for “Pirate Bay” plunged, the alternative “thepiratebay.org” skyrocketed. “thepiratebay.org” going up
As a result, Google now suggests “thepiratebay.org” when users type in “pir”. Just three keystrokes away
That is, for as long as it lasts, since Google may now add this new search to their piracy filter as well. And so the inevitable anti-piracy whack-a-mole continues as usual. A Pirate Bay spokesperson told TorrentFreak that they are not in the least bit hurt by Google’s half-baked attempts to keep people away from their site. They haven’t noticed a decrease in referrers from Google, and even if that was the case it wouldn’t be a problem as only a tiny percentage of The Pirate Bay’s traffic comes from search engines. The real problem, according to The Pirate Bay, is that Google is willing to censor its search functions on behalf of the copyright lobby. Google, on the other hand, is determined to continue and expand their anti-piracy efforts. Aside from adding more “pirate” keyword to the ban list, they will also prioritize authorized media in the search results and prevent rogue sites from advertising their services through AdSense. Source: Google’s Piracy Filter Cuts “Pirate Bay” Searches in Half, But…
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Earlier today the news broke that a Megaupload trial 
The battle between YouTube and music rights group GEMA began in earnest when talks between the pair on the issue of royalties completely broke down in 2010. An earlier agreement with GEMA, which represents around 60,000 artists, had expired in 2009.
For more than a year Google has been 
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