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| UK ISPs Secretly Expand “Futile” Pirate Bay Blockade Posted: 21 Jul 2012 04:20 AM PDT
In the weeks that followed Virgin Media, BT, Everything Everywhere, Sky Broadband, TalkTalk, BE and O2 all blocked access to the world’s largest BitTorrent site. Several of the site’s IP-addresses and domain names were made inaccessible. In a response The Pirate Bay decided to add some new IP-addresses, effectively bypassing the blockades. This worked, until this week when several ISPs updated their blocklists to include the new addresses. In the UK the procedure to add new domains and IP-addresses is part of a "private agreement," which apparently allows the providers to quietly add new entries when it’s deemed necessary. As of this week 194.71.107.82 and 194.71.107.83 are no longer accessible on Sky Broadband, Virgin Media and TalkTalk and possibly other providers as well. The new addresses were added quietly by all ISPs without notifying the public. Whether the updated filter will have any effect has yet to be seen. The Pirate Bay wouldn’t be The Pirate Bay if they hadn’t already lined up a new address, and indeed they have. During the weekend the BitTorrent site will add 194.71.107.164 (not live yet) to keep the whack-a-mole game going. A Pirate Bay insider told TorrentFreak that they have enough new addresses to keep the providers busy for years to come. However, for them it's more of a statement than anything else as there are already dozens of proxy sites that allow users to access The Pirate Bay just fine. The most frequently visited proxy in the UK, operated by the local Pirate party, is already among the top 350 sites in the UK. The above shows once again that while these blockades may stop some people from accessing a site, the really determined have plenty of options. Also, of those who simply give up on accessing The Pirate Bay, many will simply switch to other torrent sites. Proof of the ineffectiveness of the censorship attempts was recently highlighted by several Dutch and UK Internet providers, who claimed that BitTorrent traffic didn’t decline after the blockades were implemented. In other words, blocking The Pirate Bay is futile. As we’ve concluded before, the entertainment industry might be better off pumping money into business models that give customers what they want, legally. The censorship route doesn't seem to work out for now. Source: UK ISPs Secretly Expand “Futile” Pirate Bay Blockade |
| World’s Biggest Indie Metal Label Calls Off The Copyright Trolls Posted: 20 Jul 2012 08:30 AM PDT
But out of dozens of lawsuits, from those focusing on regular movies such as The Hurt Locker to others dabbling in the world of hardcore pornography, one stood out as being even more unsavoury than the rest. World Digital Rights, Inc. v. John Does 1-80 was a suit brought on behalf of the indie metal label Nuclear Blast against individuals alleged to have downloaded ‘This Is Where It Ends’, an album by the band All Shall Perish. But not only did this one victimize alleged infringers, it also victimized the people the lawsuit claimed to protect – the band themselves. The lawsuit was not only brought without the band’s permission, but also without their knowledge. In the days after the suit was filed, the band’s manager Ryan Downey fought a battle to defend the band’s reputation. The heavy metal image and ethos of the band was hardly compatible with a sleazy bullying campaign. "The band wasn't consulted whatsoever and none of us have ever heard of this company," Downey told TorrentFreak. Downey (and band members through him) spoke with TorrentFreak on a number of occasions, desperately trying to get to the bottom of what was happening to them. But despite being given assurances by Nuclear Blast that the case would be brought to a halt, it was in fact pressing ahead, with a judge eventually giving World Digital Rights authorization to unmask the alleged infringers through their ISPs. Quickly, however, it became clear that something was amiss. After a Doe in the case hired a lawyer to defend against a demand for cash settlement, it was discovered that far from handling the case properly, World Digital Rights did not have the copyrights to the All Shall Perish album. In fact, none had been registered at the United States Copyright Office at all. TorrentFreak informed Downey that the case was pressing ahead and through his emails back we could sense his anger. He approached Nuclear Blast yet again – and then somehow the balance must have tipped. Shortly after a document was filed at the Florida District Court. It contained the following text: PLAINTIFF'S NOTICE OF VOLUNTARY DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE Plaintiff, WORLD DIGITAL RIGHTS, by and through undersigned counsel, pursuant to Federal Rule of Procedure 41 (a)(1)(A)(i) files this Notice of Voluntary Dismissal and hereby dismisses the above style action against Defendants John Does 1-80. There were no explanations and no further embellishment, but it’s there in black and white – the case has been pulled voluntarily. This Is Where It Ends – hopefully at least… Source: World’s Biggest Indie Metal Label Calls Off The Copyright Trolls |
In April, the UK High Court ruled that several of the country's leading ISPs must censor The Pirate Bay since the site and its users breach copyright on a grand scale.
In recent years more than 250,000 individuals in the United States have been sued for allegedly downloading and sharing unauthorized content.| You are subscribed to email updates from TorrentFreak To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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