allegations
Studios continue battle with Australian ISPs, appeal ruling
Thirty-four movie studios today appealed a crucial Australian ruling which found that ISPs have no obligation to act on letters that allege copyright infringement by subscribers. iiNet, the third-largest ISP in Australia, received tens of thousands of such notices, but its policy was to treat them all as mere allegations until a judge had ruled that “infringement” actually took place. Disconnecting or otherwise sanctioning its own customers without this judicial oversight would essentially make the ISP a copyright cop—a notoriously tough job, and one that was outside the company’s realm of expertise.
Continue reading »The Spanish Government Welcomes Anti-Piracy Law
The ongoing battle against Internet piracy will be carried out on a different level in Spain, government officials having recently announced the enactment of new specific legislation aimed at neutralizing online sources that promote unauthorized download of copyrighted material. Supported by the new set of laws, the country’s federal court is encouraged to take a more incisive stance in unveiling and prosecuting illegal file sharing attempts in the future. Comprised in a reviewed Sustainable Economy Bill, the recently introduced regulations empower content owners to forward copyright infringement complaints to an intellectual property commission within Spain’s ministry of culture, the allegations being subsequently dispatched to a judge at the Audience in order to be resolved.
Continue reading »Holy Lawsuit! Communion Wafer Flap Lands in Court
A holy war of sorts has broken out in the communion wafer-dispensing space. A Minnesota marketer of communion wafer dispensers is accusing its former president of patent infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets . (.pdf) Communalabra germ-free dispenser The allegations in a Wednesday federal lawsuit come amid a fledgling market for such dispensing devices , as those undergoing communion seek a germ-free environment.
Continue reading »AFACT v iiNet: Safe Harbor Protection Intact, Says iiNet
The trial continues in the copyright infringement case of AFACT – representing several Hollywood studios – and Aussie ISP iiNet (multiple links to all our earlier coverage can be found here and here and here ) The case continued in the Federal Court, with iiNet barrister Richard Cobden beginning his closing submissions. Referring to the allegations by AFACT that it detected around 97,000 instances of copyright infringement carried out by iiNet subscribers, Cobden said that there was actually only sufficient evidence to prove that a single subscriber had carried out any. That individual was the mole planted by AFACT and DtecNet to carry out deliberate ‘infringements’ on behalf of the plaintiffs.
Continue reading »Achtung! Criminal Investigation Against YouTube Underway in Germany
A criminal investigation has been launched against senior executives of YouTube and parent company Google in Hamburg, Germany, over allegations of copyright infringement, according to media reports from that country. The case started after a complaint by German music rights holders; Hamburg’s prosecutor has formally requested assistance from U.S. colleagues to compel YouTube to produce log files identifying who uploaded as well as who viewed 500 specific videos.
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