clients
Pirating the 2010 Winter Olympics
NBC’s decision to restrict live streaming of the Vancouver Winter Olympics to subscribers of cable, satellite or IPTV services is making many cord cutters scramble. We’ve heard anecdotes from former cable customers flocking to gyms or stop by friends for surprise visits while figure skating and hockey games are on TV. Even current cable customers able to jump through the authentication hoops of NBC’s Olympics may be looking for alternatives.
Continue reading »Consumer Group Publishes Guide on How to Fight False P2P Claims
“Speculative Invoicing Handbook” details how to avoid being extorted by UK-based law firm ACS:Law and its “revolutionary business model” that targets illegal file-sharers en masse. ACS:Law, a UK-based law firm that “specializes in assisting intellectual property rights holders exploit and enforce their rights globally,” announced early last month that it planned to target some 15,000 suspected illegal file-sharers across the UK as part of its “revolutionary business model” that “generates revenue for rights holders and effectively decreases copyright infringement in a measurable and sustainable way” unlike the “costly and ineffective” anti-piracy measures of other companies. It later announced that after a careful review had dropped a “good number” of these cases because they decided litigation was either not a “viable option” or “beneficial” to their clients.
Continue reading »Premiere in FileSharing World: First Magnet-Only Torrent Index!
The decision of popular bittorrent service The Pirate Bay to adopt the idea of including magnet links on their site has recently become the main subject of debate among the IT community. With The Pirate Bay having made the first step in this direction, various BitTorrent clients followed through and started to add support for these types of links as well; some even took the concept to the next level and introduced Internet’s first “magnet-only” torrent index. The Pirate Bay’s metamorphosis began last November, when the website announced the closing down of its tracker and the integration of magnet links.
Continue reading »UK Law Firm Drops “Non-Viable, Non-Beneficial” P2P Cases
However, still warns has batch of “settlement” letters ready to be mailed to alleged file-sharers “early in the New Year.” Earlier this month I mentioned how ACS:Law , a UK-based law firm that “specializes in assisting intellectual property rights holders exploit and enforce their rights globally,” announced that on January 1st it plans to target some 15,000 accused illegal file-sharers across the UK. The plan is part of what it calls its “ revolutionary business model ” that “generates revenue for rights holders and effectively decreases copyright infringement in a measurable and sustainable way” unlike the “costly and ineffective” anti-piracy measures of other companies. However, in a bit of backpedaling to perhaps soften this harsh rhetoric, it now says that it’s reviewed all the cases it currently has open and has decided to drop a “good number” of them.
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