More Than Half of All Google Search Takedowns Now Come from Link-Busters
Updated: 2024-12-30 22:10:25
Link-Busters is the unofficial DMCA takedown champion of 2024. The anti-piracy outfit works for many of the world's largest publishing companies and is currently flagging the majority of all 'pirate' URLs to Google search; more than two billion in total. Despite this stellar effort, book pirates are chalking up new records too.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
For the past several years, the recording industry has branded stream-ripping services the leading piracy threat. On the near horizon, the industry claims that the rise of generative AI presents a new and rapidly evolving challenge for the music ecosystem that threatens its long-term sustainability. According to global industry group IFPI, stream-ripping is likely fueling this secondary threat.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
The final verdict in a Danish site blocking battle, involving LaLiga and Rojadirecta, confirms that live sports broadcasts are protected copyright works. This marks a significant victory for rightsholders, who believe that this landmark decision paves the way for increased blocking of pirate streaming services across Europe.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
According to a phrase popularized by Carl Sagan, extraordinary claims should be supported by extraordinary evidence. A new piracy scare story published on Sunday takes a different approach. The extraordinary claim is that fake IPTV portals run by law enforcement are entrapping "ordinary users" to obtain evidence of their crimes. Supported by exactly zero evidence, the report claims that hundreds of internet users have already been identified.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
'House of the Dragon' is the most-pirated TV show released on torrent sites in 2024. The popular 'Game of Thrones' prequel replaces 'The Last of Us', which topped the chart last year. Amazon's 'The Boys' takes the second spot at a respectable distance, while Disney's Shōgun is the hottest newcomer.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
In a landmark ruling, the Court of Milan has ordered Cloudflare to block pirate streaming services that offer Serie A football matches. The court found that Cloudflare's services are instrumental in facilitating access to live pirate streams, undermining Italy's 'Piracy Shield' legislation. The order, which applies in Italy, affects Cloudflare's CDN, DNS resolver, WARP and proxy services. It also includes a broad data disclosure section.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
Around 2016, sports streaming site Rojadirecta closed its doors to visitors from Spain after losing its legal battle with Mediapro. Despite the win, the broadcaster was disappointed that the court had found the company behind Rojadirecta liable, but not company owner Igor Seoane. After the Supreme Court held that Seoane could be held liable, last Friday a court confirmed total damages of $33 million, with Seoane and the company jointly liable for half of that amount.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
Once-thriving Usenet provider NSE was targeted by Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN many years ago. Under legal pressure, the provider felt forced to shut down its successful business. Though NSE ultimately triumphed in court, that victory came years later. NSE is now demanding millions of euros to compensate for the alleged damage to its business. BREIN, however, sees things differently.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
The easiest way to hurt a pirate site, at least temporarily, is by taking away its domain name. Historically, domain name registries have been hesitant to take action but with the right approach, progress can be made. This week, anti-piracy group BREIN reported that following their complaints, the .nl and .eu registries took action against several 'pirate' domains. On closer inspection, it appears that copyright has little to do with it.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
Italians who simply view pirate IPTV via illicit subscriptions have been warned for months that their activities could be reported to the judicial authorities for potential prosecution. As part of an investigation into a pirate IPTV subscription seller, a total of 23 people have appeared in court in recent months for simply buying a pirate package. Judges in two separate proceedings have now acquitted all 23 after concluding that this type of piracy isn't actually a crime.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
The Federal Court of Canada has issued a new site blocking order requiring major ISPs to block access to Soap2Day domains. The order was issued in response to a lawsuit filed by Netflix, Bell, and several major Hollywood studios alleging copyright infringement. The operators of the associated Soap2Day domains must pay millions of Canadian dollars in damages.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
Suing people for consuming content illegally can be a risky endeavor for companies with brands to protect. Nevertheless, sports rightsholders now seem prepared to put brand integrity on the line in their fight against IPTV pirates. Spain's LaLiga is already mailing out 'fines', ostensibly to people who simply watched pirate streams. Predictably, there's more to it than that.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
For over a decade, The Pirate Bay has been accepting Bitcoin donations. In dollar terms, this provided a relatively modest but consistent revenue stream. However, if the torrent site had held onto its early Bitcoin, it could have amassed a small fortune, worth $14 million today. The same applies to BitcoinTorrentz, which once charged today's equivalent of $8,000 per gigabyte transferred.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.