The US House of Representatives has voted to overturn the FCC’s proposed rules barring ISPs from blocking legal content but do allow certain rationing of downloading. The vote would block funds to implement rules proposed by the Federal Communications Commission in December. The measure had been added as an amendment to a sweeping spending bill […]
Italy, China, Spain and Brazil are leading havens for online game piracy according to a “Special 301” report filed with the US Trade Representative (USTR) by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA). The IIPA, of which the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is a member, proposed that 33 of these countries be placed on USTR’s list […]
The UK film and TV industry is launching what it hopes is an inspirational pro-copyright campaign, encouraged by research that suggests education can create positive shifts in public attitudes. On the 18th February, the UK audio-visual industry is debuting what it describes as “an emotionally explosive education campaign” that aims to win hearts and minds […]
The US government will propose a set of Internet piracy rules as the government seeks to “improve intellectual property enforcement,” says Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Victoria Espinel. A number of Federal agencies including the US Departments of Commerce, Homeland Security and Justice, as well as the Office of the US Trade Representative, have developed a […]
Five of the major motion picture studios in the US have launched the next phase of their ongoing campaign against against Hotfile.com, a so-called cyberlocker service that allows its is based on strong market drivers such as the multiplication of cusers to share and store large media files on its servers. The lawsuit claims damages […]
Opening up access to online content is a good start in ending fragmentation in the digital Single Market, according to Neelie Kroes, the EU Commissioner responsible for the Digital Agenda. Speaking at a London event on ‘Building a Digital Single Market: Delivering Benefits of the Digital Economy to Europe’s Citizens’, she said that “every gap, […]
MediaCAT the firm that organised ISP warning letters to download ‘pirates’ in the UK has ceased trading. This follows the resignation of ACS Law the firm it used for legal letters that became embroiled in the leaking of recipient’s personal details. The business model was that the revenue from the fines be split between MediaCat […]
Three men have been charged with defrauding TV giant Virgin Media of up to £40 million (€47.6m). The trio have been accused of importing 44,000 digital receivers which could be made to pick up channels without paying a fee to Virgin. The Crown Prosecution Service said the boxes would be sent electronic messages which would […]
Four groups have ‘friended’ ivi.tv, the Seattle company streaming TV signals online without broadcasters’ consent. Public Knowledge and three other organisations filed an amicus brief with the US District Court in New York backing ivi.tv. The streamer is the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by broadcasters seeking to shut it down. Public Knowledge, […]
A study carried out by brand and trademark monitoring firm Envisional found that 23.8 per cent of global Internet traffic involves digital theft, with BitTorrent accounting for almost half (11.4 per cent). And traffic numbers for the United States, showed that over 17 per cent of the US Internet traffic is estimated to be infringing, […]