Kuwait is home to a number of satellite TV channels, many operating without a formal licence. Kuwait’s information ministry has ordered that these stations be immediately closed down. BBC Monitoring is quoting Kuwaiti daily Al Jareeda saying: “The decision aims to regularise the work of the satellite channels and curb abuses by some of them,” […]
A report from the European Commission (EC) has suggested that rates of intellectual property infringement in the EU are “alarming”, and accepts that while an EU law on IP rights has had some effect, the legal measure was not designed to deal with online piracy. According to the EC, current laws are not strong enough […]
A Spanish parliamentary panel has rejected a bill that would let courts shut down websites offering peer-to-peer file sharing of copyrighted music and films. The 20-18 vote was a surprising defeat for Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s government. It came after frantic negotiations in which the ruling Socialists failed to win support from opposition […]
French anti-Internet piracy body Hadopi is reportedly sending only a fifth of the warning emails expected. The body, which has been operational since October, is meant to warn people found to have illegally downloaded copyright music and videos on the Internet, by email and then recorded delivery letter. In theory, if there are further offences […]
FilmOn has been halted by a restraining order from the four US networks but now founder Alki David is attacking one of the plaintiffs, CBS with YouTube addresses including ‘CBS You Suck.’ He claims CBS is hypocritical on rights in Internet distributed video and says that through its subsidiary CNET, it has distributed over one […]
A massive movie piracy ring is being investigated, and the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association is working behind the scenes. The Greater Toronto Area Federal Enforcement Section of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has partnered with the Toronto Police Service in a joint investigation. Ten search warrants have been executed at businesses operating at […]
Dutch anti-internet piracy group Brein and the US Motion Picture Association have teamed up to seize the domain names of 29 US-based websites that allow file sharing. The sites are focused on the Netherlands and facilitate the illegal sharing of films, TV series, music, games and digital books, according to Brein. “This year we have […]
Global trade association the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) has urged the US Department of Commerce and other government agencies to take concerted action to enhance effective online copyright protections. It contends that online piracy has put at risk future production by harming independents’ ability to recoup minimum guarantees. IFTA submitted the comments in […]
The first-ever Entertainment Content Protection Summit in Los Angeles saw keynote speaker Taylor Hackford describe piracy as one of the most threatening issues that has hit the movie industry in its entire history, and call Google an “enabler” of illegal downloading. Hackford, president of the Directors Guild of America, stressed the need to stop piracy, […]
Middle East pay-TV operator Orbit Showtime Network is about to initiate an improved conditional access system designed to disable an estimated five million pirates, many viewing on so-called Dreambox receivers. Owners of Dreambox units use the internet to update the latest pirate software to view encrypted programming. Orbit Showtime (OSN), which merged their rival services […]