Breaking Digital Media Law News

Copy of "Avatar" Leaked to File-Sharing Networks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 5, 2010 - 9:54am.
Los Angeles - A copy of Academy Award-nominated movie "Avatar" has been uploaded to file-sharing networks, TorrentFreak reported. Nominees were announced earlier this week, and one of the "screener" DVDs typically sent to Academy members who vote on the Oscars is thought to have been posted online.

Court Dismisses EMI Charges Against Seeqpod Founders

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 5, 2010 - 9:27am.
New York - A federal judge this week dismissed copyright infringement charges brought by major record label EMI against the founders of streaming music site Seeqpod, GigaOM reported. U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain granted Seeqpod's motion to dismiss the case, citing lack of jurisdiction.

Justice Dept. Objects to Revised Google Books Settlement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 5, 2010 - 8:39am.
New York - The U.S. Justice Department has voiced its objection to the revised settlement between Google (NASD: GOOG) and authors over the Internet giant's plans to create a digital index of the world's books. While the Justice Dept. appreciated the "substantial progress" made between the two sides since it objected to the first version of the settlement submitted in September, it said this week that "class certification, copyright, and antitrust issues remain" with the revised settlement deal.

Aussie Court: ISPs Not Liable for Users' Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 4, 2010 - 9:37am.
Sydney - A federal judge in Australia has ruled that Internet service providers cannot be held liable for copyright infringements committed by their subscribers, dealing a blow in a closely-watched lawsuit filed by U.S. movie studios against Aussie ISP iiNet, according to published reports. Justice Dennis Conroy found that, while it was shown that iiNet had knowledge that its customers were committing copyright infringement, this knowledge did not equate to "authorizing" the activities.

Aussie Man to Pay Nintendo $1.3M for Pirating Wii Mario Game

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 9, 2010 - 10:33am.
Sydney - An Australian man has agreed to pay Nintendo $1.3 million in damages and reimburse $87,000 in legal costs, as part of a settlement reached after he was taken to court or allegedly uploading a copy of "New Super Mario Bros. Wii" to the Internet, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Italian Court Reinstates ISP Block on The Pirate Bay

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 8, 2010 - 11:25am.
Los Angeles - An Italian court has ruled that ISPs in the country must block access to file-sharing hub The Pirate Bay, reinstating a ban that had been previously overruled, then reaffirmed by Italy's Supreme Court, TorrentFreak reported.

Google to Appeal French Court Ruling on Digital Book Index

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 8, 2010 - 10:50am.
Paris - Google (NASD: GOOG) has appealed a French court ruling that prohibited the company from digitizing French authors' works for inclusion in its massive book index without publishers' permission, Agence France-Presse reported.

British Columbia Offers Game Developers Tax Credit

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 4, 2010 - 12:08pm.
Vancouver, Canada - The government of the Canadian province of British Columbia has announced changes to its tax credit system that will create an incentive for video game development in the province, as well as sweeten enticements for film productions, the Vancouver Sun reported.

Google Enlists NSA for Help Following China Attacks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 4, 2010 - 11:25am.
Ft. Meade, Md. - Plagued by a series of sophisticated hacking attacks in China, Internet search giant Google (NASD: GOOG) has turned to the National Security Agency (NSA) for help, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.

File-Sharing Raids in Sweden Net Alleged Site Owner

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2010 - 9:44am.
Los Angeles - Swedish authorities have conducted new raids and arrested the alleged operator of a file-sharing hub under its new IPRED law, which authorized greater resources to go after file-swappers, TorrentFreak reported.

Fusion Garage Seeks Dismissal of CrunchPad Lawsuit

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2010 - 9:40am.
Los Angeles - Fusion Garage, the Singapore-based development partner of TechCrunch blogger Michael Arrington in his "CrunchPad" tablet PC venture, has filed a motion to dismiss Arrington's lawsuit over the severing of their business relationship, according to published reports.

"Lost" Hawaii Beach Screening Camcorded, Leaked Online

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 2, 2010 - 11:01am.
Los Angeles - A preview screening of the first hour of the premiere episode of the new season of ABC's (NYSE: DIS) "Lost," held recently on a beach in Hawaii, was camcorded by an attendee and is now available for download on the BitTorrent file-sharing network, TorrentFreak reported.
tags: Video | P2P | TV | ABC | Lost | Copyright | BitTorrent |

File-sharing News Blog p2pnet to Shutter

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 2, 2010 - 9:28am.
Los Angeles - The publisher of p2pnet, a site covering file-sharing and the online entertainment industry, announced in a blog post on Tuesday that he will shutter the site after nearly ten years.

Grandmother Cleared of Piracy Charge; Internet Access Restored

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 1, 2010 - 9:53am.
San Francisco - A 53-year-old grandmother was wrongly accused by copyright holders of downloading 18 films and TV shows, and further had her Internet service suspended by Qwest before media inquiries eventually helped resolve the matter, CNET News.com reported.
tags: Video | Law | Policy | P2P | TV | Music | Movies | MPAA | Copyright | EFF | Qwest |

Report: "Three-Strikes" Part of Intl. Trade Agreement Talks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 29, 2010 - 10:11am.
New York - Nations involved in talks around the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement (ACTA) are "secretly" discussing the possibility of enacting "three-strikes" measures that would sever the Internet connections of repeat file-swappers, the Financial Times reports, citing leaked drafts of the agreement. If ratified, the pact "would transform copyright law in the U.S. and European Union," analysts told FT.

Microsoft Sues Lithuanian BitTorrent Site for $43 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 28, 2010 - 7:44am.
Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against LinkoManija, reportedly the largest BitTorrent file-sharing tracker site in Lithuania, TorrentFreak reports.

File-Swapper Rejects RIAA Offer of Further Reduced Damages

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 27, 2010 - 10:24am.
San Francisco - After a federal judge last week reduced the amount of damages convicted file-swapper Jammie Thomas-Rasset must pay from $1.92 million to $54,000, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on Wednesday offered to accept payment of just $25,000 -- provided Thomas-Rasset ask the judge to "vacate" his reduced damages decision, CNET News.com reported.

eHarmony Loses Lawsuit, Will Make Site "Welcoming" to Gays

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 27, 2010 - 10:11am.
Los Angeles - Dating site eHarmony on Tuesday agreed to pay $500,000 and make its site more "welcoming" to gay and lesbian customers, as part of the settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by gays and lesbians in California, the Los Angeles Times reported.

PRS for Music Inks Pan-European Licensing Deal with iTunes

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 26, 2010 - 12:22pm.
London - U.K. collecting society PRS for Music, which represents 65,000 songwriters and music publishers, has signed a pan-European licensing agreement with Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iTunes Store. The deal includes the mechanical rights of Peer Music, Chrysalis Music Publishing and certain Warner Chappell repertoire.

SCOTUS Declines Sony Appeal; Launch Not "Interactive Service"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 26, 2010 - 12:05pm.
Washington - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from major record label Sony (NYSE: SNE) BMG, letting stand a lower court's ruling that found Launch Media's Web radio offering was not an "interactive service" requiring additional licensing fees, the Exclusive Rights blog reported.