Copyright

Google Book Settlement Gets Preliminary Approval; Hearing in 2010

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2009 - 11:02am.

New York - The judge overseeing the settlement agreement between Google (NASD: GOOG) and authors and publishers over the direction of its massive book-scanning project has pushed a hearing on a revised settlement back to Feb. 18, while at the same time granted preliminary approval to the new deal. "The preliminary approval order sends a positive initial message; this agreement promises to benefit readers and researchers, and enhance the ability of authors and publishers to distribute their content in digital form," Google said in a statement.

Studios Sue Swedish ISP, Demand Closure of OpenBitTorrent

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 18, 2009 - 11:54am.

Los Angeles - Several Hollywood movie studios have filed suit against a Swedish ISP that is hosting OpenBitTorrent, an independent BitTorrent file-sharing tracker site that was launched in the wake of the The Pirate Bay's announced sale to Global Gaming Factory, TorrentFreak reported. The studios sued hosting provider Portlane, demanding that it shutter the OpenBitTorrent website.

The Pirate Bay Permanently Shutters File-Sharing Tracker

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 17, 2009 - 8:41am.

Stockholm, Sweden - Marking "the end of an era," the operators of file-sharing hub The Pirate Bay on Tuesday shut down their BitTorrent tracker, which grew over six years to become the largest hub for finding copyrighted materials for download in the world, TorrentFreak reported. "Now that the decentralized system for finding peers is so well developed, TPB has decided that there is no need to run a tracker anymore, so it will remain down! It's the end of an era, but the era is no longer up2date," the Pirate Bay wrote on its blog. "We have put a server in a museum already, and now the tracking can be put there as well."

Judge Shutters Websites Selling "Re-Recorded" Beatles Tunes

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 19, 2009 - 11:17am.

Los Angeles - A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction against two websites, BlueBeat.com and Basebeat.com, that had been selling unauthorized downloads of songs from the Beatles and other artists on the cheap, the Associated Press reported.

Senate Judiciary Approves Copyright Czar Nominee

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 19, 2009 - 10:56am.

Washington - The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted unanimously to approve President Barack Obama's nomination for the newly-created position of copyright czar, Victoria Espinel.

NBC Universal Among Authors of Verizon Copyright Letters

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 16, 2009 - 12:05pm.

San Francisco - NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) is among the studios on whose behalf Verizon (NYSE: VZ) is sending its ISP subscribers notices that they are suspected of violating copyrights on filesharing networks, CNET News.com reported, citing multiple unnamed sources. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was reported last week to have engaged Verizon to deliver copyright letters on its behalf; an undisclosed number of other studios and copyright owners have made similar requests.

Google, Authors Submit Revised Book Settlement to Court

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 16, 2009 - 11:49am.

New York - A revised settlement agreement was submitted on Friday, in the closely-watched case of Google (NASD: GOOG) and the authors who sued the company over the details of its plans to scan the world's books into a digital index. The revised settlement addresses many key issues raised by the U.S. Justice Dept., copyright and consumer advocates, although some concerns remain. Under the agreement, the scanning of out-of-print books will now be limited to works published in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia.

Verizon to Begin Forwarding RIAA "Copyright Notices"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 13, 2009 - 9:17am.

San Francisco - Mobile operator Verizon Wireless will this week begin sending "copyright notices" on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), to subscribers suspected of illegally downloading songs, CNET News.com reported, citing sources with knowledge of the agreement. The letter reportedly urges the recipient to delete the content they distribute, but does not include threats of potential service interruptions as a penalty.

RealNetworks Appeals Injunction Against Sales of RealDVD

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 11, 2009 - 11:20am.

San Francisco - RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) has filed an appeal of a judge's injunction against the sale of the company's RealDVD software, which can make copies of DVDs, CNET News.com reported.

Swedish ISP Black Internet Appeals Pirate Bay Shutdown Order

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 10, 2009 - 10:36am.

Stockholm, Sweden - The Pirate Bay's former bandwidth supplier, Black Internet, has been given leave to appeal a Swedish court's order to disconnect the file-sharing hub, TorrentFreak reports.

Google Book Settlement Parties Ask Court for Extension

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 9, 2009 - 9:47am.

New York - Facing a deadline to submit a revised settlement agreement on Monday, attorneys hammering out a new deal between Google (NASD: GOOG) and authors and publishers over Google's massive book-scanning project have asked the judge for an extension until Friday, The New York Times reports.

Norwegian Court: ISP Telenor Need Not Block The Pirate Bay

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 6, 2009 - 9:57am.

Oslo, Norway - International record label trade group IFPI has lost its court case that sought to compel Norwegian ISP Telenor to block its subscribers' access to file-sharing hub The Pirate Bay, TorrentFreak reported.

Judge Orders Site Selling Beatles Tracks to Cease

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 6, 2009 - 9:04am.

Los Angeles - A federal judge has ordered BlueBeat, a company selling unauthorized Beatles recordings online, to immediately cease the practice.

E.U. to Allow "3-Strikes" Laws in New Telecoms Regulation

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 5, 2009 - 12:35pm.

Brussels - The European Union has dropped language from proposed telecoms regulation that would have established Internet access as a "fundamental right," providing new leeway for countries like France and Great Britain that have enacted or are considering "three-strikes" laws that suspend repeat copyright infringers' Internet connections, according to published reports. The issue had been a sticking point holding up the telecoms regulation, and the new version represents a compromise between copyright and consumer interests.

Pirate Party Gains Second Seat in European Parliament

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 4, 2009 - 12:28pm.

Brussels - The Pirate Party, a political party centered on less-restrictive copyright schemes, has won its second seat in the European Parliament, TorrentFreak reported. Following the election of a Swedish Pirate Party candidate to a seat in the European Parliament in June, the signing of the Lisbon Treaty by all EU member states this week means that 22-year-old Swede Amelia Andersdotter will take the Pirate Party's second seat in Parliament.

Beatles to Release Re-mastered Catalog on $279 USB Drive

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 4, 2009 - 10:38am.

London - The Beatles' record label, Apple Corps, and EMI Music have announced plans to release a limited edition apple-shaped USB drive, containing the entire Beatles re-mastered catalog in FLAC and MP3 format. The 30,000 USB apples will become available on Dec. 7 in the U.K. and Dec. 8 in North America, with a price tag of $279.

INgrooves to Offer Labels RightsFlow Licensing Services

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 3, 2009 - 10:26am.

New York - INgrooves, a provider of digital music distribution, marketing and promotion services, announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with RightsFlow, to provide INgrooves' clients with access to RightsFlow's licensing, accounting and royalty payment platform.

Swedish Court: Pirate Bay Operators Must Stop Running Site

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 29, 2009 - 7:45am.

Stockholm, Sweden - A Swedish court has ordered two of the operators of file-sharing hub The Pirate Bay to cease their involvement in operating the site, or else face fines of $71,000 each, TorrentFreak reported. The story notes that neither Gottfrid Svartholm nor Fredrik Neij currently reside in Sweden, nor is The Pirate Bay itself currently hosted on servers within Sweden.

U.K. Parliament to Consider "Three-Strikes" P2P Bill

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 28, 2009 - 10:14am.

London - The U.K. government plans to introduce a bill mimicking France's recently enacted "three-strikes" legislation on file-sharing, which authorizes the suspension of the Internet accounts of those warned repeatedly they are violating copyrights, according to published reports. The bill will "make technical measures available, including account suspension," U.K. business, innovation and skills minister Peter Mandelson said at a meeting of government and entertainment industry heads, according to PaidContent's coverage.

Report: Pirate Bay Being Courted by Four New Suitors

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 28, 2009 - 9:45am.

Stockholm, Sweden - In the wake of the unraveling of Global Gaming Factory's unsuccessful attempt to acquire The Pirate Bay, as many as four new suitors have emerged with an eye towards purchasing the file-sharing hub, TorrentFreak reported, citing Sweden's Dagens Industri. Reservella, the Seychelles-based holding company that currently owns the Pirate Bay, is reportedly currently in talks with GamersGate, a Swedish online games firm.

Google Book Settlement Gets Preliminary Approval; Hearing in 2010

Studios Sue Swedish ISP, Demand Closure of OpenBitTorrent

The Pirate Bay Permanently Shutters File-Sharing Tracker

Judge Shutters Websites Selling "Re-Recorded" Beatles Tunes

Senate Judiciary Approves Copyright Czar Nominee

NBC Universal Among Authors of Verizon Copyright Letters

Google, Authors Submit Revised Book Settlement to Court

Verizon to Begin Forwarding RIAA "Copyright Notices"

RealNetworks Appeals Injunction Against Sales of RealDVD

Swedish ISP Black Internet Appeals Pirate Bay Shutdown Order

Google Book Settlement Parties Ask Court for Extension

Norwegian Court: ISP Telenor Need Not Block The Pirate Bay

Judge Orders Site Selling Beatles Tracks to Cease

E.U. to Allow "3-Strikes" Laws in New Telecoms Regulation

Pirate Party Gains Second Seat in European Parliament

Beatles to Release Re-mastered Catalog on $279 USB Drive

INgrooves to Offer Labels RightsFlow Licensing Services

Swedish Court: Pirate Bay Operators Must Stop Running Site

U.K. Parliament to Consider "Three-Strikes" P2P Bill

Report: Pirate Bay Being Courted by Four New Suitors

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