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U.S. Justice Dept. Conducts Intl. Raids on "Warez" Internet Piracy Groups

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 22, 2004 - 3:52am.
Washington -- The U.S. Justice Dept. on Thursday announced that yesterday it launched its most far-reaching enforcement action ever against Internet piracy groups, coordinating with law enforcement in 10 countries to conduct 120 raids targeting "warez" groups that distribute pirated software, music, movies and video games. "Operation Fastlink" seized 200 computers and 30 servers that housed an estimated $50 million in pirated goods. As part of the investigation, the FBI on Thursday served six search warrants in San Diego County as part of the ongoing investigation, the Associated Press reported. The raids also targeted individuals in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands, Singapore, Sweden, Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Justice Dept. said it investigated video game warez groups including Fairlight, Kalisto, Echelon, Class and Project X, and a music piracy group called APC. The ongoing investigations are being aided by U.S. trade groups including the Business Software Alliance, the Entertainment Software Association, the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America.
tags: U.S. | Raids | Laws | Warez |

DiStream Sues Phantom Game Console Developer Infinium Labs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 21, 2004 - 3:58am.
Jacksonville, Fla. -- Digital Interactive Systems (DiStream), a developer of digital content delivery technology, announced on Wednesday that it has filed suit against Infinium Labs, developer of a PC-based broadband gaming console, over alleged breaches of agreements allowing Infinium use of DiStream technology and expertise. In its suit, DiStream says that Infinium used its servers and encryption technology in the development of its gaming device, and then failed to compensate DiStream with promised company shares or cash consideration. DiStream seeks an injunction against the upcoming launch of the Phantom console. Infinium, which plans to display its device publicly at the E3 Expo next month, has also recently been involved with lawsuits from a former executive over compensation, and with an online journalist over allegedly libelous statements made against the company.
tags: Games | DiStream | Laws | Labs |

Canadian Record Industry Appeals Pro-File-Sharing Court Ruling

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 15, 2004 - 5:08am.
Toronto -- The Canadian Record Industry Association (CRIA) has filed to appeal a recent Canadian federal court ruling that denied its motion to have five Internet service providers turn over the identities of suspected music file-swappers. The landmark ruling also declared it legal in Canada to upload and download music on file-sharing services for personal use. The ruling came in stark contrast to current U.S. law, which has enabled the recording industry here to successfully prosecute thousands of individual file-swappers. "In our view, Canadian copyright law does not allow people to make copies of hundreds or thousands of musical recordings for global copying, transmission and distribution to millions of strangers on the Internet," said CRIA general counsel Richard Pfohl. "This appeal is important for virtually all Canadian intellectual property owners," added CRIA president Brian Robertson. "Any owner of intellectual property that can be digitally transmitted has a stake in this appeal process." In its appeal, CRIA said the judge "made serious and reviewable errors of law, made overriding and palpable errors in his assessment of the factual record before him, and, in the end, purported to exercise his discretion on improper and irrelevant bases, and in a manner of excess of his jurisdiction."
tags: Canadian Record Industry | Laws | Pro-File |

Federal Appeals Court Suspends Lower Court Ruling in Cable-ISP Lines Case

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 12, 2004 - 6:34am.
San Francisco, Calif. -- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco on Friday temporarily suspended its earlier ruling that would have forced cable companies to offer service from competing Internet service providers on their lines. The court's decision to issue a stay, until the U.S. Supreme Court has a chance to consider the case, was applauded by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and cable industry, who appealed the October 2002 ruling by the court that the FCC incorrectly ruled in March 2002 that cable broadband networks are an "information service" rather than a "telecommunications service", a distinction that is important because telecommunications services, such as SBC Communications and Verizon Communications, are required to open their broadband lines to third-party ISPs, such as Earthlink and America Online, while information services are not.  Dan Brenner, Senior Vice President of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), which represents major cable operators like Time Warner and Comcast, said in a statement, "We will now turn our attention to developing our formal appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and look forward to having this case decided on its merits." http://news.com.com/2100-1028-5189485.html?tag=nefd.hed
tags: Cable | Federal | Laws |

U.S. Shareholders File Class Action Suit Again Nokia

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 7, 2004 - 6:51am.
Helsinki -- The largest mobile-phone maker in the world, has been sued by U.S.-based law firm Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach, which filed a class-action suit against Nokia for "material misrepresentations" when the Finnish mobile group predicted an increase in first-quarter sales -- only to announce later that revenues fell. According to a statement released, the suit, which includes Nokia CEO Jorma Ollila and CFO Rick Simonson, claims that Nokia issued "a series of material misrepresentations to the market between Jan. 8, 2004, and April 6, 2004". Nokia revealed on Tuesday that its first-quarter sales had unexpectedly dropped by 2% after having previously predicted sales would grow by at least 3% and as much as 7%. The news sent its shares crashing by nearly 17% in late Tuesday afternoon trading. Nokia said on Wednesday that the class-action suit against it for securities fraud was without merit and that it would defend itself vigorously.
tags: Nokia | U.S. | Laws |

U.K. Privacy Group Condemns New Google Email Service As Illegal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 6, 2004 - 7:09am.
London -- Privacy International, a global citizens group with offices in the U.S. and the U.K., this week voiced concerns about a new Google email service called "Gmail" that stores messages in a place where PC users are unable to delete them. Although the service comes with more than 100 times the free storage capacity offered by Yahoo Mail and MSN Hotmail, Gmail guarantees far less privacy; Google has admitted in its privacy and terms of use sections that it would employ "cookies" and scan users' email accounts in a bid to fine tune advertising. In a statement released earlier this week, Privacy International, which has filed an official complaint with U.K. authorities, claims the service is illegal. "Consumers should be aware that there's a vast violation of European law occurring here," said Privacy International Director Simon Davies.
tags: Google | U.K. | Laws | Group |

Court Decision Opens Door to More Cable Broadband Competition

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 2, 2004 - 8:58am.
San Francisco -- In a decision that could play a huge role in the future of broadband Internet services in the U.S., the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Thursday refused to reverse an earlier ruling that would force major providers of cable Internet access to share their infrastructure with smaller competitors, much like telecommunications networks are shared today. The court in October had ruled that the Federal Communications Commission erred when it classified cable Internet as an information service instead of a telecommunications service. The same court has now refused to rehear the case. While consumer groups are hailing the ruling as a victory for consumers, who could ultimately have their choice of lower-cost providers, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, an industry trade group, urged further action. "While we are disappointed with the Ninth Circuit ruling, we will urge the FCC to seek U.S. Supreme Court review," the NCTA said in a statement. "We believe that if and when the Ninth Circuit's decision is given a full substantive review by the Supreme Court, it will be reversed."
tags: Broadband | Competition | Cables | Laws |

DVD Copying Software Firm Appeals Court-Ordered Bans of its Products

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 2, 2004 - 8:56am.
St. Louis -- 321 Studios, the maker of DVD movie copying software recently ordered by two federal judges to halt distribution of the application, announced that it will appeal both court rulings. The company filed appeals and emergency stay requests to both the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (California) and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (New York). Among 321's arguments on appeal will be that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which prohibits circumventing copyright security on media like DVDs, effectively denies consumers tools to exercise their traditional "fair use" rights of such media. The next step in the Second Circuit case will be a hearing on a motion for stay of the injunction against 321 on April 13, while the Ninth Circuit will first begin hearing briefs on June 18.
tags: DVD | Software | Laws | Firm |

World Trade Organization Says U.S. 'Net Gambling Ban Violates Trade Laws

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 26, 2004 - 4:14am.
New York -- In a decision that the Bush administration has already vowed to appeal, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled that U.S. laws prohibiting Internet gambling violate international trade laws, The New York Times reported on Friday. The island nations of Antigua and Bermuda originally brought the case to the WTO, arguing that it is hypocritical of the U.S. to ban cross-border online gambling sites based there while allowing American casino operators to establish overseas online gambling operations for foreign bettors. It is against the law for U.S. citizens to gamble online, and legislators have gone so far as to target secondary enablers like credit card companies, which are prohibited from allowing bettors to set up accounts to cover gambling debts. "It cannot be allowed to stand that another nation can impose its values on the U.S. and make it a trade issue," Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) told The Times. A representative of the islands told The Times that, should the U.S. fail with its appeal, Antigua and Barbuda would be within international law if they were to then raise tariffs on American companies doing business there.
tags: U.S | Trade | Violates | World Trade Organization | Laws |

New Jersey Woman Sues RIAA for Extortion Under Racketeering Laws

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 19, 2004 - 8:20am.
Rockaway Township, N.J. -- A New Jersey woman targeted by one of the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) copyright infringement lawsuits has countersued the major record labels under U.S. racketeering laws, claiming they are extorting settlement fees from the alleged copyright infringers they have sued. Michele Scimeca says that by suing alleged file-swappers on charges that could bring damages in the millions of dollars -- and then offering to settle the suits for lesser amounts -- the labels are engaging in extortion similar to tactics used by organized crime. In papers filed with the U.S. District Court in Newark, Scimeca's attorney Bart Lombardo states, "This scare tactic has caused a vast amount of settlements from individuals who feared fighting such a large institution and feel victim to these actions and felt forced to provide funds to settle these actions instead of fighting." The RIAA has to date sued nearly 1,500 individuals for copyright infringement, having settled with close to 400 defendants for amounts between $2,000 and $10,000. Legal experts have called Scimeca's strategy a novel idea, but somewhat of a long-shot defense against the record companies' copyright infringement claims.
tags: RIAA | Laws | New Jersey | Racketeering |

Webcasters Challenge Bill That Would Loosen Record Label Antitrust Laws

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 12, 2003 - 5:16am.
Washington -- The Webcaster Alliance, a trade group made up of Internet broadcasters, announced on Friday that it has filed a legal complaint against the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the five major record labels, opposing a recent bill introduced by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) that would relax antitrust regulations for the recording industry. The "Enhancing Federal Obscenity Reporting and Copyright Enforcement Act of 2003" (the EnFORCE Act), the group says, would expand the existing antitrust exemption enjoyed by the recording industry to cover all compulsory mechanical licenses under section 115 of the Copyright Act. "A Federal Judge recently approved a $143 million settlement in the CD price-fixing case that was brought against the RIAA's Big 5 record label members," said Webcaster Alliance president Ann Gabriel. "Yet here they are attaching additional language to expand their antitrust exemptions to a bill they know most legislators would have a hard time opposing, since it deals with the exploitation of children. This is so typical of the RIAA and their manipulative, smoke and mirrors tactics." The Webcaster Alliance is asking the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to rule the record labels in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, as well as for a declaratory judgment that the labels have engaged in misuse of their copyrights. http://www.webcasteralliance.com/modules/news/index.php?storytopic=5  http://www.webcasteralliance.com/docs/WA_complaint.pdf
tags: Antitrust | Records | Webcasters | Laws |

Kazaa Sues Record Labels for Antitrust Violations, Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 24, 2003 - 11:00am.
Los Angeles -- Sharman Networks, distributor of the Kazaa file-sharing application, has countersued the major record labels currently suing the company for copyright infringement, alleging the labels are violating federal antitrust laws with anticompetitive behavior and unfair business practices. Specifically, the suit says that Kazaa held fruitful licensing talks with labels including Universal, Warner and Interscope that were later "stymied by industry body directives." It also says that the labels colluded to apply pressure to Kazaa's advertisers, ISPs and business partners. Ironically, Kazaa also accuses the labels of copyright infringement, when they used old versions of the Kazaa software to investigate the downloading habits of Kazaa users for use in their own lawsuits. "The industry has lost its way, choosing a path of endless litigation, rather than accepting a solution to copyright infringement that is available now, and a technology that is inexorable," said Sharman CEO Nikki Hemming. In a statement responding to the lawsuit, a Recording Industry Association of America spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times that Kazaa's "newfound admiration for the importance of copyright law is ironic to say the least."
tags: Infringement | Kazaa | Laws | Antitrust Violations |

DirecTV Pirate First Jury-Decided Convict Under Digital Copyright Act

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 24, 2003 - 10:57am.
Los Angeles -- A Florida man has been convicted of criminal violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) for selling unauthorized access cards that let viewers pirate satellite TV, in the first case regarding the controversial law to be decided by a federal jury. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles said that 38-year-old Thomas Michael Whitehead was convicted of six felonies, including three DMCA violations, and faces up to 30 years in prison and fines of up to $2.75 million.
tags: DirecTV | Digital | Laws | Pirates | Act |