Sony’s failed war against Internet piracy may doom other copyright lawsuits; Ars Technica, May 11, 2026

JON BRODKIN, Ars Technica ; Sony’s failed war against Internet piracy may doom other copyright lawsuits

"Sony and other major record labels recently suffered a thorough defeat at the Supreme Court in their attempt to make Internet service providers pay huge financial penalties for their customers’ copyright infringement. Sony’s loss is certain to have wide-ranging effects on copyright lawsuits, offering protection for ISPs, their customers, and potentially other technology companies whose services can be used for both legal and illegal purposes.

In Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment, the Supreme Court ruled that cable Internet firm Cox is not liable under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) when its customers use their broadband connections to download or upload pirated materials."

FBI shuts down Megaupload file-sharing site; ComicBookResources.com, 1/20/12

J.K. Parkin, ComicBookResources.com; FBI shuts down Megaupload file-sharing site:

"The U.S. Justice Department and the FBI on Thursday shut down the popular file-sharing site Megaupload, seized $50 million in assets and charged its founder and six others with running an international enterprise based on Internet piracy that’s cost copyright holders at least $500 million in lost revenue...

News of the shutdown was met with retaliation by the hacker collective Anonymous, which attacked the websites of the Justice Department and the Motion Picture Association of America."

Google may be poised to bid for Hulu; Los Angeles Times, 7/2/11

Jessica Guynn and Dawn C. Chmielewski, Los Angeles Times; Google may be poised to bid for Hulu:

"This spring, YouTube secured a movie rental deal with Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. and Universal Studios.

But rivals Walt Disney Studios, 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures have held back, amid concerns that Google has failed to do enough to combat Internet piracy. Paramount owner Viacom Inc. is still embroiled in a copyright infringement lawsuit against Google's YouTube."

China makes progress in Internet piracy crackdown; Xinhua, 12/19/09

Xinhua; China makes progress in Internet piracy crackdown:

"China has made notable progress in its crackdown on Internet piracy and copyright infringement following months-long campaigns.

A total of 541 Internet copyright infringement cases have been investigated and 362 illegal websites have ben closed, since the nationwide special campaign was jointly launched in August by the National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC), the Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the NCAC said in a statement."

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/19/content_12671371.htm