The case against Kim Dotcom, finally revealed; ArsTechnica.com, 12/23/13

Joe Mullin, ArsTechnica.com; The case against Kim Dotcom, finally revealed: "Nearly two years after Kim Dotcom's New Zealand mansion was raided by police, US authorities have made their case as to why the man behind Megaupload shouldn't simply go bankrupt like previous copyright violators before have—he should go to jail, they argue. In a 191-page "Summary of Evidence," government lawyers marshal Skype chats, financial data, and dozens of e-mails to make their case that Megaupload was a criminal network designed from the start to distribute copyrighted material. It discusses the payments made to heavy uploaders to encourage them to drive traffic to the files of movies and TV shows they hid online. Megaupload built a wall of plausible deniability, prosecutors claim, by disabling any internal search of files stored on Megaupload, meant as a "cyberlocker" site. But its administrators, who include the men behind Dotcom's new site Mega, traded e-mails that show the real strategy."

Kim Dotcom's Mega 'not being used for wide-scale copyright infringement'; Guardian, 10/17/13

Stuart Dredge, Guardian; Kim Dotcom's Mega 'not being used for wide-scale copyright infringement' : ""Kim Dotcom may be seen as a villainous pirate-king by the creative industries, but his Mega cloud storage service is attracting white-collar professionals, according to its chief executive Vikram Kumar. "The segment that seems to be most interested in Mega, and in paying for space, security and privacy tends to be professionals," Kumar told the Copyright and Technology conference in London this morning, beaming in for his keynote interview via Skype. "Accountants, lawyers, financial advisers, architects... These are people that want to use the internet, are concerned that their confidential client information may get compromised, and who are willing to pay for security and privacy online.""

Verizon Copyright Alert System Would Throttle Internet Speeds Of Repeat Online Pirates; HuffingtonPost.com, 1/11/13

Gerry Smith, HuffingtonPost.com; Verizon Copyright Alert System Would Throttle Internet Speeds Of Repeat Online Pirates: "Under Verizon's proposed program, subscribers accused of copyright infringement will receive a series of alerts, which critics of such programs call "six strikes." After the first two offenses, Verizon will send emails to subscribers with a link allowing them to see if illegal file-sharing is operating on their computers and how to remove it, according to the leaked document, which was confirmed as authentic by a Verizon spokesman. After the next two offenses, Verizon will redirect subscribers' browsers to a website where they must acknowledge receiving the alerts and watch a short video about "the consequence of copyright infringement," according to the document. After the fifth and sixth notices, accused copyright violators have the option of either accepting slower Internet speeds for two to three days or asking an arbitrator to review whether they are guilty of Internet piracy -- for the price of $35. If the arbitrator rules in the user's favor, the $35 is refunded and his or her Internet speeds go untouched. Verizon spokesman Ed McFadden said the leaked document was "a discussion draft" and had not been finalized."

@KimDotcom Jokes of Money ‘Laundering’ and Tennis ‘Racketeering’; New York Times, 6/22/12

Ben Sisario, New York Times; @KimDotcom Jokes of Money ‘Laundering’ and Tennis ‘Racketeering’ :

"Mr. Dotcom’s defense team has gotten judges in New Zealand to relax the bail restrictions against him and to order the Federal Bureau of Investigation. to turn over its files on Megaupload (that part is now under “urgent review” by another court). In the latest twist, Mr. Dotcom — who was not allowed access to the Internet when he was first released from jail — apparently has started a Twitter feed, posting photos that lightly mock his case, and announcing his return to the world of cloud storage."

NPR Intern Gets an Earful After Blogging About 11,000 Songs, Almost None Paid For; New York Times, 6/19/12

Ben Sisario, New York Times; NPR Intern Gets an Earful After Blogging About 11,000 Songs, Almost None Paid For:

"In the NPR post, a 20-year-old intern named Emily White wrote that despite being “an avid music listener, concertgoer and college radio D.J.,” with an iTunes library of 11,000 songs, she has bought only 15 CDs in her life. “As monumental a role as musicians and albums have played in my life,” she wrote, “I’ve never invested money in them aside from concert tickets and T-shirts.”"

German court sentences founder of illegal movie downloading platform to prison term; Associated Press via Washington Post, 6/14/12

Associated Press via Washington Post; German court sentences founder of illegal movie downloading platform to prison term:

"A German court has convicted the founder of an illegal movie downloading platform of breaching copyright laws and sentenced him to four years and six months in prison."

Supreme Court Passes on File-Sharing Case, but Still No End Is in Sight; New York Times, 5/21/12

Ben Sisario, New York Times; Supreme Court Passes on File-Sharing Case, but Still No End Is in Sight:

"The Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal in one of the record industry’s longest-running cases over unauthorized file-sharing.

The court effectively let stand a jury’s $675,000 damages award against Joel Tenenbaum, a former Boston University student who admitted to downloading some 30 songs on the unlicensed file-sharing service Kazaa."

Lines Drawn on Antipiracy Bills; New York Times, 12/14/11

Edward Wyatt, New York Times; Lines Drawn on Antipiracy Bills:

"A House committee plans to take up one of the bills, the Stop Online Piracy Act, on Thursday...

“Our mistake was allowing this romantic word — piracy — to take hold,” Tom Rothman, the co-chief executive of Fox Filmed Entertainment, said in an interview last week in Washington.

“It’s really robbery — it’s theft — and that theft is being combined with consumer fraud,” he said."

Judge calls $1.5M file-sharing judgment "appalling," slashes to $54,000; ArsTechnica.com, 7/23/11

Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica.com; Judge calls $1.5M file-sharing judgment "appalling," slashes to $54,000:

"Sections of the verdict are worth quoting in full; they illustrate Judge Davis' deep common sense about the case and provide a worthwhile framework for thinking about similar P2P cases.

[Excerpt of quote] The Court concludes that an award of $1.5 million for stealing and distributing 24 songs for personal use is appalling. Such an award is so severe and oppressive as to be wholly disproportioned to the offense and obviously unreasonable...

As for her argument that she caused no harm to the music industry, Davis “rejects her suggestion" and calls for a penalty in order to enforce copyright law, compensate the record labels, and “deter future copyright infringement.”"

LimeWire settles filesharing legal battle for $105m; Guardian, 5/13/11

Josh Halliday, Guardian; LimeWire settles filesharing legal battle for $105m:

"LimeWire has agreed to pay record companies $105m (£64m) to end a five-year legal battle over illegal filesharing.

The out-of-court settlement with 13 record companies, including labels owned by the four major groups, comes days after the start of a trial to decide damages following a decision that the service was liable for "massive scale infringement" for helping users pirate digital music files.

LimeWire, which the music groups blame for $1bn in lost sales, was shut down in October following a court ruling."

Would the Bard Have Survived the Web?; New York Times, 2/15/11

Scott Turow, Paul Aiken, and James Shapiro; New York Times; Would the Bard Have Survived the Web? :

"The rise of the Internet has led to a view among many users and Web companies that copyright is a relic, suited only to the needs of out-of-step corporate behemoths. Just consider the dedicated “file-sharers” — actually, traffickers in stolen music movies and, increasingly, books — who transmit and receive copyrighted material without the slightest guilt.

They are abetted by a handful of law professors and other experts who have made careers of fashioning counterintuitive arguments holding that copyright impedes creativity and progress. Their theory is that if we severely weaken copyright protections, innovation will truly flourish. It’s a seductive thought, but it ignores centuries of scientific and technological progress based on the principle that a creative person should have some assurance of being rewarded for his innovative work."

Filesharing prosecutions will face serious problems, says judge; Guardian, 2/8/11

Josh Halliday, Guardian; Filesharing prosecutions will face serious problems, says judge:

"A senior court judge has pointed to severe problems with the way the Digital Economy Act enables copyright owners to accuse people of illegal filesharing.

Judge Birss QC said on Tuesday that the process of connecting copyright infringement to a named individual based on their use of an internet address is fraught with difficulties because internet connections, or IP addresses, are often used by more than one person."

U.S. seizes sites linked to copyright infringement; CNet News, 10/26/10

Steven Musil, CNet News; U.S. seizes sites linked to copyright infringement:

"The U.S. government has launched a major crackdown on online copyright infringement, seizing dozens of sites linked to illegal file sharing and counterfeit goods."

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20023918-93.html

Harry Potter studio to investigate Deathly Hallows leak; (London) Guardian, 11/18/10

Xan Brooks, (London) Guardian; Harry Potter studio to investigate Deathly Hallows leak: Warner Bros launches inquiry into how pirated footage from latest Harry Potter film appeared across download sites:

"An abridged version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 has jumped the gun on the film's official release after leaking across download sites on Tuesday night. Warner Bros has launched an inquiry to discover the source of the 36 minutes of pirated footage."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/nov/18/harry-potter-deathly-hallows-leak

Joel Tenenbaum: a year on from being sued for $4.5m; (London) Guardian, 11/9/10

Joel Tenenbaum, (London) Guardian; Joel Tenenbaum: a year on from being sued for $4.5m: Last month, the RIAA shut down the peer-to-peer site Limewire. I was sued by the same organisation for sharing 30 songs online – 12 months on, my battle with them continues:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/nov/09/joel-tenenbaum-a-year-on

How to save the music industry; GQ.com, 8/13/10

Paul McGuinness, GQ.com; How to save the music industry:

"Bourget's action was a milestone in the history of copyright law. The legal wrangling that followed led to the establishment of the first revenue-collection system for composers and musicians."

http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/entertainment/articles/2010-08/13/gq-music-paul-mcguinness-on-music-piracy/file-sharing-on-spotify-and-piracy

A Move to Unify Europe’s Media Market; New York Times, 9/27/10

Eric Pfanner, New York Times; A Move to Unify Europe’s Media Market:

"Last week [the European Parliament] called for a long-overdue overhaul of European copyright laws, aimed at fostering the development of a single European media market. For now, there is no such thing; even on the supposedly borderless Internet, most music and video services are fragmented according to European national boundaries."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/business/media/27cache.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=copyright&st=cse

Prince's war with iTunes plays into the hands of illegal filesharers; (London) Guardian,

Helienne Lindvall, (London) Guardian; Prince's war with iTunes plays into the hands of illegal filesharers: Prince is right to have issues with iTunes and YouTube. But making his album available only to Mirror readers goes against his philosophy of reaching as many listeners as possible:

"As a Prince fan, I bought the Mirror for the first time on Saturday to get a copy of his latest album, 20Ten. As a musician, I was puzzled by why he felt the need to give away his music with a UK tabloid that costs 65p. I was equally perplexed by his decision to snub iTunes because it doesn't pay advances. Why would he need an advance? He's Prince, for God's sake. Surely he should trust that people would buy his music anyway. Besides, many more fans would have access to iTunes than a newsagent on one day.

In an interview with the Mirror, Prince compared the internet to MTV, saying that its days are numbered. Is this the reason why, when I put his new CD into my computer, Gracenote, the music database used by iTunes, didn't recognise the titles? Is that why there were 66 five-second silent tracks before the bonus track?

It's a strange turnaround for someone who, a decade ago, described Napster as "exciting". "What might happen with young people exchanging music is that they might develop a real appreciation," the "purple Yoda from the heart of Minnesota" said. He also claimed that online distribution could enable musicians to end exploitation from record labels. Surprisingly, despite his dismay with the music industry, Prince later signed with Columbia Records and, in 2005, with Universal.

Since then, he seems to have had a change of heart. Prince has reportedly threatened YouTube with a lawsuit for copyright infringement, forcing it to take down live footage of him playing Radiohead's Creep at the Coachella festival in 2008. Now, I have issues with YouTube, and I fully support an artist's right to decide what happens to their music, but Prince's decision to make his new album available as an exclusive covermount goes against his philosophy of reaching as many listeners as possible.

The Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), unsurprisingly, objected to Prince releasing his album as a covermount. Pointing out that his record sales have halved since the first Daily Mail covermount in 2007, it claims Prince's latest move "could kill his career". While there could be other explanations for the decrease in sales – illegal filesharing, for example – I agree that covermounts devalue music. It makes people question if a CD is really worth £8 when a major artist such as Prince can afford to give it away with a 65p paper.

I agree with independent record label Blancomusic that it's unfair that iTunes takes the same share of the retail price (30%) as the bricks-and-mortar shops, manufacturers and distributors – despite not taking the same risks when stocking product. I also agree that artists make little from other digital stores and streaming services. Yet, making their music available on legal digital outlets is something that they all have had to accept. That's what music fans want, and if they can't get it legally they'll get it illegally, without paying a penny.

ERA concluded its press release by saying: "Go away and make an album that people are prepared to pay for. We still have faith you [Prince] can do it." With 20Ten, I think he has. Unfortunately, most people will now only be able to get it illegally."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/jul/12/prince-itunes

ABA Journal Highlights How The Music Industry Is Thriving And How Copyright Might Not Be That Important; TechDirt, 5/28/10

Mike Masnick, TechDirt; ABA Journal Highlights How The Music Industry Is Thriving And How Copyright Might Not Be That Important:

"Michael Scott points us to one of the best summaries I've seen of the state of the music business today -- published in the ABA Journal. It's an incredibly balanced piece, that really does carefully present both sides of the story on a variety of issues, and presents actual evidence, which suggests the RIAA is blowing smoke on a lot of its claims. The piece kicks off by highlighting that the music industry appears to be thriving, and then noting that it's not the same as the recording industry, which has been struggling.

Much of the piece does present the RIAA's viewpoint on things, such as the idea that the legal strategy the labels have taken has been a "success." However, it follows it up by questioning what kind of success it has been when more people are file sharing and more services are available for those who want to file share. From there it segues into a discussion on "three strikes" and ACTA, which includes the jaw-dropping claim from an RIAA general counsel that "three strikes" was "never even put on the table."

I've heard from numerous ISP folks who say that's not true at all. However, the article does a good job (gently) ripping apart the RIAA's claims, with evidence to the contrary, and does a beautiful job digging deep into ACTA to show how the text might not explicitly require three strikes, but is worded in such a way as to make it hard to qualify for safe harbors without implementing three strikes.

The latter part of the article then focuses on how the music industry really is booming, and how more people are making music, and there are lots of opportunities for musicians to do well these days, even without relying on copyright law. The arguments made (and the people and studies quoted) won't be new to regular Techdirt readers, but it really is a very strong piece, targeted at lawyers (many of whom may not have realized some of these details). For example:

If the ultimate goal is to promote the creation of new works, then perhaps it isn't really necessary to take stronger legal actions against illegal file-sharing because the evidence does not suggest that it is hindering the creation of new works by musicians I certainly don't agree with everything in the article, and there are a few statements from the RIAA folks that could have been challenged more directly. But, on the whole, it's definitely one of the better articles I've seen looking at the music industry from the perspective of the legal profession that doesn't automatically drop into the "but we must protect copyrights!" argument from the outset."

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100527/0347199599.shtml

"Star Trek" The Most - Pirated Film Of 2009; New York Times, 12/

Reuters, via New York Times; "Star Trek" The Most - Pirated Film Of 2009:

"Paramount's worst fears are confirmed: "Star Trek" was the most pirated film of 2009, according to a new report.

In October, the studio told the Federal Communications Commission that "Star Trek" had become a hot commodity in piracy circles. Illegal file-sharing had advanced from "geek to sleek," Frederick Huntsberry, the studio's chief operating officer, told officials.

Now, according to data from TorrentFreak, "Star Trek" was downloaded nearly 11 million times this past year, just edging "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" (10.6 million). The films were among the biggest of the year at the box office.

At the other end of the box-office scale, "Sherlock Holmes" director Guy Ritchie's "RocknRolla" ranked No. 3. It grossed less than $26 million worldwide.

Interestingly, for all the fuss about the "Wolverine" leak, the film came in at No. 9 with 7.2 million. The FBI earlier this month charged a man with violation of federal copyright law, alleging he uploaded the film to the Web last spring.

The list was rounded out by "The Hangover" (No. 4), "Twilight" (No. 5), "District 9" (No. 6), "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (No. 7), "State of Play" (No. 8), and "Knowing" (No. 10)."

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/12/24/arts/entertainment-us-startrek.html