Paul Hardwick: P2P

BitTorrent Video Download Store Falls Flat.

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 02:47:44 GMT

BitTorrent Video Download Store Falls Flat. seriously writes "We've all heard about BitTorrent going legit this week with legal movie and TV show downloads. Ars Technica took a look at the service to see how usable it was and ran into a few snags, including not being able to download or even open the video files on some computers. However, the ones that they did manage to open varied a lot in quality. Overall, they blame DRM: 'Without knowing whether browser compatibility and dysfunctional video files are a rare occurrence or not, it's hard to say whether BitTorrent's service is a good one overall. Our initial experiences have been disappointing and frustrating, and guess what the culprit is once again? DRM. Why the DRM failed to work on 50% of our purchases is not clear, but whatever the cause, it's simply unacceptable.'" [Slashdot]

Administrivia: Now we have a overheated CPU ( 60 degrees centigrade )

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 00:39:01 GMT

OK, if the DDOS attack wasn't enough. Now our server went down with a temperature overload. We were up to 60 degrees centigrade when we shut down. The CPU and a broken fan have been replaced.

Administrivia: Our data-center was hit by a DDOS attack today.

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 22:19:59 GMT

Sorry for being either very slow or off the net for a while recently. The data-center we are part of was hit by a DDOS (Distributed Denial Of Service) attack recently. At the moment it looks to be under control, but we are keeping an eye on things.

DRM Causes Piracy.

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 04:26:18 GMT

DRM Causes Piracy. igorsk recommends an essay by Eric Flint, editor at Baen Publishing and an author himself, over at Baen's online SF magazine, Baen Universe. In it Flint argues that, far from curbing piracy of copyrighted materials, DRM actually causes it. Quoting: "Electronic copyright infringement is something that can only become an 'economic epidemic' under certain conditions. Any one of the following: 1) The products they want... are hard to find, and thus valuable. 2) The products they want are high-priced, so there's a fair amount of money to be saved by stealing them. 3) The legal products come with so many added-on nuisances that the illegal version is better to begin with. Those are the three conditions that will create widespread electronic copyright infringement, especially in combination. Why? Because they're the same three general conditions that create all large-scale smuggling enterprises. And... Guess what? It's precisely those three conditions that DRM creates in the first place. So far from being an impediment to so-called 'online piracy,' it's DRM itself that keeps fueling it and driving it forward." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Studios, FBI Teach Swedish Cops to Hunt File Sharers.

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 17:10:37 GMT

Studios, FBI Teach Swedish Cops to Hunt File Sharers. The FBI and the MPAA, with the Swedish antipiracy organization Antipiratbyren, are training Swedish law enforcement officers in copyright and piracy matters. [PC World: Latest Technology News]

Colleges Struggle to Cope With Flood of Copyright Complaints.

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 16:49:38 GMT

Colleges Struggle to Cope With Flood of Copyright Complaints.

The major record labels are sending thousands more copyright nastygrams to colleges regarding student file sharing this year. Of course, file sharing continues unabated, and these P2P-related notices will simply push fans to use other readily-accessible technologies that the RIAA can't easily monitor -- copying music through iTunes over the campus LAN, swapping hard drives and USB flash drives, burning recordable DVDs, and forming ad hoc wireless networks.

So the RIAA's strategy still won't stop file sharing, but it certainly will cause collateral damage to academic freedom, free speech, and privacy. In a recently released report, the Brennan Center lays out what that cost looks like today based on interviews with representatives from 25 service providers including 10 from universities. Universities are already being forced to waste substantial resources on doing the RIAA's dirty work. Flooded with machine-generated complaints, schools are unable to evaluate the merits of particular complaints. While lacking procedural safeguards to make sure students wrongly accused of infringement are not penalized, many schools have adopted stricter penalties than the law requires. Schools have also adopted network monitoring and filtering tools that interfere with legitimate expression.

The increase in P2P-related notices stands only to make matters worse. The RIAA's Cary Sherman states that the increase in the notices is "something we feel we have to do," but blanket licensing provides a clear alternative to blanket lawsuits. Take action now to help stop the lawsuit campaign.

[EFF: Deep Links]

Music moguls seek security blanket - Los Angeles Times

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 16:24:50 GMT

One way to judge the music industry's troubles is to watch annual sales figures for CDs, which have slumped 25% since 2000. But it's more revealing to chart how the major record companies' attitudes about new business models online have been shifting.

At first the shifts were almost too small to notice, as when the labels started making a handful of downloadable songs available for $2.50 or more. But as the file-sharing phenomenon grew and CD sales slipped, the changes became more pronounced. The labels started offering the rights to songs on terms that didn't cripple their online partners. They embraced Apple's iTunes Music Store, whose anti-piracy technology doesn't actually limit copying. They cut deals with file-sharing companies for subscription services that let users share the songs they rented.

Along the way, though, the major labels adamantly refused to do the kind of deal necessary to replicate what the original Napster, Kazaa and eDonkey had provided: they would not accept a flat fee a "blanket" license that lets Internet service providers sell an all-you-can-eat sonic buffet, enabling customers to download, burn and swap as much as they pleased. The rights would be included in the cost of a high-speed Internet access line, so the downloads would seem free while still generating royalties for artists, songwriters, labels and publishers.

That reticence may be giving way, too, thanks to the relentless decline in revenue. Just look at what the head of the major record companies' global trade group, let slip last month at a music-industry gathering in France. If Internet service providers "want to come to us and look for a blanket license for an amount per month," IFPI chief John Kennedy said, "let's engage in that discussion."

His U.S. counterpart, Mitch Bainwol of the Recording Industry Assn. of America (RIAA), quickly added that the licenses should be negotiated voluntarily, not compelled by the government. So that part of the labels' thinking hasn't changed. Nevertheless, Kennedy's remark reflects a potential sea change in the way the record companies do business. If the labels follow through, it could trigger the greatest explosion in innovation since engineers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany developed the MP3 format.

That's a big "if," but two of the four majors have already taken the first step. In England, a venture called PlayLouder MSP is negotiating deals with record companies and music publishers for a competitively priced high-speed Internet access service that will include the right to download millions of songs, transfer them to portable devices and share them with friends. The main restriction is that subscribers can't send songs to people who aren't customers of PlayLouder MSP. In other words, it's a private electronic playground for music lovers.

The company, which expects to launch its service this year, plans to put a chunk of the monthly service charges into a royalty pool that would be divided according to popularity--the more often a song is downloaded, the larger the share of the pool that its copyright holders will receive. To monitor the network and enforce its borders, PlayLouder MSP relies on technology that can identify songs as they pass through the network--and, if necessary, block them. So far, several large independent labels from the U.S. and the U.K. have agreed to let the company offer MP3s of all their songs, while two of the majors, Sony BMG and EMI, have agreed to supply songs wrapped in electronic locks. Those locks won't make much difference, though; as part of the deal, subscribers will be free to share MP3s from all of PlayLouder MSP's partners, including Sony BMG and EMI.

RIAA Admits ISPs Have Misidentified "John Does".

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 00:33:16 GMT

RIAA Admits ISPs Have Misidentified "John Does". NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "The RIAA has sent out a letter to the ISPs telling them to stop making mistakes in identifying subscribers, and offering a 'Pre-Doe settlement option' -- with a discount of '$1000 or more' -- to their subscribers, if and only if the ISP agrees to preserve its logs for 180 days. Other interesting points in the letter (PDF): the RIAA will be launching a web site for 'early settlements,' www.p2plawsuits.com; the letter asks the ISPs to notify the RIAA if they have previously 'misidentified a subscriber account in response to a subpoena' or become aware of 'technical information... that causes you to question the information that you provided in response to our clients' subpoena'; it notes that ISPs have identified 'John Does' who were not even subscribers of the ISP at the time of the infringement; and it requests that ISPs furnish their underlying log files, not just names and addresses, when responding to RIAA subpoenas." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

The Open Rights Group : Blog Archive - Write to your MEP: JURI to vote on IPRED2 at the end of this month

Mon, 12 Feb 2007 19:56:36 GMT

PRED2, the European Union's second intellectual property enforcement directive, is going to the vote at the end of this month. The European Parliament's committee on legal affairs, JURI, will be voting on several amendments to this mammoth bill which threaten to turn IP infringement from a civil offence into a criminal one. Your MEP needs to know now why this is a bad idea.

The FFII are calling IPRED2 "The Prosecution Paradise Directive":

"All over Europe piracy and counterfeiting of 'intellectual property rights' are already prosecutable (TRIPS art 61). The Criminal Measures IP Directive adds disproportionality. The European Commission proposal is not limited to piracy. All commercial scale infringements will be crimes, the proposal criminalises IPR disputes that are essentially of a civil nature and occur between legitimate commercial enterprises. Even untested rights, which may soon evaporate in a civil court cases, become grounds for prosecution. And the rights holders may assist the police."

The Open Rights Group has written this letter to all the UK MEPs sitting on JURI to express its concern at the proposed directive.

But we need your help too. Please take some time to write to your European representatives and let them know your personal concerns. You can find out who your MEPs are at WriteToThem.

There's a lot about IPRED2 to object to (and even a little bit to encourage) in the proposed directive. If you focus on one issue and explain how it affects you, your MEP is much more likely to sit up and listen. Keep your letters succinct and polite and if you can, back up what you're saying with clear references - the FFII IPRED2 website has lists of external opinions and background information, as well as analysis of each of the proposed amendments, which should get you started.

Remember, MEPs, like MPs, are unlikely to appreciate or respond to copy-and-pasted form letters, so please take the time to put down your concerns in your own words. Ask your MEP to forward your concerns to Nicola Zingaretti, the JURI rapporteur, or to their closest JURI colleague.

IPRED2 - Open Rights Group vs. Their Rights Online.

Mon, 12 Feb 2007 19:52:52 GMT

IPRED2 - Open Rights Group vs. Their Rights Online. Elektroschock writes "The British Open Rights Groups yells the alarm bell. Europe again. Ipred v.2, a directive proposal, will pass the Legal Affairs Committee soon. ipred2 would brand 'all intentional intellectual property rights infringements on a commercial scale' a criminal offence, thus the public prosecutor will take action and take over the role of RIAA. For commercial social communities where infringements are inevitable -- think of Youtube -- they expect dangerous times ahead. On the other hand life of content industrials would get a lot easier. It is difficult to imagine how the consumer would benefit. Toine Manders, Dutch MEP in that Committee, openly advocates his amendment proposal aimed to criminalize consumers. Open Rights Group suggests you to write to your Members of Parliament. Will they have any impact? Janelly Fourtou, wife of the Vivendi boss, is a member of the Committee. And she pushed through ipred number 1, so why should public action make a difference? The EFF started only this month to build up an office in Brussels. Do MEPs listen or could Sealand be an option for Web 2.1?" [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

To Media Companies, BitTorrent Implies Guilt.

Sat, 10 Feb 2007 22:23:16 GMT

To Media Companies, BitTorrent Implies Guilt. kripkenstein writes "The big media companies immediately assume you are guilty by your mere presence on a BitTorrent swarm, an investigation by a university security worker reveals. Turns out companies like BayTSP (which the media companies employ) will send shutdown notices to ISPs without any evidence of copyright infringment; all they feel they need is an indication that you are reported by the tracker to be in the swarm." From the post: "For my investigation, I wrote a very simple BitTorrent client. My client sent a request to the tracker, and generally acted like a normal Bittorrent client up to sharing files. The client refused to accept downloads of, or upload copyrighted content. It obeyed the law... With just this, completely legal, BitTorrent client, I was able to get notices from BayTSP. To put this in to perspective, if BayTSP were trying to bust me for doing drugs, it'd be like getting arrested because I was hanging out with some dealers, but they never saw me using, buying, or selling any drugs." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Big Win for Innocent RIAA Defendant.

Thu, 08 Feb 2007 18:24:17 GMT

Big Win for Innocent RIAA Defendant.

Good news today from the great state of Oklahoma. Debbie Foster, a single mom who was improperly sued by the RIAA back in 2004 for file sharing, has won back her attorneys' fees. The decision today is one of the first in the country to award attorneys fees to a defendant in an RIAA case over music sharing on the Internet.

Last year, Judge Lee R. West dismissed the case against her with prejudice after it became clear that Ms. Foster was simply the Internet access account holder in her home and had no knowledge or experience with file sharing software. EFF, Public Citizen, the ACLU, and the American Association of Law Libraries filed an amicus brief in the case, supporting Ms. Foster's motion for fees.

In his ruling, Judge West found that the RIAA had asserted an untested and marginal theory that veered toward "frivolous and unreasonable" by suing Foster for contributory and vicarious copyright infringement when the only evidence against her was her name on the household Internet account. Much like the judge in Elektra v. Santangelo, West expressed skepticism that "an Internet-illiterate parent, who does not know Kazaa from a kazoo" could be held liable for children in her home downloading music illegally unless the parent had knowledge of the conduct or had giver her permission to do so. West also hinted that the RIAA might have pursued the secondary liability claims "to press Ms. Foster into settlement after they ceased to believe she was a direct or 'primary' infringer."

Finding that in the face of these claims, "her only alternative to litigating ... was to capitulate to a settlement for a violation she insists she did not commit" and that "[s]uch capitulation would not advance the aims of the Copyright Act," the Court awarded Ms. Foster her attorneys fees and costs.

We applaud Judge West for standing up to the RIAA and recognizing the importance of helping people like Debbie Foster push back against their overzealous litigation campaign.

[EFF: Deep Links]

EFF - Steve Jobs: DRM Is Bad for Consumers, Innovators, And Artists.

Thu, 08 Feb 2007 18:22:06 GMT

Steve Jobs: DRM Is Bad for Consumers, Innovators, *And* Artists.

Today, Apple's Steve Jobs publicly threw down this gauntlet: "If the big four music companies would license Apple their music without the requirement that it be protected with a DRM, we would switch to selling only DRM-free music on our iTunes store... Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly."

Why should the labels listen?

DRM is bad for consumers: "[A] world where every online store sells DRM-free music encoded in open licensable formats ... is clearly the best alternative for consumers."
DRM is bad for innovation: "If [DRM] requirements were removed, the music industry might experience an influx of new companies willing to invest in innovative new stores and players."
DRM is bad for artists: "So if the music companies are selling over 90 percent of their music DRM-free [as audio CDs], what benefits do they get from selling the remaining small percentage of their music encumbered with a DRM system? There appear to be none.... [More innovation in stores and players spurred by DRM-free downloads] can only be seen as a positive by the music companies."

Jobs isn't the only music service provider to invite an end to music download DRM -- Yahoo!'s Dave Goldberg has long urged the labels to remove the restrictions, and Real's Rob Glaser said last month that "DRM-free purchases is an idea in ascendance and whose time has come."

We agree wholeheartedly with Jobs, since EFF has been making exactly the same points for several years now. As a first step in putting his music store where his mouth is, we urge him to take immediate steps to remove the DRM on the independent label content in the iTunes Store. Why wait for the major record labels? Many independent labels and artists already recognize that DRM is a dumb idea for digital music, as demonstrated by the availability of their music on eMusic. Apple should let them make that music available without DRM in the iTunes Store now.

There are also bigger lessons here for policymakers. The harm done by DRM could be reduced by reforming the DMCA to allow the evasion of DRM for lawful purposes. Moreover, Jobs' remarks are another reason for policymakers to reject proposed government DRM mandates, which would only serve to further harm innovation, consumers, and artists. Clearly what's needed in the digital music world is less, not more, DRM.

Make your voice heard in Congress now by opposing mandatory digital and satellite radio restrictions.

[EFF: Deep Links]

RIAA urges Apple to spread DRM far and wide.

Thu, 08 Feb 2007 17:22:06 GMT

RIAA urges Apple to spread DRM far and wide.

Steve, you're so smart

The RIAA has seized on the weakest part of Steve Jobs' anti-DRM manifesto by banging on Apple to license its FairPlay technology to other companies.

[The Register - Music and Media]

Solving DRM in the BitTorrent Age.

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 03:14:44 GMT

Solving DRM in the BitTorrent Age. An anonymous reader writes "FiringSquad has a new article on DRM in the BitTorrent Age. They argue that the movie industry looking for "perfect DRM" should aim for the printed book model (people still buy books even though they can read them for free at Barnes & Noble). They argue that the missing element is that screenwriters are not marketed by Hollywood in the same way the book industry markets its authors." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

DRM ó It's Not Really About Piracy.

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 21:02:00 GMT

DRM [~] It's Not Really About Piracy. shadowmage13 writes "Hollywood privately admits that DRM is not really about piracy. From the article: 'In a nutshell: DRM's sole purpose is to maximize revenues by minimizing your rights so that they can sell them back to you... Like all lies, there comes a point when the gig is up; the ruse is busted. For the movie studios, it's the moment they have to admit that it's not the piracy that worries them, but business models which don't squeeze every last cent out of customers.' You can take action on Digital Restrictions Management at DefectiveByDesign of the Free Software Foundation, Digital Freedom, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

MPAA Caught Uploading Fake Torrents.

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 03:20:05 GMT

MPAA Caught Uploading Fake Torrents. An anonymous reader writes "The MPAA and other anti-piracy watchdogs have been caught trapping people into downloading fake torrents, so they can collect IP addresses, and send copyright infringement letters to ISPs. The battle between P2P networks and copyright holders seems to be a never ending battle. It will be interesting to see how much the anti-piracy groups practices change once they begin begin selling movies and TV shows legally on bittorrent.com." [Slashdot]

Editor: First I am not a lawyer, but if you D/L a fake torrent what can they sue you for? You haven't downloaded any copyrighted material?

EMI Considers Abandoning DRM on CDs.

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 02:44:57 GMT

EMI Considers Abandoning DRM on CDs. jOmill writes "EMI Netherlands has announced that it is considering no longer using DRM on CDs, because it isn't worth the cost. According to Reuters the company is still reviewing the decision. From the article: 'Critics have argued that the system has not worked as consumers could be driven to illegal sites to download music to the popular iPod instead. A spokeswoman for EMI said it had not manufactured any new disks with DRM, which restricts consumers from making copies of songs and films they have purchased legally, for the last few months.'" [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

MIT OpenCourseWare | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | 6.912 Introduction to Copyright Law, January (IAP) 2006 | Home

Sat, 06 Jan 2007 23:31:36 GMT

Highlights of this Course

This course features video lectures and an extensive list of readings. A description of assignments is also available. This course is offered during the Independent Activities Period (IAP), which is a special 4-week term at MIT that runs from the first week of January until the end of the month.

Course Description

This course is an introduction to copyright law and American law in general. Topics covered include: structure of federal law; basics of legal research; legal citations; how to use LexisNexis(r); the 1976 Copyright Act; copyright as applied to music, computers, broadcasting, and education; fair use; Napster(r), Grokster(r), and Peer-to-Peer file-sharing; Library Access to Music Project; The 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act; DVDs and encryption; software licensing; the GNU(r) General Public License and free software.

MIT Offering Free Copyright Course Online.

Sat, 06 Jan 2007 23:15:59 GMT

MIT Offering Free Copyright Course Online. IANAL writes "MIT is offering Introduction to Copyright Law as a free online course. Interested Slashdotters might find it a good way to challenge their firmly held misconceptions about copyright law as it concerns fair use, Napster, Grokster, the GPL, and P2P filesharing, among other things. There's also an article about the course over on Groklaw." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

16-year-old Norwegian filesharer charged.

Sat, 06 Jan 2007 21:52:15 GMT

16-year-old Norwegian filesharer charged.

Parents may have to pay too

A 16-year-old from Stavanger in Norway who shared thousands of movies and songs through the P2P program Direct Connect, has been charged with illegal file-sharing, Norwegian Aftenposten reports.

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]

HD DVD's AACS Protection Bypassed.

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 03:06:39 GMT

HD DVD's AACS Protection Bypassed. Mr. BS writes "Playfuls.com is running a story how HD DVD's AACS protection has been compromised. Although the video of the hack leaves much to be desired, the source code has already been made available. Feel free to start backing up your HD DVD's whenever you feel the need."[Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Year-end 2006, Darknet Assumptions = True.

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 02:53:32 GMT

Year-end 2006, Darknet Assumptions = True.

Way back in November 2002, a set of Microsoft's senior-most security engineers wrote a paper that has come to be known as "the Microsoft Darknet Paper" (the company never endorsed it -- this was independent scholarship by the engineers). The paper explained why DRM for popular entertainment content would never work, so long as three assumptions remained true:

1. Any widely distributed object will be available to a fraction of users in a form that permits copying.
2. Users will copy objects if it is possible and interesting to do so.
3. Users are connected by high-bandwidth channels.

As we ring in 2007, here are a few year-end stories that illustrate, yet again, that the Darknet Assumptions remain vividly, indisputably, true.

Assumption #1: AACS DRM Cracked by BackupHDDVD Tool? All it takes is one leak, and DRM always leaks.

Assumption #2: 2.6 billion blank CDs were sold in 2006, as compared to 588 million CDs of recorded music, says the Philadelphia Inquirer. By the end of 2006, Apple will have sold a total of approximately 80 million iPods. Audio and video features are now a standard feature on hard-drive enclosures and in network attached storage (NAS) solutions; in fact, inexpensive routers and NAS enclosures now include Bit Torrent clients, so that the downloading can continue, even when your computer is turned off.

Assumption #3: A year-end review of trends in file-sharing, courtesy of Seattle Weekly, explains that users aren't just relying on P2P networks anymore, thanks to sharity blogs, YouTube (now downloadable, thanks to software tools), MySpace (again, downloadable), CD-Rs, and wireless sharing (ala Zune). And, according to Nielsen/NetRatings, 78% of Amercian Internet users now have high-speed connections at home, up from 65% in 2005.

[EFF: Deep Links]

Computers, Freedom and Privacy - Montreal, May 1-4 2007

Fri, 29 Dec 2006 00:41:06 GMT

Come to CFP2007 in Montreal, May 1-4 2007. There's a lot at stake.

Computers, Freedom and Privacy 2007 - Call For Proposals

Fri, 29 Dec 2006 00:37:58 GMT

Call For Proposals - The deadline for proposals is January 20, 2006

The Program Committee of the Seventeenth Conference on Computers, Freedom, and Privacy (CFP2007) seeks your proposals for innovative conference sessions and speakers.

BBC's Legal BitTorrent Downloads.

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 05:43:38 GMT

BBC's Legal BitTorrent Downloads. The British broadcaster's deal with file-sharing company Azureus will deliver high-def hit shows to U.S. computers. In Monkey Bites.

[...]

Doctor Who, The League of Gentlemen and Invasion Earth are coming to your computer desktop via BitTorrent -- except this time, legally.
[Wired News: Top Stories]

Copyright ruling puts hyperlinking on notice - Technology - smh.com.au

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 05:23:34 GMT

A court ruling has given the recording industry the green light to go after individuals who link to material from their websites, blogs or MySpace pages that is protected by copyright.

A full bench of the Federal Court yesterday upheld an earlier ruling that Stephen Cooper, the operator of mp3s4free.net, as well as the internet service provider that hosted the website, were guilty of authorising copyright infringement because they provided a search engine through which a user could illegally download MP3 files.

The website did not directly host any copyright-protected music, but the court held that simply providing links to the material effectively authorised copyright infringement.

RIAA v. Barker Showdown Slated for January.

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 15:06:57 GMT

RIAA v. Barker Showdown Slated for January. NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "Judge Kenneth M. Karas has set Friday, January 26, 2007, at 2:15 P.M., as the oral argument date for Tenise Barker's motion to dismiss complaint, in Elektra v. Barker, in federal court in Manhattan. The argument will take place at the newer federal court house, located at 500 Pearl Street, New York, New York, in courtroom 21D on the 21st Floor. Proceedings are open to the public. This is the case in which amicus briefs were filed by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the U.S. Internet Industry Association (USIIA) and the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), and a Statement of Interest was filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (USDJ). Defendant Tenise Barker moved to dismiss the complaint on the ground that neither downloading nor uploading had been alleged sufficiently to give her notice of what she was being accused of, and on the further ground that merely "making available for distribution" was not a copyright infringement at all. The RIAA and MPAA argued that merely "making available" was indeed a copyright infringement. Defendant, CCIA, and USIIA argued that it was not. EFF argued that intangible computer network transmissions cannot be "distributions" within the meaning of the Copyright Act. USDJ argued that they can be. Defendant refrained from taking a position on that issue here and here. The DOJ refrained from taking a position on the "making available" argument, indicating that it had never prosecuted anyone for "making available". See page 5, footnote 3." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Universal and MySpace Square Off Over DMCA.

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 14:10:21 GMT

Universal and MySpace Square Off Over DMCA. moore.dustin writes "Universal and MySpace look to be on a collision course that could shape the future of media companies and the internet. The article discusses the DMCA's impact on their case, and talks ways in which the law lags behind the realities of technology." From the article: "Yet, as lawyers prepare for battle, they do so on uncertain legal ground. The legislation at the heart of the debate, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, was written years before social networking sites such as MySpace even existed. That fact has injected considerable uncertainty into the matter, according to copyright experts, and helps explain why lawyers from both sides are proclaiming that the DMCA, as it is known, is on their side."[Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Warner Music CEO Admits His Kids "Stole" Music, Didn't Get Sued - Wired Listen Post

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 13:40:14 GMT

On the last day of the recent Reuters Media and Marketing Summit in New York, Warner Music Group CEO admitted that he was "fairly certain" that one or more of his seven children had downloaded music without the permission of the copyright owner, which Reuters referred to as stealing.

Despite the alleged infringers' proximity to the major label head and his direct awareness of it without the use of ISP subpoenas, somehow no lawsuits were deemed necessary, although Bronfman said that his kids had "suffered the consequences":

"I explained to them what I believe is right, that the principle is that stealing music is stealing music. Frankly, right is right and wrong is wrong, particularly when a parent is talking to a child. A bright line around moral responsibility is very important. I can assure you they no longer do that."

So, the children of major label CEOs get a verbal explanation for infringing Warner's sacred copyrights, while everyone else has to worry about getting sued. I totally get it. It's like how if you're a Bush niece who has a rock of crack cocaine fall out of her shoe while in court-ordered rehab for faking a prescription for anxiety medication, you only have to spend a few days in jail.

On Reuters

Warner CEO Admits His Kids Stole Music.

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 13:33:26 GMT

Warner CEO Admits His Kids Stole Music. IAmTheDave writes "Warner Music CEO Edgar Bronfman admitted that he was fairly certain that one or more of his children had downloaded music illegally, but despite this direct admission of guilt, no lawsuits are pending. Surprised? Bronfman insists that, after a stern talking-to, his children have suffered the full consequences of their actions. 'I explained to them what I believe is right, that the principle is that stealing music is stealing music. Frankly, right is right and wrong is wrong, particularly when a parent is talking to a child. A bright line around moral responsibility is very important. I can assure you they no longer do that.' I wonder if all of the people currently being sued/extorted can now just claim that they 'no longer do that.'" [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Wired News: MPAA Kills Anti-Pretexting Bill

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 18:42:28 GMT

A tough California bill that would have prohibited companies and individuals from using deceptive "pretexting" ruses to steal private information about consumers was killed after determined lobbying by the motion picture industry, Wired News has learned.

The bill, SB1666, was written by state Sen. Debra Bowen, and would have barred investigators from making "false, fictitious or fraudulent" statements or representations to obtain private information about an individual, including telephone calling records, Social Security numbers and financial information. Victims would have had the right to sue for damages.

The bill won approval in three committees and sailed through the state Senate with a 30-0 vote. Then, according to Lenny Goldberg, a lobbyist for the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, the measure encountered unexpected, last-minute resistance from the Motion Picture Association of America.

"The MPAA has a tremendous amount of clout and they told legislators, 'We need to pose as someone other than who we are to stop illegal downloading,'" Goldberg said.

Consequently, when the bill hit the assembly floor Aug. 23, it was voted down 33-27, just days before revelations about Hewlett-Packard's use of pretexting to spy on journalists and board members put the practice in the national spotlight.

Legislature records confirm that the MPAA's paid lobbyists worked on the measure. An aide to Bowen, who was forced out of the legislature by term limits and was elected Secretary of State, said the MPAA made its displeasure with the bill clear to lawmakers.

Protect Your P2P Privacy.

Mon, 27 Nov 2006 19:18:24 GMT

Protect Your P2P Privacy. BillGatesInABikini writes "APC Magazine has a short piece on protecting your privacy online while using P2P software with the likes of Peerguardian (Windows) and MoBlock (Linux). It's concise and to the point, and a real eye opener if you don't currently protect yourself while using P2P for transferring files, legitimate or otherwise." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Slashdot | BitTorrent Site Admin Sent To Prison

Fri, 27 Oct 2006 11:05:51 GMT

Marc wrote in with a Torrentfreak story which opens: "The 23 year old Grant Stanley has been sentenced to five months in prison, followed by five months of home detention, and a $3000 fine for his role in the private BitTorrent tracker Elitetorrents. This ruling is the first BitTorrent related conviction in the US. Stanley pleaded guilty earlier this year to 'conspiracy to commit copyright infringement' and 'criminal copyright infringement.' He is one of the three defendants in the Elitetorrents operation better known as 'Operation D-Elite.'"

File-sharing software firm loses US case.

Sun, 01 Oct 2006 05:09:02 GMT

File-sharing software firm loses US case.

Another one bites the dust

Another file-sharing software maker has been found guilty of causing copyright infringement. A US judge has said the Morpheus software produced by StreamCast breaks the law.

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]

German Tor Network Just Fine, Tor Director Says.

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 19:34:29 GMT

German Tor Network Just Fine, Tor Director Says.

While German police have seized several Tor servers, Tor executive director Shava Nerad says that Tor itself is not under attack, that the police haven't charged any Tor server operators and the organization expects the servers will be returned without incident.

We are simply part of a very wide net that they cast trying to track someone doing something illegal. It's not much different from what would have happened if the police were investigating someone who had made obscene phone calls where the police would have seized the logs of the phone company.

The police won't find any useful information in the servers, since none of the volunteer operators enable logging on the Tor servers, according to Nerad.

"In fact, that scenario of them checking for logs is worst case," Nerad said. "Likely, they just seized every machine with an IP which had touched someone doing something nefarious. They probably have no
idea that these were even Tor servers."

"I don't believe German police have a deep understanding of how an anonymizing system works and none of these routers have logs," Nerad said.

She fully expects that the servers will be returned, though the question is when.

"The mill of jurisprudence turns slowly, but exceedingly fine," Nerad said. "What happens is that this will all blow over, and they get their servers back."

Europeans value privacy and anonymity more than the United States, and there's no political moves in Europe to criminalize anonymity, according to Nerad.

Nerad learned of the seizures Thursday night, but the organization didn't send out a press release because they didn't consider it to be an attack on Tor.

But, now that the story has hit Slashdot?

"Now we are talking about it, otherwise there's no containing the brush fire," Nerad said.

[27B Stroke 6]

Barlow to MPAA: Don't Worry, Be Happy, and Lose the P2P War.

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 16:56:31 GMT

Barlow to MPAA: Don't Worry, Be Happy, and Lose the P2P War.

BBC News recently recorded a debate about P2P between MPAA President Dan Glickman and EFF Co-Founder John Perry Barlow. Watch the whole thing here, and don't miss another classic Barlow quote:

"The good news is that you guys have managed to buy every major legislative body in the planet, but you know the problem is, the bad news is that you're up against a dedicated foe that is younger and smarter than you are and will be alive when you are dead, and has historical forces on its side, and is using its technological acumen very adeptly to ward off all of your efforts of control and you're gonna lose that one. I mean you're fifty-five years old and these kids are seventeen and they're just smarter than you are. So you're gonna lose that one. But the good news is you guys are mean sons of bitches and you've been figuring out ways to rip off audiences and artists for centuries really, and all you gotta do is get outta bed a little earlier in the morning for a spell and you'll find new ways of doing this. I have every faith in you and you should give yourselves a little credit, instead of howling that you're going to be victimized. It's not like you to be victimized."

In other words, the movie industry will live on -- and find a veritable pot of gold waiting for it -- when it stops threatening innovators and fans with lawsuits and DRM.

[EFF: Deep Links]

RIAA Wants to Depose Dead Defendant's Children.

Mon, 14 Aug 2006 15:42:12 GMT

RIAA Wants to Depose Dead Defendant's Children. Exchange writes "In Michigan, in Warner Bros. v. Scantlebury, after learning that the defendant had passed away, the RIAA made a motion to stay the case for 60 days in order to allow the family time to "grieve", after which time they want to start taking depositions of the late Mr. Scantlebury's children. Recording Industry vs The People have more details" [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Innocent Target of File-Sharing Lawsuit Deserves Attorney's Fees.

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 20:54:18 GMT

Innocent Target of File-Sharing Lawsuit Deserves Attorney's Fees.

RIAA Should Pay Victim's Legal Costs in Baseless Suit

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), along with the American Association of Law Libraries, the ACLU, and Public Citizen, filed a brief with an Oklahoma district court Thursday, strongly urging a judge to award the innocent target of a file-sharing lawsuit the cost of her attorney's fees in battling the baseless allegations of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The RIAA sued Deborah Foster in November of 2004, accusing her of illegally downloading copyrighted material. Foster denied the allegations and fought back in court, and the case was dismissed. But many others who are falsely accused accept settlement offers from the RIAA because the cost of settling the case is less than what they might spend defending themselves.

"The RIAA has forced many innocent Americans through an expensive and emotionally draining process to clear their names. Some, understandably, just give up," said EFF Staff Attorney Jason Schultz. "Deborah Foster fought a brave battle against unjust charges, and she deserves to have her attorney's fees reimbursed."

So far, the RIAA has sued over 18,000 individuals for allegedly sharing music over the Internet. But the industry uses slapdash investigative methods to find its targets, and so innocent people as well as guilty ones can find themselves entangled in an expensive and draining process. One recent victim was a woman who didn't even own a computer. Another lawsuit target was deceased. If Ms. Foster is awarded attorney's fees, it will encourage future innocent victims to stand up for themselves in court.

"Innocent victims of meritless lawsuits have the right to fight back," said Schultz. "The RIAA needs to know that it can't continue its sloppy campaign without regard to the people ensnared by it."

The amicus brief was filed in the western district of Oklahoma with the assistance of attorney A. Laurie Koller of Carr & Carr.

For the full amicus brief:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/Capitol_v_Foster/amicus_in_support_of_fees.pdf

For more on the RIAA's lawsuits:
http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/RIAAatTWO_FINAL.pdf

Contact:

Jason Schultz
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
jason@eff.org

[EFF: Breaking News]

The RIAA vs. John Doe, a layperson's guide to filesharing lawsuits - The Digital Music Weblog

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 16:24:35 GMT

Ray Beckerman of Recording Industry vs. The People put together an article that explains how the RIAA's ~~militant enforcement arm~~ legal team find, obtain records on and sue ISP account holders who may or may not have ever been users of P2P applications. It's a great reference, but (no offense intended to Ray) it's dry like a bread-sandwitch.

I decided to take a stab at rewriting it in something closer to English than lawyer. In hopes that it would be more accessible.

So, with thanks to Ray Beckerman, let's take a look at The RIAA vs. John Doe, in what I hope serves as a layperson's guide to filesharing lawsuits.

The RIAA vs. John Doe, a Layperson's Guide.

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 16:22:33 GMT

The RIAA vs. John Doe, a Layperson's Guide. Grant Robertson writes to tell us that he has made a pass at translating a recent guide to surviving an RIAA lawsuit from technical lawyer-speak into a much more easy to understand layperson's guide. The law, being complex and sometimes cryptic, allows ways for the RIAA to tilt the odds in their favor forcing unsuspecting victims to settle rather than fight. Take a look at Ray Beckerman's tips to survival translated into words anyone can benefit from. [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Tell British Parliament To Stop P2P Lawsuits.

Sat, 08 Jul 2006 15:34:08 GMT

Tell British Parliament To Stop P2P Lawsuits.

In response to the RIAA's irrational lawsuit campaign against the tens of millions of American P2P users, EFF set up a petition asking Congress to stop the madness and support ways for artists to get paid without fans getting sued. If you live in the UK, you should also check out this petition to the British Parliament and the local record industry trade group (BPI) to stop lawsuits against music fans and develop constructive alternatives that get artists paid. The petition was launched last month by record industry vet Chris Thomas, and the site's press release notes that the managers of The Streets and Avril Lavigne has signed it.

[EFF: Deep Links]

The Fourth of July, 2006 is Privacy Digest's 7th Anniversary

Mon, 03 Jul 2006 17:14:11 GMT

Tomorrow, The Fourth of July 2006, Privacy Digest will have been publishing as this domain for seven years. We were actually around a bit longer as part of another blog. But on July 4, 1999, I decided that the issue was important enough to warrant it's own dedicated domain.

If you would like to help out my Amazon wishlist has a few things I need. More ideas on ways to support us can be found here.

Identity Thieves Lurk in P-to-P Networks.

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 03:26:16 GMT

Identity Thieves Lurk in P-to-P Networks. Users may be sharing more information than they bargained for, security expert says. [PC World: Latest Technology News]

TorrentSpy Names Alleged MPAA Hacker.

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 14:55:59 GMT

TorrentSpy Names Alleged MPAA Hacker. Man allegedly broke into its computers on behalf of the Motion Picture Association of America. [PC World: Latest Technology News]

Dutch MP3 search engine ruled illegal.

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 14:58:31 GMT

Dutch MP3 search engine ruled illegal.

Thou shall not link

Dutch anti piracy foundation BREIN has won its case against Mp3 search engine Zoekmp3.nl. Dutch company Techno Design was ordered on Friday by the Dutch Court of Appeals to shut down the search engine, which was no longer online, but at one time featured tens of thousands of links and attracted over 50,000 visitors a day.

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]

Texas wants P2P border surveillance.

Sat, 03 Jun 2006 03:08:05 GMT

Texas wants P2P border surveillance.

CCTV footage available for all

The governor of Texas is spending $5m installing web cameras along the state's border with Mexico so ordinary web surfers can get involved in stopping illegal immigration.

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]

Privacy-Invasive Software in File-Sharing Tools.

Fri, 26 May 2006 17:14:27 GMT

Privacy-Invasive Software in File-Sharing Tools. Personal privacy is affected by the occurrence of adware and spyware in peer-to-peer tools. In an experiment presented in this paper, five file-sharing tools are investigated and found that they all contained ad-/spyware programs, and, that these hidden components communicated with several servers on the Internet. Although there was no exchange of files by way of the file-sharing tools, they generated a significant amount of network traffic. Amongst the retrieved ad-/spyware programs that communicated with the Internet, it was discovered that privacy-invasive information such as, e.g., user data and Internet browsing history was transmitted. In conclusion, ad-/spyware activity in file-sharing tools creates serious problems not only to user privacy and security, but also to network and system performance. [TechRepublic.com - Recent Privacy Issues White Papers]

TorrentSpy accuses MPAA of hacking.

Fri, 26 May 2006 02:31:40 GMT

TorrentSpy accuses MPAA of hacking.

Counteroffensive

The company behind the TorrentSpy search engine has countersued the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) over allegations that it hired a hacker in order to spy on it.

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]

PC World | Vigilante Trojan attacks other malware

Wed, 17 May 2006 11:53:27 GMT

A "vigilante" Trojan, that attempts to protect infected PCs from the effects of malware caught while using peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, has been discovered.

The Windows Trojan/Erazer-A Trojan looks at default folders for downloading MP3, AVI, MPEG, WMV, Gif, Zip graphic and video files, and wipes anything it finds with these extensions in the target locations.

The assumption is that because the Trojan is only deleting certain file types in specific download directories used by P2P programs -- one of the main sources of inadvertent malware infection -- it is attempting to protect those it manages to infect.

The catch is that the program also attempts to subvert certain security programs to aid its activities, which opens the user to a more general risk of infection or program instability. It also appears to steal information.

The company that first uncovered it spreading among its customers, Sophos, has dubbed it as a "vigilante" Trojan, making it an extremely rare type of malware that could have some beneficial effects.

"The Erazer Trojan is a vigilante worthy of a Charles Bronson movie, taking the law into its own hands. However, it's perfectly possible for the Trojan to aim poorly and wipe out innocent files too," commented Graham Cluley of Sophos.

Slashdot | Trojan Deletes Your Porn, Music & Warez

Wed, 17 May 2006 11:50:56 GMT

E. Vigilant writes "The new Trojan/Erazor-A has an interesting twist. In addition to deleting or disabling various security products and competing malware, it deletes any porn, warez and music in your P2P directories. While some opine that this trojan might have good intentions, remarkably few things infect the text files this trojan also deletes. No one yet knows who wrote this or why."

Hackers control bot client over P2P.

Sat, 06 May 2006 02:26:56 GMT

Hackers control bot client over P2P.

Nugache

Security watchers are warning of a new worm that's propagating over instant messenger networks run by both AOL and MSN. Nugache-A is also spreading (albeit modestly) as an infected email that uses a variety of well-known Windows exploits to infect vulnerable Windows PCs.

[The Register - Security]

Bot software looks to improve peerage.

Sat, 06 May 2006 02:21:33 GMT

Bot software looks to improve peerage.

P2P botnets will be 'hard to stop'

Peer-to-peer technology appears to have resurfaced in a worm last weekend.

[The Register - Security]

EFF - Seventeen Thousand Sign EFF's File Sharing Petition in Last two Weeks.

Fri, 05 May 2006 03:02:28 GMT

Seventeen Thousand Sign EFF's File Sharing Petition in Last two Weeks.

Last week, we urged you to sign our petition to Congress opposing the RIAA lawsuits, and now we need another push to reach our goal of 100,000 signatures.

After over 18,000 lawsuits and counting, file sharing has continued to increase rapidly. Meanwhile, music fans, like 12 year-old Brittany LaHara, college student Cassi Hunt, and parent of five Cecilia Gonzalez, are being forced to pay thousands of dollars they do not have to settle RIAA-member lawsuits, and many other innocent individuals are being caught in the crossfire. It's time to stop this madness and find a better way forward.

We're now incredibly close to our petition target, and, in just the last two weeks, we've received over 17,000 signatures. After recently clearing out spam, duplicates, and other erroneous entries, we have over 73,000 signatures total.

You can help put it over the top and take a stand against these misguided lawsuits. Sign it, and spread the word.

[EFF: Deep Links]

RIAA, MPAA Launch Another Short-Sighted Attack on Campus Network File Sharing.

Fri, 28 Apr 2006 16:33:18 GMT

RIAA, MPAA Launch Another Short-Sighted Attack on Campus Network File Sharing.

Today the RIAA and MPAA sent a nag letter to 40 university presidents, urging them to stop students from swapping music and movies on campus networks. Once again, rather than offering collegiate music fans "all you can eat" sharing plans in exchange for a sensible fee, the entertainment industry is trying to deputize universities to act as their unpaid on-campus police force.

It's not that universities haven't made an effort -- it's that more enforcement isn't a realistic answer. When Napster first rose to fame, many universities complied with the RIAA's demand that Napster be blocked. We all know how that turned out, with Napster replaced by an ever-growing number of file sharing technologies that are more popular than ever. Then universities were told to spend scarce dollars to offer students Windows-only, iPod-allergic, music services like the new Napster. Campus file sharing continued unabated. Three years ago, the RIAA companies began bypassing the university administrators and suing college kids directly. That, too, hasn't stopped students from sharing.

More policing of college networks won't stop file sharing, it will just push fans to use other technologies -- VPNs, hard drives, USB flash drives, recordable DVDs (and soon HD-DVD and Blu-Ray), and ad hoc wireless networks. In fact, the migration to sharing on "small worlds networks" like college LANs is a confirmation of one of the now-famous Darknet paper's [PDF] central predictions: so long as people are able to make and share copies, they are going to do so. In fact, RIAA chief Mitch Bainwol has already said he is more worried about CD burning than P2P. So, short of ubiquitous surveillance of all communications channels (including hand-to-hand swapping), stopping college music fans from sharing music is doomed to failure.

While cracking down on university LANs won't stop file sharing, it will likely compromise the privacy of the university community, as activities are monitored for file sharing. The RIAA and MPAA recommend adopting network filtering tools like Audible Magic, but they're trivial to evade. New restrictions on network use will also hinder legitimate network uses (already, some universities are blocking students from running any kind of servers). EFF has explained these problems at great length in its white paper, "When Push Comes to Shove: A Hype-Free Guide to Evaluating Technical Solutions to Copyright Infringement on Campus Networks."

College students are some of the most avid music and movie fans, yet the RIAA and MPAA continue to treat them like criminals. It's high time for a better way forward.

[EFF: Deep Links]

Congress readies broad new digital copyright bill | CNET News.com

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 17:16:58 GMT

For the last few years, a coalition of technology companies, academics and computer programmers has been trying to persuade Congress to scale back the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Now Congress is preparing to do precisely the opposite. A proposed copyright law seen by CNET News.com would expand the DMCA's restrictions on software that can bypass copy protections and grant federal police more wiretapping and enforcement powers.

The draft legislation, created by the Bush administration and backed by Rep. Lamar Smith, already enjoys the support of large copyright holders such as the Recording Industry Association of America. Smith is the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee that oversees intellectual-property law.

Smith's press secretary, Terry Shawn, said Friday that the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2006 is expected to "be introduced in the near future."

New Congressional Bill Makes DMCA Look Tame.

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 17:10:47 GMT

New Congressional Bill Makes DMCA Look Tame. An anonymous reader writes "Representative Lamar Smith is sponsoring the Intellectual Property Protection Act. The new bill is designed to give the Justice Department 'tools to combat IP crime' which which are used to 'quite frankly, fund terrorism activities,' according to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Among the provisions is lowering the standards for 'willful copyright violation' and increasing the corresponding prison term to 10 years." More information is also available at publicknowledge.org. [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Did EMI and UMG Lie to Antitrust Investigators?

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 16:39:08 GMT

Did EMI and UMG Lie to Antitrust Investigators?

Did EMI and Universal Music Group lie to the Department of Justice in order to throw federal investigators off the scent during the antitrust investigation involving the major labels, MusicNet, and pressplay? According to a ruling issued last week, the evidence suggests they did.

This is the latest chapter in the Napster case. Yes, that Napster case.

EFF: Deep Links]

Privacy-Invasive Software in File-Sharing Tools.

Fri, 14 Apr 2006 14:36:56 GMT

p2pnet.net - the original daily p2p and digital media news site

Thu, 23 Mar 2006 18:35:18 GMT

p2p news / p2pnet: Claria [read Gator], one of the Net's most repulsive spyware and pop-up purveyors, says it's had a gut-full.

It will exit the adware business by June, "following persistent criticism from online publishers, consumer groups and privacy advocates," says the Associated Press.

Last July, Gator (oops,Claria) dumped another spyware app, Sharman Networks' p2p Kazaa, which has itself just had a major spyware related bollocking from the new StopBadware.org group.

"In a statement, Claria said it will require any buyer of its adware assets to agree to abide by a set of standards outlined by Truste and other privacy watchdog groups," says AP with a straight face.

Michael Geist - CRIA's Own Study Counters P2P Claims

Sat, 18 Mar 2006 19:26:01 GMT

While CRIA regularly trumpets commissioned studies as evidence for the problems posed by P2P, this week it released a major study without any fanfare whatsoever. Conducted by Pollara last month, the study serves as part of CRIA's submission to the CRTC's Commercial Radio Review. What makes this particular study interesting (aside from the fact that it finally includes full details on responses and the actual questions posed), is that much of the data challenges many familiar CRIA claims.

Canadian Record Industry Disputes Own P2P Claims.

Sat, 18 Mar 2006 19:22:18 GMT

Canadian Record Industry Disputes Own P2P Claims. CRIAWatch writes "The Canadian Recording Industry Association has quietly issued a new study that contradicts many of its own claims about the impact of P2P usage on the music industry. Michael Geist summarizes the 144 page study by noting that the research 'concludes that P2P downloading constitutes less than one-third of the music on downloaders' computers, that P2P users frequently try music on P2P services before they buy, that the largest P2P downloader demographic is also the largest music buying demographic, and that reduced purchasing has little to do with the availability of music on P2P services.'" [Slashdot]

Blanket digital licence fails in France - Carry on pirates, carry on DRM

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 14:14:13 GMT

Blanket digital licence fails in France.

Carry on pirates, carry on DRM

Under heavy pressure from the French government, the country's parliament has voted against introducing the world's first blanket licence for sharing digital media. A section that would have permitted internet users to freely exchange copyrighted material, effectively legitimizing file sharing, and hastening the demise of digital rights management (DRM) software, had passed an earlier reading in a vote last December.

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]

MPAA Files Lawsuits Targeting Major Torrent Sites.

Sun, 26 Feb 2006 23:38:25 GMT

MPAA Files Lawsuits Targeting Major Torrent Sites. diverge_s writes "Slyck news reports on a new wave of lawsuits the MPAA has filed against major Bit Torrent search sites including: Torrentspy, Isohunt, Torrentbox, Niteshadow and Bthub. From the article: '"Website operators who abuse technology to facilitate infringements of copyrighted works by millions of people are not anonymous - they can and will be stopped," said John G. Malcolm, Executive Vice President and Director of Worldwide Anti-Piracy Operations for the MPAA. "Disabling these powerful networks of illegal file distribution is a significant step in stemming the tide of piracy on the Internet."'" [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Slyck News - Huge Anti-Piracy Push By MPAA

Sun, 26 Feb 2006 23:35:57 GMT

The MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) is steamrolling across the great indexing plains. Tuesday brought news the eDonkey2000 indexing server Razorback2 was taken offline by Belgian Police, in conjunction with the MPAA. Today, the MPAA has announced a tremendous escalation in their fight against online piracy - this time targeting BitTorrent, eDonkey2000 and Newsgroup NZB indexing sites.

Specifically, seven lawsuits were filed in Federal Court across the United States. Most remarkable of these lawsuits was the MPAA's strategy to target Newsgroup NZB indexing sites. Newsgroup indexing sites function much differently than eDonkey2000 or BitTorrent sites, as their role is to supply "NZB" or Newzbin files. These NZB files greatly simplify the task of downloading material from the Newsgroups. It eliminates the once lengthy process of digging through multiple groups and headers to find the desired archive.

Because of the Newsgroups' long standing reputation of being a legitimate online source of information and community interaction, such associated indexing sites were considered immune from prosecution. Today's action dismisses this notion.

Euro cops seize Razorback P2P servers.

Sun, 26 Feb 2006 22:52:37 GMT

Euro cops seize Razorback P2P servers.

Site owner arrested in Switzerland

Belgian and Swiss police yesterday shut down Razorback 2, a hugely popular source of content on the eDonkey and other P2P networks. Law enforcement officials mounted early morning raids on sites in the two countries, and seized servers and network equipment.

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]

MPAA sues newsgroup, P2P search sites | CNET News.com

Sun, 26 Feb 2006 19:04:50 GMT

The Motion Picture Association of America said Thursday that it sued a new round of popular Web sites associated with movie piracy, including several that serve as search engines but do not distribute files themselves.

The lawsuits mark an expansion of the copyright holders' legal strategy in the file-swapping world, targeting sites that help make downloading easier, but aren't actually delivering the files or the swapping technology themselves.

It's also the first time the group has sued organizations that direct their members to the Usenet newsgroup system, an MPAA spokeswoman said. The movie group makes little distinction between a peer-to-peer network and the search engines that point to pirated works, saying that all facilitate the distribution of copyright works.

"Disabling these powerful networks of illegal file distribution is a significant step in stemming the tide of piracy on the Internet," John Malcom, MPAA director of Worldwide Antipiracy operations, said in a statement.

The issue of targeting search engines rather than actual file-swapping networks themselves has been a touchy one in Silicon Valley, because ordinary search engines such as Google and Yahoo also can be used to find pirated works.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act protects search engines from liability for linking to pirated works, but only if the site operators don't know that the specific content is infringing, are not deriving financial gain from the links, and act quickly to remove the links when contacted by copyright holders.

Unlike a traditional search engine such as Google, the sites targeted Thursday are filled almost exclusively with links and references to copyright movies, software and music.

France rules in favour of P2P.

Wed, 08 Feb 2006 16:05:00 GMT

France rules in favour of P2P.

But only for personal use...

The French courts have ruled that using peer-to-peer networks (P2P), providing you are doing so for personal rather than commercial reasons, is legal. The decision comes just as the French Parliament meets to discuss whether internet users should pay a voluntary tax or surcharge of â[not equal]¬5 a month to use P2P networks.

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]

RIAA Sues Woman Who Has Never Used a Computer.

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 14:20:56 GMT

RIAA Sues Woman Who Has Never Used a Computer. boarder8925 writes "Marie Lindor, a home health aide who has never bought, used, or even turned on a computer in her life, was sued by the RIAA in Brooklyn federal court for using an 'online distribution system' to 'download, distribute, and/or make available for distribution' plaintiff's music files. She has requested a pre-motion conference in anticipation of making a summary judgment motion dismissing the complaint and awarding her attorneys fees under the Copyright Act." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

InformationWeek | IP Telephony Security | Botnet Herders Hide Behind VoIP | January 27, 2006

Thu, 02 Feb 2006 19:42:36 GMT

Jon Crowcroft, a Cambridge professor and the lead CRN researcher on the problem, noted that if botnet "herders," the term given to attackers who control large numbers of bot-infected PCs, turn to VoIP applications for command and control, security experts might find it impossible to trace back an attack to the perpetrator.

Current practice by most botnet herders is to issue commands to their armies of "zombie" machines over IRC (Internet Relay Chat) channels, or less frequently, via instant messaging (IM).

Crowcroft argued that attackers could use VoIP's ability to dial in and out of its overlays to make their tracks impossible to trace. In addition, proprietary protocols -- in some cases used by VoIP software to ensure ISPs can't block their applications -- make it tough for providers to track DoS attacks. Ditto for the encryption these applications offer and their peer-to-peer approach to routing packets.

"While these security measures are in many ways positive," said Crowcroft in a statement, "they would add up to a serious headache if someone were to use a VoIP overlay as a control tool for attacks.

Canadian music giant funds battle against RIAA.

Mon, 30 Jan 2006 02:37:50 GMT

Canadian music giant funds battle against RIAA.

Lawsuits should be shield not sword

Canada's biggest record label, publisher and management company is helping out a family sued by the Recording Industry Ass. Of America for copyright infringement.

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]

Irish ISPs ordered to disclose file sharers' names.

Thu, 26 Jan 2006 16:56:45 GMT

Irish ISPs ordered to disclose file sharers' names.

Download all the Days

A new ruling by the Irish courts could undermine people who have a genuine need for online anonymity and deter whistleblowers, lobby group Digital Rights Ireland (DRI) claims.

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]

Official: iPod owners are not thieves | The Register

Sun, 15 Jan 2006 20:54:20 GMT

A survey of US and UK music buyers reveals that although 25 per cent of people admit to downloading music from file-sharing services, only seven per cent of iPod owners do so. Proving that iPod users are either scrupulously honest or more paranoid they'll get sued by RIAA than owners of lesser music players.

iPod Owners Not Thieves.

Sun, 15 Jan 2006 20:50:39 GMT

iPod Owners Not Thieves. An anonymous reader writes "Remember last year when Microsoft head Steve Ballmer said iPod owners were music thieves and their iPods were full of stolen music? It turns out they're actually less likely to download music using filesharing software than owners of other MP3 players. A lot less likely." --- From the article: "A survey of US and UK music buyers reveals that although 25 per cent of people admit to downloading music from file-sharing services, only seven per cent of iPod owners do so. Proving that iPod users are either scrupulously honest or more paranoid they'll get sued by RIAA than owners of lesser music players." [Slashdot]

Copyright Laws Severely Limit Availability of Music.

Sat, 14 Jan 2006 00:13:33 GMT

Archivists and collectors have long lamented the lack of access to older recordings. So the Library of Congress commissioned a team to find out just how many are out of print. The report -- released in August -- suggests that over 70 percent of American music recorded before 1965 is not legally available in the United States.

[Public Knowledge - Breaking News]

Paul Hardwick: P2P

BitTorrent Video Download Store Falls Flat.

Administrivia: Now we have a overheated CPU ( 60 degrees centigrade )

Administrivia: Our data-center was hit by a DDOS attack today.

DRM Causes Piracy.

Studios, FBI Teach Swedish Cops to Hunt File Sharers.

Colleges Struggle to Cope With Flood of Copyright Complaints.

Music moguls seek security blanket - Los Angeles Times

RIAA Admits ISPs Have Misidentified "John Does".

The Open Rights Group : Blog Archive - Write to your MEP: JURI to vote on IPRED2 at the end of this month

IPRED2 - Open Rights Group vs. Their Rights Online.

To Media Companies, BitTorrent Implies Guilt.

Big Win for Innocent RIAA Defendant.

EFF - Steve Jobs: DRM Is Bad for Consumers, Innovators, *And* Artists.

RIAA urges Apple to spread DRM far and wide.

Steve, you're so smart

Solving DRM in the BitTorrent Age.

DRM ó It's Not Really About Piracy.

MPAA Caught Uploading Fake Torrents.

EMI Considers Abandoning DRM on CDs.

MIT OpenCourseWare | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science | 6.912 Introduction to Copyright Law, January (IAP) 2006 | Home

MIT Offering Free Copyright Course Online.

16-year-old Norwegian filesharer charged.

Parents may have to pay too

HD DVD's AACS Protection Bypassed.

Year-end 2006, Darknet Assumptions = True.

Computers, Freedom and Privacy - Montreal, May 1-4 2007

Computers, Freedom and Privacy 2007 - Call For Proposals

BBC's Legal BitTorrent Downloads.

Copyright ruling puts hyperlinking on notice - Technology - smh.com.au

RIAA v. Barker Showdown Slated for January.

Universal and MySpace Square Off Over DMCA.

Warner Music CEO Admits His Kids "Stole" Music, Didn't Get Sued - Wired Listen Post

Warner CEO Admits His Kids Stole Music.

Wired News: MPAA Kills Anti-Pretexting Bill

Protect Your P2P Privacy.

Slashdot | BitTorrent Site Admin Sent To Prison

File-sharing software firm loses US case.

Another one bites the dust

German Tor Network Just Fine, Tor Director Says.

Barlow to MPAA: Don't Worry, Be Happy, and Lose the P2P War.

RIAA Wants to Depose Dead Defendant's Children.

Innocent Target of File-Sharing Lawsuit Deserves Attorney's Fees.

The RIAA vs. John Doe, a layperson's guide to filesharing lawsuits - The Digital Music Weblog

The RIAA vs. John Doe, a Layperson's Guide.

Tell British Parliament To Stop P2P Lawsuits.

The Fourth of July, 2006 is Privacy Digest's 7th Anniversary

Identity Thieves Lurk in P-to-P Networks.

TorrentSpy Names Alleged MPAA Hacker.

Dutch MP3 search engine ruled illegal.

Thou shall not link

Texas wants P2P border surveillance.

CCTV footage available for all

Privacy-Invasive Software in File-Sharing Tools.

TorrentSpy accuses MPAA of hacking.

Counteroffensive

PC World | Vigilante Trojan attacks other malware

Slashdot | Trojan Deletes Your Porn, Music & Warez

Hackers control bot client over P2P.

Nugache

Bot software looks to improve peerage.

P2P botnets will be 'hard to stop'

EFF - Seventeen Thousand Sign EFF's File Sharing Petition in Last two Weeks.

RIAA, MPAA Launch Another Short-Sighted Attack on Campus Network File Sharing.

Congress readies broad new digital copyright bill | CNET News.com

New Congressional Bill Makes DMCA Look Tame.

Did EMI and UMG Lie to Antitrust Investigators?

Privacy-Invasive Software in File-Sharing Tools.

p2pnet.net - the original daily p2p and digital media news site

Michael Geist - CRIA's Own Study Counters P2P Claims

Canadian Record Industry Disputes Own P2P Claims.

Blanket digital licence fails in France - Carry on pirates, carry on DRM

Carry on pirates, carry on DRM

MPAA Files Lawsuits Targeting Major Torrent Sites.

Slyck News - Huge Anti-Piracy Push By MPAA

Euro cops seize Razorback P2P servers.

Site owner arrested in Switzerland

MPAA sues newsgroup, P2P search sites | CNET News.com

France rules in favour of P2P.

But only for personal use...

EFF - Steve Jobs: DRM Is Bad for Consumers, Innovators, And Artists.