Comcast Must Share Six-Strikes Warnings with Copyright Troll, Court Rules. The U.S.
Aussie Attorney General Pressured on Three-Strikes Secrecy. In a speech back in February, Australia’s Attorney-General George Brandis indicated that the Government had plans to crack down on Internet piracy.
Not only was consideration being given to the introduction of a “three strikes” style regime, but ISPs could be required to block access to so-called ‘pirate’ sites. This week, in a session of the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, the topic was raised by Senator Scott Ludlam of the Australian Greens. With the Attorney General and his team sat immediately opposite him, Ludlam asked Brandis about current Government copyright policy.
“Unlike the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, France and many other comparable countries, Australia lacks any effective protection against online piracy,” Brandis said. Who is helping Brandis shape his anti-piracy opinions? “Well, those are my views. "Six Strikes" Results Show High Number of Persistent Pirates. The MPAA, RIAA and five major U.S.
Internet providers launched their six-strikes Copyright Alert System last year, and today they revealed details on the magnitude of the anti-piracy measures. Thus far more than 1.3 million anti-piracy alerts have been sent out, and roughly 30% of all warned subscribers were caught a second time. February last year, five U.S. Internet providers started sending copyright alerts to customers who use BitTorrent to pirate movies, TV-shows and music. Copyright Troll Demands Comcast's Six Strikes Data for Lawsuit. Thanks to the "six strikes" program, leading ISPs in the U.S. now hold databases containing allegations of infringement against their customers.
That data was supposed to be private, but now the most prolific filer of copyright lawsuits in the U.S. is trying to obtain information from Comcast in order to build a case against an alleged porn pirate. In just a few days time the controversial Copyright Alert System (CAS) will have been operational for 15 months. Off US Blacklist, Italy Begins Torrent Site Blackout, No Trials Needed. Last December, Italy announced new regulations that would allow a telecoms administrative body to decide whether Internet sites should remain accessible in the country.
With several sites such as The Pirate Bay previously blocked by court order, the AGCOM regulator has just ordered the blocking of its first four torrent sites, no complex legal wrangling needed. After coming under intense and sustained US-pressure to change its attitudes to online piracy, earlier this month it became clear there had been an Italian breakthrough. Aussie Govt. To Consider Site Blocking, File-Sharing Warnings. As early as this week the Australian Government will consider a pair of measures designed to crack down on the consumption of unauthorized content online.
In addition to sending out warning letters to alleged file-sharers, new legislation will allow for 'pirate' sites such as The Pirate Bay to be blocked by local Internet service providers. For years Australia has wrestled with the thorny issue of online piracy. Citizens have long complained of being treated as second class consumers, in many cases having to wait months or years for new content from the United States to appear Down Under. Second release of secret Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement documents. (on 2013-12-09) On 13 November 2013 WikiLeaks released the draft text of the crucial Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) Intellectual Property chapter during the lead-up to a TPP chief negotiators’ meeting in Salt Lake City on 19-24 November 2013.
Today, 9 December 2013, WikiLeaks has released two more secret TPP documents that show the state of negotiations as the twelve TPP countries began supposedly final negotiations at a trade ministers’ meeting in Singapore this week. One document describes deep divisions between the United States and other nations, and "great pressure" being exerted by the US negotiators to move other nations to their position. The other document lists, country-by-country, the many areas of disagreement remaining. It covers intellectual property and thirteen other chapters of the draft agreement. TPP Salt Lake Extracts TPP Salt Lake Positions. Should you be worried about the new “six strikes” anti-piracy rules? Yes and no. A new system designed to combat copyright infringement was launched in the U.S. on Monday, a joint venture between content companies and internet service providers known as the Copyright Alert System.
The name sounds harmless enough, and its supporters argue that it is an appropriate balance between copyright and an open internet — but critics argue that the so-called “six strikes” process is the thin edge of an increasingly broad wedge that copyright holders are trying to drive between consumers and digital content. The new rules, which have been in the works for over a year and have been repeatedly delayed, are being administered by the Center For Copyright Information — a non-profit entity made up of theoretically independent representatives from agencies like the Internet Education Foundation and the Future of Privacy Forum, and includes Jerry Berman, a former director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, as well as Gigi Sohn of Public Knowledge.