Month: November 2015

Netherlands-based anti-piracy group BREIN is one of few such outfits to directly go after both the operators and users of pirate sites.

The Hollywood-backed group doesn’t target random file-sharers but focuses on prolific uploaders, who share hundreds or thousands of files.

This month these efforts led to another victory for the organization. A Breda court ruled in favor of BREIN in an ex-parte case against a 20-year-old student, who uploaded over 750 torrents to KickassTorrents.

Most torrents were targeted at the Dutch public, including a full season of The Walking Dead and the film Avengers: Age of Ultron, both with subtitles.

BREIN argued that the man’s infringing activities were causing irreparable damage for the various copyright holders involved. In addition, his efforts help frustrate the growth of legal services such as Spotify and Netflix.

The court agreed with BREIN’s assessment and ordered the uploader to stop sharing pirated content on KickassTorrents (pdf). Refusing to do so will result in a €2,000 fine per day, with a maximum of €50,000.

Responding to the verdict, the man, whose name is not made public, deleted his account as well as all uploads.

TorrentFreak tracked down what appears to be the user in question. This person frequently uploaded torrents with Dutch subtitles, some of which were mentioned in the case.

The deleted profile

BREIN notes that the student also agreed to pay compensation to the copyright holders as well as costs for the legal proceedings. While calculating the appropriate ‘damages’ figure BREIN took the man’s personal circumstances into account.

This means that the uploader has gotten off relatively unharmed, when compared to the million dollar claims we’ve seen elsewhere at least.

It’s not clear how BREIN tracked down the uploader. The anti-piracy group is known to scour the Internet for information that can identify infringers, some of whom are surprisingly easy to find.

In addition, BREIN also uses previously convicted file-sharers to gather intelligence, and rival uploaders also rat out their competitors voluntarily every now and then.

“We do get anonymous tips regarding offenders and from time to time it is clear that a tip comes from a ‘competitor. It’s just like with other crime on any turf,” BREIN’s Tim Kuik told us previously.

Looking ahead, BREIN is planning to intensify its efforts to hold prolific uploaders responsible. Not just those who upload to torrent sites, but also those who simply download and share.

Last week NOS reported that BREIN is preparing to monitor IP-addresses systematically to identify prolific sharers, which they then hope to identify through their Internet providers.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

Der weltweit größte PC-Hersteller Lenovo arbeitet künftig eng mit Razer zusammen: Gemeinsam sollen neue Gaming-Systeme wie Desktops und Notebooks entstehen sowie bestehende aufgewertet werden. (Razer, Lenovo)

Viele Spieler haben darauf gewartet: Künftig werden die Razer Blade genannten Gaming-Ultrabooks auch in Deutschland verfügbar sein - das gilt für aktuelle wie kommende Modelle. Der Preis hat es in sich. (Razer Blade, Mobil)

Der Bundesrat hat darauf verzichtet, den Gesetzesbeschluss zur freien Wahl von Routern zu behindern. Unitymedia hatte bei Abschaffung des Routerzwangs von "Beeinträchtigung eines ganzen Clusters mit mehreren hundert Teilnehmern" gewarnt. Der Anga-Verband sah Netzunterbrechungen kommen. (Router, Netzwerk)

DVB-T2 startet erst 2017 im Regelbetrieb. Ab 2023 will die ITU-Weltfunkkonferenz die Frequenznutzung im gesamten UHF-Band von 470 bis 960 MHz "ergebnisoffen überprüfen". (DVB-T, H.265)

Hyperloop-Erfinder Elon Musk lässt den Wettbewerbern beim Bau ihrer Fahrzeuge für die Hochgeschwindigkeitsbahn viel Spielraum. In einem Dokument verrät der SpaceX-Gründer technische Einzelheiten. (Hyperloop, Internet)

Der Elektronikhersteller Bosch erweitert seine Palette an Smart-Home-Produkten: Neben Waschmaschinen und Trocknern sollen ab Januar 2016 auch Energiesparkomponenten und Fenstersensoren erhältlich sein. Dafür wurde extra eine Tochterfirma gegründet. (Smarthome, Hausautomation)

Nach der Ankündigung von Frauenfußball für Fifa 16 gab es wütende Proteste, inzwischen hat sich die Lage beruhigt - und das US-Nationalteam der Frauen gehöre sogar zu den am meisten gespielten Teams. (Fifa, Electronic Arts)

Google hat ein Patent für ein Wearable mit Display zugesprochen bekommen, das biegbar ist und seitlich am Kopf getragen wird. Aktuell soll Googles Project-Aura-Team zwei neue Head-mounted Wearables entwickeln - das gebogene Band könnte eines davon sein. (Google, Politik/Recht)

Acting on a lead from the entertainment industry, in January 2012 the U.S. Government shut down Megaupload.

To date, much of their efforts have been focused on extraditing Kim Dotcom and his former colleagues from New Zealand to the United States but earlier this year it became apparent that they’d already snared an important piece of the puzzle.

Operating under key mega figure Matthias Ortmann, Andrus Nomm was a Megaupload programmer who reportedly earned a little over $3200 per month.

In common with his former colleagues, Nomm was cited in the Megaupload indictment, meaning that the FBI wanted the Estonian in the United States to face criminal charges. With few funds at his disposal to put a Dotcom-like fight, Nomm flew from the Netherlands and handed himself over to U.S. authorities after three years.

In February the 36-year-old was arrested and carried through with a deal he’d promised to cut with U.S. authorities. Just days later the Department of Justice announced that Nomm had pleaded guilty to criminal copyright infringement, and he was sentenced to 366 days in prison.

Dotcom slammed the development.

“An innocent coder pleads guilty after 3 years of DOJ abuse, with no end in sight, in order to move on with his life,” Dotcom said. “I have nothing but compassion and understanding for Andrus Nomm and I hope he will soon be reunited with his son.”

This week it appears Dotcom’s wishes came true. According to NZHerald, after serving just nine months in prison, Nomm’s name appeared on a list of prisoners due to be released this week.

However, the Estonian’s release will be bitter-sweet since according to the same report Nomm’s evidence is already being used against Dotcom and as recently as his just-concluded extradition hearing.

The details will not be made public until have Judge Nevin Dawson hands down his decision but it’s believed that Nomm has stated on the record that Dotcom and his former colleagues knowingly profited from copyright infringement.

Nevertheless, Dotcom still feels that Nomm pleaded guilty to a crime he didn’t commit.

“One year in jail was his way out. I don’t blame him. I can understand why Andrus did it. But it doesn’t change the fact that he is innocent,” Dotcom told the Herald.

Underlining his point, Dotcom points to a video recorded by Nomm just three months after the raid and uploaded to YouTube after Nomm signed the plea deal.

“Andrus made it clear in his documentary interview that he had done nothing wrong,” Dotcom said.

Although three years in limbo and a year in jail will have had a considerable impact on Nomm’s life, his deal with the U.S. now means that he can get on with his life. The same cannot be said of Dotcom and his former colleagues.

Nomm plead guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement, charges that Dotcom and his former colleagues continue to deny. The U.S. also dropped the money laundering and racketeering charges against the Estonian – the same is unlikely to happen in Dotcom’s case. However, Nomm still has a “money judgment” of US$175m to contend with, a not inconsiderable amount that he will presumably never pay.

The conviction of Nomm is a considerable feather in the cap of U.S. authorities who indicate that Nomm has given them much more evidence than has been revealed thus far. Only time will tell how valuable that will prove.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.