Month: December 2015

In seinem juristischen Feldzug gegen Adblocker hat der Axel-Springer-Verlag vor dem Landgericht Stuttgart eine Niederlage erlitten. Im Streit gegen den Youtuber Tobias Richter setzt der Verlag aber auf seinen jüngsten Erfolg in Hamburg. (AdBlocker, Virus)

In Las Vegas will der Elektroautohersteller Faraday Future ein Autowerk aufbauen und rund eine Milliarde US-Dollar investieren. Bis das erste Fahrzeug des Unternehmens, das vom chinesischen Milliardär Yueting Jia finanziert wird, auf den Markt kommt, wird allerdings noch viel Zeit vergehen. (Faraday Future, GreenIT)

DJI bringt mit der Zenmuse XT eine Drohnenkamera mit kardanischer Aufhängung auf den Markt, die Wärmeunterschiede aufnehmen kann. Die Thermalkamera kann zum Beispiel bei der Suche nach Personen oder bei der Brandbekämpfung helfen. (DJI, Foto)

Der US-Autohersteller Ford will bis 2020 insgesamt 4,5 Milliarden US-Dollar in die Entwicklung von 13 neuen Elektro- und Hybridautos stecken. In vier Jahren sollen laut Ford-Chef Mark Fields 40 Prozent der Fahrzeuge so ausgestattet sein. (Elektroauto, GreenIT)

Lucasfilm, the makers of the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens film, has controversially used a DMCA take-down request to remove legally taken photos, in a possible bid to avoid a major film spoiler.

Walmart recently made the figurine for the upcoming film's main female character, Rey, available for sale still a week before the movie officially releases. Carelessly, the packing for the toy appears to reveal a major film spoiler regarding the fate of the character (a spoiler that will not be revealed in this news article).

It was then that Justin from the Star Wars fan site Star Wars Action News, who purchased the toy from his local Walmart, posted pictures of the toy and the box on Facebook. Shortly after, Justin received a notice from Facebook that his legally taken photos have been taken down after a copyright complaint, photos that were free of any copyright claim.

Jeremy Conrad at Star Wars Unity reposted the same pictures, and he too received a barrage of DMCA take-down notice, all were from Lucasfilm (via Irdeto). The notices refer to these images as that of "an unreleased figurine for Star Wars: Force Awakens", despite the same figurine being available to buy right now at all Walmart stores.

As Justin took these photos, the copyright on these photos belong only to Justin, and Lucasfilm has no legal claim. But the main reason for the outrageous DMCA request may have nothing to do with copyright, but everything to do with a major film spoiler that is revealed by text on the packaging for the toy. A toy that perhaps Walmart released far too early.

For fans unafraid of the spoiler, or for those that simply don't care much for the upcoming movie, you can view the original photo here (**Spoiler warning, click at your own peril!**) courtesy of TorrentFreak.

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The Google Pixel C is a $499 tablet with a high-resolution display, an optional detachable keyboard, and Android software. But it’s possible the tablet wasn’t always meant to ship with Android. Shortly before Google officially introduced the tablet, we learned that it was likely-named Ryu, and as I noted at the time, that’s the same name […]

Maybe the Pixel C was original meant to run Chrome OS is a post from: Liliputing

The company that makes the Nabi line of Android tablets for kids filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy this week… but that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the line for Fuhu’s tablets. Toy maker Mattel has entered an agreement to acquire Fuhu’s business and assets. What does that mean? For now, not much. If you’ve got a […]

Mattel to acquire Nabi tablet maker Fuhu is a post from: Liliputing

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The newly elected Canadian Government has yet to announce how it will tackle online piracy going forward. However, a new Government document highlights some interesting points.

In a briefing Canadian Heritage officials prepared for minister Mélanie Joly several copyright related topics are discussed. The recent changes proposed by the TPP, for example.

The briefing also identifies three emerging copyright issues and pressures that may need to be addressed during the years to come, as Canadian law professor Michael Geist reveals.

On the top of this list of potential problems is “copyright infringement using VPNs.” While VPNs have plenty legitimate purposes, especially for those concerned about their privacy, pirates also use them to prevent being tracked by monitoring companies.

While the use of VPNs for infringing activities is a concern, Professor Geist believes that targeting these services won’t go down well with privacy advocates.

“Those [infringing] activities raise genuine issues, though the prospect of targeting the technology itself would quickly generate robust opposition from those who rely on VPNs for a myriad of legitimate purposes,” Geist notes.

Slide from the Minister’s briefing

VPNs could also play a major role in a second point being raised, which mentions the hybrid legal and illegal offer of online content. Although it’s not further specified, this may refer to the unauthorized access of streaming services such as Netflix in other countries.

Many Canadians use VPN services to access the U.S. version of Netflix, which has a more appealing content library. This topic was highlighted by Bell Media’s boss earlier this year, who accused her daughter of being a Netflix “thief.”

According to Professor Geist the Government wouldn’t have a very strong case to go after this circumvention behavior, as it will be hard to prove actual losses.

Finally, the brief mentions pirate site blockades by ISPs, something that’s become fairly popular in recent years, especially in Europe. The first signs of Canadian blocking efforts surfaced earlier this year with Quebec’s plans to ban illegal gambling sites.

Whether the three “issues” will become part of new copyright law is unclear. If so, this would be another shift in the wrong direction according to Professor Geist.

“Canadian copyright was already on track for a boisterous debate in the coming years,” he writes.

“If government officials envision adding VPN usage, access to U.S. Netflix, and website blocking to the list of issues, copyright could emerge as one of the government’s most difficult and controversial issues.”

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