Month: January 2017

For some time, Russian rightsholders have been dealing with so-called ‘pirate’ sites by filing complaints at the Moscow City Court. If specific material is not removed within a two-week period, the Court is authorized to take action.

The measures usually involve an order for local ISPs to block subscribers from accessing errant sites, using methods already deployed by providers elsewhere in Europe. However, while ‘pirate’ sites are usually the targets, more legitimate platforms can also get sucked in.

Video-hosting giant DailyMotion is the latest to feel the harsh reality of Russia’s site-blocking mechanism. The platform, which is 90% owned by French media group Vivendi, was ordered to be blocked by the Moscow City Court, meaning that the site will soon be rendered inaccessible to local Internet users.

The issue dates back to 2016 when Gazprom Media discovered that video clips from its Pyatnitsya! (Friday!) channel were being hosted on DailyMotion without its permission. The company told Russia’s Gazeta that’s representatives sent several complaints to Daily Motion’s head office during the course of last year, but no response was received.

On at least two occasions in 2016, Gazprom Media had DailyMotion URLs blocked by the Moscow City Court, but after finding even more infringing content on the platform, Gazprom ran out of patience.

Last December, under repeat infringer laws active since 2015, DailyMotion was given one last chance to remove the clips from its platform. It failed to comply, and in response the Moscow City Court invoked its repeat infringer policy, ordering local ISPs to block DailyMotion on a permanent basis.

Speaking with Russian media, a spokesperson for Russian telecoms watchdog Rozcomnadzor said that in line with a requirement for ISPs to block the site within seven days, it’s possible that Daily Motion could be blacked-out before the end of the week.

Gazprom Media said that DailyMotion’s owner Vivendi failed to appeal the ruling within the prescribed time limit. As a result, it now finds itself on a list of serious repeat infringers (which includes notorious torrent site RuTracker) that face so-called “eternal blocking” in Russia.

In comments to THR, a Daily Motion spokesperson said that the company was unaware of any ongoing court procedure and would “take all necessary steps to make contact with relevant authorities in Russia to resolve the issue.”

The fact that DailyMotion has been labeled a repeat infringer by a competent court will be of huge embarrassment to owner Vivendi. The French-based company owns Universal Music, TV company Canal+, and has interests in game publishers Ubisoft and Gamesloft.

It is not clear how easily the permanent block can be lifted, but it’s likely that DailyMotion will now do everything it can to appeal the decision of the Moscow Court.

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

Irgendwas zwischen Convertible und Tablet ist Lenovos Yoga Book: Statt einer Tastatur hat es eine große Touch-Fläche, die Stifteingaben durch Papier hindurch erkennt - perfekt für alle, die viele Notizen machen. Ich habe vier Monate lang das Notebook zu Hause gelassen und das Yoga Book mit in die Uni genommen. (Test, Intel)

Apple hat für alle testbereiten Nutzer iOS 10.3 und MacOS Sierra 10.12.4 Beta 1 veröffentlicht. Wer mitmachen will, kann sich beim Apple-Seed-Programm kostenlos anmelden. (Apple, Applikationen)

Apple hat den Dropcam-Erfinder Greg Duffy verpflichten können, der zuletzt bei der Alphabet-Tochter Nest arbeitete. Der Spezialist für Überwachungskameras bereut den Verkauf seines Unternehmens. (Hausautomation, Apple)

Tesla hat Sterling Anderson, den früheren Manager seines Autopilot-Programms, sowie Chris Urmson, den ehemaligen technischen Leiter von Googles autonom fahrenden Autos, wegen Mitarbeiterabwerbung und Diebstahls von Geschäftsgeheimnissen verklagt. (Autonomes Fahren, Technologie)

The last two major holdouts for including 3D support in TVs have succumbed to the inevitable. Both Sony and LG have announced that they will stop supporting 3D by the end of 2017.

This follows Samsung and Philips's announcements last year, when both companies revealed their (then) latest TVs will no longer feature support for 3D playback.

All of this follows a CES in Las Vegas that features almost no mention of 3D supporting TVs, from smaller companies such as TCL and Sharp.

Speaking to CNET, LG's Tim Alessi explained that lack of consumer enthusiasm for the technology was the main reason the company decided to cut 3D support and focus on technologies that users actually want.

"3D capability was never really universally embraced in the industry for home use, and it's just not a key buying factor when selecting a new TV," says Alessi. "Purchase process research showed it's not a top buying consideration, and anecdotal information indicated that actual usage was not high. We decided to drop 3D support for 2017 in order to focus our efforts on new capabilities such as HDR, which has much more universal appeal."

Market analysis firm NPD notes that sales of 3D capable TVs have been dropping steadily since 2012. The "purchase motivators" for consumers buying TVs has changed, says the NPD. 

"Things like 4K/UHD, HDR and even smart have become the key features along with screen size that consumers are buying on," explains Ben Arnold, executive director at NPD.

Despite these latest setbacks, 3D still appears to have a place within the wider cinematic industry, with 3D movies still popular at cinemas. Some users are still firmly attached to the home version of the technology, with a Change.org petition calling on LG to bring back 3D support receiving more than 6,300 signatures already at the time of publishing.

[via CNET]

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Googles Mutterkonzern Alphabet liegt beim Gewinn etwas unter den Prognosen. Doch der Umsatz kann stark wachsen. (Google, Börse)

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