Month: November 2017

Erst das Tesla Model 3 und Puerto Rico: Tesla hatte die Präsentation seines Elektro-Sattelschleppers mehrfach verschoben. Jetzt hat der Elektroauto-Hersteller eine Einladung mit Teaser-Bild verschickt. (Tesla, Technologie)

Earlier this year the American Chemical Society (ACS), a leading source of academic publications in the field of chemistry, filed a lawsuit against Sci-Hub and its operator Alexandra Elbakyan.

The non-profit organization publishes tens of thousands of articles a year in its peer-reviewed journals. Because many of these are available for free on Sci-Hub, ACS wants to be compensated.

Sci-Hub was made aware of the legal proceedings but did not appear in court. As a result, a default was entered against the site.

In addition to millions of dollars in damages, ACS also requested third-party Internet intermediaries to take action against the site.

The broad request was later adopted in a recommendation from Magistrate Judge John Anderson. This triggered a protest from the tech industry trade group CCIA, which represents global tech firms including Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, that warned against the broad implications. However, this amicus brief was denied.

Just before the weekend, US District Judge Leonie Brinkema issued a final decision which is a clear win for ACS. The publisher was awarded the maximum statutory damages of $4.8 million for 32 infringing works, as well as a permanent injunction.

The injunction is not limited to domain name registrars and hosting companies, but expands to search engines, ISPs and hosting companies too, who can be ordered to stop linking to or offering services to Sci-Hub.

“Ordered that any person or entity in active concert or participation with Defendant Sci-Hub and with notice of the injunction, including any Internet search engines, web hosting and Internet service providers, domain name registrars, and domain name registries, cease facilitating access to any or all domain names and websites through which Sci-Hub engages in unlawful access to, use, reproduction, and distribution of ACS’s trademarks or copyrighted works,” the injunction reads.

part of the injunction

There is a small difference with the recommendation from the Magistrate Judge. Instead of applying the injunction to all persons “in privity” with Sci-Hub, it now applies to those who are “in active concert or participation” with the pirate site.

The injunction means that Internet providers, such as Comcast, can be requested to block users from accessing Sci-Hub. That’s a big deal since pirate site blockades are not common in the United States. The same is true for search engine blocking of copyright-infringing sites.

It’s clear that the affected Internet services will not be happy with the outcome. While the CCIA’s attempt to be heard in the case failed, it’s likely that they will protest the injunction when ACS tries to enforce it.

Previously, Cloudflare objected to a similar injunction where the RIAA argued that it was “in active concert or participation” with the pirate site MP3Skull. Here, Cloudflare countered that the DMCA protects the company from liability for the copyright infringements of its customers, limiting the scope of anti-piracy injunctions.

However, a Florida federal court ruled that the DMCA doesn’t apply in these cases.

It’s likely that ISPs and search engines will lodge similar protests if ACS tries to enforce the injunction against them.

While this case is crucial for copyright holders and Internet services, Sci-Hub itself doesn’t seem too bothered by the blocking prospect or the millions in damages it must pay on paper.

It already owes Elsevier $15 million, which it can’t pay, and a few million more or less doesn’t change anything. Also, the site has a Tor version which can’t be blocked by Internet providers, so determined scientists will still be able to access the site if they want.

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The full order is available here (pdf) and a copy of the injunction can be found here (pdf).

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

Etwas verkalkuliert: Stack Overflow muss 60 Mitarbeiter entlassen und ein Büro schließen. Dafür sollen künftige Projekte schneller entwickelt werden können und der Fokus auf die Jobbörse und das Kerngeschäft gelegt werden - der Q&A-Plattform. (Softwareentwicklung, Techcrunch)

Nach Ausflügen in die Zukunft schickt Call of Duty die Spieler wieder in den Zweiten Weltkrieg. In der Kampagne geht es von der Normandie bis nach Deutschland - gut gemacht, aber vorhersehbar. Langfristiges Potenzial versprechen der Multiplayermodus und die in Bayern angesiedelten Zombiegefechte. Ein Test von Peter Steinlechner (Call of Duty, Spieletest)

Wie heißt gleich noch der Song und wer spricht da gerade? Galileo AR ist eine App, die lineares Fernsehen per Augmented Reality erweitert. Dann regnet es im Wohnzimmer oder wir spielen live beim Quiz mit. Ein Bericht von Marc Sauter (Augmented Reality, Fernsehen)

Tesla hat ein Softwareupdate mit zwei neuen Komfortfunktionen für seine Fahrzeuge vorgestellt. Sie sollen für eine weniger rasante Beschleunigung sorgen sowie Sitz und Lenkrad beim Öffnen und Schließen der Tür verschieben. (Tesla, Technologie)

Die Taxibranche, die in Deutschland stark auf den Dieselmotor setzt, fordert staatliche Hilfen, wenn die Elektromobilität kommt. (Taxi, Elektroauto)

Tesla wendet eine ungewöhnliche Methode an, um seine Produktionskapazitäten zu erhöhen: Laut einem Zeitungsbericht sollen Händler Teile wie Sitze oder Displays separat erhalten und selbst einbauen. Problematisch könnte die Qualitätssicherung werden. (Elektroauto, Technologie)

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Earlier this year Hollywood’s MPAA helped local police catch two camcording pirates at a movie theater in Linthicum, Maryland.

Troy Cornish and Floyd Buchanan were spotted with recording equipment, preparing to target the US premiere of The Fate of the Furious.

According to Anne Arundel County Police, both were caught inside the theater while they were recording. The men reportedly wore camming harnesses under their clothing, which strapped mobile phones against their chests.

The MPAA’s involvement in the case is no surprise. The anti-piracy organization is the go-to outfit when it comes to content security at movie theaters and often keeps a close eye on known suspects.

In fact, at the time, an MPAA investigator told police that Buchanan was already known to the industry group as a movie piracy suspect.

Soon after the first reports of the arrests were released, dozens of news outlets jumped on the story. Rightly so, as ‘camming’ movie pirates are rarely caught. However, when the two were convicted this summer it was awfully quiet. There was no mention in the news at all.

While a few months late, this means we can break the news today. Despite claiming their innocence during trial, both Cornish and Buchanan were found guilty at the Glen Burnie District Court.

The court sentenced the two men to a suspended jail sentence of a year, as well as 18 months probation.

The sentence

While this is a serious sentence, it’s likely not the result the MPAA and the major Hollywood studios were hoping for. Despite the cammers’ attempt to illegally record one of the biggest blockbusters of the year, they effectively escaped prison.

If both were jailed for a substantial period there would undoubtedly be a press release to celebrate, but nothing of the like happened during the summer.

The above may sound a bit odd, but it’s totally understandable. The sentences in these cases are likely seen as too mild by Hollywood’s standards, so what’s the purpose of highlighting them? Anti-piracy messaging is mostly about scaring people and deterrence, and this case doesn’t fit that picture.

Still, the MPAA’s investigators are not going to stop. If either of the two men are caught again, it will be hard to avoid prison. Perhaps we’ll hear more then.

The MPAA didn’t respond to our request for comment.

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