Month: September 2019

DISH Networks’ efforts to disrupt, take down, or obtain settlements from unlicensed IPTV operators are continuing with force through the US legal system.

The broadcaster is currently tied up in a number of lawsuits, each targeting companies and individuals that allegedly provide the company’s content to the public, without having first obtained appropriate licensing.

A complaint filed in August targets Easybox IPTV, an allegedly-infringing IPTV outfit that supplies both subscriptions and ready-configured (aka ‘fully-loaded’) devices to the United States market.

The DISH lawsuit, which demands around $10 million in damages, was filed in a Texas federal court. It lists up to five ‘John Does’, claiming that individually and collectively they do business under the Easybox IPTV banner.

DISH earlier explained that it doesn’t actually know who these people are but its investigations indicated that they might be from China. Now, however, it has now been given the opportunity to discover their identities after gaining permission from the Court.

A discovery order signed September 19 by District Judge Lynn N. Hughes grants DISH permission to subpoena and obtain information from some of the world’s largest Internet companies that have done or are still doing business with Easybox.

The list is comprehensive and a potential eye-opener for other IPTV providers operating without cast-iron licensing agreements.

Top of the list is payment processor PayPal. The Easybox website is currently down for supposed maintenance but according to archive copies of the site, PayPal isn’t clearly listed as a payment option for direct customers. Nevertheless, the company is probably head of the list for good reason.

Second up is Google. Like many companies, Easybox is likely to have used Google in several ways but a cursory review of the site’s source reveals an analytics account and links to the now-defunct Google+.

On the domain front, DISH has permission to subpoena Washington-based domain name registrar Enom and domain registry Namecheap. The Easybox.tv domain has clear links to both and could provide useful information.

When it comes to hosting, Miami-based Netrouting Inc. makes an appearance. In common with the domain companies, these may also have valuable information for DISH.

Easybox’s Facebook and Twitter pages are no longer active. The former is listed as unavailable but the latter appears to have been suspended after violating the platform’s rules. But whatever the reasons for their demise, both companies are likely to have plenty of additional information to offer up.

Finally, DISH will be able to enter the physical world to request information from entities that appear to have distributed or sold Easybox IPTV devices. Michigan-based fulfillment company Xpert Fulfillment Inc., Finest Bargain Inc. (which appears to sell via Amazon), and Ace Discount Store are all listed and should expect calls for information soon.

“By November 4, 2019, DISH must replead this case identifying the defendant as Easybox IPTV. When the other defendants are identified, they may be named,” Judge Hughes concludes.

The discovery order can be obtained here (pdf)

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and more. We also have VPN reviews, discounts, offers and coupons.

Amazon hat neue Funktionen für Alexa angekündigt. Sehr alte Sprachaufnahmen werden sich automatisiert löschen lassen, der digitale Assistent kann im Flüsterton antworten, die Sprechgeschwindigkeit variieren und wird bei Fehlern umgänglicher. (Amazon Alexa, Amazon)

Apple hat seine Apple-Music-App für Android-Geräte aktualisiert und unterstützt neuerdings eine Zuspielung mittels Google Cast. Die Chromecast-Unterstützung erlaubt es, über WLAN Musik drahtlos zu den meisten Google-Assistant-Lautsprechern oder auf Android-TV-Geräte zu übertragen. (Apple Music, Apple)

Elon Musk präsentiert den Starship-Prototyp und kündigt eine schnelle Weiterentwicklung des Systems an. Mögliche Probleme klingen nur zwischen den Zeilen an. Von Frank Wunderlich-Pfeiffer (SpaceX, Raumfahrt)

Read 35 remaining paragraphs | Comments

In 2011 and 2012, the US Navy began using BS Contact Geo, a 3D virtual reality application developed by German company Bitmanagement.

After some initial testing, the Navy agreed to purchase licenses, understanding that these could be used across its network, as long as the number of simultaneous users was limited to a few dozen.

Bitmanagement saw things differently. The software vendor said it never authorized this type of use. When the company was informed that the Navy had installed the software on 558,466 computers, that came as a surprise.

This stance was repeated in a Federal Claims Court complaint filed by Bitmanagement three years ago. The German company accused the US Navy of mass copyright infringement and demanded damages totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.

In the years that followed, both parties conducted discovery. Initially, most of the court documents were made public, but more recently they were shielded from public view. What we do know, however, is that a week-long trial took place in Washington in April.

Following the trial and the post-trial briefs, the Court has now decided to dismiss the copyright infringement claim against the US Government.

“Although Bitmanagement established a prima facie case of copyright infringement, the evidence shows that Bitmanagement authorized the U.S. Navy’s copying of BS Contact Geo version 8.001. Therefore, the Court finds in favor of Defendant, the United States, and Plaintiff’s Complaint is hereby dismissed,” the verdict reads.

In a detailed opinion and order, published this week, Senior Judge
Edward J. Damich explains how this conclusion was reached.

The dispute appears to have begun when the US Navy decided that it would like to run the software across its entire network. This meant that it would be installed on hundreds of thousands of computers, with “Flexera” software keeping track of the number of simultaneous users.

Bitmanagement didn’t offer such a license by default, so the Navy requested this option separately. These requests took place through a reseller, Planet 9 Studios, which complicated matters. After several back and forths, the Navy was convinced that it had permission, but Bitmanagement later disagreed.

What’s clear is that the Navy never had a direct contractual relationship with Bitmanagement, so there was no direct permission given. This means that the Court had to review the conversations and exchanges that took place, to determine which side was right.

Here, the Court concluded that it’s clear that Bitmanagement authorized the Navy to use the software across its network with the network use (Flexera) license.

The evidence shows that Bitmanagement itself offered a custom license and changed the software installer to be used with a Flexera license. Through email communication, the German software company was repeatedly informed about this intended use, which it confirmed.

In addition, Bitmanagement cited the Navy’s ‘networked’ use of its software to a potential customer, with the following statement.

“After five years of testing, approval for the use of the BS Contact Geo on 350,000 PCs of the US Navy took place in May 2013 and central distribution has begun. In a second step, the distribution of the BS Contact Geo on 800,000 PCs in the largest computer network in the world will take place.”

Based on these and many other pieces of evidence, the Court concluded that the US Government can’t be held liable for copyright infringement.

“Together, these interactions unequivocally show that Bitmanagement was not only aware that the Navy planned to install BS Contact Geo “across a broad spectrum of the NMCI realm” but also that Bitmanagement authorized such installations,” the Court writes.

This means that after three years the US Navy has successfully defended the piracy claims. Instead of a potential $600 million judgment in its favor, Bitmanagement has no other option than to retreat.

—

A copy of the order and opinion of Senior Judge Edward J. Damich of the United States Court of Federal Claims is available here (pdf).

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and more. We also have VPN reviews, discounts, offers and coupons.

Dell currently offers 11 laptops and 6 desktop computers with Ubuntu and Linux. But up until recently actually finding those options on the Dell website could be a bit of a hassle. Now rather than hunting through configuration options to find out if Ubuntu is an option, you can just visit Dell.com/Linux to see the […]

The post Dell’s new web page makes finding Linux laptops and desktops easier appeared first on Liliputing.

Kämpfe mit Skeletten im Stadtpark, Begegnungen mit Schweinchen im Einkaufszentrum: Golem.de hat Minecraft Earth ausprobiert. Trotz Sammelaspekten hat das AR-Spiel ein ganz anderes Konzept als Pokémon Go - aber spannend ist es ebenfalls. Von Peter Steinlechner (Minecraft, Microsoft)

Read 7 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Die Gewerkschaft der Polizei in Rheinland-Pfalz fordert, den Einsatz von Bodycams auch in Wohnräumen zu erlauben. In Nordrhein-Westfalen ist dies bereits möglich. Das Innenministerium hält jedoch nichts von den Plänen. (Polizei, Datenschutz)