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Shock: Copyright ‘Bullies’ Can Be Negotiated With

Copyright holders are often accused of making YouTube users’ lives a misery, with their nonsense claims over supposedly infringing content. But while it’s easy to feel victimized by these powerful groups, sometimes the most ridiculous claims are easily ironed out.

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

Seemingly every week there are horror stories of copyright holders abusing the DMCA in order to harass the little guy and suppress legitimate speech. It’s a problem that infuriates the masses, particularly on YouTube.

Early Friday, TorrentFreak was informed of a situation faced by a woman running Emadion, an Italy-based site dedicated to horror, the supernatural, and the bizarre.

Emadion is supported by a small YouTube channel which recently received notification that an uploaded video was infringing copyright. The details are enough to make smoke come out of any YouTuber’s ears.

The video in question features the infamous and harrowing 911 recording of a call which detailed a horrific pet chimpanzee attack that took place in the United States in 2009.

The Emadion channel operator had augmented the clip (warning: upsetting) with Italian subtitles for the benefit of local viewers. However, Emadion quickly received a copyright claim from BestMusic Digital, the representative of Romanian musician, Kazi Ploae si Specii, who claimed that the content was his.

Bemused, Emadion carried out some checks and found that the artist had uploaded a track titled ‘Valium‘. Sure enough, his track features a sample of the same 911 recording.

Believing that the copyright complaint was a mistake, Emadion filed a dispute with YouTube, but the response was not what they’d hoped for.

“After reviewing your notification, BestMusic Digital Distro has decided that the copyright infringement violation is still valid,” the notice read.

Furthermore, Emadion was advised that the 911 call video would now be monetized by the Romanian artist, alongside a warning of the implications of making a further unsuccessful appeal.

“You may appeal this decision, but if the author does not accept your appeal, you may receive a warning in your account,” YouTube advised.

Of course, any YouTube user would have a right to be worried by this notice. One dispute had already been rejected, why wouldn’t a second?

Concerned, a representative of Emadion contacted TF for advice. Could the 911 call really be copyrighted by this artist? In a word, doubtful. Connecticut, where the recording took place, treats 911 tapes as public records and makes them available online.

So, at this point the pitchforks were getting sharpened ready to deal with the aggressive copyright holder who was ‘bullying’ the little guy into submission. With a critical article already underway, TF contacted BestMusic Digital for comment. Their response was unexpectedly quick, frank, and friendly.

“We have revised the track from the artist that you mentioned, deleted the track and removed the material from YouTube. It seems that the artist used that sample in his track and uploaded it to our system for the use of Content ID,” a company spokesperson advised.

“As standard when uploading tracks to our system for Content ID, artists accept the [terms and conditions] stating that they have full rights over the uploaded content. On the other hand, there are underground artists that don’t always do things by the book and this is how things like these happen.”

Within minutes a very happy Emadion confirmed that the complaint had been withdrawn and the threat of a strike lifted. A great result. However, one thing hadn’t quite been cleared up – why was Emadion’s dispute rejected?

“It was just an error on my part. I clicked the wrong button. I resolved it when I saw your email,” TF was told.

While tales of happily solved copyright disputes aren’t the usual fodder of these pages, hopefully this one will prove helpful.

YouTube’s dispute process is somewhat clinical, and communication through it can prove frustrating for users. However, it’s worth remembering that there are real human beings at the ends of these problems and as a result there’s an opportunity for discussion and negotiation, person to person.

It might not always work, but it has to be worth a shot.

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

Die Woche im Video: Kleiner PC, großer Planet

Die Raumsonde Juno trifft auf Jupiter, Deutschland trifft viele Elfmeter (nicht) und ein Mini-PC wird mal nicht von seinen Treibern ermordet. Sieben Tage und viele Meldungen im Überblick. (Golem-Wochenrückblick, Urheberrecht)

China’s new radio observatory is 200 meters larger than Arecibo

With the FAST telescope construction complete, next comes first light in September.

This photo taken on June 27, 2016 shows the FAST at night. (credit: Xinhua photo/Liu Xu)

For half a century, the National Science Foundation's Arecibo telescope, sited in Puerto Rico, has been the world's largest radio observatory. It measures 305 meters across and among other major discoveries has confirmed the existence of neutron stars. The observatory also featured prominently in the movie Contact.

But now a Chinese observatory has superseded Arecibo. According to China's Xinhua news service, installation of the 500-meter FAST radio telescope is complete, with the last triangular reflector put into place. The observatory is expected to begin observing the heavens in September.

China has spent $180 million on the telescope since beginning construction in 2011 and will devote the next couple of years to testing and refining the massive instrument. After Chinese researchers receive the initial opportunities to use the telescope the government plans to open it to scientists worldwide, said Peng Bo, director of the NAO Radio Astronomy Technology Laboratory.

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Gamer finds dead body while testing Pokémon Go’s GPS features

App requiring users to walk to physical locations leads to disturbing discovery.

We wonder if Niantic is going to change this Pokémon Go loading screen after Friday's strange news. (credit: Niantic)

After the Wednesday launch of Pokémon Go, the first augmented-reality Pokémon game for smartphones, the worst news had been about the iOS and Android app's frequent crashes and connection issues. That changed on Friday when a Wyoming teenager made a disturbing discovery while trying out the game's real-world features.

According to a Friday report from Wyoming news site County 10, 19-year-old Shayla Wiggins told reporters that she discovered a dead body floating in a river near her home. She only walked to the river because she had loaded Pokémon Go on her phone.

"I was trying to get a Pokémon from a natural water resource," Wiggins told County 10. The game offers visual hints about where its characters are hiding based on users' GPS data. Characters usually hide within walking distance, with small animated "sparkles" on the map for the type of Pokemon (grass, lightning, etc.). In Wiggins' case, that meant seeing a hint of a water-based character (indicated by a splashing-water animation) on her game's map screen. Players cannot start a Pokémon interaction in the app without walking directly to whatever point is shown on the smartphone display.

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HTTPS crypto is on the brink of collapse. Google has a plan to fix it

Coming to a browser near you, new, post-quantum crypto.

(credit: Christiaan Colen)

Like many forms of encryption in use today, HTTPS protections are on the brink of a collapse that could bring down the world as we know it. Hanging in the balance are most encrypted communications sent over the last several decades. On Thursday, Google unveiled an experiment designed to head off, or at least lessen, the catastrophe.

In the coming months, Google servers will add a new, experimental cryptographic algorithm to the more established elliptic curve algorithm it has been using for the past few years to help encrypt HTTPS communications. The algorithm—which goes by the wonky name "Ring Learning With Errors"—is a method of exchanging cryptographic keys that's currently considered one of the great new hopes in the age of quantum computing. Like other forms of public key encryption, it allows two parties who have never met to encrypt their communications, making it ideal for Internet usage.

Virtually all forms of public key encryption in use today are secured by math problems that are so hard that they take millennia for normal computers to solve. In a world with quantum computers, the same problems take seconds to solve. No one knows precisely when this potential doomsday scenario will occur. Forecasts call for anywhere from 20 to 100 years. But one thing is certain: once working quantum computers are a reality, they will be able to decrypt virtually all of today's HTTPS communications. Even more unnerving, eavesdroppers who have stashed away decades' worth of encrypted Internet traffic would suddenly have a way to decrypt all of it.

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Dallas deployment of robot bomb to kill suspect is “without precedent”

DPD Chief: “Other options would have exposed our officers to great danger.”

(credit: Bill Word)

Early Friday morning, after being attacked by gunmen who had already killed five police officers and injured several other officers along with two civilians in the wake of a protest, the Dallas Police Department deployed a bomb disposal robot.

However, the robot was not used to disarm a bomb. This time, it was used to deliver the bomb that killed one of the shooters—likely an unprecedented move in American policing.

For now, it remains unknown exactly what type of robot or what kind of explosive was used. Authorities have named the dead shooter as Micah Xavier Johnson, a 25-year-old Army veteran from a nearby suburb.

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There’s a new fast-charging system for electric buses, and the patents are free

Recharging an electric bus can be as fast as refilling a diesel one, apparently.

(credit: Proterra)

As Tesla and its Supercharger network have demonstrated, it's a lot easier for people to make the switch to electric vehicles if there's a robust and rapid charging infrastructure in place. But we have to electrify more than just passenger vehicles if we want to get serious about reducing emissions. EV manufacturer Proterra certainly thinks so, which is why it just opened up the patents for a new fast-charging system it has developed for electric buses.

Not all heavy-duty vehicle applications lend themselves to electric powertrains—think long distance freight trucking, for example. However, buses, garbage trucks, and other vehicles that make frequent stops on urban routes are ripe for battery power, provided they can recharge and get back to work with minimal downtime. Which is where Proterra's charging system comes in.

Proterra's high-voltage overhead charging system uses robotic control (and some autonomous software on the bus) to replenish bus batteries in as little as 10 minutes, depending on the size of the battery pack. Charging at 250-1000V (DC) and up to 1400A, the system is eight times faster than the CHAdeMO fast-charging standard and between three and four times faster than Tesla's Superchargers. And unlike the old-fashioned pantograph, which needs to cover the vehicle's entire route, Proterra's system is static. This means bus operators can install them in terminals or at the same locations they use to refill their diesel tanks.

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Interferometers that produce clearer signal by getting rid of light

Photons arrive at random moments. Predict the moment, measure, and win.

An interferometer that JPL has sent into space. (credit: JPL)

A lot of what I write is about measurement, not because I'm in love with calipers, but because the cutting edge of physics is at the limit of what we can measure. That means that when you want to think about what to do next, you need to consider how a measurement can be made more sensitive.

Many people, including some scientists, don't realize that you can learn a lot about the world simply by developing new or better instruments. Today, I've decided that the measurement you all need to know about is interferometry. Why? Because interferometers are the fezzes (fezzes are cool) of the physics world. And now, a group of international researchers has come up with a way to make interferometers even more sensitive.

To understand why this is significant, you need to understand why I'm not kidding about interferometry being cool. In the past, an interferometer at a Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) was used to detect gravitational waves. The experimenters at LIGO worked hard to gain control over every aspect of the experiment (except for the gravitational waves—they had no control over them), including exquisite control over the light source used. In the end, their results involved measuring physical movements that were less than the diameter of a proton. Surely, very few measurement problems would require an even more sensitive interferometer.

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Fair Use Threatens Innovation, Copyright Holders Warn

Various music and movie industry groups have warned that fair use exceptions are a threat. The groups were responding to proposals put forward in Australia by the Government’s Productivity Commission. They claim that content creators will be severely disadvantaged if fair use is introduced Down Under.

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

aus Earlier this year the Australian Government’s Productivity Commission released a Draft Report on Intellectual Property Arrangements, recommending various improvements to the country’s copyright policies.

The commission suggested allowing the use of VPNs to bypass geo-blocking efforts. In addition, the proposals include drastically lowering the copyright term, while also introducing fair use exceptions.

Various interested parties have since responded to the proposals. As expected, copyright holders are not happy with the plans and some are outright offended by the recommendations.

For example, a coalition of Aussie TV and movie groups point out that the language being used reflects a “slanted, superficial and under-informed approach.” Similarly, two writers’ guilds describe the draft report as an “attack on the livelihoods” of Australian creators.

From the “offending” report

Several rightsholder groups argue that strong copyright protections are essential for the survival of their businesses. This includes a long copyright term of 70 years, as well as the ability to block access to content based on the location of a consumer.

In addition, many believe that fair use exceptions will do more harm than good. For example, music group IFPI warns that fair use will threaten innovation and create legal uncertainty.

“Licensing, not exceptions to copyright, drives innovation. Innovation is best achieved through licensing agreements between content owners and users, including technological innovators,” IFPI writes.

Copyright is the cornerstone of the music industry, according to IFPI, while fair use will mostly benefit outsiders who want to profit from the work of others.

“The music industry exists because of copyright. Copyright drives innovation and creativity, enables record companies to invest in artists and repertoire, and gives creators an income.

“It is no coincidence that those who champion the ‘flexibility’ of fair use exceptions/defenses typically are those whose business models depend on unfettered access to copyright works.”

TV company Foxtel issues a similar warning about fair use. According to the Australian pay television company, it will directly damage the country’s creative industries.

“Fair use will introduce significant and unnecessary uncertainty into Australian law,” Foxtel writes.

“A fair use exception would be wide, vague and uncertain, while at the same time it would significantly erode the scope of copyright protection which is so critical in protecting investment in Australia‘s cultural industries.”

Foxtel also warns that third parties will exploit fair use exceptions at the expense of rightsholders. This will eventually hurt revenues and threaten the creation of new content.

“Fair use will have negative economic consequences and have a significant impact on creative output due to the associated uncertainties. Foxtel strongly believes that this type of reform will have a significant impact on creative outputs due to the uncertainties it will create,” the TV company adds.

But it’s not just major companies protesting against the proposed changes. The Australian Writers’ Guild also warns against fair use.

They believe that it will disadvantage their members, who don’t have the means to protect themselves against large corporations that could invoke fair use as a defense.

“We are particularly concerned about the uncertainty created by the introduction of fair use,” they write.

“It will contingent on scriptwriters, for example, to mount legal cases that their work has been infringed and is not subject to legitimate fair use by the respondent, who is likely to be a large corporation such as a news organization or search engine.”

While the copyright holders fiercely oppose fair use exceptions, others such as Google welcome it with open arms. According to Google, fears surrounding the uncertainty it would create are overblown.

Interestingly, Google cites none other than Hollywood’s anti-piracy group MPAA to make its case.

“Our members rely on the fair use doctrine every day when producing their movies and television shows – especially those that involve parody and news and documentary programs,” the MPAA stated previously.

The Government’s Productivity Commission will take the comments from various stakeholders into account before moving forward. The final report will be handed to the Government in August and published shortly after.

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

Xiaomi Redmi 3S budget smartphone hits the FCC

Chinese device maker Xiaomi doesn’t currently sell any smartphones in the United States. But that hasn’t stopped the company from submitting documents for some of its Android phones to the FCC… you know, just in case.

Last year the Redmi 2 Pro showed up at the FCC, followed by the Xiaomi Mi 4. Now Xiaomi’s latest budget smartphone is making an appearance.

The Xiaomi Redmi 3S was unveiled in June and features a 5 inch screen, a massive battery, and a fingerprint scanner.

Continue reading Xiaomi Redmi 3S budget smartphone hits the FCC at Liliputing.

Last year the Redmi 2 Pro showed up at the FCC, followed by the Xiaomi Mi 4. Now Xiaomi’s latest budget smartphone is making an appearance.

The Xiaomi Redmi 3S was unveiled in June and features a 5 inch screen, a massive battery, and a fingerprint scanner.

Continue reading Xiaomi Redmi 3S budget smartphone hits the FCC at Liliputing.