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YTS Operator Helped Movie Companies Catch a Pirating UserErnesto Van der Sar, 17 Aug 09:52 PM Lawsuits against pirating Internet subscribers are far

YTS Operator Helped Movie Companies Catch a Pirating User Ernesto Van der Sar, 17 Aug 09:52 PM Lawsuits against pirating Internet subscribers are far from new. In the US, they first appeared more than a decade ago. Over the years, the evidence in these lawsuits was regularly contested. In some cases this led to success, with courts concluding that an IP-address alone is not enough. After all, an IP-address doesn't identify a person. Most prominent was a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in the Cobbler Nevada v. Gonzales case, where the court ruled the copyright holders needed "something more" than just an IP-address. This ruling has been cited in dozens of cases since. In response, some rightsholders have become more creative, fishing for piracy clues on social media accounts of alleged pirates. That already goes quite far. However, in a recent case in Hawaii, a group of movie companies took things up a notch after obtaining evidence directly from YTS, the most-visited torrent site. Lawsuit Against YTS User and Army Veteran The movie companies, including the makers of films such as "Hellboy" and "Rambo: Last Blood," filed a lawsuit against US Army veteran Mical Mesot. As we revealed earlier, their claim was backed up with evidence that appeared to come directly from the database of YTS.mx. We have spotted similar lawsuits in the past and speculated that YTS could have handed over this information. YTS's operator previously signed several settlement agreements with the same movie companies, so both parties were in contact. At the same time, it would be unprecedented for an operational torrent site to share user information with copyright holders. Our initial suspicions couldn't be backed up and neither YTS nor the movie companies' lawyer was willing to share further details. However, a recent court filing confirms what happened. A few days ago, the movie companies submitted a motion for a default judgment against the army veteran, who failed to respond in court. This motion again mentions the evidence from YTS's database. "Defendant registered for an account with the YTS website using a specific email address 'angelwarcry@gmail.com' and logged into the YTS website using this email address from IP address 72.130.106.50 to download torrent files of Plaintiffs' Works," the motion reads. Data Verified by YTS Operator In addition, the rightsholders' lawyer adds that this data was 'verified' by the same YTS operator who previously settled copyright infringement lawsuits with movie companies. "The data showing this activity was verified by Senthil Segaran – the operator of the YTS website," he writes. The lawyer references an exhibit where the YTS operator, who's also the director of the UK company Techmodo Limited, declares under penalty of perjury that the database evidence is "the original or a duplicate of an original record." The database information on its own doesn't prove much. However, tied with other information, such as the IP-address that was tracked in the BitTorrent swarm and data gathered from Facebook, a pattern emerges. In any case, it's certainly "something more." Movie Companies Demand $97,704.79 The movie companies inform the court that it is highly unlikely that a third party is responsible for the alleged copyright infringements. As such, they hold the army veteran liable and demand $97,704.79 in statutory damages. This is a substantial amount, but according to the movie companies' lawyer, it's only a fraction of the number of downloads in the torrent swarm multiplied by the retail price of the films. That would be nearly $3 million. "Thus, despite Defendant being liable for $2,995,916.28 for the infringements in the World and his, profits, Plaintiff Fallen is only requesting damages of $97,704.79, which is merely 15 percent of the actual damages ($651,365.26) caused by his infringements in the United States and less than 3.3 percent of the actual damages Worldwide," the motion reads. Privacy Concerns What stands out most, in this case, is the involvement of YTS' operator in a lawsuit against a user of the site. We don't know how much data YTS has shared but it's something users of the site must now keep in mind. YTS previously informed us that users have the option to use fake email addresses and can also prevent their download histories from being tracked in the future by changing a setting. However, for army veteran Mical Mesot, that advice comes too late. The odds appear to be stacked against the defendant in this case but it's still up to the court to decide if statutory damages are justified, and if so, the suggested amount is appropriate. — A copy of the movie companies' motion for a default judgment against Mical Mesot is available here (pdf) From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. Kim Dotcom Predicts NZ Supreme Court Will Rule in Favor of Extradition Andy Maxwell, 17 Aug 12:33 PM The now-infamous Megaupload case has been treading a tortuous legal path for more than eight years in New Zealand. The United States Government wants Kim Dotcom, Mathias Ortmann, Bram van der Kolk, and Finn Batato, physically delivered as quickly as possible, to face what has been billed as the largest copyright infringement lawsuit of all time. After several lower courts determined that the Megaupload defendants should indeed be extradited to the United States, in June 2019 the New Zealand Supreme Court heard the hugely controversial matter. The 'Megaupload Four' are hoping that the country's highest court will see things differently and deny the United States an opportunity to try the men on US soil. When we spoke to the serial entrepreneur last year, Dotcom wasn't optimistic. "I expect a 3:2 majority in favor of extradition because three of the five judges were appointed by the National Party and the former Attorney General who was responsible for the actions taken against me in New Zealand. This is a political case and it will most likely be a political judgment," he said. Dotcom: Case is Political, Majority of Judges Will Approve Extradition A specific date for delivery of the judgment is pending but if Dotcom's ramped-up social media presence and activity is any barometer, it may be looming on the horizon. However, more than 12 months later, Dotcom doesn't believe that much will have changed in his favor. The panel of judges deciding on the case of Dotcom and his former colleagues consists of Winkelmann CJ, Glazebrook, O'Regan, Ellen France and Williams JJ. In Dotcom's opinion, at least three of these judges are problematic due to their links with the former National Government. "As I said before the Supreme Court is going to do a hatchet job in my case because of National appointed Judges: France, Glazebrook & O'Regan (the majority). In my opinion their loyalty is not with the law but with the party that appointed them. It's a political case. You'll see," he wrote on Twitter last week. At least one of the judges does meet with Dotcom's approval, however. CJ Helen Winkelmann was sworn in as New Zealand's 13th Chief Justice on 14 March 2019 and the Megaupload founder seems to think she provides a beacon of hope in this long-running matter. "I believe in the Chief Justice of New Zealand Helen Winkelmann. She knows what her fellow Judges are doing and why. She understands the injustice my family had to endure. She knows the U.S. govt is a rogue operator and how important it is for New Zealand to regain independence," Dotcom said. Dotcom Calls For Judgment to Be Subjected to Intense Legal Scrutiny In advance of any judgment, Dotcom is applying pressure to ensure that whatever the outcome, the eventual reasoning of the judges is placed under intense scrutiny. In a Friday tweet, Dotcom invited law professors to have their students analyze the Supreme Court's decision, with the full support of his legal team in the event of any data requests. He then sent out another communication, this time directed at the judges handling his case. Dear Supreme Court Judges, over 20 law schools have declared interest to peer review your upcoming judgment in my case. Don't underestimate the power of the Internet. It's only the reputation of the New Zealand judiciary on the line, and yours. No pressure. Take your time — Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) August 14, 2020 Dotcom has long insisted that the New Zealand Government continues to withhold information that his team is legally entitled to, claiming that to release it would harm the country's standing with the United States. This, he says, means that citizens' rights under the Privacy Act come second when the United States Government needs something from the NZ Government. Finally, there's the important matter of the Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Act 2008. Dotcom says that following the judgment, the drafters of the law will "explain the intention of the act and how it protects Internet service providers like Megaupload from any criminal liability for user conduct." Dotcom believes the law is on his side and there could be implications for local tech companies if it is determined otherwise. Clearly, much is at stake but even if Dotcom's extradition is upheld, New Zealand's Minister of Justice Andrew Little will still have to approve the entrepreneur's physical removal and transfer into US custody. Should that happen, the 'Megaupload Four' face charges of copyright infringement, racketeering, and money laundering plus the possibility of years – even decades – in prison. From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. Top 10 Most Torrented Movies of The Week – 08/17/20 Ernesto Van der Sar, 17 Aug 09:14 AM The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. These torrent download statistics are meant to provide further insight into the piracy trends. All data are gathered from public resources. This week we have five new entries in the list. The sci-fi action movie "Project Power" is the most downloaded title this week. The Netflix film, starring Jamie Foxx, was officially released on August 14th. The most torrented movies for the week ending on August 17 are: Movie Rank Rank last week Movie name IMDb Rating / Trailer Most downloaded movies via torrent sites 1 (…) Project Power 6.1 / trailer 2 (1) Tax Collector 4.7 / trailer 3 (…) Tesla 5.2 / trailer 4 (…) Magic Camp 6.2 / trailer 5 (2) The Secret Garden 5.4 / trailer 6 (3) Greyhound 7.1 / trailer 7 (…) Sputnik 6.2 / trailer 8 (4) An American Pickle 5.8 / trailer 9 (7) Deep Blue Sea 3 4.6 / trailer 10 (…) Fearless 4.7 / trailer Note: We also publish an updating archive of all the list of weekly most torrented movies lists. From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. ©2020 TorrentFreak | Office 21338 PO Box 4336 Manchester, North West M61 0BW United Kingdom Web Version   Preferences   Forward   Unsubscribe     Powered by Mad Mimi®A GoDaddy® company