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Court Orders GoDaddy to Transfer Piracy Hack Store Domain to NintendoErnesto Van der Sar, 28 Nov 10:01 PM Nintendo is doing all it can to stop the d

Court Orders GoDaddy to Transfer Piracy Hack Store Domain to Nintendo Ernesto Van der Sar, 28 Nov 10:01 PM Nintendo is doing all it can to stop the distribution of piracy enabling hacks and modchips, including SX Core and SX Lite. Earlier this year, the company sued a group of known 'offenders' that sell these tools. After the stores failed to show up in court, Nintendo requested a default judgment and permanent injunction, which was granted soon after. Injunction 'Shuts Down' Modchip Stores The injunction was a clear victory as it allowed the Japanese gaming giant to shut down several sites, including TXswitch.com, SXflashcard.com and Axiogame.com. These domain names were later transferred to the company as well. That success wasn't permanent though. While some stores may have vanished permanently, others have continued under new names. In the case of Txswitch.com that was pretty obvious. A day after Txswitch.com was pulled offline, the store made a comeback on Stxwitch.com. This site looks nearly identical to the old one and even uses the same logo and code. GoDaddy Refuses to Take Down New Domain This type of 'domain hopping' is common in pirate circles and Nintendo was somewhat prepared for it. The injunction includes a section which states that "any variant or successor" of the stores is also covered, so Nintendo swiftly asked domain registrar GoDaddy to suspend the new domain as well. However, GoDaddy refused. Despite the mention that successors are covered, the domain registrar requested a new court order which specifically mentions Stxwitch.com. To resolve this standoff Nintendo went to court again, requesting clarification, which came this week in the form of a new order, issued by US District Court Judge Thomas Zilly. STXWITCH.COM Has to Go Offline "STXWITCH.COM is a 'variant or successor' domain name as that term is used in the Judgment," Judge Zilly writes, stressing that all intermediaries have to cut their ties with the site. "Defendants and all third parties acting in active concert and participation with Defendants, including registrars, are ENJOINED from supporting or facilitating access to STXWITCH.COM, and are ORDERED to cease to use the domain name STXWITCH.COM and immediately transfer STXWITCH.COM to Nintendo's control." At the time of writing the store is still online, but with this order in hand, that likely won't be the case for long. However, that doesn't mean that it can't reappear under yet another new domain. All 'Variants and Successors' are Covered If that happens, Nintendo doesn't have to go to court again, Judge Zilly clarifies. GoDaddy and all other domain registrars, registries, and other intermediaries will have to take action against sites operated by the defendants, no matter what domain they use. "For avoidance of doubt, the Court's Judgment applies to all domain names controlled by Defendants through which Defendants engage in the conduct found to be unlawful in this lawsuit, whether or not the exact domain name is explicitly listed in the Judgment," the order reads. While this sounds very clear and obvious, it does raise some questions. When is a new domain a 'variant or successor'? Questions Remain In the case of Txswitch the similarities were rather striking, as the same code and design were used. But what if Nintendo 'suspects' that the defendants are making a comeback from a different domain with a different look? What evidence does Nintendo need to show that a new domain is a 'variant or successor' and is it then up to a company such as GoDaddy to 'judge' whether this is enough? These are all hypothetical situations but it is likely that GoDaddy refused Nintendo's initial request because they don't want to be the arbiter. Future refusals will come at a price, however, as Judge Zilly ruled that failing to comply opens the door to punitive and monetary sanctions. Legal uncertainty aside, this order doesn't necessarily end the 'whack-a-mole.' There are plenty of foreign registrars and registries that don't fall under the jurisdiction of US courts. Some of these will demand a local court order from Nintendo, which will start the process all over again. TorrentFreak reached out to Stxwitch to ask what their plans are for the future. We have yet to hear back, but at the time of writing, they are still accepting new orders. — A copy of the order from US District Court Judge Thomas Zilly is available here (pdf) From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. MPA Hits MediaBox HD on Github: "Massive" Movie & TV Show Piracy Andy Maxwell, 28 Nov 12:53 PM Preventing the general public from accessing movies and TV shows without paying for them is a monumental task that, if anything, feels even more difficult than it was 15 years ago. In addition to hundreds, perhaps thousands of torrent and streaming sites, copyright holders also have to deal with the growing threat of premium IPTV, which grants access to every type of live TV under the sun for comparatively low prices. Somewhere in the middle of this organized chaos, movie and TV show companies are trying to tackle pirate apps. Mostly Android and iOS-based, these consumer-friendly tools present content in easy-to-navigate interfaces, pulling content from not just their own sources but in many cases third-party file-hosting and IPTV/streaming suppliers, much as other pirate sites do too. MediaBox HD Targeted By The MPA One of the more popular tools in this growing niche is MediaBox HD. Available for both Android and iOS, the app is in demand by those looking to access premium content on their phones or, as is increasingly the case, a tablet or Android-based set-top box. MediaBox HD's popularity lies in its many features. Aside from a large free library of movies and TV shows, it supports services such as Real-Debrid for more reliable streaming, has Chromecast support, can offer subtitles and even allows for offline viewing. For groups like the MPA, however, these are all reasons to take the app down. MPA Sends Copyright Complaint to Github While MediaBox HD has its own site, at the time of writing it's impossible to access the Android variant of its app from there. Rather than hosting the APK in the same location, the app's developers chose to host the software on Github instead, meaning it was vulnerable to an easy takedown. Teaming up under the banner of the Motion Picture Association (MPA), Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner, Disney and Netflix, sent a copyright complaint to Github, calling on the platform to remove the piracy-facilitating software. "We are writing to notify you of, and request your assistance in addressing, the extensive copyright infringement of motion pictures and television shows that is occurring by virtue of the operation of the APK software Mediabox HD, which is hosted on and available for download from your repository Github.com," it reads. "Specifically, at the URL, the Repository hosts and offers for download the APK, which in turn is used to engage in massive infringement of copyrighted motion pictures and television shows." MPA Demands Removal of MediaBox HD Under the DMCA Attached to the MPA's complaint but unpublished by Github, the movie and TV show group provides screenshots that claim to show that MedaBox HD streams copyrighted content to the masses resulting in "massive infringement." While providing various examples of alleged infringement, the MPA says that these are just the tip of the iceberg since the software goes much further by blatantly infringing other content owned by its members and copyrights held by others. On this basis, the MPA states that infringement is "plainly is its predominant use and purpose", citing case law including the MGM v Grokster litigation (2005), the Arista Records v Usenet dispute from 2005, and the 2009 lawsuit between Columbia Pictures and former isoHunt operator Gary Fung. The MPA suggests that it doesn't really mind on which basis Github removes the app, whether that's under the DMCA's takedown provisions, repeat infringer rules, or Github's acceptable use policy. Interestingly, however, it does note that it is not trying to claim that the app's code is copyright-infringing, merely that its sole purpose is to infringe. "Please note that, by this notice, the MPA Members are not addressing copyright ownership of the APK's specific lines of code; rather, they are addressing the use of the APK as a whole to provide unauthorized, infringing access to streaming video content, and requesting that you remove or disable access to the APK as a whole on your Repository," the notice adds. Github Complied With the Request Unlike the dispute currently engulfing youtube-dl, which has put Github at odds with the RIAA, there appears to be no such confusion here. Following the request from the MPA, Github removed the MediaBox HD app and, as a result, the software is no longer available from official sources. While MediaBox HD will likely solve this problem in due course, the attention from the MPA comes after the streaming software was featured in two earlier legal matters. In September 2019, following a subpoena from the makers of the movie Hellboy, third-party app-store TweakBox took the decision to remove MediaBox HD (plus Popcorn Time and CotoMovies) from its platform. A month earlier, a Pakistani man who operated a site that offered MediaBox HD, Showbox, Popcorn Time and similar software, agreed to pay a settlement of $150,000 to companies behind the movies The Hitman's Bodyguard, London Has Fallen and Hunter Killer. His site, the now-defunct latestshowboxapp.com, was forced to remove MediaBox HD and similar tools, despite not being their developer. The MPA hasn't yet shown any public signs of seeking a settlement from the developers of MediaBox HD but given past history, that might only be a matter of time. 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