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Four Genshin Impact Leakers Targeted in New Set of DMCA SubpoenasAndy Maxwell, 13 Jan 12:57 PM With tens of millions of fans playing every month, Ge

Four Genshin Impact Leakers Targeted in New Set of DMCA Subpoenas Andy Maxwell, 13 Jan 12:57 PM With tens of millions of fans playing every month, Genshin Impact is a huge free-to-play gaming success story. While Genshin Impact publisher Cognosphere undoubtedly enjoys this global attention, some groups of fans are taking their enthusiasm a little too far. As revealed by TorrentFreak last December, Cognosphere is targeting gamers who leak Genshin Impact content to the public in advance of the company's schedule. A notable target for Cognosphere was Ubatcha, a Genshin Impact leaker with an extremely high profile and broad fan base. Today we can reveal that Cognosphere has new alleged leakers on its radar. DMCA Subpoena Applications Filed in U.S. Court Filed yesterday at the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (San Francisco Division), four new DMCA subpoena applications were filed pursuant to 17 U.S. Code § 512(H). This section of copyright law allows a rightsholder to obtain a subpoena to help identify an alleged infringer. All four DMCA subpoena applications target users alleged to have breached Cognosphere's copyrights. All were filed by Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, the same Los Angeles law firm that previously targeted Ubatcha. DMCA Subpoena #1 – Genshin Impact Leakers' Group Before filing the applications for these DMCA subpoenas, Cognosphere's attorneys sent copyright complaints to Discord requesting the removal of several pieces of content. The DMCA takedown notice in this case is dated January 11, 2023, and the subpoena application itself is dated January 12. "It has come to our attention that numerous images and videos infringing Cognosphere's copyrighted Game are being made available by user 'Linxian#0001,' via the Discord channel '原神内鬼爆料区' (Genshin Impact Leakers' Group)," the takedown notice reads. The example above is just one in a series of 11 screenshots, all depicting allegedly infringing content posted to Discord. The DMCA subpoena application can be found here, DMCA takedown notice here (pdfs) DMCA Subpoenas #2, #3, #4 Target 'House of Daena' The remaining three DMCA subpoena applications target users of the 'House of Daena' Discord channel. The general format of these applications is the same as the first targeting Genshin Impact Leakers' Group. Similar copyright complaints were also filed with Discord to have the content taken down. Three Discord users are affected: 'LJ.#8200', 'M9G#3656' and 'rice cooker#9289' In addition to taking down the identified content, the DMCA notices suggest that removing or disabling the entire channel is also an option for Discord. Common to All Four Subpoena Applications While the targeted Discord channels, users, and the content they allegedly posted to those channels differ in each case, the overall aim is the same. "Petitioner, Cognosphere Pte. Ltd. ('Cognosphere') through its undersigned counsel of record, hereby requests that the Clerk of this Court issue a subpoena to Discord, Inc. ('Discord') to identify alleged infringers at issue, under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ('DMCA'), 17 U.S.C. § 512(h)," each reads. While they target different users, the proposed DMCA subpoenas to Discord are mostly the same in all four cases. They require Discord to produce information including, "name(s), address(es), telephone number(s), e-mail address(es), and IP address(es), or other information," sufficient to identify the alleged infringers. At the time of writing the clerk of the court has not yet signed off on the applications, meaning that Discord has not yet produced any documents. However, it's more than likely that the applications will be approved today or in the coming days. At that point, Discord will need to comply. Finally, the initial takedown notices to Discord note that the platform should take "appropriate measures to prevent further infringements" by the named users and "any other parties responsible for the infringement." Discord's 'repeat infringer' policy is directly mentioned, meaning that account suspensions remain a possibility for the listed users. The remaining three DMCA subpoena applications can be found here (1,2,3, pdf) From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. 'Omi In A Hellcat' Pirate IPTV Co-Defendant Forfeits Illegal Gains to U.S. Andy Maxwell, 12 Jan 10:00 PM More than two years ago the federal government shut down Gears-branded IPTV services operated by Pennsylvania and New Jersey man, Bill Omar Carrasquillo – better known online as 'Omi in a Hellcat'. The seizure of dozens of high-end cars and a reported $5.2m from bank accounts made international headlines in November 2019, further boosting Carrasquillo's profile. A criminal indictment unsealed in 2021 revealed that the popular YouTuber wasn't the only one under the government spotlight. Together with Carrasquillo, Jesse Gonzales of California and Michael Barone of New York were charged with serious offenses relating to the illegal capture and redistribution of Comcast, Verizon, Spectrum, DirecTV and Frontier Communications broadcasts. 'Person 1' and 'others' known to the authorities were described as participants in the scheme but none were listed as defendants. Carrasquillo Pleads Guilty With access to court records restricted, news of progress in the case had been limited. Then in early 2022, Carrasquillo suddenly announced a key development. Urging others not to go down the same piracy path, the former IPTV provider said he would plead guilty to criminal copyright infringement, tax fraud, wire fraud, and other offenses. Around a month later, the government filed a nine-count superseding indictment (pdf). Someone entered a plea on April 1, 2022, but what it contains is still unknown. Barone Entered a Guilty Plea Until this week, the same applied to a second plea entered August 16, 2022, but we can now confirm that on that date, Michael Barone pled guilty to Count 1 of the superseding indictment, which includes copyright infringement offenses under 17 U.S. Code § 506(1)(A) and 18 U.S. Code § 2319 Specifics include the willful reproduction of movies and other audiovisual works for commercial advantage and private financial gain, and circumvention of access controls under (17 U.S. Code § 1201(a)(1)A and 17 U.S. Code § 1204(a)(1)). Access device fraud and wire fraud are also included in a list that spans 18 pages. Forfeiture and Sentencing The government's motion for forfeiture against Barone states that all property held by him that "constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable" to the pirate IPTV scheme will be forfeited to the United States. Given that the Gears operation reportedly generated in excess of $30 million, the amount to be forfeited by Barone is relatively low, just $122,402.50 according to court records. Since the government is unable to locate any further assets, it's assumed that Barone "dissipated or otherwise spent the proceeds that he obtained. If anything appears in the future, the government can take action, however. The forfeiture order will take effect once Barone has been sentenced. In August 2022, a sentencing hearing for Barone was scheduled for late November 2022 but that doesn't appear to have gone ahead. In September 2022, sentencing hearings for Carrasquillo and Gonzales were scheduled for later this month, so it's at least possible that all three will attend on the same date. Documents related to the motion for forfeiture can be found here (1,2, pdf) From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. Pirate Libraries Remain Popular Among Academics, Research Finds Ernesto Van der Sar, 12 Jan 01:09 PM By offering free access to millions of 'paywalled' research papers, Sci-Hub is often described as "The Pirate Bay of Science". The site is used by researchers from all over the world, to acquire papers they otherwise have a hard time accessing. For some, Sci-Hub is essential for their work. Major academic publishers such as Elsevier, Wiley, and American Chemical Society, view this rogue research library as a direct threat to their business model. This has resulted in several lawsuits, including two that were won by publishers through default judgments in U.S. courts. Despite these court rulings and various site-blocking orders in other countries, Sci-Hub and founder Alexandra Elbakyan refuse to back down. On the contrary, the site has become a household name in many academic institutions, where open access to research carries more value than copyright protection. Pirate Sites First? A recent research paper confirms this preference while providing further insight into the prevalence of Sci-Hub use. The goal of the study is to find out if academics are willing to use pirate sites to bypass paywalled content and what their main motivations are. The study (paywall), published in the peer-reviewed journal Information Development, shares the results of an international survey among more than 3,300 researchers. These academics come from a variety of disciplines, including STEM, social, and life sciences. One of the main findings is that piracy is not the default option when people are confronted by a paywall. Finding an open-access version is the most common option, followed by asking colleagues from other institutions for a copy. The use of shadow libraries, with Sci-Hub as the prime example, is the third most popular bypass. This makes it more popular than interinstitutional loans or paying for articles with one's own money. Majority Use Pirate Sites While pirate sites may not be the first option for researchers trying to circumvent paywalls, it is fairly common. The researchers report that more than half of all respondents (57%) use or have used pirate sites to access research. The main reason to go to Sci-Hub and other pirate portals is to bypass restrictions. However, the main motivation for nearly 18% of the self-proclaimed 'pirates' is that shadow libraries are easier to use due to the authentication systems deployed by legal alternatives. Perhaps even more worrying for publishers is that 12% cite publishers profiting from academics as the main reason. Growing Problem? Looking at the demographics more closely, the researchers found that younger academics are more likely to use shadow libraries. The same applies to researchers at less wealthy institutions. This suggests that the problem isn't going away anytime soon. "[W]e found that younger researchers are keener to use piracy services. This might imply that younger scholars are incorporating pirate libraries as a natural element of their environment and information retrieval tools. However, their older colleagues are more reluctant to use such services. "This finding might seriously impact the attitudes and landscape of scholarly information in the future," the researchers add. Of course, there are also plenty of researchers who never use pirate sites. Their main motivation is that shadow libraries are seen as unethical (46%) but a large percentage of scholars are simply unaware that these sites exist (36%). All in all, the findings confirm that Sci-Hub and similar sites remain relatively popular. The research shows that legal options to bypass paywalls are preferred, but if those are not available, most researchers can find their way to pirate libraries. — Segado-Boj, F., Martín-Quevedo, J., & Prieto-Gutiérrez, J. (2022). Jumping over the paywall: Strategies and motivations for scholarly piracy and other alternatives. Information Development. https://doi.org/10.1177/02666669221144429 From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. ©2023 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