TorrentFreak's Latest News

MPA, Amazon & Apple Win $30m in Damages Against Pirate IPTV ServicesAndy Maxwell, 28 Mar 10:41 AM Operators of pirate IPTV services in the United St

MPA, Amazon & Apple Win $30m in Damages Against Pirate IPTV Services Andy Maxwell, 28 Mar 10:41 AM Operators of pirate IPTV services in the United States risk prison sentences and civil copyright infringement lawsuits when things don't go to plan. The recent 66-month sentence handed to YouTuber 'Omi in a Hellcat' is one example with a particularly hefty price tag – $30+ million in restitution. IPTV services operated by Texas resident Dwayne Johnson weren't as big or as profitable, but certainly important enough for Hollywood to step in with overwhelming resources. Powerful Coalition Sues Johnson In December 2021, movie and TV giants Universal, Disney, Paramount, Warner, and Columbia teamed up with Netflix, Amazon, Apple, and several other studios, in a lawsuit targeting AllAccessTV (AATV) and Quality Restreams. The complaint alleged that AATV supplied infringing movies and TV shows via its IPTV and VOD services. Titles including The Godfather, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, and The Office were distributed to subscribers via their smart TVs, computers, set-top boxes, plus mobile and tablet devices. The studios said that most subscribers paid between $10 to $45 per month to access around 2,500 channels. Connected service Quality Restreams allegedly provided infringing movies and TV shows to other pirate IPTV providers, including AATV. In addition to live IPTV channels, its VOD service supplied 600 movies and 600 TV series, organized into named categories, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Disney+. Disguised as a VPN Provider While most IPTV providers make at least some effort to hide their nature, the lawsuit alleged that AATV went a little further by presenting itself as a VPN provider. The lawsuit revealed that along with many other pieces of 'cross contamination' evidence, the studios had already identified Johnson as a manager of VPN Safe Vault LLC, the entity believed to be behind the 'VPN' site. Alleging direct copyright infringement, contributory copyright infringement, and inducement of copyright infringement, the plaintiffs demanded $150,000 in statutory damages for each willfully infringed work, plus a broad injunction. Johnson Fights Back At least initially, Johnson's legal team put up a spirited defense. Describing aspects of the plaintiffs' evidence as "biased" and details of the proposed injunction as "unsupported" and "absurd," the defense said targeting a VPN platform would amount to "an unlawful restraint on trade." Within days, however, the parties informed a California district court that they had agreed to the terms of a preliminary injunction. The court handed down the injunction in February 2022. In May 2022, the parties informed the court that while there was no aversion to reaching a settlement, they would press ahead with discovery nonetheless. Numerous entries preceded a filing dated November 8, 2022, which was followed by more than four months of complete silence. Parties Shake Hands on $30m Damages Award With a trial scheduled for July this year, on March 16 the studios and Johnson reached an agreement to bring hostilities to an end. The settlement includes a permanent injunction restraining any and all unauthorized copying, storing and dissemination of copyrighted content to internet users, whether directly or indirectly through third parties. Johnson also agreed not to "distribute, transfer, or give any source code, object code, or other technology," including domain names, trademarks, brands, assets or goodwill, that are in any way related to the AATV and Quality Restreams services. By having the court sign off on the agreement, Johnson could be held in contempt for breaching its terms. District Court Judge Andre Birotte Jr signed off on the permanent injunction on Monday, along with a judgment in favor of the plaintiffs for copyright infringement and an award for damages. "Damages are awarded in favor of Plaintiffs and against Defendant, in the total amount of thirty million dollars ($30 million)," the judgment reads. The $30m judgment and associated filings are available here (1,2,3,4, pdf) Image Credit: Cdu445/Unsplash From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. MPA and RIAA Megaupload Lawsuits Are Now 'Inactive' Ernesto Van der Sar, 27 Mar 11:37 PM More than a decade has passed since Kim Dotcom's file-storage empire Megaupload collapsed after becoming the prime target in a high-profile law enforcement operation. The U.S. Government booked an early result in 2015 when programmer Andrus Nomm was handed a one-year prison sentence following a plea deal. The case lit up again last year when two of the three remaining defendants, Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk, signed an agreement to be charged in New Zealand and avoid extradition to the United States. That left Kim Dotcom as the sole 'active' extradition candidate. As Dotcom's extradition battle continues, the U.S. Government's criminal case has stalled along with a pair of civil lawsuits filed by the RIAA and MPA. These are not expected to begin until the criminal case is finalized, which could take a while. MPA and RIAA Cases Postponed Again Over the past several years, Megaupload has repeatedly asked the court to delay these lawsuits. This bi-annual postponement cycle began in 2014 and continued earlier this month. "Defendant Megaupload hereby moves the Court to enter the attached proposed order, continuing the stay in this case for an additional six months, subject to the terms and conditions stated in the proposed order," the requests note, adding there are no objections from the RIAA and MPA. As expected, District Judge Anthony J. Trenga – who took over the Megaupload lawsuits after complaints about Judge Liam O'Grady's alleged financial ties to Disney – swiftly signed off on the new six-month delays. "[T]his matter be stayed until September 1, 2023, on the same terms and conditions as set forth in the Court's original stay order," the order reads. Stricken From Active Docket Interestingly, there is a notable difference compared to earlier orders. One day after extending the stay in both the RIAA and MPA lawsuits, the court struck both cases from the active docket, marking the lawsuits inactive instead. "It appearing to the Court that this case has been stayed nearly continuously since June 10, 2014, it is hereby ORDERED that this case be, and the same hereby is, STRICKEN from the active docket and placed on the inactive docket," Judge Trenga writes. Marking the case as inactive makes sense, as no progress is expected anytime soon. A decision on whether to extradite Kim Dotcom could take years and even if he was eventually sent to the United States, criminal proceedings could take another decade to complete. There is one notable caveat. Kim Dotcom's former business associates, Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk, remain defendants in the civil lawsuits and pleaded guilty in the criminal matter. The Megaupload pair will be sentenced in New Zealand soon, but what that means for the civil cases in the U.S. isn't immediately clear. If there's an indication that the civil cases can move forward, the lawsuits can be moved to the active docket again. For now, however, they remain in hibernation. Dotcom, meanwhile, continues to build his online following, inserting himself into political, financial, and other global debates. When the need arises, he will likely turn his attention to the Megaupload battle again. — Copies of the orders to stay the civil cases are available here (MPA / RIAA). Judge Trenga ordered these cases to be stricken from the active record shortly after (MPA / RIAA). 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