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Potential Impact on Major Pirate Sites as Vietnam ISPs Face New ResponsibilitiesAndy Maxwell, 12 May 11:42 AM After spending more than 16 years impl

Potential Impact on Major Pirate Sites as Vietnam ISPs Face New Responsibilities Andy Maxwell, 12 May 11:42 AM After spending more than 16 years implementing intellectual property laws introduced in 2005, amendments to intellectual property law in Vietnam came into effect on January 1, 2023. At that point, however, implementation was still to be determined so, over the past few months, the government has been drafting decrees. Issued by the government in late April, Decree No. 17/2023/ND-CP offers guidance on various copyright matters related to ISP liability and enforcement measures, including disclosure of customer information. At first blush, it appears to herald a new world of opportunities for rightsholders. "Most Voluminous" Copyright Decree Ever Issued in Vietnam Global IP services firm Rouse reports that with 8 chapters and 116 articles, Decree 17 is the most voluminous copyright decree ever issued in Vietnam. "[T]he Copyright Decree provides significantly detailed guidance on copyright enforcement, especially which disputes can be classified as a copyright dispute, how to establish acts of copyright infringement, and how to calculate damages caused by infringements," the company reports. "The long, detailed section in copyright assessment is also expected to pave the way for the growth of the currently limited copyright assessment services in Vietnam." Hollywood studios and publishers of Japanese anime and manga have long complained of difficulties enforcing their rights in Vietnam. However, if the new amendments take shape as the Decree suggests, Vietnam may be on the cusp of a whole new era. For rightsholders struggling to tackle major piracy platforms including Fmovies, 9anime, and BestBuyIPTV, the balance of power may have begun to shift. Internet Service Providers Given that pirate site operators can be difficult to identify, rightsholders believe that entities providing infrastructure services, such as connectivity or hosting, should shoulder some responsibility for infringement, if they are in a position to act but fail to do so. According to a report from IP experts at Baker McKenzie, Article 198b of the Amended IP Law as laid out in Decree 17 broadly identifies an ISP as a mere conduit, caching, or on-demand digital content storage/hosting service. Entities that qualify for ISP status include cloud storage providers, social network providers, and search engines. Hosting ISPs must develop tools to receive requests for content to be removed or blocked, when that content infringes on copyright and/or related rights. They will also be required to remove or block content in accordance with new regulatory procedures when receiving "substantiated requests" from users or a competent state agency. "Failure to comply with this requirement may result in joint liability for losses caused by the infringing act of the user," the experts note, adding that hosting ISPs will also be required to notify Vietnam's Copyright Office of the name of the person responsible for copyright issues. Know Your Business Customer Rules Platforms are also responsible for warning their users of the liability incurred if they commit copyright infringement. In theory, that should be easier than before. The new law requires ISPs to verify their customers' identities when they first register for an account. These so-called Know Your Business Customer (KYBC) rules are always popular with rightsholders, even though many countries in the West choose not to implement them. Adherence to KYBC protocols means that when ISPs receive a written request from a competent state agency, they must provide information on their users in copyright infringement matters. That still falls short of standards elsewhere where courts can authorize disclosure based on rightsholder complaints, but as part of a package of measures, rightsholders appear much better equipped than they were under the previous regime. How things will play out in practice will remain to be seen. The Vietnam Copyright Decree (Decree No. 17/2023/ND-CP) is available here (pdf) From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. Z-Library Warns Against 'Fraudulent' and 'Unsafe' Copycats With Millions of Users Ernesto Van der Sar, 11 May 10:22 PM Over the years, Z-Library established itself as a premier source of pirated books, serving an audience of millions of users. Up until a few months ago, this all happened relatively quiet. However, when the United States launched a criminal case against two alleged operators, everything changed. Z-Library lost access to over 200 domain names late last year and, just last week, the authorities carried out a new seizure round. Despite these enforcement actions and the pending criminal case, the remaining Z-Library team has no plans to hide in the shadows. Seizures Sow Confusion The site swiftly switched to backup domains and remained online. However, speaking with TorrentFreak, the team says that this game of whack-a-mole likely isn't over yet and more seizures are expected in the future. "We have already replaced these [seized] domains with others, but it is likely that this will not be a long-term solution as the authorities continue to seize domains," Z-Library noted. These evasive actions are likely to make the site an even bigger target for U.S. law enforcement agencies including the FBI, who will be motivated to bring those responsible to justice. That's not the only concern for Z-Library, however, as the domain seizures are having another side-effect; the rise of copycats. Copycat Warning After the crackdown last year, the popular pirate library has become rather hard to find through search engines such as Google. Instead of the official site, the top results now point to copycat platforms. These knockoffs use the Z-Library brand to draw visitors and that appears to be working quite well. For example, Zlibrary.to had an estimated 9.1 million visits last month, while Z-Lib.is had a reported 7.8 million visits. These sites have nothing to do with the official site and, according to the Z-Library team, these copycats are unsafe. The fraudulent sites pose a security risk, the team warned its users this week. "We want to remind you to be cautious when searching for Z-Library on Google, as there are currently several unsafe and fraudulent websites appearing at the top of the search results. These websites may steal your personal information and compromise your security," Z-Library wrote. Scammy Google Takedowns It's not possible for us to verify these claims in detail but it is clear that these sites intentionally set out to confuse the public. That's also happening on Twitter, where one of the copycats is having fun with more than 20k followers. These sites don't stop at simply impersonating Z-Library either. We previously noticed that some of these copycats use DMCA notices to protect 'their' brand. For example, someone named "Mahut Aydin" didn't like this Reddit thread that claims Z-lib.is is a scam. They sent Google a DMCA notice asking to remove it from search results, but that effort failed. Zlibrary.to also sent an unusual takedown notice to Google. The copycat website asked Google to remove several URLs from Ebookchase.com from its search engine, claiming that the site is "stealing" their works. Google likely realized that something was off as the search engine didn't comply with either of these requests. That said, the same copycat sites continue to take the top "Zlibrary" spots of search results today. 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