130 Stories To Learn About Copyright

Let's learn about Copyright via these 130 free stories. They are ordered by most time reading created on HackerNoon. Visit the /Learn Repo to find the most read stories about any technology.

Consequences consequences consequences. Know them before posting anything online!

1. Why I'm Selling the US Copyright to My Screenplay As an NFT

Yes, I'm selling my screenplay copyright as an NFT. So sue me. No, actually don't. Or try? Because the point is to stress test legal blockchain architecture?

2. Mixing Popcorn and Piracy Can Be Very Expensive

A federal court in Texas has ordered a former employee of a local phone store to pay $6,250 in piracy damages.

3. That Time US Lawmakers Suggested Piracy Was a Part of Twitter’s Business Model

A group of bipartisan U.S. House Representatives has sent a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, urging the company to take copyright infringement seriously.

4. Plex Slammed By Huge Copyright Coalition For Not Policing Pirates

Plex has become the latest neutral technology to get slammed for not doing enough to prevent movie and TV show piracy. According to pro-copyright lobby group CreativeFuture, which represents more than 560 companies and organizations, Plex - like Kodi - is a "dangerous digital media player" that has joined the ranks of "internet heavyweights who refuse to take responsibility for the criminal behavior on their platforms."

5. Viral Marketing Firm is Pirating Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video & HBO Go

A viral marketing company is engaging in blatant copyright infringement as part of a new campaign. MSCHF has launched AlltheStreams.fm, a 'pirate radio' site that is currently streaming shows from Netflix, Disney+, HBO Go and others with zero permission from copyright holders. The company informs TF that once one network shuts it down, five others will take their place....

6. What Technology Can Protect Intellectual Property Rights?

Intellectual property is intangible, has no material embodiment, but its value is much higher than other physical assets of the company

7. Cloudflare Sued For Failing to Terminate 99 ‘Repeat Copyright Infringing’ Sites

Two companies that design and manufacture wedding dresses are suing Cloudflare for copyright infringement after it failed to terminate service to 99 'repeat infringer' websites. Allure Bridals and Justin Alexander claim that they sent 7,000 DMCA complaints to the CDN company but aside from passing the notices on, Cloudflare failed to take more meaningful action.

8. YouTube Fair Use: Documentary Makers Defeat Gaye, Thicke, Bee Gees & Jackson

In December 2019 a web-series dedicated to debunking copyright and copying myths was hit with four copyright complaints over the alleged illegal use of tracks from Robin Thicke, Marvin Gate, Bee Gees and Michael Jackson. However, the makers of The Creativity Delusion: Geniuses Steal, decided to fight back and have now defeated every single claim against their video. Fair use, they say, is worth fighting for.

9. Nintendo Files Lawsuit and Wins Injunction Against Switch Mod & Pirate Game Seller

In 2018, Nintendo filed a lawsuit against a California man accused of selling pirated Nintendo games, modding devices, and modding services.

10. There’s Fewer Pirates in the UK, but Their Motives Stay the Same

A report by the UK Intellectual Property Office shows that a quarter of all online entertainment consumers downloaded or streamed content illegally in 2020.

11. How Copyright Strikes Helped Boost my Freelance Music Career

By researching an analysis on why I got a lot of orders, I figured out an issue with the music industry. It’s called “Copyright”.

12. Legally Protecting Your Intellectual Property: Copyright and Patent Fraud

This article is about how to protect your innovation from fraud and what you should consider when it comes to safeguarding concepts, inventions, or products.

13. US Movie Companies Prosecute YTS Users Plus The One With a VPN

The operator of YTS recently 'settled' a lawsuit that was filed by the US. movie company Wicked Nevada. Soon after, the same movie company joined other filmmakers to sue several users of the notorious torrent site. According to the complaint, the rightsholders know the email addresses that the defendants used to register with at YTS, as well as the VPN IP-address of one user. This raises some questions.

14. First Ever Interpol 'Red Notice' in South Korea, Issued Over a Copyright Violator

South Korean authorities say they have rquested their first ever Interpol 'Red Notice' in an effort to apprehend the suspected operator of a torrent site that indexed around 455,000 copyright works. Information released by the Ministry of Culture and National Police suggests that the unnamed person is Australian. Police are demanding his or her arrest and extradition.

15. How Two Dozen Movie Companies Launched an Attack on Grande Communications

More than two dozen movie companies have sued Grande Communications demanding it should terminate BitTorrent pirates and block sites including The Pirate Bay.

16. Comcast Got FBI to Pursue Gears IPTV Case - Claims YouTuber OMI IN A HELLCAT

Popular YouTuber OMI IN A HELLCAT was raided by the FBI last year in connection with his 'pirate' IPTV service Gears TV.

17. YTS Claim Makes It More Obvious That Pirates Should Be Vigilant

One of the most common recurring questions in respect of downloading, sharing and even streaming, is whether service X or platform Y is 'safe' to use, from a copyright-infringement perspective. Recent developments show that no matter how safe users think they are, security is something that should never be taken for granted.

18. How Microsoft Envisions a Blockchain-Based System for Preventing Piracy

A new paper published by Microsoft's research department proposes to tackle piracy with a blockchain-based bounty system titled "Argus."

19. Popular eBook Platform eBookee Losing Control Of Its Main Domain

Popular eBook download platform eBookee has lost control of its main .org domain. The suspension was carried out by the Public Domain Registry

20. Court Authorizes ‘Dynamic’ Pirate Site-Blocking in Spain

A Spanish court has handed down an order that will compel local ISPs to block pirate sites and services, primarily to prevent the unlicensed distribution of live football matches. Several interesting novelties can be observed in the ruling, including that broadcaster Telefónica Audiovisual Digital can add new sites, IP addresses, and URLs, without judicial oversight.

21. YesPornPlease Restricts Access as PayPal & Cloudflare Are Asked to Unmask Operators

Following a massive lawsuit filed by adult entertainment giant MG Premium, video site YesPornPlease temporarily shut itself down. It is now operating behind what appears to be geo-based blocking mechanism that promotes the use of a VPN. Meanwhile, MG Premium wants permission from the court to force several US-based service providers including Cloudflare and PayPal to reveal what they know about the site's operators.

22. What Happened to Megaupload?

Chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier has been oulining some of the RIAA's successes since he joined the industry group. Interestingly, he went straight to the Kim Dotcom and Megaupload case, which he described as a "huge significant victory". While the case hasn't yet gone to trial, its destruction more than eight years ago may be a good enough result for the RIAA.

23. Spotify Hits Windows Software That Downloads Tracks & Removes DRM

A law firm acting for Spotify has taken down a piece of Windows software that allows users to download and remove DRM from music tracks while skipping ads. XSpotify, which also carries an ad-blocking feature, is described as a tool that "steals" Spotify encryption keys in contravention of the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA.

24. Disney Claims Rights to Denmark’s The Little Mermaid Statue

A woman who uploaded one of her own photographs to print-on-demand site RedBubble says she has been hit with a takedown notice by Disney. The photograph, which features the 107-year-old The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen, apparently violates Disney's rights. According to a copy of the complaint, the statue depicts one of "Disney's Princesses".

25. A Kung Fu Controversy in Turkey Leverages Copyright Law to Hunt Down YouTube Critics

The world governing body for kung fu is using copyright law to identify a user who allegedly made defamatory remarks about the organization on YouTube.

26. ‘Hacked’ Netflix MENA Twitter Account Asks For Movie Torrent Recommendations (Updated)

Last night the Twitter account of Netflix in the MENA region suddenly had its 'N' logo replaced with a pirate-themed graphic. Then, in a series of bizarre tweets declaring a hack, followers were asked for recommendations on movie torrents. This morning Netflix apparently regained control and apologized but could there be more to this than meets the eye?

27. Nintendo Launching a New Round of DMCA Complaints (Inadvertently Helping Microsoft as Well)

Nintendo has launched a new wave of DMCA complaints at Google in an effort to make piracy-enabling devices harder to find. In common with previous efforts, the gaming giant is making strategic use of DMCA anti-circumvention notices, to permanently delete listings from search results.

28. What Happens When a Legal Complaint is Fatally Flawed and Overall a Mangled and Mangy Mess?

In a scathing motion to dismiss filed with the court yesterday, the defendants pull no punches in their response to Triller.

29. Why Did Moonbirds Move All User Generated Art To the Creative Commons License?

In a highly controversial move, Kevin Rose announced yesterday that Moonbirds and Oddities are moving to the CC0 public license.

30. Cyber Police Raid Advertising Agency For Working With Pirate Sites

Authorities in Ukraine report that officers from the cybercrime unit have raided an advertising agency in the capital Kiev for doing business with sites offering pirated movies and TV shows. Images released by the government show masked and armed officers targeting a building and herding out large numbers of employees.

31. YTS ‘Settles’ Piracy Lawsuit with Movie Company But Stays Online

The operator of the popular torrent site YTS has resolved the piracy lawsuit that was filed by movie outfit Wicked Nevada last year. In a consent judgment, which is signed by both parties, the YTS admin agreed to pay $150,000 in damages. The site is no longer allowed to share torrents of the film "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, And Vile," but YTS itself remains online for now.

32. Pirate IPTV Supplier One Box Fails to Put up a Defense, Ordered to Pay $3.8m

In 2019, 'pirate' IPTV supplier One Box TV found itself on the wrong end of a DISH Networks lawsuit. Filed in a Florida court, the complaint alleged that the IPTV supplier was transmitting DISH programming unlawfully via the Internet. After failing to put up a defense, One Box TV and its owner have now been ordered to pay $3.8 million in damages.

33. Spotify's Backdoor: How Podcasts Could be the Platform's Downfall

The podcast market has been more consumed than ever, and the unpreparedness of music platforms, may lead to piracy within them

34. Are Publisher Sales Really Suffering Due to Internet Archives?

In June 2020, major publishers Hachette, HarperCollins, John Wiley and Penguin Random House sued the Internet Archive.

35. The Pirate Bay: Over 2.5 Petabytes Are Still Being Seeded

The Pirate Bay has revealed some intriguing statistics on its decentralized archive of data. Over the years more than 6.7 petabytes of data were made available through the site. Less than half of this is still being seeded. The data further reveal that the 2014 raid did some serious damage to the infamous torrent site.

36. Protect Your Brand With Residential Proxies

Residential proxies allow you to collect public data on a massive scale. Find out how proxies can help you gather information relevant to brand protection.

37. What Happens When You Own an NFT?

NFT's legal issues as well as NFT-related policies and legal documents are always concerns of NFT buyers and sellers. This article will not go into technical analysis, but presents an easy-to-understand presentation so that investors, NFT traders, and those without professional legal knowledge can also understand and find it interesting.

38. Russia Pirate Sites Dump 1XBET in Favor of Identical Yet Legal 1XStavka

A study published in 2019 revealed that controversial gambling company 1XBET, known for placing adverts on pirate sites, had become the third most active online advertiser in Russia.

39. Anti-Piracy Chief: Pirated Content is Now Harder to Find in Search Engines

An anti-piracy memorandum aimed at removing allegedly-infringing content from search engines is beginning to have an effect in Russia. That's according to the chief of the Internet Video Association, an anti-piracy group representing the interests of numerous licensed online video distribution platforms.

40. Movie And TV Show Portal Attacks Google With Odd DMCA Notices

Movie and TV show information portal AlloCiné has reportedly sent a wave of DMCA notices to Google to have allegedly-infringing content taken down. Unfortunately, however, the complaints are littered with clearly erroneous URLs that target everything from Netflix and Amazon listings to news reports from sites like Wired, plus content on rival movie portals such as JustWatch and Rotten Tomatoes.

41. Another Lawfirm Sues 'Copyright Troll' Malibu Media

A law firm hired by notorious 'copyright troll' outfit Malibu Media is suing the company over breach of contract and unpaid bills. According to a lawsuit filed this week by The Lomnitzer Law Firm, Malibu 'circumvented' an agreement between the companies by hiring other attorneys to conduct litigation. The law firm is also demanding that Malibu pay more than $280K to settle its debts with the company.

42. Main Domain of Kim Dotcom's K.im Project Set To Be Reclaimed

After falling into third-party hands the main domain of Kim Dotcom's K.im project is set to be reclaimed. The Isle of Man domain recently expired and was quickly snapped up but, following a dispute process, it could be transferred back to the crypto project in a matter of days. Documents reviewed by TorrentFreak reveal that there was an attempt in December to sell the domain back for $100,000.

43. Russia's Search Engine Anti-Piracy Deal Drawn Out Until 2021

The ground-breaking anti-piracy deal signed by Russia-based content and Internet platforms in 2018 will not be written into local law any time soon. The agreement, which sees search engines voluntarily delete allegedly-infringing links, was supposed to be formalized in recent months but in the face of complexities and parliament being tied up with other things, will now be extended until 2021.

44. The Invisible Man, Emma, and The Hunt Hit Pirate Sites After Rushed VOD Releases

A decision by Universal Pictures to quickly make movies available on VOD services due to the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in the inevitable. Titles including The Invisible Man, Emma, and The Hunt, which are still in their theatrical windows, are now all available for download on pirate sites, just hours after release.

45. How To Protect Copyrighted Digital Content In The Age Of Cyber-Fraud?

Today it is a hot topic how to protect copyrighted digital content. The most popular ways are DRM, HDCP, and Denuvo. I`ll shortly discuss them with their cons.

46. MPA Takes Further Action on Pirate Video App TeaTV, Requests Github To Consider 17 U.S. Code

TeaTV is one of the most popular 'pirate' video apps around, providing ready access to movies and TV shows. The app received mainstream media attention in 2019 and following on from that exposure, the MPA has been trying to disrupt the application. The movie industry group is now asking code platform Github to take down three versions of the application while considering its repeat infringer policy.

47. What is a Website Blocking Injunction?

the group has now been granted an expansion in an effort to restrict access to domains that helped to circumvent the aims of the High Court order.

48. My Experience With a Global News Organization and a Trillion-Dollar Corporation

Julian Gough recounts their experience dealing with big organizations.

49. Court Of Appeal Refuses Kim Dotcom's Access To Outlawed Spy Recording

The New Zealand Supreme Court has declined Kim Dotcom's appeal in his bid to access private communications captured illegally by the country's spy agency. Dotcom will still be entitled to damages for the unlawful intrusion into his private life but he says this matter is not about money. Instead, he seeks to hold the GCSB agency accountable for its illegal behavior, for the benefit of all New Zealanders.

50. ACE Coalition Seizes Four More ‘Pirate’ IPTV Domains

The Alliance For Creativity and Entertainment has been quietly comandeering more pirate site domains, presumably as part of settlement arrangements with their former owners. One domain relates to a previously announced case but three others, all connected to pirate IPTV, are reported today for the first time.

51. Warhorse Studios Turning Tables on the Cracking Group to Prop up the Developer

The developer of action role-playing game Kingdom Come: Deliverance has hilariously turned the tables on the cracking group that first put a pirated copy of its game on the Internet. With its tongue planted firmly in cheek, the Czech company is now selling limited edition metal posters of Codex's game-accompanying NFO file, hoping that sales of the high-quality knock-off will "support the developer".

52. What Publishers Had to Say About Internet Archive’s Sales Data Demand

Hachette, HarperCollins, John Wiley and Penguin Random House are asking a court to reject Internet Archive's request to access huge volumes of data

53. Instagram Takes Down IPA Due To The DMCA Violation

Facebook-owned Instagram has taken down an independently developed API claiming that it violates the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA. The complaint claims that the tool 'Instagram-API' allows unauthorized access to Instagram users' posts, which the company says are copyrighted works to which it grants protected access.

54. ‘Academic’ Torrent Client Hopes to Shake up the Entertainment Industry

Researchers at Delft University of Technology have secured another €3.3 million in funding for academic research into the ‘Internet-of-Trust’. The money will in large part be used to continue development on the Tribler BitTorrent client. Professor Johan Pouwelse, who leads the Tribler lab, hopes that the software and underlying technology will shake up the entertainment industry by shifting the balance of power.

55. ApolloTV Streaming App Shuts Down Following ACE Cease-and-Desist Notice

Movie and TV show streaming app ApolloTV has shut down following threats from the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment. The global anti-piracy coalition hand-delivered a cease-and-desist notice to the developer behind the software, the terms of which he immediately complied with.

56. DMCA Notices Took Down 14,320 Github Projects in 2019

Github has revealed that throughout 2019, the coding hosting platform took down more than 14,300 projects following DMCA complaints. Of the total notices received, only a tiny proportion was contested via counter-notice. Interestingly, the Microsoft-owned platform also reveals that one copyright complaint cannot be detailed as it's the subject of a gagging order.

57. John Van Stry Claims That Former Piracy Site Owner Is Trying to Bust Him

Since early 2019, author John Van Stry has been spending huge sums of money in an effort to bring the former operator of download site eBook.bike to justice. The site itself has been down for months but legal costs are mounting to the point that Van Stry feels there might be an effort to bankrupt him. As a result, a practical win for either side seems a distant proposition.

58. Jehovah’s Witness Body Uses DMCA to Subpoena YouTube For ‘Apostate’ Identity

The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, the supervising body and publisher for the Jehovah’s Witness religious group, is using the DMCA to obtain the identity of a self-proclaimed 'apostate'. In a filing at a New York court, the group demanded that Google should hand over the identity of a person who allegedly uploaded videos of sermons to YouTube without permission.

59. Bad Boys For Life Leads Wave of Early Movie Releases Flooding Pirate Sites

As cinemas around the globe continue their shutdowns in response to the coronavirus pandemic, a number of movies are now enjoying early digital releases. Of course, many of these are also hitting pirate sites, with Bad Boys For Life, Bloodshot and The Gentlemen currently proving most popular with downloaders.

60. Saranya TV's Owner Arested For Broadcasting A Pirated Copy Of The Hit Production

On January 9, action thriller movie 'Darbar' enjoyed its theatrical release in India. Bizarrely, just three days later, a pirated copy of the hit production was illegally aired on cable TV. The makers of the movie immediately filed a complaint with police who, according to local reports, have now arrested the channel owner and begun the process of confiscating equipment.

61. Serious Copyright Infringers Face Up to Six Years in Prison Under New Swedish Law

A draft law in Sweden envisions much tougher penalties for serious copyright infringement. Under current rules, sentences carry fines and/or prison terms up to a maximum of two years. Under the new proposals, serious copyright-related crimes would be treated more harshly, with prison sentences starting at six months and going all the way to a maximum of six years.

62. YggTorrent Website Lost Control Over Its Main Domain

France's largest torrent site YggTorrent has lost control over its main domain. According to the site's operators, YggTorrent.ws was suspended by the domain registrar without providing additional information. Given that Alexa reports that YggTorrent is one of the most-visited websites in the whole of France, the disruption is likely to affect millions of visitors.

63. How we Saved A Learned Cat: Interview with Sasha Ivanova, CEO and Founder of SharpShark

"A Learned Cat" from one side is a painting made by a 9-year-old girl, but from another side it’s the unique digital asset existing only in Blockchain

64. Rivendell Makes History By Reporting 500 Millionth Infringing URL To Google

This week anti-piracy company Rivendell made history by reporting its 500 millionth infringing URL to Google. Speaking with TorrentFreak, the founder of Rivendell and sister company LeakID says that his team works closely with Google and finds the search giant very cooperative and helpful. He credits pirates for being resourceful but loves finding ways to "outsmart" them.

65. Men Selling Pirate TV Boxes Found Guilty Under The Fraud Act

Two men who sold piracy-enabled TV boxes and encouraged buyers to access content without an appropriate subscription have been found guilty after a four-day trial in the UK. The individuals, who will be sentenced later this month, face potentially lengthy sentences under the Serious Crime Act 2007 and Fraud Act 2006.

66. Price Discovery and Rights Attribution in the Music Industry: Solving Market Inefficiencies

Rights in the music industry is currently messy and difficult to set correct prices for. Using the blockchain to deal with it may solve price discovery in it.

67. Man Who Leaked Pre-Release Movies Online Sentenced to 27 Months Prison

A UK man who leaked pre-release movies online has been sentenced to 27 months in prison after pleading to one count of conspiracy to defraud. Malik Luqman Farooq of Halifax was part of a group that obtained copies of movies from a post-production company in the United States. In 2018, Farooq was indicted by a federal grand jury in a related case that is yet to go to trial the US.

68. Anime Fans Find ‘Pirate’ Subtitles in Netflix Streams of City Hunter

Netflix subscribers in France shared a wry smile over the weekend when a screenshot from the anime movie City Hunter was shared on Twitter. The screenshot revealed that the subtitles hadn't been obtained from an official supplier. Instead, they were apparently culled from a 'pirate' file distributed by an IRC channel specializing in anime content, one that could've been dead for some time.

69. Olympic Committee and Leading Soccer Organizations Urge the US Trade Apply Pressure

The International Olympic Committee and leading soccer organizations including FIFA and the Premier League are urging the United States Trade Representative to apply maximum pressure to Saudi Arabia over TV piracy. While beoutQ's illegal satellite broadcasts stopped last August, its set-top boxes now present an Internet-based pirate IPTV threat, the sports groups say.

70. Cloudflare Displaying Rare 'Error 451' to German Visitors, Deny Access to a Music Piracy Site

CDN company Cloudflare is displaying an extremely rare 'Error 451' to German visitors who attempt to access a music piracy site. The message currently affecting DDL-Music.to states that the site has been rendered "Unavailable for Legal Reasons'. Contrary to Cloudflare's own error code guide, no explanatory legal demand specifics have been published.

71. Canadian Pirate Site Blockade Expands With New Domains

months ago Canada's Federal Court issued the country's first pirate 'site' blocking order. The order was requested by Bell, Rogers, and Groupe TVA, who recently asked the court to amend the order to ban additional domains that provide access the pirate IPTV service GoldTV. This request was granted. Despite attempts from the rightsholders to keep the update quiet, the new domains have been revealed as well.

72. Unofficial Paywall-Free COVID19 Archive Consumes Half a Terabyte of Bandwidth

With the world still grappling with the new coronavirus outbreak, an unofficial paywall-free archive of scientific papers is spreading hope, not disease, to the scientific community. Speaking with TF, the operators of the project reveal that since its launch under a week ago, visitors from all over the world to the 5,300+ study resource have consumed almost half a terabyte of bandwidth.

73. Sourcing Images for Your Nonprofit: Know When You Can Use Them

Learn how to find photos online and know when (and how) you can legally use them for your own purposes.

74. Do Your Website's 'Terms of Use' Mean Anything?

Most website managers create terms of use before the site goes live. These terms generally describe what the site owner expects from users and what users can expect from the website.

75. Is Creative Commons a Panacea for Managing Digital IPs? (Part 2: Literature Review)

Usually identified as rights experts, academic librarians are in a unique position to provide copyright education in the digital humanities field.

76. ACE Scalps Ulango TV App Seizing Domain

The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment has claimed another scalp in the 'pirate' IPTV space. The UlangoTV app provided free access to thousands of unlicensed TV streams but there was also an option to pay for more reliable content. Today, however, its clear it is unlikely to be returning after its domain was taken over by the global anti-piracy coalition.

77. Zero People Charged With Online Pirating, Swedish Prosecutor's Office Reports

For the first time in almost a decade, not a single person was charged with a file-sharing or streaming related crime in Sweden during 2019. The news comes from the Prosecutor's Office, which reveals that just 23 offenses were reported during the year, the lowest number since 2010.

78. Is Creative Commons a Panacea for Managing Digital IPs? (Introduction)

Along with an increasing number of digital scholarships, open access became a preferred, more affordable model for scholarly communication in the US.[1] In particular, digital humanists envision a sharing culture that digital contents and tools can be widely distributed through open access licenses.[2] Creative Commons (CC) licenses, with their promise to provide simple ways to grant permissions to creative works, became top options for many digital humanities to handle intellectual property rights in the US.

79. Is Creative Commons a Panacea for Managing Digital IPs? (Part 3: The Pitfall of a Free Licence)

One major reason that scholars and institutions are using CC licenses is the ease of applying them to creative works.

80. Two Piracy-Configured ‘Kodi Box’ Sellers Handed One-Year Suspended Sentences

Two men who sold piracy-configured set-top boxes and coached the public on how to use them to access infringing content have been sentenced to one-year prison terms under the Fraud Act, suspended for two years. The pair, who supplied 'BlackBox.tv' devices, must also do 120 hours of unpaid work.

81. Popcorn Time Isn’t “Back From The Dead” But the New Version is Borked

This morning several news articles celebrated the "return" of Popcorn Time after it apparently went offline a few years ago. This claim simply isn't true, neither is the assertion that the just released version of the app works as well as the previous one. In fact, Popcorn Time is facing a wave of complaints from users experiencing a wide range of problems that simply didn't exist before.

82. Christian Rapper Who Filed Lawsuit Against Katy Perry Gets an Infringement Complaint

Katy Perry's writers lost a $2.8m lawsuit against Christian rapper Flame last year over the use of a handful of notes. Musician Adam Neely published a hit video on YouTube slamming the lawsuit but in a bizarre twist, Perry's publisher Warner Chappell has now filed an infringement complaint against Neely. Not only have they claimed all of the advertising revenue from his video, they've turned the entire matter into an unbelievable trainwreck.

83. Activision Subpoenas Ordering a DMCA for Reddit, to Recognize a Modern Warfare's Warzone Leaker

In response to the many Call of Duty Warzone leaks appearing online, Activision has been filing aggressive takedowns on copyright grounds. According to documents obtained by TorrentFreak, the gaming giant has also obtained a DMCA subpoena from a US court, which compels Reddit to hand over the personal details of a user who allegedly posted a leaked image to the site.

84. How To Protect Your Big Idea When Hiring a Freelancer

Hiring freelancers or independent contractors is a great way to get specific tasks done without having to hire more full-time employees. This can save you time and money; you won’t have to go through a lengthy interview and hiring process or provide benefits like health insurance.

85. The ‘Netflix for Pirates’ Got in Trouble With the Law. Duh.

A group of independent movie companies asked a Virginia federal court to grant millions in copyright damages against the piracy app Popcorn Time domains.

86. Man Who Sold Pirate IPTV Must Pay £521,000 or Face Five More Years in Prison

A man who was sentenced in 2018 to 4.5 years in prison for selling pirate IPTV devices to pubs and clubs has been ordered to pay £520,000 to the public purse. Failure to come up with the funds will result in John Dodds having his prison sentence extended by an additional five years. The Premier League, which brought the action, welcomed the judgment.

87. New Anti-Piracy Campaign Piles On The Scare Tactics But Who’s Scared?

Yet another major anti-piracy campaign launched last week declaring that visiting pirate sites exposes passwords, photos, plus financial and medical records to criminals intent on ruining people's lives. This scare tactic approach is gaining momentum around the globe, with claims that it has a positive effect on the public. But does it, or should it, really?

88. Manga Scanlation Communities Are Against Unleashing Enmity

Huge scanlation platform MangaDex recently revealed that legal pressures had, among things, restricted its ability to receive donations from users. Following our report, a server administrator connected to several other groups gave us additional insight into these anti-piracy efforts. Amid the hostilities, however, it appears that all the scanlation community really wants is to improve the chances of manga titles arriving in the West.

89. Giant Pirate Platform Jetflicks Disguised as Aviation Video Service, US Government Reports

After being shut down by the FBI, Jetflicks and associated site iStreamitAll were described by the US Government as two of the largest unauthorized streaming services in the United States. A new filing in the Jetflicks case now reveals that the giant pirate platform ran alongside a fledgling aviation video service that quite literally failed to get off the ground.

90. ‘Pirate’ iTunes Download Site and Three Others Targeted By the RIAA

The RIAA has obtained a DMCA subpoena against Cloudflare in an effort to unmask the operators of several 'pirate' music platforms including one offering iTunes content. The subpoena requires the CDN company to hand over names, addresses and account information of people allegedly behind infringement of tracks by Justin Timberlake, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Selena Gomez and more.

91. YouTube Cartoon Featuring Creepy Bugs Bunny Copyright Claimed By Warner Bros.

A dark parody cartoon depicting a washed-out Bugs Bunny as a sex offender has been hit with a DMCA complaint by Warner Bros. MeatCanyon, a channel with more than 66 million views, has responded with a new animation in which characters mourn his passing, stating that since Warner claimed the content as its own, they have now confirmed that "Bugs was a struggling rapist all along."

92. As UK Pirates Swarm to Live Sports & Movies, Hardcore Pirates Diminish

The UK's Intellectual Property Office has published the latest edition of its Online Copyright Infringement Tracker report. Illicit consumption of movies increased considerably over the previous period, with a new category of live sports leaping almost to the top of the infringement tables. Interestingly, the report also highlights a significant decrease in hardcore pirates.

93. French ISPs Block Dozens of Pirate Sites Following Movie Industry Action

For several weeks, French Internet users have reported difficulty accessing dozens of unlicensed streaming and torrent sites. It now transpires that following legal action by several movie industry groups, a Paris court handed down a ruling ordering some of the country's top ISPs to prevent their customers from accessing around 36 platforms.

94. Nintendo Shuts Down Kickstarter Campaign For Violating Animal Crossing Copyrights

A law firm acting for Nintendo of America has shut down a successful Kickstarter campaign for alleged breaches of copyright. According to the gaming giant, the fundraiser used characters and images from the Animal Crossing series without obtaining the necessary permission.

95. MangaDex Returns Under a New Domain, Confirms Legal Issues

After several days of downtime, manga scanlation giant MangaDex has reappeared online. In addition to confirming the existence of a DMCA subpoena first reported here on TF last week, MangaDex says it has legal issues that have resulted in the temporary loss of its .org domain and removal from Cloudflare. It is now operating under a new domain while the problems are dealt with.

96. Ebook.bike Holder Is To Get Sanctioned After Failing To Produce Discovery

Former Pirate Party Canada leader and Ebook.bike operator Travis McCrea is facing the possibility of crippling sanctions if the plaintiff in his copyright infringement lawsuit has his way. After McCrea failed to produce discovery as ordered by the court, the legal team of author John Van Stry are moving in for the kill, demanding sanctions that have the potential to undermine any chance of McCrea winning his case on the merits.

97. Japanese Government Approves New Bill to Criminalize Manga Piracy

The government of Japan has approved a new bill aimed at reducing the downloading of pirated content from the Internet. The new law, which is targeted for Jan 1, 2021, will criminalize the downloading of manga, magazines and academic material with prison sentences of up to two years. Operators of pirate linking sites will also face up to five years behind bars.

98. Lawsuit Filed Against BitTorrent, The Company Accused of Illegal Profiting

A lawsuit filed against BitTorrent owner Rainberry Inc, TRON Foundation's Justin Sun, and one of his colleagues, is based in employment law. However, the allegations it contains could pique interest in Hollywood, with claims that movies including The Lion King were involved in a "fraudulent scheme" to "make a profit from the illegal piracy of those materials."

99. YesPornPlease and VShare.io Go Offline Following Massive Copyright Lawsuit

YesPornPlease, an adult-focused video site that was until recently servicing more than 100 million visitors per month, has disappeared following the filing of a lawsuit in the United States. The complaint, filed by Mindgeek-owned MG Premium, also targets hosting site VShare.io, demanding a broad injunction and potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.

100. AMD Uses DMCA to Mitigate Massive GPU Source Code Leak (Updated)

AMD has filed at least two DMCA notices against Github repos that carried "stolen" source code relating to AMD's Navi and Arden GPUs, the latter being the processor for the upcoming Xbox Series X. The person claiming responsibility for the leak informs TorrentFreak that if they doesn't get a buyer for the remainder of the code, they will dump the whole lot online.

101. Jetflick Piracy Trial Experiencing Delay After Canadian Govt Hands Over The Evidence

The trial of six defendants who allegedly operated the 'pirate' streaming service Jetflicks will now take place in July 2020. The delay is in response to Canadian authorities handing over masses of discovery data, including subscriber information and support tickets of the defunct service. The original request for information was made around 22 months ago.

102. Dish Network Envisions Blockchain-Based Patent Application

Dish Network is fighting online streaming piracy on many fronts. Aside from lawsuits and other legal campaigns, the company also looks at the broader picture. In a new patent application, Dish envisions a blockchain-based anti-piracy management system that promises to be open and accessible to all.

103. What Do You Do When a Fan Infringes on Your Copyright?

Take-Two Interactive has sued several programmers and enthusiasts said to be behind the popular re3 and reVC Grand Theft Auto fan projects.

104. We are Surprisingly Unaware of the Risks of Illegal Streaming

UK’s Federation Against Copyright Theft published the results of a new survey, finding that 62% of consumers are unaware of the hidden dangers of piracy.

105. HackerNoon, Hacker Noon, or hackernoon? The answer might surprise you.

Hacker Noon brand name and logo are now both trademarked.

106. Court Calls Cloudflare for Denying Access to Copyright Infringement or Face Penalties or Lockup

This week visitors to pirate music site DDL-Music were greeted with a rare 'Error 451' message from Cloudflare, indicating that the site had been rendered unavailable due to legal reasons. It now transpires that following legal action by Universal Music, Cloudflare was served with a court injunction , which threatened fines and potential prison time for non-compliance.

107. Data Ownership: How to avoid unwanted or illegal usage of content

Today, data and creative products are one of the most precious elements of anyone’s digital footprint. In a time when more data is generated, extracted, and aggregated, the matters of security and copyright loom large, requiring urgent solutions.

108. The Subpoena Orders Cloudflare To Hand Over The Identities of Uploaders

Adult movie company AMA Multimedia has obtained a DMCA subpoena from a Washington court to help it track down individuals who uploaded content to various 'tube' sites. The subpoena orders Cloudflare to hand over the identities of uploaders and potentially site operators too but given the way the content seems to be delivered, it remains a question whether the former will be possible.

109. Cloudflare Agrees to Stop Caching Pirate Content in Japan, If Court Declares Sites Illegal

In 2018, four of Japan's largest manga publishers filed a motion at a Tokyo court demanding that Cloudflare stop providing services to several 'pirate' sites, including Mangamura replacement Hoshinoromi. The companies now reveal that a settlement has been reached with Cloudflare to "stop the replication" of the sites on its Japan-based servers, if a court declares them illegal.

110. US Congress Starts on New Copyright-Focused Initiative

A new copyright-focused initiative has got underway in the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property. Its goal is to evaluate the 22-year-old Digital Millennium Copyright Act with a view to modernizing the legislation to better deal with today's Internet following the dramatic changes of the last two decades.

111. Doom Eternal Debacle May Have Dismantled Denuvo DRM on Debut Day

In what appears to be a monumental screw-up somewhere in the game's supply chain, the Denuvo anti-tamper technology deployed on Doom Eternal may have already been compromised. Early purchasers of the game discovered a folder in the game's directory containing an .exe file that can be used to replace the original one protected by Denuvo.

112. Judge Asks Author to Consider a Massively Reduced Claim after Suing eBook.bike for Infringement

The copyright infringement lawsuit filed by author John van Stry against former Pirate Party leader Travis McCrea may be edging closer to financial discomfort.

113. The Art of War: Tutorial For Pirate Sites Owners And Their Antagonists

There have been countless anti-piracy strategies deployed over the years and pirates have deployed their own in response. In the end, the parties "at war" aren't so different and may even benefit from the same techniques. The most fundamental ones aren't new either, having been around for at least 2,500 years.

114. ♪ Mbube ♪ : Could Have Blockchain Saved Africa’s Most Popular Tune?

In 1939, in a recording studio in South Africa, a singing group called The Evening Birds recorded one of their songs. They did three takes, and on the second one, the group’s leader, a Zulu migrant worker named Solomon Linda, decided to improvise. He sang a counterpoint to the song’s main theme in a light, haunting falsetto voice. The result is captured in the following audio clip:

115. Internet Archive’s National Emergency Library is “Vile” Says Copyright Alliance

Last week the Internet Archive responded to the coronavirus outbreak by offering a new service to "displaced learners". Combining scanned books from three libraries, the Archive offered unlimited borrowing of 1.4 million books, so that people can continue reading while in quarantine. What followed was a huge backlash from publishing and pro-copyright groups, with the Copyright Alliance decribing the actions of IA's operator as "particularly vile."

116. DISH Calls For $9.9m In Damages From Easybox IPTV

A lawsuit filed by US broadcaster DISH Network against Easybox IPTV looks set to end with significant cost to the men behind the unlicensed IPTV provider. In a motion for final judgment and permanent injunction, DISH is demanding $9.9m in damages for direct copyright infringement of 66 copyrighted works, broadcast by Easybox without permission.

117. Pirate IPTV Box Seller Arrested By LAPD, ABS-CBN Files Multi-Million Dollar Lawsuits

Media giant ABS-CBN has filed two US lawsuits worth millions of dollars in damages against two men they accuse of supplying pirate IPTV devices to the public. One of the men was arrested earlier this month by Los Angeles Police Department following an undercover sting operation.

118. What Type of Anti-Piracy Campaign Is More Likely to Work on Infringers?

There have been dozens of anti-piracy campaigns over the years but which ones are more likely to work on illicit consumers? According to some of the findings in a government report published in the UK this week, different approaches may be needed to convince both casual and savvy pirates to stop or reduce their activities.

119. YouTube Refuses to Process DMCA Counternotice for ‘Creepy Bugs’ Cartoon

An artist who uploaded a parody cartoon to YouTube and received a strike against his channel following a Warner Bros. complaint has been denied the opportunity to fight his corner. MeatCanyon uploaded a cartoon featuring a creepy 'Bugs Bunny' and later appealed using a DMCA counternotice. YouTube, however, refused to pass the notice on and dismissed the claim.

120. Texas Court Orders Easybox IPTV to Pay $9.9m in Copyright Infringement Damages

A judge at a Texas court has ordered two individuals behind the pirate IPTV service Easybox IPTV to pay $9.9m in copyright infringement damages. In a judgment handed down this week, the judge awarded the maximum $150,000 in statutory damages for each of 66 copyrighted works willfully infringed by the defendants via their unlicensed streaming platform.

121. 12 Years of Blockchain: Where Are The Applications?

There were a lot of talking about where and how blockchain is suitable. Attempting to stick the blockchain everywhere and to everything is a parody.

122. PortalRooms Going Dark Leaving Behind Millions of Avid Users

PortalRoms, a popular index for ROM and emulators for a wide range of gaming systems, has disappeared without trace. Up until a few days ago the site was servicing more four million visitors per month with links to download content via torrents. However, after domain issues hit the site last October, history may now be repeating itself for the ten-year-old site.

123. Red Dead Redemption: Damned Enhancement Modder Counters Take-Two Lawsuit

The developer behind the Red Dead Redemption: Damned Enhancement Project is fighting back against a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Take-Two. Among other things, Johnathan Wyckoff states that he believes he was working within the rules published by Take-Two, which state that the company will not generally take legal action against non-commercial single player projects.

124. Italian Court Orders 'Preventative Measures' Against IPTV Providers

An Italian court has ordered 'preventative measures' that requires the websites of 15 'pirate' IPTV providers to be blocked in the country. The complaint was filed by top Italian soccer league Serie A after the IPTV providers reportedly broadcast live matches without permission. How effective the blocks will be remain to be seen, however.

125. Facebook Deems Copyright Misuse As One of the Site's Major Threats

Facebook says that it takes abuse and misuse of its 'Rights Manager' system very seriously. The company sees this type of abuse as one of its main challenges and it spends a lot of time making sure that legitimate content isn't blocked. The social media giant made these statements in a recent "Article 17" stakeholder meeting at the EU Commission.

126. As Police Investigate Share-Online Operators, Uploaders & Users Could Be Next

In October 2019, Share-Online.biz, Germany's largest file-hosting site, was shut down following police raids around Europe. As the investigation into the platform's operators continues, a cybercrime police representative now says that hunting down former content uploaders and regular downloaders at the site remains a "realistic scenario."

127. Why Did Kendall Jenner Get Sued For Using a Video of Herself?

Model Kendall Jenner generates considerable sums from her Instagram account but according to a lawsuit filed in California, not all of that is raised legally. The complaint states that Jenner obtained a video of herself taken by a third-party and posted it on Instagram, in breach of copyright law. After gaining almost 23 million views, the owner now wants up to $150,000 in damages.

128. Kim Dotcom Domain Case Solved, Followed By Bid To Halt Extradition

After falling into third-party hands, the main domain of Kim Dotcom's K.im project has been returned following a settlement agreement. While this progress is being welcomed by the Megaupload founder, even more serious matters lie on the horizon. Will the New Zealand Supreme Court decide against extradition to the US? Dotcom predicts that while close, the judgment will not go in his favor.

129. Japanese Publisher Sues Cloudfare For Copyright Violation

Major Japanese publisher Takeshobo has sued Cloudflare in a Tokyo court for alleged copyright infringement. The publisher says it was forced into the action after requests to remove content being offered by a Cloudflare customer were ignored. Takeshobo is taking care not to mention the name of the 'pirate' site in question but TorrentFreak has uncovered a DMCA subpoena from 2019 which may shine some light on proceedings.

130. Pirates Won't Pass: How to Get Stolen Content Taken Down

We want to tell you about one case where we helped remove plagiarized content from the web.

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