Tag: fildelning

Megaupload User Asks Court to Return His Video Files | Electronic Frontier Foundation

Case Raises Key Questions About User Rights in Cloud-Based Storage

San Francisco – A small business owner who used Megaupload’s cloud-based storage system as part of his daily operations has asked a federal court to establish a process that would allow him and other lawful Megaupload users to get their files back. The procedure would help rectify the collateral damage caused by the government’s seizure of Megaupload.com as part of a copyright infringement investigation.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) represents Kyle Goodwin, who runs a business reporting on high school sporting events in Ohio. Goodwin stored his video footage on Megaupload’s servers as a backup to his hard drive. In January, the FBI shut down Megaupload.com and executed search warrants on the company’s servers, locking out all Megaupload customers in the process. When Goodwin’s hard drive crashed, he could not get access to any of his own video files, which he needed to conduct his business.

(via: Megaupload User Asks Court to Return His Video Files | Electronic Frontier Foundation
)

Megaupload släpper stämning för att fokusera på brottsmålet

Embattled Megaupload is dropping a lawsuit against Universal Music that accuses the label of unlawfully removing from YouTube a four-minute video Megaupload produced featuring Kanye West, Mary J. Blige, will.i.am and others praising the notorious file-sharing service.

In dropping the suit, Hong Kong-based Megaupload is shifting its attention to criminal charges in the United States where its founder, Kim Dotcom, and top employees are accused of being responsible for facilitating wanton copyright infringement. Dotcom and four others were arrested in New Zealand in January, where they remain free pending possible extradition to the United States to face charges in one of the government’s largest criminal copyright-infringement cases.

Megaupload Drops Universal Lawsuit to Focus on Criminal Charges | Threat Level | Wired.com

Microsoft blocks piratebay.com links in instant messages

The Pirate Bay goes to great lengths to keep itself widely available , but here’s something it can’t stop: Microsoft is now blocking links to the site in instant messages across all its systems.

“We block instant messages if they contain malicious or spam URLs based on intelligence algorithms, third-party sources, and/or user complaints. Pirate Bay URLs were flagged by one or more of these and were consequently blocked,” explained Microsoft in a statement to The Register.

(via: Microsoft Is Blocking Pirate Bay Links in Instant Messages)

Scammers Are Targeting Megaupload Users With Fake Legal Threats

At least two scams targeting users of file-sharing services have emerged over the last few days. So far the reports all come from overseas, but if it’s happening in Germany then similar scams in the US are very likely. Watch out.

The scams both try to trick users into thinking they’ve been busted for copyright infringement and that they’ll be on the hook for huge legal penalties unless they pay upfront settlement fees online. According to TorrentFreak, the first of the two scams appears to target former Megaupload users. The users received emails like the one above from a fake German law firm that claims to represents major entertainment companies. The scam provides no details about what you supposedly stole.

(via: Gizmodo – Warning: Scammers Are Targeting Megaupload Users With Fake Legal Threats)

Copyright Treaty Requires Congressional Support, Senator Says

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) says the Obama administration must secure congressional approval for the United States to participate in an international anti-piracy treaty, a position at odds with the president.

The accord, known as the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, exports on participating nations an intellectual-property enforcement regime resembling the one in the United States. Neither the United States nor any other country has ratified the deal, which was brokered by both the President George W. Bush and the President Barack Obama administrations and finalized in October.

“I believe Congress should approve binding international agreements before the U.S. is obligated to comply with those agreements. This a point where the administration and I disagree and is particularly true on matters that impact our nation’s ability to implement policies that encourage innovation,” Wyden said in a statement.

Copyright Treaty Requires Congressional Support, Senator Says | Threat Level | Wired.com