Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, seems to have thrown in the towel on getting either SOPA or PIPA onto the statute books in their current form following this week’s online demos and negative signals from the White House. The NYT described Dodd and his associates as scrambling to find what […]
The US Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have shut down file sharing site Megupload.com. In one of the largest criminal copyright cases in US history, seven individuals responsible for operating Megaupload.com and their associated companies, Megaupload Limited and Vestor Limited, have been charged in the United States with engaging in a […]
A line in America’s national anthem claims the country as ‘the home of the free.’ Not for the first time, some Americans are claiming there must be a certain irony in the phrase. These are citizens who believe any restriction on the Internet is an enemy of innovation and, more importantly, their First Amendment rights […]
Having earlier described the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) anti-piracy measures as threats to the openness, freedom, and innovation of the Internet, and supported the actions of websites which went ‘dark’ Wednesday January 18th in protest at the legislation, US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman […]
US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa has supported the actions of websites, which went ‘dark’ Wednesday January 18th, describing the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) anti-piracy measures as threats to the openness, freedom, and innovation of the Internet. “The Protect IP Act and […]
Senator Patrick Leahy, sponsor of the contentious PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) anti-online piracy legislation, has hit back against websites that have shut down in opposition to his measure. “Much of what has been claimed about the Senate’s PROTECT IP Act is flatly wrong and seems intended more to stoke fear and concern than to shed […]
Senator Chris Dodd, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), has joined the criticism of the “blackout” threatened by various websites opposing anti-piracy legislation, describing such actions as “stunts” and “gimmicks”. “Only days after the White House and chief sponsors of the legislation responded to the major concern expressed by opponents […]
News Corp Chairman and Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch has issued his most forthright tweet since he activated his Twitter account on January 1st by accusing Internet giant Google of aiding film piracy. “Piracy leader is Google who streams movies free, sells advts [advertisements] around them,” Murdoch wrote, adding later that film making was “risky as […]
Google has hit back at Rupert Murdoch after he branded the search giant a “piracy leader” stating that it fought pirates and counterfeiters “every day”. Google told the BBC: “Google respects copyright – and we’ve worked hard to help rights holders deal with piracy. Last year we took down five million infringing web pages from […]
The White House has responded to two petitions about legislative approaches to combat online piracy. In their response, Victoria Espinel, Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator at Office of Management and Budget, Aneesh Chopra, US Chief Technology Officer, and Howard Schmidt, Special Assistant to the President and Cybersecurity Coordinator for National Security Staff stress that the important […]