While Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) author Lamar Smith is pressing ahead with the measure’s progress in the US House, Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy has said that he would remove a controversial provision from his Protect IP Act bill that aims to crack down on piracy and counterfeiting on foreign websites. Leahy told Vermont […]
The US lawmaker behind a bill to combat online piracy has vowed to press ahead with the measure despite criticism from Internet giants such as Google and Facebook, and threats from sites such as Reddit to go ‘dark’ for a day in protest. “It is amazing to me that the opponents apparently don’t want to […]
Writing an op-ed piece in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, has strongly criticised the intentions of Nevada Senator Harry Reid to introduce the Protect IP Act (PIPA) to the Senate floor this month, backing instead the Online Protection & Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (OPEN). Highlighting […]
Continuing its global expansion, Internet movie and TV subscription Netflix has launched in the United Kingdom and Ireland, offering instant and unlimited access to a broad range of entertainment for a monthly price of £5.99 in the UK and €6.99 in Ireland. Starting today (January 9), people throughout the UK and Ireland can begin a […]
A founder of NinjaVideo.net, a website that provided millions of users with the ability to illegally download high-quality copies of copyright-protected movies and television programmes, has been sentenced to 22 months in prison. Hana Amal Beshara was sentenced by US District Judge Anthony J. Trenga in the Eastern District of Virginia. Judge Trenga ordered Beshara […]
PEMRA – the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority – has revealed that enforcement teams raided numbers of cable TV networks in various parts of country on January 5, 2012 in a bid to stop illegal satellite and CD channels shown by the cable operators, despite repeated warnings to stop them. According to PEMRA, excessive CD […]
Reinforcing remarks mid-December that creative technology and creative content were “absolutely essential to each other”, Senator Chris Dodd, Chairman and CEO of the MPAA has stated that the future of commerce and content on the Internet will be guided by technology companies and the entertainment industry growing together Speaking on Bloomberg TV’s Bloomberg West, Dodd […]
An organisation whose central ‘belief’ is the right to file-share has been formally recognised as a religion by the Swedish government. The Church of Kopimism claims that “kopyacting” – sharing information through copying – is akin to a religious service. The Swedish government agency Kammarkollegiet registered the Church of Kopimism as a religious organisation shortly […]
Another US Internet industry grouping has declared its opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), currently stalled in ‘mark-up’ stage in the House. The Save Hosting Coalition, a consortium of businesses in the web hosting and Internet infrastructure industries, has delivered a letter from 300 leading industry executives expressing their opposition to the legislation. […]
The US House Judiciary Committee has confirmed that it will delay continuing debate on online anti-piracy measure the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) until after Congress returns from its winter recess. Committee spokeswoman Kim Smith said that the hearing is expected to be scheduled for “early next year.” After two days of debate last week, […]