Let's learn about Piratebay via these 53 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.
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. The Pirate Bay: A File-Sharing Legacy
Millions of torrent users all over the world must have come across the name called PirateBay. It needs no introduction, as it's been one of the most popular file-sharing websites all across the world for years, now. The downloading portal, which came into existence in 2003, took the world by storm in the free file sharing marketplace. People can freely download whatnot, you can name it, movies, software, games, ebooks, music packages, and much more without getting into the hassle of complicated user interfaces and unnecessary files.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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
7. 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.
8. Russian Watchdog to Place a Blockade on Pirate Apps
Russia is planning action against apps that facilitate access to pirated content. If app developers don't quickly respond to a request from authorities to cease distribution of their software, telecoms watchdog Roscomnadzor will demand action against platforms such as Google Play and Apple's App Store. Failure to respond could result in ISP blockades.
9. NBCUniversal Sued For Using New York Photographer's Photos
New York-based photographer Mark Seliger has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against NBCUniversal demanding millions of dollars in damages.
10. The Internet Archive's National Emergency Library Controversy
The National Emergency Library recently launched by the Internet Archive now finds itself in the middle of a controversy.
11. 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....
12. 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.
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. Viral Headbutt Video Taken Down Following Gogus Copyright Complaints
A man from the US became a hero last year when a video of him subduing a man who had headbutted someone in the face went viral. The video has been reposted numerous times since but is regularly taken down following bogus copyright complaints. However, the censorship efforts massively backfired this week when someone tried to delete a Reddit thread using a DMCA anti-circumvention notice. Duh...
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. How MalwareBytes Once Blocked Pirate Bay Service
MalwareBytes persistently blocked an essential element of the Pirate Bay platform due to the presence of "a few" cryptocurrency miners on a secondary domain.
19. John Van Stry Wins Piracy Case, Reducing Damages Claim To $9,000
Author John Van Stry has won his copyright infringement lawsuit against former Pirate Party of Canada leader Travis McCrea and his long-defunct eBook download platform eBook.bike. After a year of stressful litigation, the court asked the author to consider reducing his $180,000 damages claim to $9,000 to avoid a full trial. Van Stry accepted but with McCrea now claiming to be broke, it remains to be seen whether the amount will ever be recovered.
20. 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.
21. 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.
22. 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.
23. 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.
24. Video Game Piracy: CS.RIN.RU Says Cash is Needed to Stay Online
CS.RIN.RU is probably the largest forum dedicated to video games piracy on the planet. However, after a reported 17 years in operation, the site's sponsor has reportedly decided to stop funding the site. As a result, the gaming pirates' paradise will have to rely on user donations to keep going.
25. ‘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.
26. 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".
27. 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.
28. 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.
29. 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.
30. 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.
31. The Pirate Bay Alternatives: 5 Torrent Sites To Visit
Well, if you are a frequent torrent user, then you might be well aware of the mass torrent ban that happened in 2016. After that, almost every major torrent portals like Torretz, KickAsss Torrents, ExtraTorrents, etc has been shut down by the authority. Not only that, but the Government is also trying hard to restrict users from visiting torrent sites.
32. 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.
33. 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.
34. 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.
35. 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.
36. 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.
37. 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.
38. 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.
39. 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?
40. 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."
41. 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.
42. 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.
43. 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.
44. 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.
45. 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.
46. 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.
47. 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.
48. Streaming Site Nites.tv Gets The "Seizure" Notice, Causing More Talks
Movie and TV show streaming site Nites.tv hit the mainstream during the past few weeks, with news sites on several continents reporting on the platform seemingly out of nowhere. Now, however, the site is redirecting to the anti-piracy portal of the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment after an apparent seizure. Strangely, a number of things don't add up.
49. 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.
50. 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.
51. 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."
52. Big Movie Studios Handed a Site-Blocking Injunction Against 86 Piracy Sites
A judge at the Federal Court of Australia has handed down a site-blocking injunction against 86 piracy-related sites accessible from 115 domains. The application, filed by the MPA including Netflix, plus Roadshow Films and several other studios, targets torrent sites, streaming portals, subtitle sites, and various related unblocking/proxy platforms. All must be rendered inaccessible by 50 local ISPs.
53. 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.
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