TorrentFreak Email Update |
- “Operation In Our Sites” Will Continue Seizing Domains
- Pirate Bay Users Blown Away By Hobo With A Shotgun
- KickassTorrents Ditches .Com Domain Over Seizure Worries
| “Operation In Our Sites” Will Continue Seizing Domains Posted: 07 Apr 2011 04:48 AM PDT
Described by some people as “a parade of strawmen” the hearing focused heavily on Google, and how the search engine should be the one to ensure that online piracy no longer poses a problem. However, a speaker that also delivered some interesting statements was ICE director John Morton, who has been leading the seizures of piracy-related domain names in the past several months. In his witness testimony Morton explained in detail how more than 100 domains were seized in four separate rounds, starting in June of last year. While omitting to mention that many of the sites simply continued under different domains, Morton said that the seizure banners have led to “public education about pirating” as they had received 38 million hits since the start of the operation. Another statement of interest from the ICE director is that Operation In Our Sites is here for the long haul. Despite the critique from journalists, activists and politicians, the US Government will continue to seize domains in the future. “The Operation In Our Sites initiative will continue through 2011 and beyond. ICE’s efforts through this operation successfully disrupt the ability of criminals to purvey copyrighted materials illegally over the internet,” Morton testified. “In addition to the domain names that are seized through this operation, evidence suggests that the operation has a deterrent effect. In fact, following Operations In Our Sites v. 1.0, ICE was notified that 81 of the most active websites that had been offering pirated material voluntarily shut down,” the ICE director added. The rest of Morton’s statement appears to be an effort to justify the domain seizure procedures, directly responding to the many constitutional questions that were posed, in particular the claimed absence of due process. “Operation In Our Sites was developed with the Department of Justice to respect free speech, to provide due process, and to work within the statutory framework provided to us by Congress. Domain names seized under Operation In Our Sites are seized only in furtherance on ongoing criminal investigations into violations of U.S. federal laws.” Although ICE’s definition of due process appears to differ from that preferred by their critics, Morton gave four examples of how domain owners can attempt to get them back after a seizure. However, in reality this turns out to be more problematic than ICE claims it is. The owner of Torrent-Finder, one of the seized domains, told TorrentFreak that his options are rather limited since he can not rely on “constitutional rights” as an Egyptian. He appealed the seizure from the very start, in November of last year, but thus far the case is moving very slowly. Overall, ICE believes that the current way of dealing with domains that are possibly connected to copyright infringement is the best option they have. Morton said that based on “tips from industry representatives” among others, they will continue to seize domains that are deemed to support online piracy. |
| Pirate Bay Users Blown Away By Hobo With A Shotgun Posted: 06 Apr 2011 01:05 PM PDT
But every now and then, however, a movie comes along that both shocks and surprises, and director Jason Eisener’s Hobo with a Shotgun does just that, in more ways than one. The movie began its life as a fake trailer played along with the Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino hit Grindhouse. It ended up winning the South by Southwest Grindhouse trailers contest, which is not bad for a flick featuring the killing of anyone from armed robbers and corrupt cops to a sickeningly abusive Santa Claus. It later developed into a full-length movie and since its official VOD release on April 1st and ‘unofficial’ Internet release a couple of days ago, it’s been riding high on a BitTorrent wave. Having entered the Top 100 movies on The Pirate Bay, at the time of writing it has skyrocketed to an amazing No.13, right up there with the smash mainstream Hollywood hits listed at the start of this post. In the last 24 hours its popularity on IMDb has increased significantly, almost certainly due to people reviewing the unofficial copy. There’s absolutely no doubt that people love it. But the news of the leak initially came as a disappointment to director Jason Eisener. “Today it hurt to hear that people are illegally downloading Hobo With a Shotgun. I saw one torrent seeding over 7600 downloads,” he wrote. “I knew this day would come, I wish I could stop/prevent it from happening, but I can't. I didn't think it would shank me up this much.” Despite realizing there was nothing he could do about it, Eisener headed over to The Pirate Bay. Perhaps he could do something after all? “Please don’t steal my movie. I never stole anything from you guys. The writer and the producers and myself, put our pay checks back into this film, so we could make it happen,” Eisener posted on the site. “If your gonna steal it, at least come to my home and try to steal it from here.” From a dude that fantasizes about grisly shotgun murders and gallons of spraying claret? Not likely. But while the comment solicited a few angry comments, it was interesting to see how the tone changed when Eisener became a little more pragmatic. “If you like it I hope you guys at least support it on DVD or Blu/Ray,” he wrote. “I gave my pay check back to production so the film could be made. It’s hard for indy movies to make back their budget.” Eisener went on to explain that with a lack of a big advertising budget, the movie would not make lots of money. “This film is very far away from being a Hollywood film, it was made with Canadian money in Nova Scotia. Its not making millions, it doesn’t have a marketing machine big enough to do so. Its now on VOD in the states, and will soon be released in the UK and Europe,” he explained. But posters on The Pirate Bay and other torrent sites are quietly confident that being a BitTorrent hit will give this blood-spattered exploitation movie the boost it needs. Eisener is hopeful. “If our film doesn’t make its money back, it would be hard to make another film and pay everyone. We all have to pay rent and heat. I’m new to this, I appreciate people wanting to see my film. I just hope you guys spread the word about the dvd/blu ray or when it comes out in theatres. “I appreciate the supportive comments. If you dig the movie, please support it. I see a lot more people downloading the film today. I’m glad there is demand for the movie and people want to see it. I appreciate those of you who are spreading the word. “Some may feel I’m missing the point on this subject. I hope you guys prove me wrong, we have mouths we still have to feed, so I hope you’re right. Take care,” he concludes. Compare this with the recent trainwreck approach favored by others who file-sharers aren’t even interested in and the difference is staggering. Who’s gong to make the most money? It’s a no brainer. You can read a review of Hobo With A Shotgun here. It sounds like a riot. |
| KickassTorrents Ditches .Com Domain Over Seizure Worries Posted: 06 Apr 2011 06:33 AM PDT
Knowing that they could lose their domain name without warning or due process, many have already secured several alternative domains. Others have taken it a step further and decided to move their sites to non-US controlled domains as a precaution. This example has not been followed by one of the most visited torrent sites. KickassTorrents has been feeling the heat recently. It was one of the sites reported to the US Government last November by the MPAA, who said that it had a “commercial look and feel that could deceive users into thinking it is legitimate.” The United States Trade Representative (USTR) later copied this description in its overview of sites that are "notorious for infringing activities." Paired with the domain seizures, the increasing pressure from the entertainment industry lobby prompted the KickassTorrents team to look out for a new home. Soon the site will no longer be accessible on the .com domain, but on the Philippine extension .ph. KickassTorrent’s founder told TorrentFreak that the move is mostly a precaution and that it is not related to a direct threat. Currently it is possible to access the site through both extensions, but we were informed that the site will move to the new domain entirely in the next two weeks. “It is not a secret that today everything related to torrents gets a lot of heat from various organizations. So for the safety of our users and to secure the work of KickassTorrents we will in time lose the .com address,” the KickassTorrents team further informed its users in a recent announcement. Earlier this week members of the US Congress pledged to pass a new bill which would further legitimize domain seizures as an anti-piracy tool. Several representatives, both Democratic and Republican, spoke out against online piracy in support of tougher measures. The question is, however, how effective this type of measure is in the first place. As illustrated earlier, the costs in the form of constitutional issues and censorship concerns could outweigh the marginal results. KickassTorrents’ decision to move to a new domain is another example of how easily it can be to avoid a seizure. |
The US Government is currently considering new legislation to tackle online piracy. As part of this ongoing effort the House of Representatives organized 
Season of the Witch, TRON Legacy, Battle Los Angeles, The Next Three Days, The Fighter, The Way Back, Source Code, Limitless and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Even to the most casual of fans, it will come as no surprise that these are the movies currently riding high on BitTorrent networks and in the wider world.
Over the past several months a series of domain name seizures by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has resulted in a mild panic among the owners of file-sharing related sites.| You are subscribed to email updates from TorrentFreak To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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