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Google Helps Italians to Unblock Their Favorite Torrent Site Posted: 19 Jul 2011 01:21 AM PDT Recent attempts from the Italian authorities to crack down on one of the largest torrent sites on the Internet have backfired. When BTjunkie was censored in Italy earlier this year, the site’s owner quickly launched a proxy site at the domain proxyitalia.com. The site is a general purpose proxy service which allows Italians to browse the Internet from a foreign IP-address, including blocked sites such as BTjunkie and The Pirate Bay. Although there are thousands of sites like this, the Italian authorities classified proxyitalia.com as illegal. A few days ago the Guardia di Finanza (GdF), the police division tasked with cybercrime cases, took the proxy site offline after a request from Cagliari deputy prosecutor Giangiacomo Pilia. But BTjunkie isn’t going to cave in this fast. After being censored again BTjunkie’s owners launched a new proxy service, but one with a twist. Instead of hosting the proxy on its own domain and servers, BTjunkie is now using Google’s services. “The Italian police have taken freedom of speech censorship to a new low with the blocking of a general purpose proxy. As strong advocates of freedom of speech and open Internet, we feel an overwhelming duty to teach the Italian police a proper lesson on how futile their attempts to silence these fundamental freedoms are,” BTjunkie’s owner explains to TorrentFreak. “First we will spread the word to Italians on how to use a general purpose Google proxy. We will advertise this address on our website and e-mail over a half million registered Italians. Next we will launch a new e-mail notification tool to make it easier for even more Italians to stay up to date with new ways to circumvent any further blocks,” he added. Indeed, it only took a few minutes to start a new proxy on Google’s services, and BTjunkie’s half million Italian members were quickly notified. Not exactly the result the Italian authorities were looking for. BTjunkie’s owner, however, believes that it is his duty to stand up against what he feels is blatant censorship. “As the police continue to push the line of Internet censorship, I hope that Italians wake up and take a stand for their right to communicate on the Internet. Because right now, Italian Internet policies are more like China’s then a Western democracy,” he said. BTjunkie’s owner is not the only one who’s surprised by the far reaching actions of the Italian authorities. Several UK Internet providers have expressed their concerns over the recent censorship attempts in Italy. “This demonstrates a concern with blocking in that it can be a slippery slope to censorship and blocking of legitimate sites,” TalkTalk’s Executive Director of Strategy and Regulation, Andrew Heaney said in a comment. Moving to Google seems to limit the options for the Cagliari deputy prosecutor to crack down on the new proxy. Unless they want to take on Google, and even if they do we have a feeling that a new proxy will surface soon again. It’s a battle that can’t be won. To quote John Gilmore once again: "The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it." Source: Google Helps Italians to Unblock Their Favorite Torrent Site

Church of God Sues Sony Pictures and Comcast for Copyright Infringement Posted: 18 Jul 2011 10:42 AM PDT With more than a million members in the United States and more than 6 million spread over 150 countries worldwide, the Church of God is one of the largest Christian movements. The church was founded in 1886 and since its 100th anniversary 25 years ago it has been using a trademarked cross logo to identify its products and services. In 2010 the logo’s copyright was officially registered in the hope of preventing third parties from abusing the church’s faith. It now appears the registration came just in time. The Church of God logo is now the subject of a lawsuit filed by the church against several parties linked to the making and distribution of the movie Salvation Boulevard which premiered in U.S. theaters last Friday. Salvation Boulevard covers the story of pastor Dan, played by Pierce Brosnan, who turns his church into a business empire using rather unconventional methods. Much to the displeasure of the Church of God, however, pastor Dan’s church uses a logo that is clearly inspired by theirs. In the complaint obtained by TorrentFreak the Church of God accuses the defendants of copyright infringement, trademark infringement and unfair competition by using a mirrored version of the church’s logo in the film. Sony Pictures, Mandalay Pictures, IFC Films and Comcast (as distributor) are listed as defendants in the lawsuit that was filed at the U.S District Court of Eastern Tennessee last week. “Defendants are using a certain ‘cross’ design to promote the Salvation Boulevard film. The design also appears within the film to identify a ‘religious group’ at the center of the film's storyline,” the complaint reads. “Exemplary frames from a promotional trailer of the Salvation Boulevard film are shown below, wherein Defendants' Cross Design is shown on the upper left of the ‘church’ appearing in the frame on the left and on the vest apparel item in the frame to the right.” The infringing logo as used in Salvation Boulevard Through the lawsuit the Church of God hopes to stop the distribution of Salvation Boulevard and the ‘burning’ of all copies, promotional material and merchandise relating to the film. In addition the Church of God demands compensation for the substantial and irreparable harm the misuse of the logo has caused them. This is the second time this year that the makers of a prominent movie have been sued for copyright-related offenses. Previously Mike Tyson’s tattooist sued Warner Bros. because it used a copy of his artwork in The Hangover II. This case was settled last month for an undisclosed amount. The Church of God, however, is hoping to stop the distribution of Salvation Boulevard as soon as possible and has faith that the District Court Judge will hear their prayers for relief. The Complaint Source: Church of God Sues Sony Pictures and Comcast for Copyright Infringement

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