Piracy
-
VidAngel Hit With $62.4 Million Damages Ruling for Copyright Infringement
A California District Court jury June 17 ruled bankrupt VidAngel must pay Disney, Warner Bros., Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox, among others, $62.4 million in damages for illegally altering/filtering plaintiff’s DVD/Blu-ray Disc movies for its proprietary streaming video service. VidAngel, based in Provo, Utah, had taken the discs and filtered out content it deemed objectionable, … Continue reading “VidAngel Hit With $62.4 Million Damages Ruling for Copyright Infringement”
-
Spain’s Top Soccer League Fined for Spying on Fans via Mobile App
Spain’s top professional soccer league, “La Liga” has been fined €250,000 ($280,000) for using its mobile app to determine whether users were watching pirated games. The country’s data protection agency said the free Android app, which reportedly has been downloaded nearly 10 million times, enabled fans to keep track of games, scores, player stats and … Continue reading “Spain’s Top Soccer League Fined for Spying on Fans via Mobile App”
-
VidAngel Hit With $62.4 Million Damages Ruling for Copyright Infringement
A California District Court jury June 17 ruled bankrupt VidAngel must pay Disney, Warner Bros., Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox, among others, $62.4 million in damages for illegally altering/filtering plaintiff’s DVD/Blu-ray Disc movies for its proprietary streaming video service. VidAngel, based in Provo, Utah, had taken the discs and filtered out content it deemed objectionable, … Continue reading “VidAngel Hit With $62.4 Million Damages Ruling for Copyright Infringement”
-
Report: Record 13 Million People Illegally Streamed Andy Ruiz Jr.’s Upset TKO of Anthony Joshua
Unheralded Andy Ruiz Jr.’s June 1 upset TKO of Britain’s Anthony Joshua to become the WBO, IBF and WBA Heavyweight champion delivered another blow – this one to fight’s pay-per-view/SVOD business model. More than 13 million people reportedly accessed the fight illegally – the vast majority through YouTube, according to new data from MUSO, the … Continue reading “Report: Record 13 Million People Illegally Streamed Andy Ruiz Jr.’s Upset TKO of Anthony Joshua”
-
Report: U.S. Leads in Global Piracy Website Visits
Despite being home to the Motion Picture Association of America, Netflix, Hulu and other budget over-the-top video services, the United States leads the world in global visits to websites pirating illegal access to TV shows, movies, music and publishing, according to new data from Muso, a digital analytics firm. There were 17.3 billion visits by U.S. … Continue reading “Report: U.S. Leads in Global Piracy Website Visits”
-
Four Brits Sentenced to Multiyear Jail Terms for Illegally Streaming Hollywood Movies
Four British men have been sentenced a combined 4.5 years jail time for operating a website that afforded users illegal access to Hollywood movies, including Lionsgate U.K.’s The Expendables 3, before they were available in theatres. Prosecutors say the group – which included Steven Pegram (40), Mark Rollin (37), Paul Taylor (54), and Alan Stephenson (42) — … Continue reading “Four Brits Sentenced to Multiyear Jail Terms for Illegally Streaming Hollywood Movies”
-
Lionsgate U.K.’s ‘Missing Link’ Theatrical Release Gets Anti-Piracy Trailer
The April 5 U.K. theatrical release of Lionsgate U.K.’s animated movie Missing Link features a trailer condemning piracy and showcasing distribution options, including retail. The trailer reflects a partnership between Lionsgate U.K. and The Industry Trust’s “Moments Worth Paying For” consumer education campaign designed to inform against illegal pirating of movies. The campaign directs consumers to the … Continue reading “Lionsgate U.K.’s ‘Missing Link’ Theatrical Release Gets Anti-Piracy Trailer”
-
FTC Issues Netflix Phishing Scam Alert
The Federal Trade Commission has issued an alert to Netflix subscribers about an online phishing scam that attempts to extract personal information from unsuspecting subs, among other issues. Phishing is when someone uses fake emails or texts to get users to share valuable personal information — such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, login IDs … Continue reading “FTC Issues Netflix Phishing Scam Alert”
-
MPAA Boss Calls on Internet Platforms to Improve Digital Ecosystem
Taking a step away from issues involving online piracy of movies and TV shows, Charles Rivkin, CEO of the Motion Pictures Association of America, told an industry gathering that more proactive measures are needed to combat online election meddling, hate speech — and piracy. Speaking Aug. 20 at the Tech Policy Institute’s Aspen Forum in … Continue reading “MPAA Boss Calls on Internet Platforms to Improve Digital Ecosystem”
-
British Man Given 16-Month Jail Term for Selling Pirated Streaming Content
A British man has been sentenced to 16 months in jail for selling streaming media devices embedded with pirated content from satellite TV operator Sky. Warren Gleave, 51, was sentenced Aug. 16 by Burnley Crown Court in the U.K. after pleading guilty in May to violating provisions of the Fraud Act of 2006. Specifically, Gleave … Continue reading “British Man Given 16-Month Jail Term for Selling Pirated Streaming Content”
-
Study: Stolen Logins for OTT Services Proliferate on Dark Web
Hundreds of stolen login details for popular OTT services are available every month on the dark web for an average of only $8.81, according to research from digital platform security firm Irdeto. Dark web marketplaces offer credentials for a range of pay TV and VOD OTT services, meaning legitimate subscribers could have had their accounts … Continue reading “Study: Stolen Logins for OTT Services Proliferate on Dark Web”
-
Brazil’s Team Most Pirated at World Cup
Piracy prevention company Irdeto detected more than 5,000 unique illegal streams redistributing games over the internet during the group stage of the 2018 World Cup. Brazil was the most pirated team, with more than 582 illegal streams detected for Brazil’s three group stage matches, followed by Morocco (561 streams) and Portugal (535 streams). England was … Continue reading “Brazil’s Team Most Pirated at World Cup”