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24 Feb 2006
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) yesterday filed seven lawsuits in federal courts across the US against eDonkey and newsgroup websites allegedly responsible for facilitating the illegal swapping of copyrighted files.
The sites provide a huge directory of illegal content to users, according to the MPAA, and encourage people to traffic in copyrighted motion pictures, television shows, music, software and games.
"Website operators who abuse technology to facilitate infringements of copyrighted works by millions of people are not anonymous. They can and will be stopped," said John Malcolm, executive vice president and director of worldwide anti-piracy operations at the MPAA.
"Disabling these powerful networks of illegal file distribution is a significant step in stemming the tide of piracy on the internet."
The lawsuits mark the first time that the MPAA is taking action against sites that enable users of newsgroups to find and download illegal content.
Torrent sites Isohunt.com, BTHub.com, TorrentBox.com and NiteShadow.com are on the MPAA's hit list, along with TorrentSpy.com which it claims is the world's most visited site for obtaining infringing content using Torrent software.
The site offers over 160,000 content items including 27,182 movies, 21,130 TV shows and 45,000 music items.
Meanwhile, Ed2k-It.com, a leading eDonkey site with over 46,000 registered members, is also being targeted together with newsgroups NZB-Zone.com, BinNews.com and DVDRs.net.
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Do you agree?
Quality Wars
I find the prospect of trying before buying an appealing service that many torrent sites provide. To sue these sites for sharing what i presume to be inferiour quality produce is surely counter productive to all that the MPAA stands for. I for one will not be buying any dvd that is manufactured by any menbers of the MPAA again as i do not like to see the freedom of information that the internet provides being infringed by the movie moguls bullying techniques. I will point out that i have only ever downloaded material from the internet that is old enough to be beyond copyright law and unavailable in any other way. Its a shame that i no longer will be able to morally pay for superiour quality merchandise but so mote it be. Once again the reasons for my stance are that i believe :- A/ These torrents are inferiour to the real thing B/ It is incomprehensable that an organisation representing a country that advocates free speach believes it is right to infringe on freedom on the internet Does the MPAA want to restrict freedom of information? if so then they should change there name from Motion Picture Association of America to MPCAFS or Motion Picture Corporations Against Free Speach which to all intent and purpose is what they appear to be advocating by these completely draconian and anti american measures. I urge anyone who uses the internet to boycott buying Products by any of the MPAA members. I have this feeling of being here before and would conclude this response by quoting a poem written in the last century. First They Came for the Jews First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me. Pastor Martin Niemöller
Posted by: Megalith 05 Mar 2006
Cashing double? Thinking straight?
The MPAA forgets that we as downloaders already pay extra for blank cd's and dvd's. What is the use of this lawsuit? Probably just money, because histiry shows that after shutting down 1 site, 10 others appear You simply cannot stop this. Others say: i listen a few tracks and when i like it, i'll buy it. First let them prove that there is a substantial damage done by downloaders. Earlier surveys reported that downloading material is hurting a bit, but most downloaders will actually buy what they like; in other words: when e.e. Metallica releases a crappy album, downloaders who don't like it won't throw their money away. So the criterium should be: offer quality, put in extra's in the booklets so downloaders become buyers. Not punishing them but encouraging them. This is what we call "blindsighted".
Posted by: Dutch Avenger 27 Feb 2006