Publishers make bid to close filesharing sites

Publishers make bid to close filesharing sites
Publishing groups take action against two websites accused of sharing copyrighted ebooks, while police seize music sharing site

The message posted by Soca at the music website RnBXclusive
A coalition of US publishing groups has taken legal action in Ireland in a bid to close websites they accuse of copyright infringement.

The crackdown came as the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency announced it would treat illicit filesharing websites as organised crime threats and seized the domain of one popular music site.

Ireland-based websites Library.nu and ifile.it were served with cease and desist court orders on Tuesday after two major publishing groups accused the sites of earning $10.6m (£6.7m) in revenue a year.

The action against alleged filesharers came amid fresh opposition to controversial anti-piracy legislation in Europe. Internet advocacy groups have expressed concern about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta) which has so far been signed by 22 EU member states, including the UK.

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) and the International Publishers Association (IPA) claimed that Library.nu made more than 400,000 copyrighted ebooks available for free.

"While this action is a significant step in shutting down two major rogue websites stealing content from publishers and others, it also captures the enormous investment of time and cost required for rights-holders to protect their work," said Tom Allen, president and chief executive of AAP.

"For every rogue site that is taken down, there are hundreds more demanding similar effort. I can't think of a more timely example of the need for additional tools to expedite such action."

The internet advocacy organisation, Open Rights Group, has called for an urgent meeting with Soca after police took down the music website RnBXclusive and posted an online warning to users visiting the site that users face jail for illegal downloading.

Soca's message was removed late on Wednesday after the police said they had completed a targeted 32-hour crackdown designed to "jolt" copyright infringers.

On Thursday Soca confirmed that three other websites were involved in the crackdown. According to police, one of the unnamed websites voluntarily closed down, another was considering shutting, and another said it only shared "legal" material.

"This is a matter concerning considerable power over access to information, amongst other things," said Peter Bradwell, campaigner at Open Rights Group.


Source: Guardian

Acta protests: Thousands take to streets across Europe

Acta protests: Thousands take to streets across Europe
By Dave Lee
Technology Reporter

Marchers in London

Thousands of people have taken part in co-ordinated protests across Europe in opposition to a controversial anti-piracy agreement.

Significant marches were held in Germany, Poland and the Netherlands against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta).

Around 200 protesters gathered in central London outside the offices of several major rights holders.

Demonstrators argued that Acta will limit freedom of speech online.

However the agreement's supporters insist it will not alter existing laws, and will instead provide protection for content creators in the face of increasing levels of online piracy.

The treaty has to date been signed by 22 EU members, including the UK, but has yet to be ratified by the European Parliament. A debate is due to take place in June.

On Friday, Germany delayed signing the agreement in order to, a spokesman said, "give us time to carry out further discussions".

'In secret'
Saturday's London demonstration was supported by the Open Rights Group, a vocal opponent to the treaty. The group's executive director, Jim Killock, argued that Germany's stance shows Acta negotiations were carried out "in secret" by EU "bureaucrats".

Continue reading the main story
What is Acta?

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is an international treaty aiming to standardise copyright protection measures.
It seeks to curb trade of counterfeited physical goods, including copyrighted material online.
Preventative measures include possible imprisonment and fines.
Critics argue that it will stifle freedom of expression on the internet, and it has been likened to the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa).
Acta has been signed by 22 EU members, including the UK, but is yet to be ratified by the European Parliament.
"Three member states in Europe are now looking like they don't want to sign," he told the BBC.

"That shows that politicians are only really starting to look at this now. All of a sudden, the whole thing is breaking down."

Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have already delayed the process after significant pressure from mostly young people.

"The point today is to say Acta is undemocratic," Mr Killock added.

"It's lacked scrutiny, it's setting up dangerous new pressures to censor the internet to remove users and put pressure on [Internet Service Providers] to start policing for copyright."

More demonstrations were held in other UK cities, including Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Anonymous hackers
The anti-Acta movement has also been widely adopted by members of the Anonymous activist collective, which has claimed responsibility for putting high-profile government websites out of action, including that of the Polish prime minister.

Speaking at the London protest Loz Kaye, leader of the Pirate Party UK, dismissed worries that aligning closely with Anonymous - whose members carry out various illegal activities online - was harmful to their cause.

"What we've seen is a whole wave of people coming out on the streets right across Europe," he told the BBC.

"Some people have been called extreme, but equally, Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières have spoken out. Even The Economist, which is hardly radical, has described the treaty as potentially draconian."

'Greater transparency'
The BBC contacted several key rights holders prior to the demonstration - all of which declined to comment.

The UK's Intellectual Property Office has maintained that Acta "should not" mean new laws relating to internet use.

In a statement, Baroness Wilcox, parliamentary under-secretary for Business, Innovation and Skills, told the BBC: "It was important for the UK to be a signatory of Acta as it will set an international standard for tackling large-scale infringements of [intellectual property rights], through the creation of common enforcement standards and more effective international cooperation.

"During the negotiations, we continually pushed for greater transparency as we believed that this would have led to a better understanding of the agreement by the public."

Source: BBC