Wed, 30th June

UK consumers hardening against copyright theft, claims survey
Ipsos MORI releases its Monetising Digital Content report today. 53% agree that it’s acceptable for ISPs to restrict download speeds of persistent copyright infringers – up from 48% last year – while 52% also say it’s acceptable for ISPs to suspend access for persistent infringers – up from 45%. Ipsos MORI claims this shows there won’t be “a big backlash” if the Digital Economy Act anti-copyright theft measures come into force next year.

Source: musically.com

Wed, 30th June

Businesses need to comply with Digital Economy Act
A recent report has highlighted the fact that businesses also need to comply with laws relating to illegal downloading as outlined in the Digital Economy Act, and should therefore ensure that they have adequate security in place.

Source: broadband-expert.co.uk

Wed, 30th June

Creative economy is under attack: Time to act
Europe, the United States and Japan need to have strong intellectual property laws to protect the creative economy which is under attack, according to the heads of leading business groups.

Source: euractiv.com

Wed, 30th June

Early Day Motion to repeal Digital Economy Act making little headway
An Early Day Motion to repeal parts of the Digital Economy Act (DEA) 2010 has only gained 34 signatories in a month. The motion (EDM17) put forward by Julian Huppert, Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge hopes to remove some parts of the Act that were hurried through by the last government.

Source: thinkbroadband.com

Wed, 30th June

Canada's copyright laws show Britain's digital legislation is no exception
Cory Doctorow reports that Canada is looking to amend its copyright legislation.

Source: guardian.co.uk

Wed, 30th June

Hollywood, Bollywood launch anti-copyright theft drive
The recently formed coalition between Hollywood and Bollywood to battle copyright theft will now be known as the Alliance Against Copyright Theft, and Tuesday launched a toll-free anti-copyright theft hotline covering the Mumbai area. The coalition was jointly launched in March by the Mumbai-based India office of the Motion Picture Association of America and top Indian banners and distribution companies such as Reliance Big Entertainment, UTV Motion Pictures, Yash Raj Films, Moser Baer Entertainment and Studio18.

Source: hollywoodreporter.com

Wed, 30th June

Red Lambda Helps Universities to Lessen Rate of Illegal File Sharing
Red Lambda, Inc. is a provider of identity-aware network solutions. The company recently announced that it is organizing an initiative to help U.S. college campuses to decrease the rate of illegal file sharing, as the Higher Education Opportunity Act is set to take effect from July 1. With this law, it will be the first time that the U.S. Department of Education has enforced illegal file sharing restrictions of any kind. Among the provisions of the act, now it is mandatory for universities to employ one or more technology-based deterrents to file sharing.

Source: education.tmcnet.com

Tue, 29th June

Organisations must ensure compliance with Digital Economy Act 2010
The Digital Economy Act 2010 received Royal Assent in April of this year creating an obligation on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in certain circumstances to provide customer and user details to copyright holders if evidence is presented to the ISP that copyright material has been unlawfully downloaded. In addition, ISPs may be required to impose “technical measures” such as restriction of services, on their customers if users are found to be infringing copyright.

Source: securitypark.co.uk

Tue, 29th June

Journalists' Union To Support Court Challenges Against Digital Economy Act
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) will support legal challenges to the recently passed Digital Economy Act, according to a new national policy. The new policy, which was signed off by the NUJ's National Executive Council in May, raises concern from other industry groups that the Act's measures could be used against sites that publish material of public interest without permission, such as the whistleblowing site Wikileaks.

Source: beforeitsnews.com

Tue, 29th June

Pirate Bay founding group disbands
The Swedish anti-copyright group Piratbyran, which gave rise to the popular file-sharing website The Pirate Bay has disbanded. Marcin de Kaminski, a founder of Piratbyran, which means "piracy bureau" in English, told BBC News "we don't feel we are needed" any more. The group also decided to close following the death of a co-founder.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Tue, 29th June

Pirate Bay Founding Group Abandons Ship
Swedish pro-copyright-theft group Piratbyran – creator of the notorious BitTorrent tracker ‘The Pirate Bay’ – has disbanded, claiming that it has “had its day”, and “the discussions about file-sharing that Piratbyran wanted to have, are already won”.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Tue, 29th June

The truth about file sharing
Jonathan Parkyn reports that file sharing itself is not illegal, but some people use the technology illegally.

Source: computeractive.co.uk

Tue, 29th June

Hadopi warnings due in September
Web anti-copyright-theft body Hadopi has confirmed it is finally ready to begin work, with the first warning emails to illegal downloaders due in September. The official decrees that are necessary for Hadopi to do its job have now been signed and France's data protection body Cnil has approved the group's work.

Source: connexionfrance.com

Tue, 29th June

Innocenzo Genna: Fighting Against Copyright Theft Can't be Done By Repressive Reactions But Only By Creating a Market for Legal Content
Turk.internet.com interviews the former ECTA chairman, a telecom and internet regulatory specialist, Innocenzo Genna regarding a New York Federal Court ruling that Youtube had not infringed Viacom’s copyright. Innocenzo Genna argues that, “the phenomena of piracy derives mainly from the absence on legal content and innovative content business in the Internet. Piracy should therefore be fought through the creation of a market for legal content, not with repression against Internet users.”

Source: turk.internet.com

Mon, 28th June

New Research Suggests Digital Economy Act & ACTA Will Stifle Creativity
Research from the University of Leicester suggests that highly restrictive copyright laws and enforcement regimes actually serve to harm creative output and the creative industries.

Source: techdirt.com

Mon, 28th June

U.S. copyright theft concerns loom large over Russia's WTO bid
U.S. business groups said on Friday they hoped President Barack Obama's pledge to help Russia join the World Trade Organization soon meant Moscow will finally honor promises it made more than three years ago to crack down on copyright theft.

Source: reuters.com

Mon, 28th June

US judge dismisses copyright suit against Google
A judge in the US has thrown out a $1bn lawsuit brought by Viacom that accused Google of allowing copyrighted videos to appear on YouTube without permission.

Source: legalbrief.co.za

Fri, 25th June

Ofcom consults on future of internet traffic
Ofcom will study how broadband providers manage internet traffic over their networks, to crack down on potentially anti-competitive behaviour and bring greater transparency to the market. ISPs are increasingly questioning whether media groups who provide bandwidth-hungry services, such as online video and streamed music services, should pay for preferential access. Ofcom is concerned that the management of internet traffic by the broadband companies could lead to anti-competitive behaviour, as they could favour some content providers while suppressing others.

Source: independent.co.uk

Fri, 25th June

ISPs face scrutiny on traffic management
Regulators are poised to order internet service providers to supply more information to consumers about whether they throttle web traffic  at peak usage.
Ofcom, the telecommunications watchdog, said on Thursday that concern was intensifying about how broadband providers manage fast-increasing data traffic on networks to prevent infrastructure becoming overloaded.

Source: ft.com

Fri, 25th June

Ofcom To Look Into Net Neutrality
UK telecoms regulator Ofcom has opened a debate on the concept of 'Net neutrality' in the UK. Net neutrality is name given to the concept that all data carried by broadband connections should be treated equally. The idea isn't popular with many Internet service providers, who use traffic management techniques to dissuade certain users from using large amounts of bandwidth for such activities as file sharing.

Source: itproportal.com

Fri, 25th June

Obama tries to kill off internet copyright theft
Obama has vowed to kill off copyright theft with an extensive action system designed to protect the intellectual property of US citizens. After some extensive lobbying from the RIAA and MPAA and a report on net copyright theft the Obama administration is now making efforts to eliminate illegal file-sharing online.

Source: techeye.net

Thu, 24th June

Hollywood lauds White House copyright theft plan
The White House's plan to combat copyright theft was viewed in Hollywood as a way forward, and as much a set of action items as it is a signal of the administration's treatment of the vexing problem of copyright theft as a priority. The 61-page plan, unveiled by Vice President Joseph Biden and the administration's "copyright czar," Victoria Espinel, on Tuesday, is heavy on ways to boost current law enforcement efforts and to make them more effective, whether by greater coordination among government agencies or via more rigorous efforts to engage foreign governments to curb infringement.

Source: variety.com

Thu, 24th June

President Obama 'declares war' on film copyright theft
US president Barack Obama has announced that his administration will conduct the first-ever strategic plan on intellectual property enforcement. The plan hopes to boost and better coordinate efforts to stop copyright theft at home and abroad.

Source: nme.com

Thu, 24th June

Obama Administration Announces Massive Copyright Theft Crackdown
The U.S. administration has rolled out its vision to fight copyright theft.

Source: dailytech.com

Thu, 24th June

US launches Operation Global Hoax to nab copyright theft
The first strategic plan to enforce the protection of intellectual property was announced by the Obama administration on Tuesday, involving various government agencies including the Commerce and Justice Departments.

Source: independent.co.uk

Thu, 24th June

Joe Biden: File-Sharing Is Public Enemy # Something
Vice President Joe Biden has thrown the Executive Department's weight behind the debate over internet copyright theft.

Source: i4u.com

Thu, 24th June

Petition: ACTA 'threatens' public interests
About 650 people, including 11 members of the European Union Parliament and about 90 intellectual property (IP) professors, have signed a document saying an international IP enforcement agreement being negotiated by the U.S. and 36 other countries "threatens numerous public interests." The document, released by American University's Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property Wednesday, raises a wide range of concerns about the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).

Source: computerworld.com

Thu, 24th June

US copyright thieve hunters target movies
An organisation set up in the US to track down and punish illegal file-sharers is coming under increasing scrutiny from civil liberty groups. The US Copyright Group (USCG) has been working on behalf of a range of movie makers, most notably those behind box office hit The Hurt Locker. It has pledged to target 150,000 illegal downloaders in coming months.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Thu, 24th June

CBS looks at streaming shows online
US television network CBS is in talks to make its top shows available on the internet streaming service Hulu.com. CBS was the last hold-out among the big four American TV networks and had not joined its rivals - General Electric's NBC, Rupert Murdoch's Fox and Disney's ABC - in the joint venture that launched Hulu in 2008.

Source: independent.co.uk

Wed, 23rd June

Biden to file sharers: copyright theft is theft
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has argued that people commit theft when they share unauthorised copies of film and music over the internet. "We used to have a problem in this town saying this," Biden told reporters at a press conference in Washington, D.C. "But piracy is theft. Clean and simple. It's smash and grab. It ain't no different than smashing a window at Tiffany's and grabbing [merchandise]." Biden spoke to the media alongside Victoria Espinel, the U.S. intellectual property enforcement coordinator, to introduce the government's strategy on protecting the country's intellectual property.

Source: news.cnet.com

Wed, 23rd June

DOJ, FBI to Monitor Foreign Web Sites for IP Copyright Theft
The White House on Tuesday unveiled an intellectual property strategy that will include an examination of international Web sites that traffic in counterfeit products. "Now, more than ever, we need to protect the ideas, artistry, and our reputation for quality, provide our businesses with the incentives to make each new product better, reduce crimes related to intellectual property infringement and keep dangerous counterfeits out of our supply chain to protect our citizens," Victoria Espinel, U.S. intellectual property enforcement coordinator, said in a statement.

Source: pcmag.com

Wed, 23rd June

Edinburgh Film Festival – Day 6
Business development consultant Brian Newman (formerly CEO of Tribeca Film Institute) has given a controversial talk at Edinburgh Film Festival on the future of the film market. He stated that in his opinion, the biggest threat to filmmakers is not copyright theft, but obscurity. He argued that the internet and accessible technology has created an almost limitless sea of film content which it is easy to get lost in, and copyright theft has become a fact of life.

Source: creativeboom.co.uk

Wed, 23rd June

Movie copyright theft costing $70m a year
Downloading illegal digital content is costing the New Zealand film industry $70 million annually and is impacting on everyone from set builders to film distributors and DVD retailers, an anti-copyright organisation says. New Zealand Federation Against Copyright Theft executive director Tony Eaton said hundreds of New Zealanders were looking for film funding and the money the industry loses could be put to better use.

Source: nzherald.co.nz

Wed, 23rd June

Website launches "ethical music downloading" in hopes of tackling copyright theft
A new music download website has come up with a way to tackle music copyright theft and to help charities by launching what the founders have described as "ethical music downloading". Co-founders Jonny Woolf and Lee Cannon, who worked in the music industry for over 20 years, launched the website Fairsharemusic.com to find a way to encourage people to support artists legally rather than turning to illegal download sites. The website, which has over 8.5 million tracks for users to buy, gives half its net profit to its charity partners, including Amnesty International, Great Ormond Street and the British Red Cross.

Source: nzherald.co.nz

Wed, 23rd June

Google targeted by BPI for linking to illegal downloads
Britain's biggest recording industry association, the BPI, has sent a cease-and-desist order to Google, asking the search engine to take down links to nine "one-click hosting" sites, each of which hosts thousands of illegal songs.

Source: guardian.co.uk

Tue, 22nd June

Pirates harness technology for scams
Speaking at the Cinema Expo in Amsterdam on Monday, Paramount Pictures chief operating officer Frederick Huntsberry said copyright thieves have adopted the business models of legitimate enterprises like iTunes to fool buyers into purchasing memberships to illegal sites where they can download films just days after their cinema release. While it's a bleak picture, some educational campaigns are showing positive results, according to Liz Bales, director general of the U.K.'s Industry Trust for IP Awareness, which promotes copyright protection.

Source: variety.com

Tue, 22nd June

Hollywood Faces New Copyright Theft Threat
Movie fans downloading free unauthorised copies of films are no longer Hollywood's worst nightmare, but that's only because of a newer menace: cheap, and equally illegal, subscription services.

Source: abcnews.go.com

Tue, 22nd June

Fight copyright theft by making DVDs cheaper, say 54%
More than half (54.1 percent) of the respondents to a PC Advisor poll suggested that media firms should beat filesharers by cutting the price of CDs and DVDs. Answering the question 'How should music and film companies combat illegal filesharing?', a further 21.6 percent chose the option 'Focus on ad-supported streaming services, such as Spotify'.

Source: networkworld.com

Mon, 21st June

What is Secret Cinema?
Secret Cinema is a 'club' with 60,000 members and over 30,000 Facebook followers. Each month, a film is screened in an undisclosed location, transporting people into what some suggest is a 'surreal reality'. The Founder of Secret Cinema Fabien Riggall says he feels it is important that the audience becomes part of the event.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Mon, 21st June

Anti-downloading law not needed: InternetNZ
InternetNZ says special legislation to tackle illicit music and movie downloading may not be needed, but if it is, it can be simpler and less punitive than the Bill currently before a select committee in New Zealand’s parliament.

Source: computerworld.co.nz

Fri, 18th June

Coming to a living room near you, 3D TV with battery-powered specs
A TV set that uses battery-powered spectacles in an effort to give a better 3D effect in the home than at the cinema is being launched in Britain by Sony next month.

Source: thisislondon.co.uk

Fri, 18th June

APB, Maple Story and the future of games
Rory Cellan-Jones reports on the games industry’s attempts to make money online.

Source: bbc.co.uk

Thu, 17th June

French ISP’s Anti-P2P Tool Has Glaring Security Flaw
The ISP Orange has offered French internet users a tool to reinforce their “protection against illegal downloading” for €2 per month, but the program contained a security hole that made all of the IP addresses using the service publicly available. Orange claims that the problem has now been fixed.

Source: zeropaid.com

Thu, 17th June

40,000 protest delay of Spanish copyright theft law
Copyright theft cost the Spanish government some €500 million ($614 million) in uncollected taxes in 2009, according to the Association of Spanish Video Companies (AEVIDEO) president Jose Luis Carrera. Carrera made the announcement as he presented 40,000 signatures in the Spanish parliament Tuesday (June 15) to protest the "excessive slowness" of the passage of the Law of Economic Sustainability, also known as the "anti-download law" as it allows judges to close websites offering illegal content.

Source: hollywoodreporter.com

Wed, 16th June

Vodafone in line to join file-sharing clampdown
Vodafone Ireland is in talks with the record industry to join Eircom in its “three strikes and you’re out” rule for those involved in illegal file-sharing. A pilot scheme to implement what Eircom also calls the “graduated response protocol” has been under way since last month and about 800 illegal file-sharers have already received a warning.

Source: irishtimes.com

Wed, 16th June

Why are so many films underperforming this summer?
Simon Brew discusses the underperforming of some of this year’s big blockbusters and considers whether copyright theft or franchises and sequels are to blame.

Source: denofgeek.com

Tues, 15th June

Ofcom gives BBC go-ahead for Freeview anti-copyright theft technology
Ofcom has granted the BBC the power to introduce anti-copyright theft technology to Freeview to limit the illegal copying of high-definition TV shows, despite complaints from organisations including the Open Rights Group that it is not in consumer or competition interest.

Source: guardian.co.uk

Tues, 15th June

Disney start selling cinema tickets on Facebook
Disney has started selling cinema tickets on Facebook. An application on Disney’s Toy Story page prompts users to invite their friends to the movies when they purchase their tickets. Users can purchase tickets directly within the application.

Source: sociable.net

Tues, 15th June

Film Director: File Sharing Only Hurts Bad Or Mediocre Films
TorrentFreak asked independent film director Sam Bozzo to comment on his experiences having his two most recent films leaked to BitTorrent. Sam Bozzo argues that if you make a good film, having it leaked to BitTorrent can only help. It’s only bad if your film isn’t very good.

Source: techdirt.com

Tues, 15th June

HMV to launch music download site
HMV Canada is launching a digital downloading site as part of a bid to recapture lost sales. The move comes as sales of recorded music, both in stores and online, remain under attack from free illegal downloading sites.

Source: thestar.com

Mon, 14th June

Max, 66: I am a net copyright thief
A pensioner faces being sued after he was accused of downloading an unauthorised copy of dance music - from a band he's never heard of. Max Morris, 66, is said to have breached copyright rules by downloading Cascada's single Evacuate the Dancefloor and sharing it over the internet. But he insists he hasn't a clue who the act are and was more than 500 miles from his home web connection when he's supposed to have broken the law.

Source: thesun.co.uk

Mon, 14th June

Jeremy Hunt: 'We have a media policy, not a BBC policy'
In his first interview as culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt talks to Jane Martinson about his priorities, from Ofcom to broadband and the future of the BBC.

Source: guardian.co.uk

Mon, 14th June

Virgin Media's digital dreams
Emma Barnett talks to Virgin Media's executive director of digital entertainment, Cindy Rose, about the cable company's plan to bring the best of the web to the TV screen following its partnership agreement with TiVo.

Source: telegraph.co.uk

Mon, 14th June

SKY are rolling out Anytime+
Sky is rolling out Anytime+ , allowing customers to access a library of thousands of hours of TV, including box-sets and up to 500 films. It will have a wide range of content from non-Sky channels, as well as shows from Sky Movies, Sky Sports, Sky Arts and Sky 1.

Source: thesun.co.uk

Fri, 11th June

RIAA Demands LimeWire Be Shutdown
The RIAA has asked U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood to issue a permanent injunction against LimeWire, arguing that it has “suffered – and will continue to suffer – irreparable harm” if it’s allowed to continue operating and distributing the program, as Limewire facilitates the unauthorised free distribution of copyrighted works.

Source: zeropaid.com

Fri, 11th June

O2 network scraps unlimited data for smartphones
UK phone network O2 has scrapped unlimited data downloads for smartphone customers. All new and upgrading customers will have their usage capped at between 500 Megabytes (MB) and one gigabyte (GB) depending on their monthly tariff. Analysts said the move was "inevitable" as more and more consumers switch to data-intensive smartphones that can surf the web and show video.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Fri, 11th June

PlayStation 3D pips rivals
Sony has pipped rivals to launch the UK's first 3D gaming system on its PlayStation 3. Owners of the consoles can download a free upgrade from today. All new machines will have the technology built-in. However, to experience the latest thrills, gamers will need to invest in a 3D TV and wear 3D glasses.

Source: thesun.co.uk

Thu, 10th June

Do our creative industries have the hunger – or the nous – for the globalised age?
Will Turner, chief executive of The Hospital Group, owners of The Hospital Club, writes on the challenges facing the UK's creative industries in an increasingly globalised market. He also calls for the privatisation of BBC Worldwide.

Source: independent.co.uk

Thu, 10th June

ITV is 'in talks with Apple, Blackberry and Google' about launching first UK TV catch-up app
ITV is preparing to launch a catch-up service that allows viewers to watch its programmes on the move. The broadcaster is in talks with Apple, BlackBerry and Google Android about launching an ITV Player mobile application. A senior executive close to the channel said: "Having a 30-day catch-up service, available on smartphones, is an incredibly important part of ITV's digital strategy. "There will be a one-off payment for the app, which will be populated on a daily basis with new content."

Source: telegraph.co.uk

Thu, 10th June

Apple's celestial jukebox
The music industry hopes Apple can turn consumers on to paid for digital streaming.

Source: canadianbusiness.com

Thu, 10th June

Has Stealing Music Stolen Your Mind?
Rick Carnes writes about how people convince themselves of the most absurd things to justify the illegal act of taking someone else’s music.

Source: huffingtonpost.com

Thu, 10th June

Bloxx Highlights Risks Of Illegal Downloading
Bloxx, the innovator in Web and Email content filtering, has highlighted the risks faced by UK organisations that may have inadequate security systems and procedures in place to prevent their staff or users from downloading copyright material from the Internet.

Source: securitywatch.co.uk

Thu, 10th June

Speechcrime: Netherlands Rules Talking or Writing About Copyright Theft is Illegal
Courts in the Netherlands have ruled that is illegal to write about copyright theft, in a ruling against internet users who would "spot" the locations of various films on Usenet and post them to an online group.

Source: dailytech.com

Wed, 9th June

UK Copyright Law Enters 21st Century Following Recent Legal Case
The Federation Against Software Theft has hailed as 'historic' the recent judgement taken by Mr Justice Kitchin in Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation & others v Newzbin Limited case. The Judge found that Newzbin had committed copyright infringement by authorising infringement, that it was jointly liable being involved in a common design with its users to infringe and it was an infringer by the direct means of making available by communication to the public.

Source: freshbusinessthinking.com

Wed, 9th June

UK ISPA Awards Reveal Internet Hero and Villain Finalists for 2010
The UK Internet Service Providers Association ( ISPA ) has officially revealed the finalists for its Internet Hero and Internet Villain gongs at the forthcoming 12th annual industry awards. The two categories are done in an almost 'Good vs Evil' style and unsurprisingly for this year we have a very difficult set of choices.

The Internet Hero category recognises the person or organisation that deserves recognition for promoting, developing or defending the interests of the Internet industry in the past year. The Internet Villain category recognises those that have upset the industry and hampered its development. The ISPA Council is responsible for selecting the shortlist and eventual winners.

Source: ispreview.co.uk

Wed, 9th June

So we say thank you for the mimics
Come in, Abba Mania, Abba Queens and AbbaDabbaDoo, your time is up. Lawyers representing the original Swedish foursome's label have told tribute bands it is time to stop making money off their good name, threatening to sue those that continue to perform under some derivation of Abba. Universal Music in Sweden seems to have realised – 22 years after the group split up – that Abba is a valuable trademark and they should do more to defend their charge's intellectual copyright.

Source: ispreview.co.uk

Wed, 9th June

Economists defend UK film tax breaks
Ending the tax relief given out to encourage filmmaking in the UK would cost the economy £1.4bn, a report on the economics of the British film industry warned today .
The UK Film Council, which represents the industry, is concerned about the impact of possible government cuts. Its chief executive, John Woodward, said the 104-page report (pdf), by Oxford Economics, was "timely".

Source: guardian.co.uk

Mon, 5th June

Rights Groups Enter Illegal Downloading Fight
Civil rights and consumer organizations are backing Time Warner Cable's federal court effort to block subpoenas for the names and addresses of thousands of individuals who allegedly downloaded movies illegally.

The subpoenas are the result of a litigation campaign by US Copyright Group, a Washington-based venture launched by the intellectual property law boutique, Dunlap, Grubb & Weaver, with offices in Washington, and Vienna and Leesburg, Va.

The campaign is targeting users of the BitTorrent file-sharing application. In an update Wednesday on the law firm's website, the firm noted that more than 50,000 individuals have been sued so far in connection with the downloading of 10 films, including "Call of the Wild 3D" and "Far Cry."

Source: law.com

Mon, 5th June

Hollywood battles piracy with free movie streams at home
Movie fans are being given the chance to watch their choice of blockbusters at home for nothing, as a host of Hollywood studios team up with UK-based technology firm Blinkbox to run a week-long free streaming service in an effort to lure internet users away from pirated material.

As part of the "Full Stream Ahead" campaign, which is backed by the UK Film Council and BFI, and launches tomorrow, anyone accessing the Blinkbox website from fullstreamahead.co.uk will be offered £20 credit to spend on films from studios including Paramount, Sony Pictures, Universal, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. Titles include Avatar, Sherlock Holmes and Up in the Air.

Source: guardian.co.uk

Mon, 5th June

Noel Clarke Wants British Ambition
Noel Clarke believes that the British film industry need to be more ambitious to make their movies more commercially appealing.

The actor and director, whose movie 4.3.2.1. was released last weeks, claims that he agrees with Ken Loach's comments that the Hollywood blockbuster dominates cinema screens in the U.K.

Speaking to Digital Spy the actor said: "I definitely agree with him [Ken Loach]. I'm not sick of them showing Hollywood films, they have to show them. "They're the films that get big audiences but I think British films need to be put on the market as well.

Source: femalefirst.co.uk

Mon, 5th June

Danny Boyle lined up to direct 2012 Olympics opening ceremony
Organisers are believed to have approached Boyle, who directed the international box-office hit Slumdog Millionaire, to direct the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games, which will take place at the newly constructed Olympic stadium in Stratford.

Source: independent.co.uk

Fri, 4th June

Law firms try to get broadband users to incriminate themselves
According to a recent report one law firm has been sending out questionnaires to broadband users in the hope of getting them to incriminate themselves or someone that they know with regards to illegal downloading and file sharing.

Now that the Digital Economy Bill has been passed into law and the UK’s communications regulator Ofcom has released its proposals with regards to the disconnection of internet users who are found to be illegally file sharing it appears that law firms are starting to come out of the woodwork with hopes that they can make money from pursuing payment from those that have illegally downloaded or shared copyrighted material.

Source: broadband-expert.co.uk

Fri, 4th June

Google wants to patent technology used to 'snoop' Wi-Fi networks
Google's secret Wi-Fi snooping was powered by new sniffing technology that the company wants to patent, court documents filed Wednesday alleged.

A just-amended complaint in a class-action lawsuit first submitted two weeks ago claims that a patent Google submitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in November 2008 shows that the search giant purposefully created technology to gather, analyze and use data sent by users over their wireless networks.

Source: computerworld.com

Fri, 4th June

Online copyright infringement: have your say
As part of its duties under the Digital Economy Act 2010, Ofcom has published a draft code of practice aimed at cutting online copyright infringement. Ofcom is seeking comments (from all online users) on the draft code until 30 July.

Source: direct.gov.uk

Thu, 3rd June

European Parliament paving way for tougher anti-piracy rules
A vote in the European Parliament has given a boost to a report by a French centre-right MEP seen as a hardline anti-piracy advocate and whose opponents claim will pave the way for draconian policies to stop people from downloading content illegally.
There appears to be no end in sight to an ongoing anti-piracy row in the European Parliament about how to stop illegal downloading, echoing a similar debate that derailed the EU's telecoms package last year.

Source: euractiv.com

Thu, 3rd June

Ashton Kutcher - Kutcher Defends 'Piracy' Promotion
ASHTON KUTCHER has defended his decision to 'pirate' the first 13 minutes of his new film KILLERS online, insisting internet piracy will soon be a thing of the past when movie executives figure out a way of cashing in on the idea.
 
The tech-savvy star broadcast the opening of the comedy direct to select fan sites from the premiere in Los Angeles on Tuesday night (01Jun10), prompting criticism from film experts and critics alike, who accused him of making light of a serious industry issue.

Source: contactmusic.com

Tue,1st June

UPDATE UK Broadband ISPs Respond to Ofcoms Copyright Infringement Code
Several broadband ISPs, including O2 and Virgin Media UK, have this morning begun issuing their reactions to last week's publication of a draft 'Online Copyright Infringement Initial Obligations Code' consultation by Ofcom (code summary). Most of the early responses are somewhat soft, which is to be expected. The first document does not touch on the most contentious area of technical measures (customer punishments).

Source: ispreview.co.uk

Tue,1st June

Warner Brothers Accused of Using Pirated Anti-Piracy Technology
The movie giant is being sued after allegations that it stole DRM intellectual property from another company.

In an effort to combat cyberspace piracy, movie companies  have begun aggressively going after both the sites that provide access to illegal downloads and their customers as well.   In their latest efforts, some are incorporating digital rights technology to help restrict the use of their digital content online.

Source: dailytech.com

Tue,1st June

Five trends from Google’s list of the world’s top 1,000 websites
The majority of internet users are focused on connecting with friends, downloading illegal movies and discovering bargains, according to Google's list of the most popular 1,000 websites.

Source: smartcompany.com.au

Tue,1st June

Hurt Locker producers sue 5,000 over digital piracy
Producers of The Hurt Locker are suing 5,000 people who allegedly downloaded copies of the Oscar-winning film from the internet in the latest attempt to fight digital piracy. The Hurt Locker won six Oscars, including Best Picture, but earned only $16.4 million (£11.3 million) at the US box office, making it one of the least commercially successful winners of the top prize in the modern era.

Voltage Pictures, the company that produced the film, is determined to track down those who watched it on home computers and wants damages for copyright infringement.

Source: telegraph.co.uk