Udta Punjab

Juggernaut

Zahid

Yanni

Xai-Xai

Tanveer Ahmed

Big Bad Wolf

Turkey

In the first six months of 2021, YouTube processed four million automated Content ID claims every day but sometimes the involvement of a human being is the only way to tackle copyright disputes. To this end, YouTube is now seeking a Copyright Operations Specialist who will be required to deal with 'escalated' takedown requests, including those from 'sensitive entities'. YouTubeThose wanting to learn how many DMCA notices have been sent to Google over the past few years need look no further than the copyright section of its vast and constantly updated Transparency Report. This colossal database contains information on more than five billion DMCA takedown requests, including who sent them, when, and which platforms were targeted. When coupled with the Lumen Database there are ample opportunities to research the copyright takedown landscape but there is an important omission. At no point has Google ever published the detailed takedown requests it receives for YouTube. The platform did provide some overall data late last year, revealing that the vast majority of infringements (722 million in the first six months of 2021) were handled via the automated fingerprinting system, Content ID. Dealing with most claims this way provides efficiency for YouTube but there are times when algorithms get things wrong or complex issues such as determining instances of ‘fair use require input from human beings. To this end, Google/YouTube is now seeking to boost its already massive team. Copyright Operations Specialist In a job listing posted a few days ago, Google seeks someone to become a Copyright Operations Specialist at YouTube. This specialist position naturally requires a person with a specific skillset. Ideally, YouTube is looking for someone with experience of SQL and running a quality assurance program but it’s likely that the successful candidate will have a solid knowledge of relevant copyright law too. This will allow them to analyze and cite precedents on copyright-ability, handle complex matters relating to United States and international safe harbor compliance, and deal with exceptions to copyright law such as fair use. Handling ‘High-Risk’ Internal Escalations “As a Copyright Operations Specialist, you will manage high-risk internal escalations, and design and implement strategies to improve our copyright compliance program,” the listing reads. “You will resolve legal challenges, scale and streamline complex workflows, provide outstanding customer support, educate internal stakeholders, and improve the YouTube copyright experience for our users.” The parameters of a ‘high-risk internal escalation’ are not defined in the job listing but it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine that some copyright complaints may carry more risk depending on who sent them, what content they cover, and whether they deal with complex and politically-sensitive fair use arguments, for example. In any event, the successful candidate will be required to carry out a balancing act between obvious legal and regulatory requirements, the needs of YouTube’s users, plus those of YouTube partners and advertisers. Dealing With ‘Sensitive Entities’ Who or what is covered by the term ‘senstive entities’ isn’t something detailed in the listing but it seems reasonable to conclude that interactions with them might become subject to a ‘high-risk’ escalation. At least in theory, every copyright complaint should be as important as any other but in a world where many copyrights are held by massively powerful corporations, it would be no surprise to see a prioritization of resources depending on the potential fallout. Perhaps with this in mind, the listing notes that the successful candidate will also be tasked with handling “appeals of enforcement action from sensitive entities” but YouTube also has an eye on potential copyright abuses too. In addition to ‘escalated’ takedown requests, it appears that DMCA counter-notifications can also be ‘escalated’, something that brings much-needed checks and balances onto the desk of the inbound Copyright Operations Specialist. Those interested in the California-based position can find the listing here. A similar position is also available in Singapore, working in-office or remotely.

A little over a week ago a number of Destiny content creators had DMCA notices filed against their videos on YouTube, claiming that they infringed copyright. Bungie denied having anything to do with the claims and promised to investigate. A copyright lawsuit filed in Washington now reveals that Bungie is serious about making an example of the culprits. Destiny 2Notices of infringment sent by rightsholders under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act are supposed to identify infringing content so that online services can remove it, thus protecting the rightful owners. Increasingly, however, a minority of online actors view DMCA notices as a tool to disrupt and disappear content that isn’t infringing at all. A little over a week ago, persons unknown began sending DMCA notices to YouTube, claiming that the targeted content infringed the rights of games developer Bungie. Working on the basis that the notices were legitimate, YouTube removed the videos, some of which were uploaded by high-profile Destiny content creators. Other notices targeted Bungie’s own channels. At least initially, confusion reigned. Bungie is a supporter of fan-created content and has a policy that specifically allows videos to be uploaded to YouTube. So why was the creator of Destiny damaging itself and its fans? In short, it wasn’t. “We’re aware of a series of copyright takedowns on YouTube and we’re actively investigating. This includes content on our own Bungie channels. These actions are NOT being taken at the request of Bungie or our partners. Please standby for future updates,” the developer wrote on Twitter. Bungie Launches Investigation Late last week, Bungie issued another statement revealing that the takedown notices were sent from a fraudulent Google account that was crafted to mimic anti-piracy partner, CSC. Google eventually terminated the account, began reversing the fraudulent takedowns, while removing copyright strikes against YouTube users. Bungie went on to criticize Google for processing the fake notices but noted that the company had agreed to implement improvements to reduce such mistakes in the future. Initial chaos aside then, Bungie and Google acted to clean up the mess but it’s now clear that Bungie isn’t prepared to let this go. In a relatively unusual move, the developer has filed a full-blown lawsuit in the United States to identify the culprits and hold them to account. High-Impact Lawsuit Suggests Bungie is Not Happy Late Friday, Bungie filed a lawsuit in a Washington court against John Does 1-10, the currently anonymous senders of the fraudulent DMCA notices. The 29-page complaint begins with allegations of abusive notices sent under the DMCA and then lists five additional causes of action including trademark abuse and violations of consumer protection law. The lawsuit states that the bogus copyright complaints not only disrupted Bungie’s player community and streamers, but also caused Bungie itself “nearly incalculable damage.” Bungie then explains that weaknesses in YouTube’s systems mean that these types of abuse are easily carried out. “Doe Defendants were able to [send fraudulent notices] because of a hole in YouTube’s DMCA-process security, which allows any person to claim to be representing any rights holder in the world for purposes of issuing a DMCA takedown,” Bungie explains. “In other words, as far as YouTube is concerned, any person, anywhere in the world, can issue takedown notices on behalf of any rights holder, anywhere.” Newly Created Gmail Addresses Used By Defendants Bungie says that as long as fraudsters have a Google account, they can fill out a takedown form and YouTube will process the takedown request with no additional checks or verification. This loophole was exploited between March 17 and March 22 when a newly-created Gmail address (deliberately crafted to look like an email address used by CRC) sent a wave of fake notices to YouTube. They apparently did not look like legitimate CRC notices, but that wasn’t noticed at YouTube, meaning that the innocent YouTubers received copyright strikes for no reason. bungie-copyright strike The same Gmail address was used to contact the affected uploaders with messages that attempted to discredit legitimate takedown notices sent by CRC on behalf of Bungie. A second newly-created Gmail account was then used to send abusive messages to the email address of Bungie’s brand protection vendor. “This caused Bungie significant reputational and economic damage, for obvious reasons,” Bungie writes, noting that “the Destiny community was bewildered and upset, believing that Bungie had reneged on a promise to allow players to build their own streaming communities and YouTube channels on Destiny 2 content.” Unmasking the Fraudsters, Reassuring the Community At this stage, Bungie admits it doesn’t know the identities of those who sent the notices but it fully intends to find out. The developer says it will use a DMCA subpoena (and other means) to identify them and hold them accountable for their “tortious and illegal conduct, and, frankly, to demonstrate to anyone else stupid enough to volunteer as a Defendant by targeting Bungie’s community for similar attack that they will be met by legal process.” Bungie’s complaint stresses the importance of the Destiny 2 community, highlighting the contributions made by YouTubers including My Name is Byf and Datto. Since the game is free to play, the health of the community is vital since that’s what encourages people to buy additional content. In short, a happy community directly reflects in Bungie’s bottom line and the community was not happy when they thought Destiny creators were being targeted by Bungie. The Plot Thickens – Bungie Suspects Retaliation Bungie’s complaint reveals that in early March, CSC was told to issue 41 DMCA takedowns against videos that, in Bungie’s view, violated its policy on use of its intellectual property. For instance, songs ripped from the game, game cut-scenes, or anything else that doesn’t contain a substantial amount of “player created content.” In this case, all DMCA notices targeted Destiny 2 original soundtracks that were subsequently removed from YouTube for copyright infringement by March 16, 2022. Bungie says that all of the notices utilized a particular Gmail address and on March 17, the defendants crafted their own Gmail account to mimic it in order to send the fraudulent DMCA notices. In short, Bungie believes that the YouTube users who were impacted by its earlier DMCA takedown notices decided to teach Bungie a lesson by sending out the wave of fraudulent DMCA notices under the name Bungie, Inc. They then sent messages to affected uploaders telling them that the original and real Gmail address used for takedowns was a fraud. The Noose Tightens It’s not especially difficult for security-aware individuals to hide their identities when sending fake DMCA notices but the defendants in this case may have slipped up. If Bungie is correct that the defendants are indeed those targeted in the batch of notices sent out early March, that list is not long and might be narrowed down quite quickly. According to the complaint, the defendants also filed a fraudulent DMCA notice against their own YouTube account, which sounds reasonable if the aim is to be seen as a victim. However, they responded to their own fake takedown notice with a DMCA counternotice to YouTube, stating that both the legitimate and fraudulent DMCA notices were fraudulent. Bungie Criticizes Google/YouTube Bungie’s lawsuit is particularly scathing of Google/YouTube’s processes, noting that the system introduced significant delays due to an opaque support process that stranded Bungie in a “circular loop”. In order to get something done, Bungie involved its Global Franchise and Global Finance directors but by March 21, responses still hadn’t arrived. On March 22, Google said that it had suspended the accounts of the fraudsters but would not reveal their identities. In response, Bungie filed this lawsuit which will compel Google to do so. The lawsuit notes that one of the defendants sent emails to YouTubers admitting their part in the scheme and blaming YouTube and Bungie for various shortcomings, including by not responding appropriately to previously-sent bogus notices. “Finally, I know this hardly means anything, but I apologize to you and everyone else who was affected by my selfish actions. You have every right to be furious with me. My goal was to get Bungie to see the fake takedowns and stop them. That’s all,” the email reads. Causes of Action Bungie appears disinterested in the apology and is piling on with a number of claims, including that the defendants sent fraudulent DMCA notices containing “knowing and material misrepresentations”, in violation of 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), for which it is entitled to damages. By referencing Bungie, Inc. in the notices, the defendants stand accused of breaching Bungie trademarks with intent to deceive. And by removing the videos from YouTube, which contain copyrighted Bungie content, the defendants infringed the company’s right to authorize the public display and performance of its copyrighted works under 17 U.S.C. § 106 (exclusive rights in copyrighted works). “As such, Bungie is entitled to damages and injunctive relief, including enhanced statutory damages of $150,000 for each Fraudulent Takedown Notice that willfully infringed Bungie’s copyrights,” the complaint adds, throwing in allegations of business defamation, violations of the Washington Consumer Protection Act, and breach of contract for good measure.

Cox Communications believes that key information was held back during the 2019 piracy lawsuit filed by several record labels, which led to a $1 billion verdict in their favor. While the court recognizes that some evidence was created after the fact, it sees no reason for a do-over, concluding that the ISP already received a full and fair trial. cassette tape pirate musicInternet provider Cox Communications has been on the sharp end of several piracy lawsuits in recent years. The biggest hit came three years ago when the Internet provider lost its legal battle against a group of major record labels. $1 Billion Verdict A Virginia jury held Cox liable for pirating subscribers because it failed to terminate accounts after repeated accusations, ordering the company to pay $1 billion in damages to the labels. This landmark ruling is currently under appeal. In addition, Cox challenged the verdict through another route as well. In January, Cox filed a motion for relief from judgment at the Virginia federal court. The Internet provider argued that key evidence was concealed during the trial, which could have led to a totally different outcome. The evidence in question pertains to the copyright infringement notices central to the case. Cox was held liable for failing to take action against pirating subscribers, despite receiving numerous notices that were based on evidence from the piracy tracking outfit MarkMonitor. During the trial, the music companies presented a hard drive that contained copies of ‘verified’ music files that were allegedly pirated by Cox subscribers, suggesting that those were the original songs that were pirated between 2012 and 2014. Recreated Evidence? However, based on new information that surfaced in a lawsuit against fellow ISP Charter, Cox now believes that this hard drive evidence was recreated at a later date. This information wasn’t disclosed at trial and Cox accused the music companies of misrepresenting key evidence. “The materiality of these misrepresentations and the prejudice to Cox could not be clearer: they were intended to — and did — fend off well-founded challenges to the admissibility of key pieces of evidence, the exclusion of which would have crippled Plaintiffs’ case,” Cox argued in January. “The bottom line is that Plaintiffs lied. They lied to Cox; they lied to the Court; and they lied to the jury. And they rode those lies to a $1 billion judgment,” the ISP added. These are strong allegations and the fact that they were lodged in a billion-dollar piracy lawsuit only adds to the weight. However, after reviewing the arguments from both sides, the court sees no reason to open the case back up. Hashes are Hashes U.S. District Court Judge Liam O’Grady acknowledges that some evidence was not disclosed by MarkMonitor at the time. However, the court believes that the ‘recreated’ evidence doesn’t change anything materially. According to the court, it doesn’t matter whether the infringing files were verified before or after the fact. The verification process is based on file hashes, which don’t change over time. “That these files may have been downloaded and verified in 2016 — after the Claims Period — is of no consequence,” Judge O’Grady writes. “Indeed, the dates of the file downloads do not matter in the context of this case because, as fully explained at trial, files with matching hash values are identical regardless of when downloaded.” hash Cox Already had Its Chance The court also notes that Cox had received MarkMonitor’s statement of work before trial, which contained the 2016 metadata. So the ISP could have looked into the matter at the time if it had wanted to. In hindsight, Cox may have done things differently. However, the court sees no reason to steer this matter toward a retrial and concludes that Cox already had its chance. “[T]he Court does not doubt that Defendants received a full and fair trial here. The jury had ample and relevant evidence by which to render their verdict,” Judge O’Grady notes, denying Cox’s request. While Cox’s attempt to get a do-over failed, its protest against the $1 billion damages verdict continues at the appeal court.

Russia-based game developer Four Quarters is against the war in Ukraine but in common with other companies, still feels the effects of sanctions. In response to local credit card issues affecting Steam, the indie dev is encouraging people to fire up a VPN and pirate hit game 'Loop Hero' instead. loop hero logoWhen Vladimir Putin’s tanks and an estimated 200,000 troops began to roll across the border on February 24, 2022, his military expected swift subjugation of Ukraine. Four weeks later amid massive loss of human life and widespread destruction, things are not going to plan for Russia, militarily or economically. An unprecedented sanctions package aimed at deterring Putin has plunged Russia’s economy into crisis and in common with Russia’s bombs hitting innocent civilians in Ukraine, sanctions are also affecting those opposed to the war back home. Gamers and Gaming Part of the Fallout In early March, reports from Russia indicated that sanctions targeted at the financial sector were having an immediate effect on both game developers and gamers alike. Steam developers in the country distributing games through Steam discovered that they would not be receiving sales income from the platform due to their use of state-owned banks. Opportunities exist for developers to switch to unsanctioned alternatives but the situation is fluid and offers no guarantees. The situation for gamers isn’t great either. Visa and Mastercard previously announced that locally-issued cards would no longer work outside Russia. This is a problem for Russian gamers who rely on these cards to buy games from Steam. With all parts of the gaming chain facing disruption, a developer in Russia has come up with its own solution to get its product into the hands of gamers. Four Quarters – Developers Against The War Russia-based software developer Four Quarters is the talent behind Loop Hero, an endless RPG that quickly racked up 500,000 in sales before going on to even greater success. According to SteamSpy, as many as two million people bought the game following its release in 2021 but those wishing to buy it in Russia via Steam face serious problems. With emotions relating to the conflict riding high online, it’s worth pointing out that Four Quarters is firmly against the war. Since February 24 the company has made its opposition clear but that hasn’t made any difference to its ability to sell the game in Russia via Steam or gamers’ ability to buy it. So, in a move that removes all financial transactions, banks, cards and official distribution channels from the equation, Four Quarters is now encouraging gamers to install a BitTorrent client and pirate Loop Hero instead. Better Hop On To RuTracker As Russia’s most popular torrent site, RuTracker has its own set of problems with Russian authorities. Nevertheless, it is likely to become increasingly popular with Russian users as options to buy content become more limited. That includes those who would like to play Loop Hero too. In an announcement on Russian social network VK, Four Quarters urges everyone to “help raise the pirate flag” by downloading Loop Hero for free, no strings attached. loop-hero-vk The announcement carries a link to the relevant page on RuTracker where the free giveaway is welcomed by some, but not necessarily by all. Demonstrating the divisions caused by war, comments on the game giveaway range from respect and thanks to allegations that the developer has somehow betrayed Russia. It’s just a small sign of the problems Ukraine and the entire world faces as it emerges from this disinformation and propaganda-fueled tragedy. Finally, after “escaping” from Russia to nearby Georgia earlier this month, one of the developers at Four Quarters is now able to speak freely. The box is empty, he says, but might not stay that way for long.

Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? 'Moonfall' tops the chart, followed by ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home'. 'Death on the Nile' completes the top three. moonfallThe data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. These torrent download statistics are only meant to provide further insight into the piracy trends. All data are gathered from public resources. This week we have two new entries on the list. “Moonfall” is the most downloaded title. The most torrented movies for the week ending on April 04 are: Movie Rank Rank Last Week Movie Name IMDb Rating / Trailer Most downloaded movies via torrent sites 1 (…) Moonfall 5.2 / trailer 2 (1) Spider-Man: No Way Home 8.6 / trailer 3 (5) Death on the Nile 6.5 / trailer 4 (2) Jackass Forever 7.2 / trailer 5 (3) Turning Red 7.1 / trailer 6 (…) The Contractor 5.7 / trailer 7 (6) The Batman 8.4 / trailer 8 (4) The Adam Project 6.9 / trailer 9 (8) The King’s Man 6.5 / trailer 10 (10) The Matrix Resurrections 5.8 / trailer

Nokia 3310

iphone and because of its Security

Work from home

Game of Throne

Played Cracked Candy Crush saga

Reading

Imran khan

Ironman

VietDB

Oman

The Tigger Movie

New York