p2pnet World Headlines – June 19, 2009
European Countries Amp Up War on Piracy TorrentFreak
The entertainment industry battle to decrease the use of file-sharing networks to share copyrighted content never seems to end. Just this week, four more European member states came out with initiatives to continue to crackdown on piracy, many of which are not only draconian, but also doomed to fail.
Hear, Hear: New York Times Editorial Board Calls for Repeal of FISA Amendments Act EFF
Responding to repeated reports that the National Security Agency’s surveillance dragnet is continuing to intercept Americans’ purely domestic communications in the millions, the New York Times editorial board is calling on Congress to repeal the deeply-flawed FISA Amendments Act (FAA), which broadly expanded the government’s spying powers while immunizing the phone companies that illegally cooperated with the NSA program.
Italian Piracy Operators Forfeit $3.3 Million Billboard
An Italian judge in Milan has ordered the operators of pirate music Web sites to forfeit more than 2.4 million euros ($3.3 million) following an investigation into copyright infringement.
UK firm Astaire Securities pushes Phorm-Webwise, 15 Jun 2009 WikiLeaks
The controversal company Phorm, which runs the behavioral profiling, interception and advertising injection system “Webwise” is currently trying to sell shares. Astaire Securities, a UK brokerage, has been touting the stock to investors with this private BUY coverage. Some suspect that Phorm is duping investors with misleading statements to the market, such as “We believe that Phorm’s technology sets a new standard for consumer protection, a view endorsed by the UK’s Home Office, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Office of the Information Commissioner.”
Thailand Seeks To Toughen IP Laws to Punish Buyers Of Pirated Or Fake Goods IP-watch
Thailand plans to toughen its intellectual property protection law to punish, for the first time, buyers of products that breach copyright and trademark laws, aiming primarily at pirated music and movies and fake brand-name goods, a senior Thai official said Thursday.
How Can There Be Unauthorized Playing With Toys? TechDirt
Playmobil makes plastic toy people figures. You’d probably recognize them if you saw them. I know I had a bunch as a kid. Anyway, according to the company, you can violate its intellectual property by playing with them (and then photographing the results) in an unauthorized manner. No, seriously. Ramon Casha alerts us to the news of a series of lawsuits in Malta against people for trying to sell the plastic people figures set up in an unauthorized manner.
City to job applicants: Facebook, MySpace log-ins please Ars Technica
The city government in Bozeman, Montana, isn’t content to cyberstalk its potential employees—they’re now asking applicants for their login information for any social networking sites.
German parliament passes Internet censorship bill The Inquirer
The German parliament passed a bill Thursday imposing censorship of pornographic websites justified by the need to protect children.
EU regulators call for tighter privacy provisions on OpenID, Facebook Betanews
The group that took on Google in the EU may soon be taking on your favorite social networks. – According to an “unpublished opinion paper” that Financial Times got its hands on, the group believes third-party developers building apps that use data from sites such as Facebook and Twitter should be subject to tougher privacy and data protection regulations.
Cops should be allowed to randomly test for drunk drivers: MPs Canwest
Hey you, I don’t like your face. Pull-over – A parliamentary committee has recommended that police officers be given the power to conduct random roadside breath tests on drivers, a change that would remove the legal requirement for officers to have a “reasonable” suspicion that drivers are drunk… Committee chairman Ed Fast conceded that such an amendment would likely be challenged under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protects individuals against unreasonable search or seizure.
Eight percent admit to downloading video illegally Reuters
Eight percent of all consumers in Britain, France, Germany and the United States admit to downloading video illegally from the Internet, according to a survey, showing the scale of the ongoing fight against piracy. Two-thirds of those surveyed in Britain often or sometimes watched TV, movies and video on their PC or laptop computer, with U.S. consumers not far behind. Of those, 15 percent did so illegally, the Futuresource Consulting survey showed.
Amazon.com doesn’t like NC sales tax proposal Seattlepi
Amazon.com has threatened to cut off sales commissions in North Carolina for referrals to the online retailer if a new tax proposal becomes law… Web site operators posting links to the company about its products receive up to a 15 percent cut on sales. Lawmakers wants to use the arrangements to collect sales tax on the purchases.
South Korea says Qualcomm licensing unfair: source Washingtonpost
South Korea’s antitrust authorities have charged telephone maker Qualcomm Inc with unfair licensing terms, in addition to charges the company has acknowledged, a source briefed on the matter said on Thursday.
Marc – p2pnet
June, 2009
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June 20th, 2009 at 10:50 am
Apparently Bozeman has backed down. That was fast. Experience the wrath of the internet!
June 20th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
a small win for the good guys.
http://www.piercelaw.edu/assets/pdf/release-mavis-case-expert-report.pdf