Derrick
ლ(ಠ_ಠ )ლ
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
- Messages
- 5,085
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Remove torrents and ban the Dutch
As a result of a lawsuit initiated by Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN (http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Internet/10176.html), The Pirate Bay (TPB) was ordered to remove an extensive list of torrents and block Dutch Internet users from being able to access portions of the site. TPB legal counsel initially indicated that they may appeal the verdict but on Tuesday a BREIN press release indicated that the verdict of the case is now final.
The defendants, who are currently of unknown whereabouts, have until 1 March 2010 to comply with the Dutch court order. Whether or not the three can actually remove the torrents is debatable, as they contest they do not own or even control the website.
Coupled with this is the fact that TPB recently announced it is moving away from hosting a tracking service (http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Internet/10480.html), relying instead on DHT magnet links. This means the website is even further removed from the file sharing process, and is merely acting as a search engine for files being shared by the peer-to-peer (P2P) community. Come 1 March it will be interesting to see how the verdict holds up.
Bias allegations
In April 2009 Swedish Judge Thomas Norstrom sentenced TPB founders to a year in prison and hefty fines for what he considered assistance to copyright violation. The verdict was appealed on the grounds that Norstrom was biased due to his affiliation with pro-copyright groups.
The defendants subsequently appealed the appointment of two of the judges in the scheduled appeal trial, as they also have ties to the same groups. Having been denied this second appeal by the Swedish Appeal Court, the defendants decided to take both of their claims to the Swedish Supreme Court (http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Internet/10106.html).
The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that they would hear the case regarding the two judges sitting on the appeal trial, but would not overrule Norstrom’s original verdict, as the legal process must follow its due course. This decision will further draw out the already lengthy legal battle.
IFPI takes battle to the High Court
In November, Telenor, Noway’s largest ISP, won their legal case against the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). The IFPI was trying to force Telenor to block customer’s access to TPB with the threat of legal action. When Telenor refused to submit to the legal threats, the IFPI took them to the District Court.
TorrentFreak summarises the ruling of the case succinctly by saying: “Although Telenor was “guilty” of contributory infringement, their actions were not unlawful. Furthermore, when making its decision the district court looked in depth at the possible repercussions if it decided that Telenor, and by extension other ISPs, had to police the Internet.” As a result, the court refused to sanction the blocking of TPB.
The IFPI is not happy with this ruling and intends to escalate the case to the High Court. A statement by an IFPI representative read: “We believe, contrary to the court, that [Telenor's] participation is in conflict with Norwegian law. We see that ISPs in several European countries have been made responsible for providing access to illegal services, and believe that this also is the situation in Norway.”
As a result of a lawsuit initiated by Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN (http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Internet/10176.html), The Pirate Bay (TPB) was ordered to remove an extensive list of torrents and block Dutch Internet users from being able to access portions of the site. TPB legal counsel initially indicated that they may appeal the verdict but on Tuesday a BREIN press release indicated that the verdict of the case is now final.
The defendants, who are currently of unknown whereabouts, have until 1 March 2010 to comply with the Dutch court order. Whether or not the three can actually remove the torrents is debatable, as they contest they do not own or even control the website.
Coupled with this is the fact that TPB recently announced it is moving away from hosting a tracking service (http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Internet/10480.html), relying instead on DHT magnet links. This means the website is even further removed from the file sharing process, and is merely acting as a search engine for files being shared by the peer-to-peer (P2P) community. Come 1 March it will be interesting to see how the verdict holds up.
Bias allegations
In April 2009 Swedish Judge Thomas Norstrom sentenced TPB founders to a year in prison and hefty fines for what he considered assistance to copyright violation. The verdict was appealed on the grounds that Norstrom was biased due to his affiliation with pro-copyright groups.
The defendants subsequently appealed the appointment of two of the judges in the scheduled appeal trial, as they also have ties to the same groups. Having been denied this second appeal by the Swedish Appeal Court, the defendants decided to take both of their claims to the Swedish Supreme Court (http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Internet/10106.html).
The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that they would hear the case regarding the two judges sitting on the appeal trial, but would not overrule Norstrom’s original verdict, as the legal process must follow its due course. This decision will further draw out the already lengthy legal battle.
IFPI takes battle to the High Court
In November, Telenor, Noway’s largest ISP, won their legal case against the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). The IFPI was trying to force Telenor to block customer’s access to TPB with the threat of legal action. When Telenor refused to submit to the legal threats, the IFPI took them to the District Court.
TorrentFreak summarises the ruling of the case succinctly by saying: “Although Telenor was “guilty” of contributory infringement, their actions were not unlawful. Furthermore, when making its decision the district court looked in depth at the possible repercussions if it decided that Telenor, and by extension other ISPs, had to police the Internet.” As a result, the court refused to sanction the blocking of TPB.
The IFPI is not happy with this ruling and intends to escalate the case to the High Court. A statement by an IFPI representative read: “We believe, contrary to the court, that [Telenor's] participation is in conflict with Norwegian law. We see that ISPs in several European countries have been made responsible for providing access to illegal services, and believe that this also is the situation in Norway.”