Local torrent websites to close down?
Local file sharing (torrent) websites Bitfarm and Ninja Central seem to have come under fire from the Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA).
According to unconfirmed reports Bitfarm has closed down following threats from RiSA while Ninja Central is operating, but with a notice to users that it may close down if legal threats persist.
"Apparently RiSA sent a letter of complaint to ISPA and they forwarded the message on to the website admin of the sites. The complaint threatens to take legal action if the sites do not get rid of all copyright material, especially music," one source said in the MyBroadband forums.
Members of these two popular file sharing websites are not happy, arguing that the only way to prevent the illegal distribution of content like music and movies is to make it more affordable and accessible to consumers.
RiSA
According to RiSA, artists and the record companies who support them lose an estimated R500 million each year to piracy. Some of the most pirated artists in South Africa include Shwi, Lucky Dube, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Steve Hofmeyr, Chicco, Arno Carstens, Rebecca Malope and Mandoza.
"Music piracy is one of the main reasons why young and upcoming local artists don’t make it as artists in South Africa," RiSA claims.
The RiSA anti-piracy unit is tasked with tackling the issue in South Africa, and Internet piracy is one of its focus areas.
RISA was contacted for comment on this issue, but the organisation did not respond to requests for information.
ISPA responds
ISPA said that it could not comment on any pending Take-Down Notices (TDNs) or complaints, but pointed to the ISPA TDN process for more details about the procedure.
According to ISPA’s Ant Brooks the ISP association has processed slightly more than sixty TDNs over the past three years. A significant portion of these take down notices related to copyright matters.
"Disputes over the ownership of websites for which the developer has not been paid are probably the most common example of TDNs," said Brooks.
When it comes to torrent websites Brooks said that ISPA does not police or monitor file sharing sites or services of any kind. "ISPA’s members are committed to lawful conduct and compliance with the Take-Down Notice provisions of the ECT Act," said Brooks.
"TDNs relating to file-sharing sites would be treated in exactly the same way as any other TDNs. In other words, we would only intervene if a complainant lodged a Take-Down Notice of the form specified in the ECT Act with ISPA," said Brooks.
Attempts to reach Bitfarm and Ninja Central were unsuccessful.
Local torrent website discussion
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