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      ISPs Fail to Dismiss Filmmakers’ Piracy Liability Lawsuits

      news.movim.eu / TorrentFreak · Thursday, 6 April, 2023 - 20:19 · 6 minutes

    pirate-flag Over the past two decades, online piracy has proven a massive challenge for the entertainment industries.

    Copyright holders have tried to go after individual pirates and pirate sites in court, but third-party intermediaries are now increasingly seen as targets as well.

    Several active lawsuits in the United States feature rightsholders accusing Internet providers of not doing enough to stop piracy. One of the main allegations is that ISPs fail to terminate the accounts of repeat infringers in ‘appropriate circumstances’ as the DMCA requires.

    These lawsuits have resulted in multi-million dollar judgments against Cox and Grande . Meanwhile, more companies at risk too, such as WideOpenWest (WOW!), which was sued by a group of smaller movie companies, including Millennium Media and Voltage Pictures.

    The filmmakers accused the Colorado-based ISP of failing to terminate the accounts of subscribers who were repeatedly flagged for sharing copyrighted material. They argue that WOW! is liable for these piracy activities and are demanding millions of dollars in damages.

    WOW! Wants ‘Troll’ Case Dismissed

    The ISP challenged the claims and filed a motion to dismiss the case. WOW! addressed the substance of the allegations and described the film companies and their anti-piracy partner Maverickeye as “copyright trolls”.

    “Plaintiffs and Maverickeye are part of a well-known web of copyright trolls. Until now, Plaintiffs’ modus operandi has been to file John Doe lawsuits in the hope of securing quick settlements and to dismiss them at the slightest resistance,” they wrote.

    Indeed, several of the plaintiff film companies have filed cases against individual file-sharers, but they have also sued hosting providers, site operators, and app developers.

    Responding to the substance of the allegations, WOW! argued that an IP address is not sufficient to prove that subscribers downloaded or shared any infringing material. And if that’s not clear, the ISP can’t be held liable either.

    Something More?

    To back this up, WOW! cites the Cobbler Nevada v. Gonzales case, where the court held that an IP-address alone is not sufficient to identify an infringer.

    In the present lawsuit, WOW argues that IP-address evidence (~30,000 piracy notices) doesn’t prove that its subscribers pirated content; it could also be someone else using the network. To build a valid case, rightsholders should have ‘something more’ than just IP-addresses.

    “Plaintiffs do not allege facts showing that any WOW subscriber committed direct copyright infringement; that WOW had knowledge of the specific alleged infringements at issue; or that WOW encouraged, induced, or profited from any alleged direct infringement,” the ISP wrote.

    “But here, Plaintiffs only identify the alleged direct infringers by IP address; there are no additional allegations demonstrating that the activity at that IP address came from a WOW subscriber, and not some other user of WOW’s network.”

    Court Refuses to Dismiss Copyright Claims

    A few days ago, Colorado District Court Judge Daniel D. Domenico ruled on the motion to dismiss and rejected most arguments. For one, the Judge doesn’t believe the “Cobbler” ruling is directly relevant here, as that was a case against an actual infringer, not an ISP.

    For this lawsuit, the provided IP-address evidence is sufficient to allege that WOW! can be held liable for the copyright infringements of its subscribers. The court doesn’t rule on the merits yet but notes that the filmmakers’ arguments are good enough to move the case forward.

    “Taking Plaintiffs’ factual allegations as true in this early stage of litigation, Plaintiffs have plausibly stated that Defendant had knowledge of its subscribers’ direct infringement, if not from the 30,000 notices, then from the correspondence between counsel.

    “It is reasonable to infer that such notices and correspondence gave Defendant enough knowledge to have done something about the alleged direct infringement,” Judge Domenico adds.

    wow

    Ability to Stop Infringements

    The court also believes that the movie companies sufficiently plead the various copyright infringement allegations. They include contributory and vicarious copyright infringement claims.

    To allege vicarious liability, for example, the filmmakers have to plead that WOW! had the right and ability to supervise the infringing activity and had a direct financial interest in the activities of pirating subscribers. According to the court, that’s the case here.

    “Plaintiffs in this case have sufficiently pleaded that Defendant’s advertisements for high download speeds and known practice of ignoring or failing to act on notices of infringement serve as a draw for subscribers.

    “Likewise, Plaintiffs sufficiently pleaded that Defendant has the legal ability to stop and limit copyright infringement by its subscribers,” Judge Dominico writes.

    Based on these and other arguments, WOW!’s motion to dismiss the copyright infringement claims is denied,

    Grande’s Motion to Dismiss also Strands

    In addition to the WOW! case, the filmmakers also lodged a complaint against Grande Communications . Grande lost a similar case against several music companies last fall but hoped to have this lawsuit dismissed.

    The motion to dismiss is largely the same as WOW!’s, which makes sense as both parties are represented by the same attorneys. Unfortunately for Grande, the ruling on the motion to dismiss is similar as well.

    In January, a Texas federal court issued a report and recommendation, concluding that the motion to dismiss the copyright claims should be denied.

    “Plaintiffs have alleged in their pleadings that Grande has received Notices about specific infringing uses of its services, but failed to take measures to prevent such uses, and failed to investigate the piracy,” Magistrate Judge Howell wrote.

    “The undersigned finds that Plaintiffs have alleged sufficient facts to state a plausible claim of contributory copyright infringement against Grande, which is all that is required at the motion to dismiss stage.”

    District Court Judge Robert Pitman adopted the recommendation last week. This means both WOW! and Grande will have to defend themselves against the piracy liability claims.

    No Pirate Site Blocking Injunctions, Yet

    The motions to dismiss weren’t denied in their entirety, however. In both cases, the filmmakers also requested pirate site-blocking injunctions, to limit piracy activity on the Internet providers’ networks.

    In addition, the movie companies requested broad injunctions requiring the ISPs to identify pirates and suspend the accounts of subscribers who receive three unique DMCA notices in 72 hours.

    The federal courts in Texas and Colorado both granted the motions to dismiss these injunction requests, as these proposed measures are remedies, not causes of action. However, they could be reintroduced at a later stage.

    “I agree and will grant Defendant’s motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ ‘claim’ for injunctive relief. I note, however, that dismissal of this ‘claim’ does not preclude Plaintiffs’ from seeking injunctive relief if appropriate as a remedy should they prevail on the merits of one or more of their claims,” Judge Domenico writes in the WOW! case.

    All in all, the recent orders are a win for the movie companies, as they can continue with their piracy liability claims. However, there is still a long way to go before there’s a final decision on the merits of those claims.

    A copy of Judge Domenico’s order on the motion to dismiss in the WOW! lawsuit is available here (pdf) . The recently accepted report and recommendation to largely deny Grande’s motion to dismiss can be found here (pdf) .

    From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

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      The W Pattern Forex Trading Guide For Beginner

      Alla Traders · Wednesday, 28 December, 2022 - 15:46 edit · 1 minute

    The double bottom or W pattern is the most prevalent chart pattern used in trading. In fact, this pattern is so common that it may be taken as irrefutable evidence by itself that price action is not as totally random as many say. The double bottom pattern is one of the very few that perfectly depicts the market’s direction changing. At the bottom of a downtrend, the double bottom forms itself, offering potential long entries for buyers.

    What Is A Double Bottom (W Pattern)?

    The double bottom pattern is a technical pattern that can be used to identify a likely reversal in the Forex market. The double bottom emerges after an extended move down and can be utilized to discover purchasing opportunities on the way up. Because of the two-touched low and the change in trend direction from downtrend to uptrend, the pattern resembles the letter “W.”

    see the complete blog here Alla Traders

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      Filmmakers Want to Link ISP Subscriber Data to ‘Pirating’ YTS and Reddit Users

      news.movim.eu / TorrentFreak · Monday, 5 December, 2022 - 20:52 · 4 minutes

    pirate-flag WOW! is being sued by a group of smaller movie companies, including Millennium Media and Voltage Pictures .

    The filmmakers accuse the ISP of failing to terminate the accounts of subscribers who were repeatedly flagged for sharing copyrighted material. They want to hold WOW! liable for these pirating activities, which could lead to millions of dollars in damages.

    The ISP challenged the claims and filed a motion to dismiss the case. Among other things, it argued that an IP address is not sufficient to prove that subscribers downloaded or shared any infringing material. The filmmakers opposed this motion, which has yet to be decided on by the Colorado federal court.

    Filmmakers Want Subscriber Details

    In the meantime, another issue has raised its head. Both sides are gathering evidence to prepare for the case moving forward. As part of that process, the filmmakers have demanded the personal details of roughly 14,000 subscribers whose WOW! accounts were allegedly used to pirate content.

    WOW! objected to this request, arguing that the names and addresses of its subscribers are irrelevant to the core question of whether it reasonably implemented a repeat infringer policy. The filmmakers disagreed, noting that the information can be cross-checked to determine whether the ISP notified its subscribers and terminated accounts in response to infringement notices.

    After hearing both sides, the Court eventually came up with a compromise. The filmmakers offered to reduce the targeted IP-addresses to the 375 top pirating unique IP addresses . The Court saw this as a reasonable request, especially considering the damages at stake.

    168 Objections

    The Court said that objections from subscribers would be dealt with at a later stage. That time has come. Over the past several months, 168 subscribers filed objections and the filmmakers and WOW! disagree on how these should be handled.

    The subscriber’s arguments are not available to the public, but the filmmakers suggest that aside from two subscribers who passed away, they boil down to straightforward denials.

    The filmmakers are not convinced by the objections. They want WOW! to hand over the data nonetheless, as these will allow them to check whether the ‘repeat’ notices were sent to the same subscribers each time.

    “[T]he subscriber names are relevant because they will show whether the IP address was assigned to the same subscriber during the duration of the notices,” the filmmakers informed the Court.

    Links to YTS and Reddit Users?

    The filmmakers also want to check if the subscribers had accounts with the popular torrent site YTS. The companies previously obtained data from the YTS user database as part of a settlement with the torrent site. Since then, this information has been used as evidence in several lawsuits .

    On top of that, the movie companies argue that they may be able to link the publicly available data of two Reddit users. These anonymous Redditors claimed to use WOW!’s service to pirate content.

    “Moreover, the subscriber names are relevant because Plaintiffs can compare the subscriber names to the email addresses of the users that registered for accounts with the piracy website YTS or to those that have boasted on social media how Defendant allows them to pirate content without any problems.”

    If the filmmakers find any links to YTS or the two Reddit users, they may argue that the subscribers in question are deliberate and repeat infringers.

    One of the Reddit comments

    reddit comment

    WOW! Can Help without Exposing Subscribers

    WOW! doesn’t agree with the filmmakers’ reasoning. The ISP believes that it’s not necessary to share the personal details of subscribers, as there are alternative means available.

    For example, the Internet provider says that it can check its own systems to establish whether a particular IP address was assigned to one subscriber or multiple subscribers over time.

    Instead of handing over the names and contact information, WOW! can simply share the associated account number, which would suffice. The ISP can also help to determine whether any of the objecting subscribers were YTS users, by cross-referencing data on their end without exposing their personal information.

    No Signs of YTS and Reddit Users

    Thus far there are no signs of YTS users. The filmmakers previously shared an exhibit with nine IP-addresses and emails of YTS users, but none of these matched the objecting subscribers.

    “None of those IP addresses corresponds to an Objector, and Plaintiffs do not suggest otherwise,” WOW! writes.

    “Plaintiffs could obtain information concerning the alleged YTS users without involving Objectors or other third parties, for example by serving discovery on WOW regarding whether WOW’s subscriber records include any of the nine email addresses referenced in Plaintiffs’ exhibit.”

    Similarly, the ISP argues that there’s no public information that suggests that the two Redditors are among the objecting subscribers.

    “There is no reason to believe these two users are among the Objectors. In fact, from the objections the Court has received, it is apparent that none of Objectors’ names have any passing resemblance or connection to ‘Servalpur’ or ‘rickselest’.”

    In addition to the arguments discussed above, the parties also disagree on the type of notice that’s required before any data is handed over.

    After hearing all parties involved, the Court now has to decide how to move forward. Does WOW have to hand over all data, or are objections warranted?

    A copy of the filmmakers’ motion to compel is available here (pdf) and WOW!’s objections can be found here (pdf) and here (pdf)

    From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

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      WoW: Lich King player hits level 80 just 9 hours after “Classic” server launch

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Tuesday, 27 September, 2022 - 17:13

    Naowh explains how he got to level 80 in Wrath of the Lich King Classic in just a few hours.

    When it comes to World of Warcraft 's long-demanded "Classic" servers , players understandably want an experience that's identical to the MMO experience they remember from years ago. At least one player has taken that concept to an extreme this week, using years-old exploits to reach the level 80 cap on Blizzard's Wrath of the Lich King Classic (aka Wrath Classic ) servers mere hours after they launched.

    Streamer Naowh and his compatriots at Echo Guild announced their level 80 speedrun achievement on Twitter early Tuesday morning. As Naowh explains in an accompanying video , the rapid leveling takes advantage of a bugged Icecrown boss that continually spawns mobs of undead zombies. A player can "tag" those zombies with a single attack, then get full experience for defeating all the zombies when the next mob spawns in.

    Naowh said he practiced this method in the live retail version of World of Warcraft before the launch of Wrath Classic servers Monday. "It's still the same to this day in retail," Naowh said. "I'm surprised no one has noticed this."

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      ‘Pirating’ WOW! Subscribers Object to Having Their Identities Exposed to Filmmakers

      news.movim.eu / TorrentFreak · Friday, 12 August, 2022 - 20:32 · 2 minutes

    pirate-flag WOW! is being sued by a group of movie companies including Millennium Media and Voltage Pictures.

    The filmmakers accuse the ISP of failing to disconnect the accounts of subscribers who were repeatedly flagged for sharing copyrighted material. They hold WOW! liable for these pirating activities, which could lead to millions of dollars in damages.

    The ISP challenged the claims and filed a motion to dismiss the case. Among other things, the company argued that an IP address is not sufficient to prove that subscribers downloaded or shared any infringing material. The filmmakers opposed this motion, which has yet to be decided on by the Colorado federal court.

    Filmmakers Want Subscriber Details

    In the meantime, another issue has raised its head. Both sides are gathering evidence to prepare for the case moving forward. As part of that process, the filmmakers have demanded the personal details of roughly 14,000 subscribers whose WOW! accounts were allegedly used to pirate content.

    WOW! objected to this request, arguing that the names and addresses of its subscribers are irrelevant to the core question of whether it reasonably implemented a repeat infringer policy. The filmmakers disagreed, noting that the information can be cross-checked to determine whether the ISP notified its subscribers and terminated accounts in response to infringement notices.

    After reviewing the arguments from both sides, the Court eventually came up with a compromise . The filmmakers offered to reduce the targeted IP-addresses to the 375 top pirating unique IP addresses, which the Court saw as a reasonable request, especially considering the damages at stake.

    “This is a more reasonable and proportional request, particularly since Plaintiffs currently calculate their statutory damages at $13,950,000,” Judge Hegarty wrote.

    Subscribers File Objections

    Not all WOW! subscribers are pleased with this order, however. Over the past few weeks, more than 30 “John Doe” subscribers objected to having their personal details shared with the filmmakers.

    restricted

    The content of these objections is shielded from public view, and it’s not clear how the Court will respond. When Judge Hegarty issued the underlying order he noted that objections would be promptly resolved, but there’s no sign of that in the docket.

    It’s understandable that the subscribers want to remain anonymous. They are suspected of repeatedly downloading and sharing pirated films, which can potentially lead to tens of thousands of dollars in damages claims. In this case, however, subscribers appear to have little to worry about.

    Nothing to Worry About?

    WOW! and the filmmakers previously signed a mutually agreed protective order which states that the subscriber information “shall be used solely for the purpose of preparation, trial, and appeal of this litigation and for no other purpose.”

    The filmmakers said that they want to reach out to the subscribers directly in order to verify that WOW! took measures to address repeat infringers. This reason was also cited by Judge Hegarty when he ruled on the order.

    “Plaintiffs want to be able to, in essence, cross-check whatever Defendant produces with information from the subscribers themselves.”

    The filmmakers believe that the Internet provider isn’t being entirely forthright. Their complaint already cited two declarations from pirating WOW! subscribers, who state that the ISP never forwarded any notices to them, despite claims to the contrary.

    Whether the Court will grant the objections and keep the identities of the objecting subscribers private has yet to be seen. In the grander scheme of things it shouldn’t matter too much, as the filmmakers still have hundreds of others they can “cross-check” things with.

    From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

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      Blizzard will purchase 100-person Spellbreak studio to help make WoW content

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 29 June, 2022 - 15:47 · 1 minute

    <em>Spellbreak</em> battles are full of splashy elemental explosions and floaty acrobatic dodges.

    Enlarge / Spellbreak battles are full of splashy elemental explosions and floaty acrobatic dodges.

    Blizzard Entertainment has acquired Boston-based Proletariat, the studio behind the magic-heavy Battle Royale game Spellbreak . Spellbreak will shut down by early 2023 as the workers at the 100-person studio transition to work on World of Warcraft and its upcoming "Dragonflight" expansion.

    VentureBeat reports that Proletariat and Blizzard have been in acquisition talks since last December and that the companies have been working together since last month. That's well before yesterday's public announcement that the studio would be ending development on Spellbreak after more than four years:

    Our vision was to create a fresh, multiplayer action-spellcasting game with exceptional movement and class customization that would give players the chance to unleash their inner battlemage. We are grateful to everyone in the game’s community for exploring the magical worlds and experiences we created together. Spellbreak was an ambitious project that saw our team push new boundaries in design and development and we are excited to continue to innovate as we create new titles in the future.

    After an impressive beta in early 2020 , Proletariat bragged that it had over 5 million Spellbreak players in the weeks after the game's late 2020 launch. That player base seems to have declined substantially over time, though; data from SteamDB shows Spellbreak 's concurrent player numbers on Steam sitting at well under a thousand and consistently declining over the last 12 months (though those numbers don't reflect players on consoles or the Epic Games Store, where the game had PC exclusivity for a year).

    Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments

    https://upload.movim.eu/files/f2f44d3bc1a89166f31ad599c38de09f0be48683/YcPPNWshou0HxGrEDFq0isQSap74Klnxjsfi7y6l/25-12-2019_04-25-33_%D8%B5.png
    Kim Kardashian looking stunning at Kanye’s Sunday Service Opera!!

    This draw string curtain is not it. Let alone to a Sunday service opera. Or anything representing the Lord our savior.❤️

    #kim #kimkardashian #kimk #kimmy #stunning #beautiful #kuwtk #kanye #sundayservice #kanyeopera #sundayserviceopera #ootd #wow #celebritynews #splashnews

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