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Monday, August 24th, 2015
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| 6:54a | Top 10 Most Pirated Movies of The Week – 08/24/15
Mad Max: Fury Road is the most downloaded movie for the second week in a row. The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. All the movies in the list are BD/DVDrips unless stated otherwise. RSS feed for the weekly movie download chart.
Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8:54a | Pirate Music Site Op Pleads Guilty, Faces Five Years in Prison
In October 2014, ICE Homeland Security Investigations took action against a pair of large U.S.-based websites. RockDizMusic.com and RockDizFile.com were both involved in large-scale distribution of unauthorized music, with the former presenting itself as a music database and the latter its file-hosting partner. At the time ICE didn’t respond to requests for comment but it eventually transpired that the sites’ alleged operator, Rocky P. Ouprasith of Charlotte, N.C., had been arrested. According to papers filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Friday, Ouprasith operated both sites from around May 2011 through to his arrest last October. Structure During that period Ouprasith sourced pirated content online and uploaded it to RockDizFile, while encouraging others to do the same. Ouprasith curated the unauthorized content and then presented it for download on RockDizMusic, which in turn acted as a user-friendly front for RockDizFile. ‘Affiliates’ who uploaded music were paid based on the number of times their files were downloaded.  “To operate these websites, OUPRASITH rented and used computer servers in the United States and abroad. OUPRASITH hosted the website RockDizMusic.com on servers originally located in France and later in Canada,” court papers read. “One of OUPRASITH’s linking websites, at RockDizFile.com, operated from a computer server in Illinois furnished by the webhosting provider, GigeNET. A second linking website used by OUPRASITH, at SfShare.se, was hosted Profit According to the prosecution, Ouprasith’s aim was to profit from his websites. He sold premium subscriptions to RockDizFile at a cost of up to $90.00 per year, which offered faster downloads and VIP access. Also generating revenue were several deals he had up with to nine advertising firms. This resulted in decent traffic, reportedly 1.65m visits from 937,000 unique visitors in January 2014. However, that doesn’t appear to have made Ouprasith a particularly rich man. Skype messages found on a laptop seized by ICE had the 23-year-old stating that in 2013 he made around $80k but spent $60K running the business. RIAA and DMCA Nevertheless, according to the RIAA, in 2013 RockDizFile emerged “as the second largest online file-sharing site in the reproduction and distribution of infringing copies of copyrighted music in the United States.”  This growth caused both the RIAA and IFPI to target the site with hundreds of DMCA takedown notices but apparently Ouprasith failed to process them in a legally acceptable manner. A Homeland Security investigation found that although files were taken down, the same reappeared elsewhere on the site. “In other words, OUPRASITH never took down the infringing files pursuant to the DMCA takedown notices. Instead, he simply created a new hyperlink to the same illegal content,” a statement of facts reads. Arrest and guilty plea On October 15, 2014, HSI executed a warrant to search Ouprasith’s residence in North Carolina. In Chicago, the RockDizFile server was seized, as were ancillary servers in both the Netherlands and France. Ouprasith appears to have cooperated immediately. “After being advised of his rights orally and in writing, OUPRASITH waived them and agreed to speak with investigators,” papers read. What followed was a near complete confession, including that he made between $3,000 and $4000 profit per month and that in response to DMCA notices Ouprasith would “delete the reported links to the content listed in the notices and then re-upload exactly the same content under new hyperlinks.” In his guilty plea, Ouprasith admits for-profit infringement exceeding $2.5m but less than $7m, plus various other copyright charges including pre-release music piracy. He also agrees to forfeit almost $51,000 and any property used to commit and facilitate the infringement. When sentenced later this year, Ouprasith faces up to five years in federal prison. Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3:59p | Former Megaupload User Asks Court to Return His Files
Soon after the raids former Megaupload user Kyle Goodwin, a sports reporter who used Megaupload to store work-related files, took legal steps to secure his work. Helped by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Mr. Goodwin filed at least six requests asking the court to find a workable solution for the return of his data, but thus far without success. The U.S. hasn’t been particularly helpful in the matter as it previously suggested that disadvantaged users shouldn’t bother the Government with complaints, but sue Megaupload instead. Earlier this month QTS, which owns the servers after they acquired Carpathia hosting, asked the court if it could wipe the data. The company still spends $5,760 per month to preserve Megaupload’s files but doesn’t want to carry this burden forever. QTS’ request is understandable and the company is not the only third-parties waiting for a solution. Following up on the company’s request, EFF and Kyle Goodwin are asking the court to come up with a solution so he and other former Megaupload users can retrieve their lost files. “Getting access to the video files I had stored in my Megaupload account would be valuable for my business, my customers, and for me personally,” Goodwin tells the court. “If I am able to access those files, I will continue to make original video productions from them […] and use the videos in documentaries and promotional materials. I believe the revenue I could earn from the use of the video files will help me grow my business.” Goodwin’s attorneys has filed a response (pdf) to QTS’ request to dispose of the data. They stress to the court that it’s important to come up with a solution. None of the involved parties can or wants to take responsibility, so the court has to step in. “It is unclear who currently controls Mr. Goodwin’s property. QTS says it does not have any interest in the data and cannot access it.” “The government claims it has released control over the servers and the data on them. Megaupload, for its part, says it cannot afford to turn the servers back on and allow customers like Mr. Goodwin to retrieve their data because the government controls its financial assets.” The uncertainly about the data is not Mr. Goodwin’s fault though, the lawyers argue. They therefore ask the court to come up with a solution. “It is clear, however, that through no fault of his own, Mr. Goodwin does not control his property, and that this Court has the authority to remedy that. Mr. Goodwin respectfully requests this Court exercise that power and grant him, and those similarly situated, the return of their property.” How such a data return would work is unclear. Technically the data can be mirrored and hosted elsewhere but someone has to pick up the bill. Thus far negotiations on the issue haven’t resulted in a workable solution. Also, putting Megaupload’s data back online is likely to cause concern among copyright holders. The MPAA previously stated that users can have their files back as long as access to copyrighted files is blocked, which may be easier said than done. The court will now have to review the situation once more and is expected to respond to Goodwin’s request during the weeks to come. Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This week we have two newcomers in our chart. 
Over the past five years, Operation in Our Sites, the U.S. initiative tackling copyright-infringing websites, has produced several arrests and the seizure of thousands of domains.
Nearly four years have passed since Megaupload’s servers were raided by the U.S. Government, and still it remains uncertain if former users will ever be able to retrieve their files.| << Previous Day |
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