In a new report out yesterday, the government's own internal watchdog took a close look at "efforts to quantify the economic effects of counterfeit and pirated goods." ... the Government Accountability Office concluded that it is "difficult, if not impossible, to quantify the economy-wide impacts."
Read more »US government finally admits most piracy estimates are bogus
Cash for Pirate Bay file-sharers
The new owners of file-sharing website The Pirate Bay say users will be paid for sharing files. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8128551.stm
Read more »Getting inside a downloader's head
The Digital Britain report advocates the latest step in the war against illegal downloaders, requiring ISPs to write them notification letters and monitor persistent offenders. But what of the other side of the fight against piracy, the effort to win hearts and minds? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8106805.stm
Read more »MPAA suggests teachers videotape TVs instead of ripping DVDs. Seriously.
So the Copyright Office is currently in the middle reviewing proposed exceptions to the DMCA, and one of the proposals on the table would allow teachers and students to rip DVDs and edit them for use in the classroom. Open and shut, right? Not if you're the MPAA...
Read more »Pirate Bay lawyer calls for retrial
A lawyer representing one of the men convicted in the Pirate Bay trial has called for a retrial after reports that the judge was a member of the same copyright protection organisations as several of the main entertainment industry representatives.
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