50,000 BitTorrent users sued for alleged illegal downloads

[Bladexdsl]

Man what is this UseNet people talk about?

it's the motherload

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=nzb

 

[Zekrom_cool]

Well using Ares or μtorrent is much safer than bittorrent.

 

[Wombo Combo]

Well using Ares or ?torrent is much safer than bittorrent.

Utorrent is a program that uses the bit-torrent protocol.

 

[TheDarkSeed]

A guy I know was sent a C&D letter for downloading some movie off of The Pirate Bay. I guess they are getting on peoples asses, so I shall watch mine.

 

[Bladexdsl]

that's great now i'm gonna go download Paul at 13mb/s

 

[damedus]

People still use torrents? wow I just get everything off direct download or watch it streaming, I use a forum for movies where every movie even in BR quality is on Megaupload 1 links which means you can see the steaming.

 

[shakirmoledina]

some ppl wont ever be caught because they know to keep low but still 50k is a huge number. more risks than the benefits in accordance to the things that are downloaded.
here, i feel the isp members themselves download such stuff

 

[Panzer Tacticer]

Don't want to get sued, get your dumb ass off the internet and stop stealing other peoples property. And this is where I ask all those 'explaining' to me the definition of theft to stfu and get real.

Theft = Larceny, criminal law.
Piracy = copyright infringement, civil law.

Theft = Bad because of loss of property.
Piracy = Bad because of lack of respect for limiting rights.

US law even says you're wrong, so stop trolling.

Something tells me he typed all that crap just because I said not to

First off I am Canadian, and quoting the US understanding of the matter, well it means precisely nothing to an non American. I couldn't care less what the US legal system has to say about anything on any matter of law regarding anything whatsoever. Not relevant, I am a Canadian.

I intentionally leave on the legal scmeagle warnings on my copies simply out of a desire to show how little I give a damn.

Torrents though, a torrent is a clumsy methodology at best. Worthless for anything other than the uttmost ultimately must have data at the moment it is as such. If you expect to get a file that is a year old on a torrent, you better have a while to get it. 5 minutes for the recent anime ep, 5 days if it was produced a few years ago.

If I want data and want it efficiently, I get it from a newshosting service (which is paid for) and I sleep easy knowing, that no matter how you want to spin it, the newshosting service is the only one that owes sweet fuck all to the source. yes, I know, they have disclaimers 'oh don't use us for doing illegal downloads'. Oh fuck off and get real, you jerks know damn well why we need unlimited massive data transfer options. It's not for bloody Linux updates.

11 bucks a month with Astraweb, and I can ransack virtually anything that was ever made in digital data form.

Some day the powers that be will get their collective heads out of their 20th century thinking mindsets, and either SHUT DOWN newshosting services (regardless of whether they CAN do legit services), or they will just go on being data raped.
In any given month, a person with a decent ISP like Teksavvy, can download 300 gigs of data of any sort.

With the right router to mask your data, and the right options like virtual networks, there is absolutely nothing the powers that be can do to really keep you from doing it.
The only people being caught, are dumb ass schmucks that know nothing at all about downloading.

 

[nryn99]

Don't want to get sued, get your dumb ass off the internet and stop stealing other peoples property. And this is where I ask all those 'explaining' to me the definition of theft to stfu and get real.

Theft = Larceny, criminal law.
Piracy = copyright infringement, civil law.

Theft = Bad because of loss of property.
Piracy = Bad because of lack of respect for limiting rights.

US law even says you're wrong, so stop trolling.

Something tells me he typed all that crap just because I said not to

First off I am Canadian, and quoting the US understanding of the matter, well it means precisely nothing to an non American. I couldn't care less what the US legal system has to say about anything on any matter of law regarding anything whatsoever. Not relevant, I am a Canadian.

then get out of this thread...


tell ya something... a local online game's direct downloads isn't working, i only found an installer through torrent from fellow gamers... there are some things only torrent can provide. well, you probably don't care.

 

[Panzer Tacticer]

What? annoyed that the Canadian is laughing at your troubles

Land of the free, my ass

Home of the brave? Hardly, have you seen the levels of paranoid fear the way we on the outside perceive it?

Fortunately a lot of what is great out there on the market was not made or sold from the US.

 

[nryn99]

What? annoyed that the Canadian is laughing at your troubles

Land of the free, my ass

Home of the brave? Hardly, have you seen the levels of paranoid fear the way we on the outside perceive it?

Fortunately a lot of what is great out there on the market was not made or sold from the US.

look at my flag, i'm not having troubles... regarding being sued. just pissed at someone saying something is shit and useless knowing it'll offend people...

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Stop crying Panzer and get back on topic.

I'm too much of a cheap asshole myself to pay for filesharing sites for faster speeds and stuff so torrents are usually preferred for me.

 

[Panzer Tacticer]

Ahh missed the flag.

Regarding file sharing services, really they only fail in that it is too focused. The newsgroup scene is wider ranging in files selection for the most part.

I think the only real attraction for bit torrent is the fact it is so absolutely free no charge whatsoever. Trouble with it is it is so visible in most cases.

You simply never hear anything much of non torrent option hassles out there. The MPAA and the RIAA are always back slapping over crushing some torrent operation and claiming a big victory, but I don't think torrents move as much data as the non torrent options (no that is mere conjecture of course I have no data to point to).

The day they start beating up news hosting services is the day they maybe get somewhere.

I can't seem to understand why they have yet to do so though. One of life's mysteries. Likely has something to do with 'invasion of privacy' laws. Although the feds here in Canada DO seem to be working on that issue (yes a LOT of dialogue online over that matter).

 

[nryn99]

well, regarding file hosting sites, you pay for them... in torrent they're free. most pirates like free stuff. why pay when you can get it without paying anything at all?
but torrent users must also understand risks in using it.

i still use file sharing sites, but don't pay for premium, well, i wait... i don't want to pay... one way or another, if it's possible, i'll get it. with the least cost possible. not sure about the others.

 

[chrisrlink]

I smell a shit storm of hacking on the horizon maybe lolz perhaps?

 

[TVNewsIsBiased]

I download and I don't care. But I live in a REAL free nation, unlike the United Sue me of America. So whatever they wish to do to anyone THERE means nothing to me HERE.

As a fellow Canadian, I wish you were right. Unfortunately for us however, you couldn't be further from the truth..

In 2011, a controversial bill (C-11) was passed in the Canadian Parliament known as the Canadian Copyright Modernization Act which stripped you and all of us of our comfy protections afforded to us by our previously outdated copyright act.. This is now history and to enforce this fact, here are some interesting cases for you, based on this act:

1. In 2011, a Canadian was fine $60,000 by a U.S court for piracy.
2. In 2012, in fact last week a BC court in Burnaby successfully prosecuted a group of 50 Canadians for copyright infringement, for their use of the Torrent protocol for downloading (Admittedly crappy..) movies.
3. The same company that identified and levied that Burnaby lawsuit claims they have collected "files" on over 1 million Canadians (Article also references previous Burnaby lawsuits) and they are actively planning their legal assault on them in the coming months.

I'm afraid we are indeed in the same boat as our American neighbours. It's important to remember that historically, Canada has always followed suit when the U.S went on legal offensives. Always.. Even before this act, Canada was shamefully guilty of extraditing Canadians (Maher Arar, anyone?) to the U.S to face U.S-based charges (That later turned out to be completely false, predicated on racial profiling.)

Prove it. I'm serious. I want to see actual factual proof that piracy is no big deal. And don't use the claim that it's just copying. That point is moot.

Well it's kind of hard to prove a double-negative, sir.

However, here's a couple anecdotal case-studies ( Everyone loves Anecdotes, right?! )

1) So my fav. television show right now is AMC's "The Walking Dead". Unfortunately, my satellite provider does not carry AMC. There's absolutely nothing I can do.. When I go to the AMC website, thinking I can watch it like I watch "The Colbert Report" & "The Daily Show" on the Comedy Network, I get an error that I'm not an "AMC Subscriber" which makes sense, 'cause I'm not... 'course not by choice. I'd love to have AMC. The only way I can watch it is online, "illegally".

So pray tell, how have I caused a loss in revenue for AMC when I have no avenue to purchase their services to begin with?

2) My wife and I quite simply do not go to the Movie Theatres or buy movies anymore. It's no longer economically viable for us. It's a purely economical choice. If I watch a movie online, or not, it does not change the fact that we do not go to the movies or buy DVDs. We are completely off the "radar" of any recording industry's market research..

So pray tell, how have I caused a loss in revenue for the Recording industries when I wasn't a customer to begin with?

My answer.. Is that these trumped up "losses" the recording industries are complaining about aren't fictitious, however the reason is not entirely Piracy. Why are these big million dollar studies completely oblivious of the rampant inflation that has affected the Music and Movie prices?

Why is it that my Wife and I seem to be the only ones that find a problem with entertainment valuations these days? Think about this for a second, 'cause we do every month: A loaf of bread is ~$3 and can provide a week of school lunches for our oldest son or a 4L bag of milk that can provide breakfast for my kids for a week at $5... Yet the Recording industry puts a $30 valuation on a 2 hour entertainment disc... 2 fucking hours!.

When we were kids, my wife and I vividly remember going to a movies (Which included basic drink and snacks..) for $5 or less. This is 2 hours of entertainment, people.. Get ahold of yourselves!

Why not go take a look at the operating revenues of these corporations before crying a river about the "damage" pirates are doing..

 

[FireEmblemGuy]

As a fellow Canadian, I wish you were right. Unfortunately for us however, you couldn't be further from the truth..

In 2011, a controversial bill (C-11) was passed in the Canadian Parliament known as the Canadian Copyright Modernization Act which stripped you and all of us of our comfy protections afforded to us by our previously outdated copyright act.. This is now history and to enforce this fact, here are some interesting cases for you, based on this act:

1. In 2011, a Canadian was fine $60,000 by a U.S court for piracy.
2. In 2012, in fact last week a BC court in Burnaby successfully prosecuted a group of 50 Canadians for copyright infringement, for their use of the Torrent protocol for downloading (Admittedly crappy..) movies.
3. The same company that identified and levied that Burnaby lawsuit claims they have collected "files" on over 1 million Canadians (Article also references previous Burnaby lawsuits) and they are actively planning their legal assault on them in the coming months.

I'm afraid we are indeed in the same boat as our American neighbours. It's important to remember that historically, Canada has always followed suit when the U.S went on legal offensives. Always.. Even before this act, Canada was shamefully guilty of extraditing Canadians (Maher Arar, anyone?) to the U.S to face U.S-based charges (That later turned out to be completely false, predicated on racial profiling.)

You know the post you're quoting was written more than three months before C11's first reading, and more than a year before it was passed? At the time of his post he was correct. I really don't see the point of dragging up posts from nearly a year and a half ago just to go on a political tirade.

Also, despite your claim that you're a Canadian your flag is set to Germany. Am I to take this as a not-so-subtle statement of opinion against copyright Nazis?

 

[AlanJohn]

I know that by pirating the company making the game/movie/music loses money, that's one of the main reasons why I pirate.
In example, let's say that Call Of Duty Black Ops Warfare 4: Hardcore Edition™ has came out and Activision is getting millions from the little kids buying the game. One copy of the game costs around $59,99. Every time someone pirates the game, Activison loses $59,99. So, I pirate it around 10-15 times a day, doing the math Activision loses around $599 - $899 every day. I've been doing this for years, and it's quite effective.
I will never get caught on this, since I live in a shitty post-soviet 2nd world country that still thinks the internet is a magic entity which connects computers to a server somewhere in Kiev. Fuck even my ISP doesn't know where I live. There are no anti-piracy laws here and there never will be. Feels good.

/rant

 

[TVNewsIsBiased]

Since the world is full of amplifiers that really don't do anything but read or hear an opinion and then go around broadcasting it everywhere... I'll go ahead and do that research for you.

So, the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) is a "trade association" that represents the 6 largest motion picture studios in the U.S. This is:

• Walt Disney Studios
• Sony Pictures Entertainment
• Paramount Pictures
• 20th Century Fox
• Universal Studios
• Warner Bros.

So, 2011 was a big year for rampant lawsuits and valuation inflations. The cost of these shitty movies inflated more than 5% in 2011 and quite literally hundreds of thousands of customers were smacked with frivolous lawsuits based on a perceived "loss of revenue". What about the revenues, though?


Walt Disney

40.893 billion operating revenue.. UP from 2010's figure.​

8 billion of that was profit.. UP from 2010's figure.​

Warner Bros.

12.638 billion operating revenue.. UP from 2010's figure.​

1.236 billion of that was profit.. UP from 2010's figure.​

Sony

8.021 billion operating revenue.. UP from 2010's figure.​

416 million of that was profit.. UP from 2010's figure.​

Paramount

1.2 billion operating revenue.. UP from 2010's figure.​

300 million of that was profit.. UP from 2010's figure.​

Universal Studios

4.239 billion operating revenue.. UNKNOWN change.​

27 million of that was profit.. UNKNOWN change.​

Twentieth Century Fox

I'm having a terrible time finding their 2011 figures. The best I could find were figures from a single quarter of 2011:​

In the 2nd quarter (Q2) of 2011, Fox brought in $189 million in profit.. That is staggering :\​

 

[TVNewsIsBiased]

You know the post you're quoting was written more than three months before C11's first reading, and more than a year before it was passed? At the time of his post he was correct.

Jah, good point.. I did not notice this (blush)

Also, despite your claim that you're a Canadian your flag is set to Germany. Am I to take this as a not-so-subtle statement of opinion against copyright Nazis?

Nothing subtle or implied about the flag I picked or the date of birth I selected. Just random noise