piracy

Software makers threaten to sue eBay over counterfeits

First it was fashion giant LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA complaining about counterfeit fashion goods on eBay. Then it was Tiffany taking eBay to court.

Now it's the software industry telling eBay that it needs to do more to detect and delete listings for counterfeit goods--or else.

The Software and Information Industry Association, a Washington, D.C., trade association that counts companies such as Intuit, Sun Microsystems, and Red Hat as board members, said on Thursday that it's contemplating a lawsuit against eBay. Another option, the group said, would be lobbying Congress to rewrite the Digital Millennium … Read more

Microsoft earnings: What to watch

While much attention these days has centered around whether Microsoft will buy a big name to boost its online business, expect a lot of attention on Thursday to focus on the areas where Microsoft actually earns money.

The Windows business in particular will get attention after showing less than stellar results last quarter. Microsoft has forecast its Windows client unit will show between 7 percent and 11 percent growth for the quarter.

Overall, Microsoft said in April to expect earnings of 45 cents to 48 cents per share on revenue of $15.5 billion to $15.8 billion. (First Call … Read more

Why it matters what Chad Hurley watches

What will it mean for YouTube if founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen have, like many of us, entertained themselves by watching pirated videos found on their site?

Viacom will likely argue that YouTube is guilty of contributory copyright infringement if computer records show employees know unauthorized clips from shows, such as Hogan Knows Best or The Hills, are on the site and don't do anything to remove them.

According to legal experts, YouTube's response is likely to go something like this: "How are we supposed to know what's copyright material and what isn't?" … Read more

The 404 137: Where Justin will not be censored

Big Daddy Wilson can't make it on the show today, so we scoured the office and found his lovechild with MTI, CNET Account Coordinator Eddie Nguyen. He joins us for another wild show- this time, we address the not-so-recent trend of DVD piracy, the George Dubya Bush Sewage Plant (GDBSP), and Google's plan to redirect socially inept nerds. Most importantly, we expose a CON ARTIST within The 404 family. Seriously, we're fuming. EPISODE 137 Download today's podcast

One-third of us copy DVDs

Yeah, I know, it hit me as a surprise too. However, that's one of the findings found in a recent Consumer Home Piracy market research study carried out by Futuresource Consulting and sponsored by Macrovision.

The study was done in May 2008 in the U.S. and the U.K. with the sample size of more than 5,000 people. As it turns out, one-third of all the respondents in both countries admit to having made copies of prerecorded DVDs, on average about 13 titles each, in the last six months, up from just over a quarter of respondents … Read more

MPAA helps land criminal conviction in P2P piracy case

The Motion Picture Association of America has helped convict an administrator for EliteTorrents.org, a peer-to-peer site, of felony copyright infringement and conspiracy, the U.S. Justice Department announced Friday.

Daniel Dove, 26, of Clintwood, Va., was the first criminal conviction after jury trial for peer-to-peer copyright infringement and the eighth overall resulting from a federal crackdown called Operation D-Elite that targeted administrators and people who provided content that was distributed through the BitTorrents hub.

The case began in 2005, when federal agents raided and shut down the popular Web site that had distributed copyrighted music and movies, including Star … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 753: RIAA killed the radio star

OK, now this is weird: the music industry is trying to undermine the way the music industry distributes and promotes music and has always distributed and promoted music. They're calling radio piracy. What has the world come to? Also, RIM totally biffs it with the BlackBerry Bold; hackers crack the London Tube and ride around for free; and Microsoft sets a date for Windows 7. Somebody reserve the church. Listen now: Download today's podcast Episode 753

Internet provider halts plan to track, sell users’ surfing data http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/24/AR2008062401033.html… Read more

News.com Daily Podcast: Win an auction, clone your pet

Though the first animal cloned successfully from an adult was done 12 years ago, the technology is still out of reach for non-scientists. That is, until now. News.com intern Holly Jackson had a chat with the CEO of BioArts, a biotech company auctioning off several opportunities to clone a pet dog. The first auction will start at $100,000, and the procedure isn't short on controversy.

Also in today's podcast: Yahoo tries out YMail.com, Jerry Yang takes a trip to Capitol Hill to quash any antitrust concerns surrounding its search ad partnership with Google, plus we … Read more

China antipiracy agency denies probing Microsoft

China's State Intellectual Property Office on Thursday denied reports that Microsoft and other software behemoths were under investigation, according to an Associated Press report.

The antitrust agency's statement was a response to a Wednesday report by the Shanghai Securities News saying the Intellectual Property Office was investigating allegations that large software companies were using their market position to gain favorable pricing, as well as curtail research and development by local Chinese companies.

The Chinese news agency also reported that some local companies were contemplating filing antitrust lawsuits, based on a new law that is set to take effect … Read more

We will pay for music if you leave us alone

Ever since I interviewed the RIAA and wrote a column detailing the true nature of that horrible organization, I've kept myself abreast of all the news that shapes our understanding of piracy and anything that surrounds it.

And after reading an article in ArsTechnica earlier today where it cites a survey, which suggests that "people aged 14 to 24 still love their music and are willing to pay for it--but only on their own terms," I was excited to see what would happen next.

According to the survey by British Music Rights -- an organization that represents the music industry -- 80 percent of P2P users said they would gladly pay for a file-sharing service that allows them to download DRM-free songs as often as they'd like for a flat rate per month.

And although you may have expected British Music Rights to condemn the results of this study as more proof that we're living in a world of foolhardy pirates, the organization was actually quite happy with the outcome.

"The music industry should draw great optimism from this groundbreaking survey," said Feargal Sharkey, head of BMR. "First and foremost, it is quite clear that this young and tech-savvy demographic is as crazy about and engaged with music as any previous generation. Contrary to popular belief, they are also prepared to pay for it, too. But only if offered the services they want."… Read more