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file-sharing

11 posts

isoHunt shut down

The file sharing website IsoHunt.com is shutting down. In a Stipulation and Proposed Judgment filed with a District Court in California it has agreed to halt all operations and to be permanently enjoined from further infringements. In addition, isoHunt and its founder Gary Fung have agreed to be jointly and severally liable for damages in the amount of US $110 million dollars.

The settlement follows isoHunt’s summary judgment loss in which District Court Judge Stephen Wilson issued an order permanently enjoining isoHunt and Gary Fung from continuing to engage in copyright infringement.…

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Was the $675,000 damage award against Joel Tenenbaum for file sharing excessive?

Was the statutory damages award of $675,000 against Joel Tenebaum for downloading and distributing 30 music files over peer-to-peer networks excessive? Did it violate US due process? According to a decision released by a U.S. District Court yesterday in the Sony BMG Music Entertainment v Tenebaum 2012 WL 3639053, (D.Mass., Aug. 23, 2012) case, the answer to both questions is no.

After a five-day jury trial, the jury found that Tenenbaum’s infringement was willful as to each of the thirty sound recordings in issue, and returned a verdict within the US statutory range of $22,500 per infringement, for a total damages award of $675,000. 

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Robert Levine and Brett Danaher at CMW

Last week, Robert Levine, author of Free Ride: How Digital Parasites are Destroying the Culture Business, and How the Culture Business Can Fight Back, and Brett Danaher, the author of a study on the effect of France’s HADOPI graduated response law, participated in several events in Toronto. This included talks by Robert Levine at the Economic Club, at Osoode Hall Law School, and at Canadian Music Week and by Brett Danaher at Osgoode Hall law School and Canadian Music Week.…

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Toying with funny math to downplay Canada’s role as a piracy haven

Several weeks ago TorrentFreak published its Top 25 Most Popular Torrent Sites of 2009. In a blog commenting on the rankings, I pointed out that out of the top 25, 7 of them are located or have connections to Canada and that of the top 10, 4 are located or have connections to Canada. I also pointed out that this meant that Canada, alone, is home to more than 25% of the world’s public English language unauthorized bitTorrent sites and 40% of the leading ones are in Canada.…

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Fung and Isohunt found liable for inducing worldwide copyright infringement

Earlier this week, a US district court granted summary judgement to MPAA members holding that Gary Fung and four websites operated by him, including Isohunt one of Canada’s largest bittorrent sites, contribute to massive worldwide copyright infringement.

Operators of bittorrent sites like isoHunt often claim they are nothing but content neutral search engines like Google. The Isohunt court disagreed holding, based on uncontested expert evidence, that approximately 95 percent of all files made accessible through Isohunt were infringing or highly likely to be infringing.…

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What Happens When Copyright Goes Digital

Barry Sookman and Stephen Stohn, National Post August 6, 2009

Earlier this month, the federal government launched a copyright consultation asking Canadians for input on copyright reform. Chief among its questions were what sorts of changes would best foster “innovation and creativity,” “competition and investment” and best “position Canada as a leader in the global, digital economy.”

These questions reveal fundamental insights about the objectives of copyright reform.

Reforming copyright law will stimulate investment in the creation and dissemination of movies, TV programs, books, music and software; help Canada to be a leader in the global digital market for cultural products; and enable Canadian actors, artists, performers, producers and publishers to be paid for their creative efforts and investments.…

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The Pirate Bay – Operators Fined for Aiding and Abetting Copyright Infringement

 In what is being heralded as a victory for copyright holders, a Swedish district court has found four operators of the file-sharing service The Pirate Bay guilty of aiding and abetting copyright infringement, fined them US$3.6 million, and sentenced each to a year in prison.
The defendants were involved in the operation of The Pirate Bay, reportedly one of the world’s largest bittorrent-tracking website. According to the court, users could upload and store torrent files on the Pirate Bay website as well as search the site’s database for torrent files to download.
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The SAC Proposal for the Monetization of the File Sharing of Music in Canada: Does it Comply with Canada’s International Treaty Obligations Related To Copyright?

In November 2007, the Songwriters Association of Canada (SAC) released a proposal for the monetization of the file sharing of music in Canada.  This article attempts to determine whether or not Canada, given its international and bilateral treaty agreements, could ever adopt the SAC‘s proposal.  The article approaches this analysis through the ― three-step test, which was adopted under the Berne Convention in 1971 and enshrined in the subsequent TRIPS Agreement and NAFTA; the article also analyzes whether or not the Proposal is compatible with Canada‘s obligations under the Rome Convention.  …

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Barry Sookman
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