Due to their very nature, the Olympic Games are often considered to belong to the people. With competitors from every corner of the world, the Olympics is a celebration of sport on a truly global scale.

But while the utopian dream is one of beauty, the reality is that the Olympics are massively commercialized with billions of dollars at stake. And when sums of that scale hang in the balance, corporations go all out to protect their interests.

Earlier this week we reported how the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been sending takedown requests to Twitter after Periscope users streamed Olympic events online without permission. Now it appears that people much higher up the food chain have fallen foul of the strict licensing framework put in place by the IOC.

According to a report by Mexico’s Eluniversal, the Rio Organizing Committee has taken the decision to withdraw press credentials from Mexico’s National Commission of Physical Culture and Sports (Conade) following a copyright dispute.

The publication says that Conade violated licensing conditions put in place by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after one of its members filmed the gymnast Alexa Moreno using a cellphone. The video was subsequently posted to social media.

According to the Committee, Conade failed to obtain the necessary rights to broadcast Olympic content, so in retaliation nine Conade members, who work for the Mexican government, had their press credentials taken away.

“The use of Olympic materials turned into animated graphic formats like GIF, GFY or WebM, as well as short video formats like Vine, are expressly forbidden,” a Committee statement reads.

While the Committee probably felt it needed to set an example, taking away the credentials of the Conade staff will be felt back home in Mexico. Conade is the arm of the Mexican government charged with promoting physical education and sport in the country. Before their punishment, they were also the conduit between the Games and their countrymen.

But while the Rio Organizing Committee punishes the whole of Mexico for the sharing of a single video, thousands of people are sharing recorded events at will on sites such as The Pirate Bay.

The real action, however, is taking place on the thousands of streaming sites currently in operation. In addition to web-browser based services, users of Kodi with the correct plug-ins have continuous access to live Olympic events, often in HD quality, no matter where they are in the world. Rio can do absolutely nothing about that.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN has targeted operators of pirate sites for over a decade but more recently it began going after individual file-sharers as well.

The rightsholder-backed group has targeted Pirate Bay and KickassTorrents uploaders, for example, as well as a prolific Usenet uploader.

Today BREIN announces another success in its ongoing anti-piracy quest. The group obtained an ex-parte court order against a man who uploaded music to a cyberlocker which he then shared to a Facebook group.

According to BREIN the man and other members of the Dutch Facebook group shared pirated music as a hobby, gaining recognition for the links they posted.

Presented with the court order, the man agreed to stop his activities and pay a €7,000 settlement. In a message posted to the Facebook group he announced the reason for his sudden departure.

“Ladies and gentlemen, by order of BREIN I have to stop uploading music. I will therefore quit effective immediately. In addition, I will leave the group today, both as administrator and as a member.”

“I wish everyone all the best,” he concludes, noting that he faces an additional fine up to €50,000 if he continues sharing links to pirated content.

The €7,000 settlement is lower than those negotiated in previous cases closed by BREIN. The anti-piracy group says that it bases the amount on the financial circumstances of the uploaders, suggesting that the man has a lower income than some of the previous defendants.

BREIN doesn’t explain how it tracked down the uploader in question, but it seems likely that his Facebook account exposed him. Whether Facebook also assisted in the investigation is unknown.

Initially, the Facebook music sharing group continued to operate, but it was closed shortly thereafter. In addition, Facebook closed several similar groups after reports from BREIN.

It’s clear that the anti-piracy group is targeting uploaders of all shapes and sizes. In addition, it continues to keep its eyes on linking sites and cyberlockers.

“Among cyberlockers are many who deceitfully use the limitation of liability for hosting services. They have ineffective Notice & Takedown policies, which ensure that their main source of revenue, unauthorized entertainment content, continues to exist,” BREIN notes.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

To celebrate the five year anniversary of the Megaupload raids, in January 2017 Kim Dotcom hopes to deliver a brand new file-sharing system to the masses.

Provisionally titled Megaupload 2.0, Dotcom says the system will take decentralization, anonymity & encryption “to the next level” by connecting file transfers to bitcoin transactions.

Importantly, the new iteration of Megaupload will launch with the original Megaupload’s user database, which could potentially mean 100 million users checking in shortly after launch. Unsurprisingly then, news of the project has been generating a lot of interest online, even before any hard technical details have been made public.

While Dotcom is yet to reveal any of his investment partners, he has just made a surprise announcement concerning who he won’t be doing business with. It began with a tweet in which Dotcom claimed he’d been offered cash to participate in what he saw as a “pump and dump” deal.

Stay away from $MGT. They offered $500k for a no-substance partnership announcement with the sole purpose to pump up $MGT stock. I declined.

— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) August 17, 2016

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The MGT to which Dotcom refers is MGT Capital Investments, a company which advertises itself as dealing with cyber threats “through advanced protection technologies for mobile and personal tech devices.” Early May, security expert John McAfee was confirmed as the company’s new CEO and a chaotic period of stock trading ensued.

So why was MGT trying to get involved with Megaupload 2.0? TorrentFreak spoke with Dotcom to find out more and it transpires some big numbers were involved.

“[MGT’s approach] was connected to the new businesses I’m working on. They offered to invest $30m in cash and $MGT stock. But after some due diligence it became clear that their offer was unrealistic,” Dotcom informs TF.

“They didn’t have the substance to make such an offer. When I questioned that they responded that the substance can be created by the partnership announcement. Meaning an increase in stock value which would make the stock component of the deal more valuable”

While $30m plus stock might sound like a lot, Dotcom said he poured cold water on the idea.

“I told them I’m not interested in pumping up $MGT stock and that they need to raise the money first before we can enter into any kind of agreement,” he explains.

Undeterred, MGT had another proposal for the Megaupload founder.

“Then they offered $500k for signing a Letter of Intent to be announced at a big press conference during Defcon. The whole thing was designed to drive up the $MGT stock price with no substance. We declined,” Dotcom says.

We asked Dotcom if John McAfee himself was aware of the deal being put on the table.

“John knows about this,” he told us. “In my opinion it was all about pump and dump. All they always talked about was the effect of previous announcements on the stock price. That’s not how you create value or run a business.”

But while Dotcom may not have liked the offer made by MGT, behind the scenes it appears that he had also irritated McAfee.

Eric J. Anderson (Eijah) is a former Rockstar games developer and the founder of anonymous information sharing app DemonSaw, a product endorsed by McAfee. Dotcom says he offered Anderson, McAfee’s friend and the CTO of MGT, an important job.

“I offered Eijah [the] CTO role at Megaupload 2.0 – he agreed. Mcafee goes mental, scares Eijah, making serious threats,” Dotcom reveals.

“I decided to come forward about $MGT when I witnessed how Mcafee abused Eijah. I’m not concerned about the fallout. I stand up for friends.”

And now it appears the touchpaper has been lit. In a message from McAfee last evening, the security expert warned Dotcom that things might get a little bumpy today.

I have decided to play video games all day tomorrow :-) pic.twitter.com/RTm63PyBSL

— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) August 17, 2016

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Early reaction to Dotcom’s decision to go public about the MGT offer has been largely positive, with people praising the businessman for coming clean. However, Dotcom says his decision to go public could have its downsides.

“I had to say something. I know I’m exposing myself to attacks by $MGT but I had to go public. Based on everything I have learned about $MGT there is no substance, yet,” he says.

“They might create substance in the future. They might come up with real products that create real value. But at the moment they are focusing on making announcements to drive up the $MGT stock price instead of creating real value for investors. It’s unethical and that’s why we declined the money and I went public.”

TorrentFreak contacted MGT but the company did not respond to our request for comment.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

For several years, piracy monetization firm Rightscorp has been trying to turn piracy into profit.

The company sends DMCA notices to ISPs and bundles these with settlement demands, intended for Internet subscribers who allegedly shared pirated content. If the accused subscribers pay $30, they avoid further trouble.

Rightscorp works with prominent copyright holders including music licensing group BMG and movie studio Warner Bros. However, thus far they haven’t been able to turn their scheme into a success.

Instead, the company has been turning a loss quarter after quarter, a trend that continues with its most recent financial figures published this week.

According to the latest financial report, Rightscorp generated just $146,043 in revenue during the second quarter of 2016. That’s 38% less than the $233,816 it made during the same period last year.

The costs during the same period were substantial, $671,781, meaning that Rightscorp recorded a loss of over half a million during the past three months. A significant amount, but due to reduced operating expenses it’s better than the $1,7 million loss it recorded last year.

One of Rightscorp’s problems, as previously highlighted, is that many ISPs refuse to forward their settlement requests. Some Internet providers flat-out refuse to forward Rightscorp’s notices and others, such as Comcast, remove the settlement part.

ISPs’ refusal to forward notices is also one of the reasons that was given for the disappointing numbers for the most recent quarter.

Rightscorp recently celebrated a court success, where Cox was ordered to pay $25 million because they failed to properly respond to its DMCA notices. This prompted the anti-piracy firm to threaten every ISP in the country, but whether that will have any effect has yet to be seen.

Under U.S. law Internet providers are not required to forward DMCA notices to their subscribers, and if they choose to do so they can remove the settlement request. With this in mind, Rightscorp’s aggressive stance may actually work against them.

After losing the court case Cox has started to process Rightscorp’s notices, but whether they also forward the settlement requests is unknown.

Interestingly, the biggest settlement news of the year actually goes against Rightscorp. The company and several copyright holders, including Hollywood studio Warner Bros, previously agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit over intimidating robo-calls.

As a result, more than 2,000 accused pirates are eligible for a $100 settlement each, and according to the quarterly report Rightscorp has set aside $200,000 to cover these costs.

Ironically, that’s more than the revenue the company itself generated from settlements over the past several months.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

While jumping on an airplane is the most efficient way of traveling thousands of miles, there can be few who enjoy the hours of sitting idly in between. Some fill the time with a book, others choose in-flight entertainment.

One company providing such content is Global Eagle Entertainment. In addition to the latest Hollywood blockbusters and independent film, the company also offers a wide range of audio entertainment.

“No matter what their tastes, we can help your passengers settle back and immerse themselves in the onboard audio experience we have created specifically for your airline,” the company’s marketing reads.

“Our highly experienced audio team comes from a radio and music industry background, and is passionate about delivering a perfect mix of channels that will entertain and inform your passengers.”

The normal route for a company to provide such a service would be via licensing agreement with the record labels but for a number of reasons Global Eagle (GEE) did not enter into one. Instead, GEE subsidiary Inflight Productions (IFP) created its own packages by buying CDs and digital tracks and copying them to hard drives which were shipped out the airlines.

In May 2014, Universal Music filed a lawsuit against GEE and IFP for allegedly reproducing, distributing and publicly performing tracks from artists including Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga without permission. In total, UMG claimed infringement on more than 4,500 sound recordings.

This April, almost two years after the initial lawsuit was filed, UMG won its case. A Los Angeles federal court ruled that the in-flight entertainment provider willfully violated the label’s copyrights by “repeatedly making the business decision to continue its unauthorized use” of UMG’s songs.

With a big win in the bag for UMG, a trial to determine damages was scheduled for May. With 4,500 sound recordings and statutory damages of $150,000 per track available, Global Eagle faced paying out a potential $675m. In response, GEE said it would file an appeal.

Now, however, it appears that agreement has been reached between the warring parties. A filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission reveals that the companies have chosen to settle their differences with a massive cash and stock deal.

“Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries entered into a Settlement Agreement dated as of August 9, 2016 with UMG Recordings, Inc., Capitol Records, LLC, Universal Music Corp. and entities affiliated with them resolving all claims relating to the previously disclosed lawsuit filed by UMG against the Company and certain of its subsidiaries for music copyright infringement and related claims,” the filing reads.

“UMG and the Company have agreed to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice and have further agreed that the Settlement Agreement does not constitute any admission of liability, wrongdoing or responsibility by any party to it.”

The agreement also states that GEE and UMG will reach a licensing deal within 60 days to allow GEE to continue using UMG content. In the meantime, UMG promises not to sue for any infringing use.

But of course, these lawsuits are extremely expensive and GEE will pay a heavy price for its failure to secure licenses. The filing states that GEE must immediately pay UMG $15m in cash and issue the company with 1,360,544 shares of its common stock, currently worth around $12.2m

Before March 31, 2017, GEE must also pay UMG a further $5m and potentially hand over yet more stock, 400,000 or 500,000 shares, if the share price exceeds $12 or $10 respectively. Global Eagle shares are currently trading at $9.13.

Facing a potential $30m+ payout, Global Eagle and other players in their market seem likely to take licensing more seriously in the future.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.