The highly documented takedown of the site Megaupload.com on January 19th has provoked much speculation as well as retaliation.  We spent the last week looking over the indictment and to learn more about the takedown of Megaupload.com and what it means for future IP enforcement. Megaupload claimed to have over 150 million registered users and [...]

According to reports, two popular file-sharing sites have scaled back access to files on their servers.  FileSonic and Uploaded.to have altered their operations, with Uploaded.to suspending service in the U.S. and FileSonic suspending all file sharing on its site, as well as its affiliate program that pays cash rewards to users’ who upload highly downloaded files. [...]

A number of Internet sites today have opted to shut down in protest of bills they say would censor the Internet. A headline-grabbing PR stunt, to be sure. But these companies and groups are making charges about the bills that are blatantly untrue, conjuring up straw man legislative demons in order to knock them down [...]

As the House Judiciary Committee readies for markup of the Stop Online Piracy Act tomorrow, much attention is also being paid to a competing proposal that would utilize the International Trade Commission (ITC) as the venue for enforcing copyrights and trademarks online against foreign based rogue websites, outside of US jurisdiction. While the creative community [...]

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation yesterday released an analysis by Daniel Castro of legislation pending in the U.S. House and Senate to curb piracy and counterfeiting by rogue websites. Of particular import given ITIF’s mission to develop innovation policies and advocate for technological advances is its findings on claims by legislation opponents the these bills [...]

The American Consumer Institute today announced the results of a survey illustrating that a vast majority of American consumers support stronger protection against websites trafficking pirated and counterfeit goods. The survey of 800 consumers found that 82 percent agreed that counterfeit goods, such as knock-off products, pirated software and imitation pharmaceuticals hurt the economy. Consumers [...]

A guest column in today’s New York Times may have set new records for overblown rhetoric about legislative efforts to curb offshore rogue websites profiting from illegal distribution of American intellectual property. In it, Rebecca MacKinnon of the New America Foundation accuses the bipartisan legislation of establishing blacklists, firewalls and censorship. Scary indeed, and who [...]

Efforts in the U.S. House and Senate to crack down on rogue websites trafficking in pirated and counterfeited goods have drawn criticism from voices who claim the legislation would “break the Internet.” From a pure common sense standpoint, this statement just doesn’t pass the smell test. But we have dug into the details to provide, [...]

Given some of the threatening rhetoric surrounding the PROTECT-IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act, it is appropriate to consider the types of sites this legislation does and does not target. It does not target legitimate sites like YouTube, Twitter, eBay or Facebook. It does target sites that are “dedicated to theft of U.S. [...]

Guilds and associations representing artists, publishers, songwriters and record labels have issued a statement regarding the erroneous attacks by the so-called “freebieber” website against a bill aimed at protecting artists rights: Statement from: American Federation of Musicians, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, National Music Publishers’ Association, Recording Academy, and the Recording Industry Association [...]