DVD piracy

11 Stories

China's Top Search Engine Is Piracy Hub: US

Baidu.com provides links to illegal sites, says report

(Newser) - The US has listed China's top search engine—one of the 10 most popular websites in the world—as one of the most "notorious markets" for pirated software and media, Reuters reports. Baidu.com, the most popular website within China, was again singled out by the US trade representative's...

Danish Man Turns Himself In for Copying DVDs

He hopes to test-anti piracy law in court

(Newser) - A Danish man has reported himself to police for copying his DVD collection to his computer. Henrik Anderson is looking to test two contradictory Danish laws—one that allows the creation of "personal use" backup copies and another that prohibits the breaking of DRM, or digital rights management, to...

French Court Throws Out Anti-Piracy Law

(Newser) - France’s constitutional council today shot down the country’s newly minted “three strikes” law against Internet piracy, Ars Technica reports. The council said the law, which set up an administrative body to punish pirates, violated basic principles of French law, assigning essentially judicial duties to a non-judicial body,...

Streaming Sites Thwart Studios' Piracy Crackdowns

Industry fears revenue meltdown as watching pirated video online goes mainstream

(Newser) - The rise of video streaming sites has defeated movie studios' toughest anti-piracy efforts, the New York Times reports. Consumers can watch copyrighted material online—often from sites hosted in countries with slack anti-piracy rules—more easily than ever. The industry estimates "digital theft" now accounts for 40% of...

Studio Went Super-Secret to Protect Batman

Anti-piracy tactics kept bootlegs from diluting buzz just long enough

(Newser) - In a dazzling covert operation, Warner Bros. kept the lid on The Dark Knight so tight pirated copies didn’t hit the Web until 2 days after its Australian premiere—long enough to keep the film’s record opening on track, the Los Angeles Times reports. Digital piracy can keep...

DVD Dogs Sniff Out Pirates
 DVD Dogs Sniff Out Pirates 
Jul 12, 2008 8:27 AM CDT

DVD Dogs Sniff Out Pirates

MPAA enlists canine crimefighters for battle against counterfeiters

(Newser) - Two dogs trained to sniff out counterfeit DVDs are so good at their jobs that infuriated pirates have put a bounty on their heads, Wired reports. The dogs—Labrador retrievers who were taught to detect the scent of polycarbonate—have helped locate millions of fake discs hidden in warehouses and...

Nielsen Wants Role as Online Video Cop

New service will fingerprint programming to prevent video piracy

(Newser) - Television ratings giant Nielsen is getting set to take a new role—video piracy cop. The company says its new service, Digital Media Manager, will fingerprint programming to make sure videos can be posted on Internet sites like MySpace and YouTube only if they have owners' permission, reports the Wall ...

DRM Pirates Get Help From Caribbean

Foreign software gets around copyright protection

(Newser) - Digital rights management technologies are doing more for the profits of software companies than the copyright holders they're supposed to protect, Techdirt reports. The new AACS system was meant to stop HD-DVD or Blu-Ray players from showing protected disks, but hackers easily beat it. Overseas companies are now getting rich...

DVD Pirates Outwit Hollywood
DVD Pirates Outwit Hollywood
Oct 26, 2007 7:18 AM CDT

DVD Pirates Outwit Hollywood

Pre-release bootlegging on the rise despite studio security measures

(Newser) - The high-profile Oscar hopeful American Gangster opens next week—but it's already available as a pirated DVD for $5 or for free via internet file-sharing sites. American Gangster is the latest example of the upper hand that bootleggers have gained of late in their war against security measures, the Wall ...

Dogs Have a Nose for Pirates
Dogs Have a Nose for Pirates
Aug 31, 2007 7:05 PM CDT

Dogs Have a Nose for Pirates

Lucky and Flo are a trained to sniff out illegal DVDs

(Newser) - The NYPD's two cutest agents busted what cops say was a counterfeit DVD operation this week, heralding a new era in anti-piracy enforcement. Lucky and Flo, two black Labs trained to sniff out chemicals in DVDs, are just back from Malaysia, where they led authorities to 26 arrests on 35...

3-D Format Will Foil Film Pirates
3-D Format
Will Foil
Film Pirates
Jun 28, 2007 6:24 AM CDT

3-D Format Will Foil Film Pirates

Camcorder killer coming to a theater near you

(Newser) - Movie makers are preparing to launch a major assault on video piracy—in 3-D.  In two years, more than 4,000 theaters will be 3-D-ready, and top studios are gearing up to create films in the new format, which can't be recorded off the screen. Steven Spielberg and Peter...

11 Stories