welcome to invitehawk

welcome to invitehawk

welcome to invitehawk

welcome to invitehawk

welcome to invitehawk

Several major labels including Universal, Warner Bros, and Sony, are squaring off with the Russian operator of YouTube-ripping sites FLVTO.biz and 2conv.com. The latter has filed a motion to dismiss the case, claiming he lacks sufficient ties to the US, but the RIAA labels clearly disagree. Streamripping sites are seen as the largest piracy threat to the music industry, so record labels are doing their best to shut them down. Last year YouTube-MP3, the world’s largest ripping site at the time, shut down after being sued, and several other folded in response to increased legal uncertainty. Not all stream-ripping sites are folding without a fight though. FLVTO.biz and 2conv.com, owned by the Russian developer Tofig Kurbanov, remain online despite being sued by several record labels in August. Two weeks ago, Kurbanov filed a motion to dismiss the case at the Federal Court in California. According to the defense, the court has no jurisdiction over the matter. Less than 6% of all visitors come from the US, and the site is managed entirely from Russia, it argued. This week the RIAA labels, including Universal, Warner Bros, and Sony, responded to the motion to dismiss, clearly disagreeing with the defense. They argue that the operator of FLVTO.biz and 2conv.com downplays the connections to the US and Virginia. In their memorandum, the record labels argue that both sites had millions of visitors from the United States over the past twelve months. “n the past year alone, Defendant’s websites had over 542,000 users from Virginia, who visited the sites more than 1.3 million times, and over 31 million users from the United States as a whole, who visited the sites more than 96 million times,” they write. 2conv.com In addition, they point out that the sites have done business with U.S.-based web-hosting services, domain-name registrars, and advertising firms. Up until recently, some servers were even located in Virginia, the plaintiffs write. These and other arguments are more than sufficient for the court to have jurisdiction over the case, the RIAA labels argue. If a dismissal is not an option, the stream-ripper operator asked to transfer the case to a California court. Some of the parties are located there, while none are in Virginia, and it would be easier to access evidence. However, the major record labels refute this argument as well. “Wherever the case is held, there will be some burden associated with accessing evidence. But Defendant does not explain why it will be especially difficult to litigate this case in Virginia, or why transferring the case to the Central District of California will resolve those hypothetical problems,” they write. It’s now up to the Virginia Federal Court to decide how to move forward. As noted by Digital Music News who covered the motion to dismiss, a hearing on the matter has been set for November 9th. Thus far the case is only dealing with jurisdictional issues. If the case continues, the alleged copyright infringements or lack thereof, are expected to be argued in more detail. source: torrentfreak

welcome to invitehawk

welcome to invitehawk

welcome to invitehawk

welcome to invitehawk

welcome to invitehawk

welcome to invitehawk

welcome to invitehawk

welcome to invitehawk

welcome to invitehawk

Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive Software are taking a clear stand against cheat developers. An Australian Federal court has granted search and seizure orders against several people who are believed to be connected to the cheating software "Infamous." Over the past year there has been a wave of copyright infringement lawsuits against alleged cheaters or cheat makers. More than a handful have been filed in the US, but there’s also been some action in Australia recently. In one case, filed last month, GTA V developer Rockstar Games and its parent company Take-Two Interactive are going after several people believed to be linked to the popular “Infamous” cheat. This lawsuit is notable because the Federal Court of Australia has signed off on several broad enforcement actions. Not only are the defendants restrained from any cheating related activity, they are also the subject of a search and assets freezing order. The orders are issued against the person or persons known as Christopher Anderson, Cycus Lesser, Sfinktah, Koroush Anderson, and Koroush Jeddian. Per the court’s order, all are prohibited from cheating and can be imprisoned if they refuse to comply. Restrained The associated search order identifies two Melbourne premises. It allows a search party to enter the buildings and search, copy, or remove relevant evidence including any computer, electronic storage device, or documents related to “Infamous.” Any cars that are located at these locations can also be searched. In addition to the search order, the Federal Court also issued a freezing order preventing the defendants from taking out more money than needed for regular expenses. “You must not remove from Australia or in any way dispose of, deal with or diminish the value of any of your assets in Australia (Australian assets) up to the unencumbered value of AU$286,609.80 (the Relevant Amount),” the order states. This freezing order also applies to any cryptocurrency and other digital currency, including the money stored in the PayPal account that’s assigned to “Christopher Anderson.” It is likely that Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive will try to obtain copyright infringement related damages, and with the freezing order they can make sure that the money isn’t spent beforehand. The orders in question were initially not disclosed, but that restriction has now been lifted. From the information we have available the searches were carried out late last month. In a follow-up order, the federal court ruled that the freezing and other orders should remain in place for now. The defendant(s) have yet to file a defense, which is expected later this month. Whatever the outcome, these orders and actions reveal that GTA V’s developer and its parent company are taking cheating rather seriously. source: torrentfreak

welcome to invitehawk

welcome to invitehawk

welcome to invitehawk

welcome to invitehawk

welcome to invitehawk

welcome to invitehawk

welcome to invitehawk

welcome to invitehawk

welcome to invitehawk