French Court Throws Out Anti-Piracy Law

Melissa Lee votes for strict file-sharing law, tweets about listening to mixtape

(NEWSER) - This week's installment of "lawmakers ignoring their own laws" comes to you from New Zealand, which recently passed one of the world's strictest file-sharing laws. Melissa Lee voted for the "three-strikes" law, which says people can be fined up to $15,000 and lose Internet access if they are merely suspected of having illegally shared files. Opponents of the law were quick to point out that less than 24 hours before Lee made a speech supporting it, she tweeted about listening to a music compilation a friend had made for her, Gamma Squad notes. More»

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 make such copies. More»

(NEWSER) - One of the men convicted in the Pirate Bay file-sharing case is demanding a retrial, claiming that the judge is in cahoots with copyright-protection organizations, the Local of Sweden reports. Judge Tomas Norstrom acknowledges being a member of such groups but denies any conflict of interest. Last week, he found four men guilty of making copyrighted files available for downloading on their website. More»

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 all its lost revenue. More»

RIAA takes new tack in battling online file sharing

(NEWSER) - After five years of suing everyone from single mothers to teenage girls for illegally sharing music files, the recording industry is dropping the legal campaign that has ensnared 35,000 individuals, the Wall Street Journal reports. Instead, an industry group is making deals with Internet-service providers to warn those sharing music files via email. Those who refuse may receive slower service, or be booted offline. More»