illegal downloading

Read the latest news about illegal downloading on Newser.com

Stories 21 - 30 | << Prev 

To Combat Digital Piracy, Try Stealing

Composer pitches real-world thievery to help raise awareness

(Newser) - A Hollywood composer wants you to stop illegally downloading music, and he's willing to put his freedom in jeopardy to make his point. Because the public doesn't seem to equate swapping digital files with stealing, Richard Gibbs is pushing for people to swipe other products in a nationwide "day...

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...

95% of Music Downloads Illegal: Industry

40B tracks shared illegally, group claims

(Newser) - Nearly all—95%—of music downloads globally are illegal, at least according to the industry, Techdirt reports. The numbers come from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and indicate that even a 25% increase in online music purchases last year couldn’t overcome the effects of piracy. According to...

Music Industry to Dump Download Lawsuits

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...

Northwestern Using Emails to Combat File Sharing

Campus prefers education campaign to punishment

(Newser) - Northwestern University has a way to decrease peer-to-peer sharing of copyrighted files: send students emails. The system, called Be Aware You’re Uploading, delivers email notifications to active p2p users on the network, Ars Technica reports. BAYU has a successful track record of reducing p2p usage and copyright violations. It’...

Music Biz Can't Dodge Piracy: Study
Music Biz
Can't Dodge Piracy: Study

Music Biz Can't Dodge Piracy: Study

It's time to embrace 'incredibly popular' sites, say authors

(Newser) - Offering fans cheap online access to music doesn't make a dent in illegal downloads, a new study of Radiohead’s latest album shows. Although In Rainbows was released online for whatever fans wanted to pay, it was illegally downloaded millions of times, reports the Financial Times. The study advocates accepting...

Woman May Get New Trial in File-Sharing Conviction

Judge says he gave faulty instructions

(Newser) - The judge who presided over America's first music file-sharing trial might call for a do-over, the AP reports. A Minnesota mom was penalized $222,000 for illegal dowloads last fall, but the judge has since discovered that he may have issued faulty jury instructions. That's because a 1993 ruling said...

UK File Pirates Could Lose Net Privileges

Proposed laws would disconnect illegal downloaders

(Newser) - Legislation proposed in the UK would disconnect from the Internet people who illegally download or share files. Under a plan to be recommended in a paper from the government's Department of Media, Culture and Sport, file pirates will face a "three strikes" policy—the first offense gets an email,...

Google Tries Free Music in China
Google Tries Free Music in China

Google Tries Free Music in China

Revolutionary model could help GOOG face down a local rival

(Newser) - In an effort to compete with search rival Baidu, Google will join with music companies to offer free music downloads in China. The hometown search engine, which has 60% of the local market to Google’s 25%, has long hosted free searches for unlicensed music downloads, and piracy has largely...

Hollywood Had Math Wrong on College Movie Downloads

Study overestimated students' illegal grabs

(Newser) - College students aren't such movie thieves after all. Hollywood laid heavy blame for illegal downloading on colleges when a 2005 study alleged that 44% of domestic industry losses came from students downloading films. Now the industry has revised to 15%, citing "human error" in the study. Critics, however, say...

Stories 21 - 30 | << Prev