3 Count: Non-Dancing Jesus

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1: Significant Jail Time for Former Dancing Jesus File-sharers

First off today, Chris Cooke at Complete Music Update reports that Kane Robinson, the operator of the Dancing Jesus music piracy forum and Richard Graham, a prominent user at the site, were sentenced to 21 and 32 months in prison respectively.

The case is a first in the UK because it provides strong criminal penalties for online piracy, equating it with operating a bootleg CD operation. The action was instigated by the City of London Police. Robinson had previously pleaded guilty but Graham was planning on fighting the charges, until he saw the evidence and decided to change his plea.

Dancing Jesus was a forum that specialized in pre-release music. Of the 8,000 plus tracks that Graham admits to sharing, approximately two-thirds were pre-release music. It is unclear if the prevalence of pre-release music contributed to the lengthy sentences.

2: iiNet Returns to Court to Fight Calls for Customer Information

Next up today, Claire Reilly at CNet reports that Australian ISP iiiNet has returned to court to battle a request for its customer information, this time from Dallas Buyers Club LLC, the owners to the rights of the film with the same name.

The filmmakers are attempting to force iiNet to turn over the identities of individuals the suspect shared the film illegally online. However, iiNet is saying that it is not familiar with the system that was used to collect the IP addresses of the sharers and that it needs more time to respond properly.

Dallas Buyers Club LLBC has become well known for targeting suspected file sharers and, after obtaining their information from their ISPs, seeking quick settlements from them rather than going to court. The judge has scheduled a full hearing between the parties for February 5, 2015.

3: Porn Stars Demand Google’s Help to Combat Piracy

Finally today, Dave Lee at the BBC reports that several prominent figures in the porn industry are saying that their content deserves the same treatment as mainstream movies and music with Google, including the search giant’s help in fighting piracy.

Google recently announced a new initiative to combat piracy in search results including demoting suspected pirate sites in the results and displaying advertisements that point to legitimate ways to access popular albums and films. Now the porn studios say that they want the same treatment.

The companies add that, in addition to help fight piracy, the move would also help ensure that pornogrpahy does not fall into underage hands, noting that many pirate sites do not perform any age checks. Google, however has declined to comment.

Suggestions

That’s it for the three count today. We will be back tomorrow with three more copyright links. If you have a link that you want to suggest a link for the column or have any proposals to make it better. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. I hope to hear from you.

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