3 Count: Subpowned…

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1: ISP Doesn’t Have to Expose Pirating Subscribers, Judge Rules

First off today, Ernesto at Torrentfreak writes that a federal court in Georgia has ruled that CBeyond, a local ISP, does not have to comply with a DMCA subpoena filed by Rightscorp and does not have to turn over the identity of suspected file sharers.

Rightscorp is a company that represents copyright holders and is known filing lawsuits against large numbers of unknown defendants in order to have the court compel ISPs to turn over the identities of the suspected file sharers. They then contact the sharers directly and request settlements to avoid further litigation.

However, the company recently filed several DMCA subpoenas in hopes of streamlining the process. A DMCA subpoena does not require a review by a judge unless it is challenged and compels a site or host to turn over the identity of the uploader of a file. However, Rightschorp attempted to use the law to deal with an ISP, which doesn’t host the material. As such, the judge ruled that the DMCA subpoena was improper and quashed it.

2: TPP Negotiators Agree on Copyrights Protection

Next up today, NHK World reports that officials negotiating the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade pact have reached an agreement on the terms for copyrights for signatories, which will be the at least 70 years either after the release of films or music or the death of the author of the book.

While the law would not change much in the United States, which is pushing for the change, other nations, including Canada, would have to extend their copyright terms 20 years. This would, among other things, put the original James Bond books back under copyright in the country.

The copyright terms had been a sticking point in the controversial treaty, which includes over a dozen countries located along the Pacific rim including the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

3: BitTorrent to Now Offer Legal Movie Downloads

Finally today, Chris O’Falt at The Hollywood Reporter writes that BitTorrent, the company, is teaming up with film distributor FilmBuff to release 16 documentaries via BitTorrent, legally and for pay.

BitTorrent is best known as the popular file sharing protocol, which is predominantly used for piracy on the Web. However, the company itself has worked to distance itself from the most common use of its creation to try and find ways for content creators to make legitimate use of the technology.

With this latest push, the company will be offering four bundles, each with four movies. The bundles will cost $15 each and will serve the video in high definition. The collection is available for purchase now.

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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