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1: RIAA Subpoenas Web-Hosting Service to Help Identify Copyright Infringers
First off today, Saman Javed at Trademarks and Brands Onlne reports that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has filed a subpoena with the content delivery network provider Cloudflare in a bid to learn who is behind the music hosting service Wi.to.
According to the RIAA, Wi.to is hosting music recordings owned by its label members and the company has never received a license to offer those songs. As such, the company sought out a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) subpoena to attempt to compel Cloudflare to turn over the data.
Cloudflare, typically, does cooperate with such subpoenas. However, Wi.to has said that it does accept DMCA takedown requests and noted that the RIAA has moved straight to requesting a subpoena without attempting to remove the allegedly infringing tracks. The RIAA, however, claims that there is a clear pattern of infringement that justifies the subpoena.
2: Court Orders ‘Ethical’ Torrent Giant TNTVillage to Stop Piracy Activity
Next up today, Andy at Torrentfreak writes that the Italian anti-piracy group FAPAV has successfully shut down the popular file-sharing website TNTVillage, a site that had been in operation since 2005.
Previously, the site had been the most popular torrent site in Italy, where it rose to prominence for its large library of illegal content in the Italian language. However, the site was also unusual in that it refused to release new content immediately after release.
Regardless, the site is no more as the local anti-piracy organization FAPAV has secured a court order that is barring the site from operating. However, in something of a parting shot, the owner offered a dump of the site from right before it closed, which would enable anyone else to set up their own version of the service.
3: ASCAP Goes After Meadowlark Bar for $27,000 in Music Copyright Lawsuit
Finally today, John Wenzel at The Denver Post reports that a Denver bar has been hit with a lawsuit over its use of music without obtaining a performing rights license.
The lawsuit was filed by the performing rights organization ASCAP, which claims that the Meadowlark has continued to play music it managed without a license despite repeated warnings not to do so. The owner of the bar referred to ASCAP as “bullies” and said that the metric for deciding how much the bar has to pay is “ridiculous”.
According to ASCAP, most bars only pay $2 per day for a license, though Meadowlark is much larger and would have to pay $13 per day ($4,730 per year). ASCAP also says the bar previously obtained a license but had it terminated in 2015 after they failed to pay their fees. ASCAP says it only uses litigation as a last resort and the bar’s owners have not said how they plan to respond to the case but say it comes at a bad time for them due to illness and travel.
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