3 Count: Superb Owl Seizure

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1: Feds Seize Pirate Sports Streaming Domains in ‘Super Bowl Crackdown’

First off today, Ernesto Van der Sar at Torrentfreak writes that, just before Sunday’s Super Bowl, US authorities seized some 40 domains tied to suspected piracy websites.

The seizures involved several popular piracy websites, some getting millions of visitors. The Department of Homeland Security and partner organizations carried out the seizures.

Such seizures are common before major live events. The goal is to disrupt the pirate websites at a critical time, even though many will move on to other domains.

2: UK Copyright Law Consultation ‘Fixed’ in Favour of AI Firms, Peer Says

Next up today, Dan Milmo at The Guardian reports that artists in the United Kingdom are saying that a consultation on copyright changes is “fixed” in favor of AI companies and will harm creators to benefit tech companies.

The remarks come from Beeban Kidron, an award-winning director. She said that the consultation was open but inadequate, noting that it primarily entertained tech companies and did not hear the concerns of artists.

She said the hearing’s goal is to find ways to loosen copyright restrictions for AI companies. Such action would result in a “wholesale” transfer of wealth from creatives to tech companies.

3: Sony Apparently Hates Fun, Axes the Bloodborne Demake With Another Copyright Claim

Finally today, Sean Hollister at The Verge reports that Sony has earned the ire of some of its fans after removing two fan-created projects based on the popular 2015 game Bloodborne.

The projects include a mod that increased the game’s framerate to 60 frames per second, bringing it up to modern standards and Bloodborne PSX, a “demake” of the original game that reimagined it as a block game.

Both takedowns were filed by MarkMonitor, a company Sony uses to enforce various intellectual property issues. Fans, frustrated with the lack of a remake, remaster, or sequel to the game, worry that the takedowns will harm one of the few ways fans of the game are keeping interest alive.

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