Music Piracy Archives - GrayZone, Inc.

Labels Celebrate Piracy Win but Want More From ISP

The ongoing legal battle between major record labels (Warner, Universal, and Sony) and internet service providers (ISPs) over their users’ music piracy and copyright infringement has reached a new phase. These continued court cases highlight the fight between copyright enforcement and unfettered internet access. Labels maintain the right to be compensated for blatant and widespread […]

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Sony Music Japan Takes Anime Music Piracy Site to Court

Music Piracy / July 4, 2024

Sony Music Japan and Bandai Namco Music Live are taking legal action against the popular anime music piracy website Hikari-no-Akari. On June 29, they filed for subpoenas in a US federal court, seeking to uncover the identities of those behind the site. Cloudflare Asked to Provide information on Alleged Copyright Infringers at Anime Music Site

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Court Tosses Much of X Copyright Lawsuit but Parts Remain

U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger has allowed a copyright infringement lawsuit against X (formerly Twitter), brought by the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), to proceed, after dismissing some of their claims. The judge ruled that the primary question is whether and to what extent the social media platform is liable for acts of copyright infringement

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Warner Music Group Leads Way In $1.6BN Music Piracy Lawsuit against Altice USA

Altice USA, a prominent internet service provider, faces a new lawsuit from music rightsholders alleging its complicity in widespread music piracy through its services. Copyright Lawsuit Filed by WMG and Sony Against Altice In a recent development, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment have filed a similar lawsuit in the US District Court against

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Europe Calls Out Countries for Lack of Copyright Enforcement

In response to the increased levels of online piracy, which may in part be due to the pandemic, the European Commission wants all countries to block offending websites. They have just released their biannual listing of countries with weak copyright policies. The commission has named thirteen countries that they believe need to make more

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Industry Lost 2 Trillion Yen to Manga Piracy in 2021

Book Piracy, Music Piracy, Video Piracy / May 6, 2023

According to a recently released report by the Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA), which is based in Japan, Japanese entertainment piracy in 2021, which included music, anime, manga and video games, cost these industries ¥1.9 to ¥2.2 trillion yen (US $14.2-$16.5 billion). This study, which is based on requests and questionnaires from consumers, shows a

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Zippyshare File-sharing Piracy Enabler Shuts After 17 Years

In what is a devastating loss to the world’s file-sharers, the legendary Zippyshare will be shutting down at the end of the month. Since 2006, this popular cyber-locker service, like other file-sharing sites such as Megaupload, was frequently used for the storage of unauthorized music downloads and was often a target for anti-piracy efforts. Cloud

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Notorious Markets Piracy Sites List Published by U.S. Gov’t.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) publishes its annual Notorious Markets Report, which was recently released. The report focuses on the physical markets and websites that are seen to be the biggest threats to the country’s intellectual property owners. It is from submissions from copyright owners that the list is compiled. This

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Labels Awarded $46.7 Million From ISP in Music Piracy Trial

In Austin, Texas, a federal jury has ruled that Grande Communications Networks LLC, rebranded as Astound Broadband, must pay several music labels $46.7 million as compensation for music piracy committed by its users. The jury decided that the internet service provider should be held responsible for users’ infringement activities on its platform. Plaintiffs included Warner

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Court Says RCN Repeat Infringement Lawsuit Can Continue

U.S. copyright law requires internet providers to shut down the accounts of repeat copyright infringers in certain cases. The reluctance of internet providers (ISPs) to adhere to this rule has led to infringement lawsuits over the past several years. RCN is one of the named providers, and in 2021, they were sued by various film

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