 Movie Still from IP Man 2
Illegal copyright violations plague the RIAA and MPAA, but issues remain
More than 200,000 accused BitTorrent file
sharers have been targeted in the United States for sharing copyrighted
material since 2010, though the cases remain rather sketchy while the legal courts
get things sorted out.
In the most recent round of lawsuits, porn
companies went
after unsuspecting pirates of their copyrighted material. Similar to other
reported cases, some were unjustly accused of downloading files they've never
heard of, while others simply tried to settle out of court and make things go
away.
However, lawyer Evan Stone has sued an unknown
number of John Doe defendants
for downloading "IP Man 2," a martial
arts movie dubbed in English. Ironically, the lesser-downloaded version
of the popular martial arts movie was downloaded and drew the attention of
lawyers.
The
"Ip.Man.2.2010.DVDRip.XviD.AC3-ViSiON" of the film still remains
extremely popular among BitTorrent file sharers.
The copyright groups blame billions of dollars of
lost revenue on online piracy that seems to only grow more popular among
Internet users. The U.S. court system has been oversaturated with
lawsuits from copyright holders and lawyers looking to punish accused file
sharers.
The majority of those receiving settlement letters
can arrange to settle for as low as $2,500, or face harsher monetary penalties
if they decide to go to trial.
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
believes its film industry loses more than $6 billion every year because of
piracy from unauthorized transfers.
Independent filmmakers also are relatively unhappy
with online piracy, though have had a more difficult time trying to crack down
on piracy. Without the help of the RIAA's organized infrastructure,
they've had to fend
for themselves.
Similar to cases against accused peer-to-peer file
sharing users, BitTorrent users have become easy targets for copyright groups
to target. Most users simply download and share content without
attempting to conceal their IP address -- making it even easier to target said
pirates.
For people still willing to share files via
BitTorrent, experienced users warn to use proxies and other alternative means
to conceal your identity. However, it has still proven difficult to hide
from authorities that are better increasing their tracking ability of pirates.
From copyrighted music discographies to movies and
pornographic material, there is still a large amount of copyrighted material up
for grabs by Internet users. Regardless of what copyright groups and
governments attempt to do, Internet piracy is going to be a problem that rages
on beyond 2011.
"If you can find a PS3 anywhere in North America that's been on shelves for more than five minutes, I'll give you 1,200 bucks for it." -- SCEA President Jack Tretton
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