Once downloaded, it allegedly provides unlimited unauthorized access to infringing content. Both websites allegedly make millions of books available from top publishers without permission, costing publishers huge losses. Information about the registrants and operators of the Bookfi and Libgen family of sites is obscured but Libgen is allegedly based in Russia.
It generates revenue through gift card donations. Libgen has been the subject of court-ordered enforcement action in the United Kingdom, but continues to operate. According to the report, Ukraine provides a safe haven for piracy sites. ExtraTorrent first appeared on the Notorious Markets List in Several enforcement actions against the site have yet to take the site down. This illustrates the broad impact that sites facilitating infringement can have on geographically diverse markets.
Gongchang is a business-to-business e-commerce platform. The site also sells counterfeit shoplifting prevention security tags. Counterfeit security tags may help give an appearance of authenticity to counterfeit goods or they may fail to alert retailers who believe their goods are protected, increasing the likelihood that shoplifting will go undetected.
The sale of these counterfeits at the B2B level illustrates how significant quantities of counterfeit inputs can enter global supply chains. The Movshare Group provides countless unauthorized copies of movies, games, music, audio, books, software, and sporting event broadcasts. The sites are said to generate revenues through advertising and premium membership or subscription fees, and to compensate users for uploading popular infringing content.
Several sites reportedly engage in domain hopping to evade law enforcement and workaround search engine demotions to rise to the top of search engine results. Based out of Russia and Ukraine, the site attracts over , visits a month. Major U. The hosting provider is located in Russia and the operators appear to be located in Ukraine. Based out of Vietnam, this illegal online marketplace facilitates legitimate goods sales with counterfeit products.
The site received over 3 million monthly page views. Site owners founded the site in When copyright owners file takedown notices, the operator remains unresponsive. The site is hosted in Russia and, like five other listed sites this year, uses the country code top-level domain of Tonga.
Nanjing provides users with links to illegal online pharmacies. In turn, these pharmacies sell counterfeit pharmaceuticals, putting consumers at risk. This year, Nanjing sold domain name registration services to over 2, known illegal online pharmacies.
They are directing users to over a hundred thousand files stored in cyberlockers. Other listed and nominated sites, including Putlocker, x. Putlocker is among the most-visited video streaming sites in the Asia-Pacific region. The federal government rarely prosecutes individuals who consume pirated content on a personal level. If they do, is piracy a felony in this case? The the courts may slap offenders with a misdemeanor, but not a felony.
Those who distribute or share the content, on the other hand, are committing felonies. For example, if you download songs illegally or make pirated copies of videos to send them to a friend or family member, the legal system will consider that a distribution. Instead, they target those who sell copyrighted content or make it available en-masse. Yet even if you stream movies or download songs illegally to share them with friends, you are guilty of a felony. Above all else, when a private group, such as the RIAA, files civil charges against you, a court may add criminal violations and felony convictions to it.
However, those who make money from copyright infringement face harsher penalties than those who distribute it without the intention of making a profit. Because of this, the severity of a violation depends on how many records were used. For example, someone downloads ten songs and shares them with three of their friends via email. Courts will treat violators who previously broke illegal downloading laws more unfavorably than first-time offenders, even more so if they make a profit.
More specifically, the new rule punishes thieves with misdemeanors. The Michigan law also levies felony charges for repeat offenders and sentences them to up to five years in prison or jail. In Massachusetts , illegal downloading laws depend on how many files you install. Others, meanwhile, may have stricter or lighter punishments that apply to specific acts, as is the case in Michigan.
Is piracy a felony under state laws? That has a lot to do with where you live, especially if the state government is also filing charges against you. Because of this, felons must consult with an attorney who thoroughly understands local and federal piracy laws. Your defense depends on whether you are currently facing charges or if you are a currently housed inmate. Finding evidence in a piracy case is even more challenging.
More specifically, prosecutors must show that you downloaded the content and provide evidence that tracks the action back to your IP address or account. To add to that, they must do so without illegally obtaining information about you. Under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, accusers must obtain a warrant from a judge. This rule certainly applies to digital data. In short, even if the prosecutors prove that you illegally downloaded a song or movie, their case will fall short when they violate the Fourth Amendment and gather information about you without a search warrant.
This scenario requires you to focus on having the charges and fines for illegal downloading reduced. As mentioned earlier, accusers will ask for compensation that makes up for the lost income. In addition, they will attempt to make you pay for each record after you download songs illegally or install pirated versions of videos.
If you show that you only downloaded the material for personal use, the amount that you have to compensate the record holder with may significantly drop.
Secondly, identify the platform that you used to download the music or videos. For example, if the content was on YouTube, the prosecutor will only make cents in ad revenues each time you play the song. Because of this, their lost income from YouTube or other ad-paying platforms will be relatively small.
However, if you download songs illegally from sources that require you to pay such as iTunes , then they may ask you to pay them back the cost of each song. Above all else, you should make sure that everything is organized and well-documented. After all, the longer the case becomes, the more legal expenses and damages that you have to incur. In certain circumstances, you may still defend yourself even if the evidence of piracy is strong. Under United States federal law, the statute of limitations on copyright infringement is only three years.
That is to say, prosecutors cannot sue you if you illegally downloaded a song or movie more than three years ago. Equally as important, you may rely on the fair use doctrine as a defense.
However, this is only the case if you used the copyrighted content for educational or informative purposes. The fair use doctrine is exempt from illegal downloading laws. Yet keep in mind that you need to provide sufficient evidence that you used the copyrighted material for an educational or charitable purpose.
ISPs will also be asked to collect anonymous data on the worst offenders along with personal details, on receipt of a court order, so that rights holders can seek to take legal action. The interim Digital Britain report also recommends the creation of a rights agency, funded by the ISPs and the media industry, that would set out a strategy for defeating illegal internet filesharers, including the use of technologies such as digital watermarking of copyrighted content.
To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor mediatheguardian. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on Government seeks international strategy on illegal downloading.
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