A class-action lawsuit, filed against YouTube by Grammy award-winning musician Maria Schneider and Pirate Monitor Ltd, has taken an unexpected turn. According to YouTube, Pirate Monitor first used bogus accounts to upload its own videos. It then filed DMCA notices to have the same content removed in a ploy to gain fraudulent access to Content ID management tools. Early July, Grammy award-winning musician Maria Schneider teamed up with Virgin Islands-based Pirate Monitor Ltd in a class action lawsuit targeting YouTube. Filed in a California court, the complaint centered on YouTube’s alleged copyright failures, including the company’s refusal to allow “ordinary creators” to have access to its copyright management tools known as Content ID. “Denied Any Meaningful Opportunity” to Prevent Infringement Painting YouTube as a platform designed from the ground up to attract and monetize piracy, the action contained a barrage of additional accusations, including that the mere existence of Content ID, through which creators can be compensated for otherwise infringing uploads, means that most infringement is shielded from YouTube’s repeat infringer policy. Schneider informed the court that a number of her songs had been posted to YouTube without her permission, noting that she had twice been refused access to Content ID and the “automatic and preemptive blocking” mechanisms that are available to larger rightsholders. For its part, Pirate Monitor Ltd claimed that its content, including the movie Immigrants – Jóska menni Amerika, was illegally uploaded to YouTube hundreds of times. The company said that while YouTube responded to takedown notices, they often took too long to process. Access to YouTube’s Content ID system was denied, Pirate Monitor added. YouTube Responds to Complaint, Files Counterclaims Much like the beginning of the complaint itself, YouTube and owner Google’s response begins in familiar fashion. The company denies that it encourages infringement, instead noting that it goes “far above and beyond” its legal obligations when assisting copyright holders to protect their rights, including by investing more than $100m in Content ID. Of course, this complaint largely revolves around YouTube denying the plaintiffs’ access to Content ID but to that allegation, the company has a set of simple and apparently devastating response points. Firstly, Pirate Monitor Ltd cannot be trusted since it has already engaged in fraudulent behavior in respect of Content ID. As for Schneider, not only is she suing YouTube over copyrighted music that she and her agents have already granted YouTube a license to use, her own agent has also used Content ID to generate revenue from those works on her behalf. Pirate Monitor Uploaded its Own Content Using Bogus Accounts While the claim that Schneider licensed her content to YouTube and made money through Content ID is surprising, that pales into insignificance when compared to the allegations against Pirate Monitor Ltd. During the fall of 2019, YouTube says that Pirate Monitor through its authorized agents created a series of accounts on YouTube using bogus account registration information to hide the relationship between the account creators and Pirate Monitor. These accounts were subsequently used to upload “hundreds of videos” to YouTube. These included clips from exactly the same works that Pirate Monitor accuses YouTube of infringing in its complaint – the films Csak szex és más semi and Zimmer Feri. “Each time these videos were uploaded, Pirate Monitor was representing and warranting that the video did not infringe anyone’s copyrights, and it expressly granted YouTube a license to display, reproduce, and otherwise use the videos in connection with the service. Pirate Monitor also represented that it owned or had the rights to upload and license the material contained in the videos,” YouTube’s answer reads. Shortly after, YouTube notes, Pirate Monitor followed up by sending “hundreds” of DMCA takedown notices targeting many of the videos it had uploaded through the disguised accounts. “In those notices, Pirate Monitor represented that the videos that were the subject of the notices — videos that it had uploaded — infringed its copyrights or the copyrights of a party whom Pirate Monitor was authorized to represent. YouTube processed the substantial volume of DMCA takedown requests and removed the videos,” YouTube adds. YouTube Backs Pirate Monitor Into a Corner As noted in YouTube’s answer, Pirate Monitor’s representations over the status of these videos cannot be correct in both instances. At the point of upload the company told YouTube that it had the right to upload the videos since they infringed nobody’s rights. If those declarations were untrue, the company breached the ToS agreement and “perpetrated a fraud on YouTube” by uploading infringing content. On the other hand, if it did have permission to upload the content, then Pirate Monitor knowingly made false statements to YouTube when it submitted DMCA takedown notices clearly stating that the uploads were infringing. The big question, then, is why Pirate Monitor engaged in this alleged conduct at all. YouTube: Pirate Monitor Wanted Access to Content ID According to YouTube, Pirate Monitor had previously applied for access to the Content ID program. However, the company was denied on the basis that it was required to demonstrate a valid need and have a “track record” of properly using the DMCA takedown process. YouTube believes that since Pirate Monitor was lacking these qualities, it cooked up a scheme to convince the video platform that it fulfilled the criteria. “Pirate Monitor believed that it could demonstrate both the need for access, and a track record of valid DMCA takedown requests, by surreptitiously uploading a substantial volume of content through accounts seemingly unconnected to it, and then sending DMCA takedown requests for that same content,” YouTube says. “Instead of showing that it could properly use YouTube’s tools, Pirate Monitor’s deceptive and unlawful tactics established that it could not be trusted, and that YouTube was right in rejecting its request for access.” YouTube’s Counterclaims As a result of Pirate Monitor’s actions, YouTube says that there has been a breach of contract. The company and its agents failed to provide accurate information during the account creation process and seems to have uploaded videos to YouTube that infringed third-party copyrights. All of this cost YouTube time and money, including investigating and processing Pirate Monitor’s claims that the content was infringing. Furthermore, YouTube notes that in its agreement with Pirate Monitor, the company is obliged to “indemnify YouTube for claims rising out of or relating to its use of the YouTube service. “In seeking defense costs and any potential liability in this action as damages for Pirate Monitor’s contract breaches, YouTube expressly preserves its separate entitlement to contractual indemnity and will amend its counterclaims to add a claim for that indemnity if Pirate Monitor refuses to honor its indemnity obligation,” the video platform writes. YouTube further alleges fraud in respect of more than a dozen accounts Pirate Monitor created for the purposes of uploading around 2,000 videos. Taking the statements in the subsequent DMCA takedown notices sent by the company as accurate, YouTube says that Pirate Monitor agreed not to upload infringing content but did anyway, each time declaring that it had the necessary rights to the content being uploaded. As an alternative, YouTube offers similar counterclaims in the event that Pirate Monitor actually had permission to upload the videos but abused the DMCA by issuing fraudulent takedown notices instead. Request for Injunction and Damages In addition to requesting damages to compensate for the harm caused by Pirate Monitor’s actions, YouTube demands a punitive damages award to compensate for its “fraudulent conduct”. The video platform also seeks an injunction barring Pirate Monitor and its agents from submitting any further DMCA notices that wrongfully claim that material on the YouTube service infringes copyrights held (or are claimed to be held) by Pirate Monitor or anyone it claims to represent. YouTube and Google’s Answer and Counterclaims can be found here (pdf) Source: Torrentfreak.com

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Technology giant Samsung is being sued for $1.3 million by content protection company Verance. According to a lawsuit filed in the US, for two years Samsung failed to pay licensing fees for use of Cinavia, the anti-piracy technology that aims to prevent copied or downloaded content being played on Blu-ray disc players. For at least two decades, entertainment companies have been trying to prevent people from copying commercially produced DVDs and more recently Blu-ray discs. In common with most anti-piracy technologies the protections deployed were eventually circumvented, resulting in copies of every major film and TV show being copied and distributed, either on physical formats or more commonly digitally via the Internet. However, at least one system continues to irritate playback on millions of devices. Cinavia – Making Playback Difficult For (some) Pirates Under development since 1999 albeit under a different name, the anti-piracy protection now known as Cinavia hit the market in 2010. The stated aim of the watermarking technology was to embed special digital markers into audio tracks of movies that could be later detected in order to mitigate piracy. In 2012, Cinavia detection became mandatory in all Blu-ray disc players, meaning that when Cinavia code was found in a copy of a Blu-ray disc or even a movie downloaded from the Internet (Cinavia can survive when a movie is cammed in cinemas), the associated playback device was able to prevent the unauthorized copy from playing. Samsung Sued For $1.3m For Non-Payment of Cinavia Licensing Fees In common with most anti-piracy technologies, the use of Cinavia isn’t free. Companies such as Samsung, LG and Philips, for example, are not only compelled to include Cinavia protection in their hardware players, they must also pay considerable licensing fees to Verance for the privilege. In Samsung’s case, however, it’s now being alleged that the company has stopped doing that. Filed in a New York court by Verance Corporation against South Korea-based Samsung, a new lawsuit claims that in 2011, the companies reached a licensing agreement to have Cinavia technology embedded in Samsung products. Verance claims that Samsung produced over 40 million Blu-ray players containing its technology. From 2011 until 2017, Samsung used Cinavia under the terms of a ‘Preferred Partner Program’ (PPP) which required Samsung to comply with “enhanced technical requirements”. In 2017, however, Verance says that Samsung could no longer comply with these technical conditions so it terminated Samsung’s participation in the PPP and stop waiving certain fees associated with it. After the parties failed to reach an agreement, in April 2017 Verance gave Samsung 90 days notice of its intent not to renew two licensing agreements but said it would continue Samsung’s overall license coverage. Verance also said it would update its license agreements “to address issues” that had arisen since the Cinavia license program had begun several years earlier. According to the lawsuit, however, Samsung never signed those agreements and didn’t pay any licensing fees for the seven million products it shipped containing Cinavia between July 2017 and September 2019. In response, Verance invoiced Samsung for the outstanding fees but Samsung refused to settle the bill. Samsung Owes Verance $1 Million in Licensing Fees The amount on the invoice is significant. Alleging breach of contract, Verance claims that Samsung owes $1,010,737.65 in licensing fees for the use of Cinavia in its products. On top, the company claims that it is entitled to collect late fees of 1.5% per month, totaling $299,267 as of June 30, 2020. “Verance has been damaged by Samsung’s refusal to pay the licensing fees and the late fees. In addition to its damages, Verance also is entitled to recover its reasonable attorney’s fees and other costs incurred in connection with this action,” the complaint reads. A second count of ‘unjust enrichment’ has Verance claiming that by failing to pay the appropriate licensing fees for its mandatory DRM product, Samsung was enriched at the content protection company’s expense. “It is against equity and good conscience to permit Samsung to retain the amounts Verance is seeking to recover,” the company writes. The Slow Death of Blu-ray, The Rise of Streaming In February 2019, it was reported that Samsung was beginning a withdrawal from the Blu-ray player market. “Samsung will no longer introduce new Blu-ray or 4K Blu-ray player models in the US market,” a Samsung spokesperson told CNET. In March this year, the MPA’s THEME Report, an analysis of the theatrical and home/mobile entertainment market environment, revealed that physical products (DVD/Blu-ray) accounted for just 10% of the market in 2019 at $10.1 billion, down 22% from 2018’s $12.4 billion total. Meanwhile, streaming service subscriptions increased 28%, reaching 863 million subscribers worldwide. With the Demise of Blu-Ray Players Comes a Lack of Control With millions of consumers now moving away from hardware players, Cinavia is arguably less relevant than it once was. While it is mandatory in Blu-ray players, that is not the direction the market is heading. Furthermore, software video players tend not to detect Cinavia so for most pirates the technology doesn’t affect their consumption habits. However, Cinavia still exists in Blu-ray players including those in consoles, something that causes a steady stream of complaints from those trying to play pirated copies. The big question, however, is when the Blu-ray player will be completely discarded as another technological relic – and Cinavia with it. A copy of the lawsuit filed by Verance against Samsung can be found here (pdf) Source: Torrentfreak.com

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Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? 'Mulan' tops the chart, followed by ‘The Devil All The Time'. 'Antebellum' completes the top three. The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only. These torrent download statistics are meant to provide further insight into the piracy trends. All data are gathered from public resources. This week we have three new entries in the list. Disney’s action drama “Mulan” crushed all competition on pirate sites and is the most downloaded title this week again. The film eventually came out on Disney+ three weeks ago after the box office release was delayed several times due to the COVOD-19 pandemic. The most torrented movies for the week ending on September 21 are: Movie Rank Rank last week Movie name IMDb Rating / Trailer Most downloaded movies via torrent sites 1 (1) Mulan 5.7 / trailer 2 (…) The Devil All The Time 7.2 / trailer 3 (…) Antebellum 5.5 / trailer 4 (3) Ava 5.4 / trailer 5 (2) Bill & Ted Face the Music 6.5 / trailer 6 (4) Tenet 7.9 / trailer 7 (9) Greyhound 7.1 / trailer 8 (6) Peninsula 5.6 / trailer 9 (5) Project Power 6.1 / trailer 10 (…) Lost Girls and Love Hotels 4.6 / trailer Note: We also publish an updating archive of all the list of weekly most torrented movies lists. Source: Torrentfreak.com