‘Operation 404’ is an ongoing law enforcement initiative in Brazil that aims to disrupt the availability of pirated content online.

Operation 404 took on pirate IPTV services in 2022, but earlier waves have targeted everything from regular websites to popular Android apps .

According to a government announcement, authorities have just shut down “the two biggest digital anime pirate sites” in Brazil as part of Operation 404 offshoot, ‘Operation Anime’.

Operation Anime

Information provided by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security states that Operation Anime was led by the Minas Gerais State Civil Police. The objective was to “repress crimes committed against intellectual property” on the internet, specifically piracy of Japanese cartoons, better known as anime.

“The action is part of a mobilization coordinated by the National Secretariat for Public Security, of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Senasp/MJSP), through the Cybernetic Operations Laboratory,” the announcement adds.

The Laboratório de Operações Cibernéticas, as it’s known in Brazil, is more closely associated with the mitigation of cyberattacks than it is piracy. However, since many crimes can have an online component, preventing serious crime and tracking down offenders is also part of the unit’s remit.

“Two Biggest Digital Anime Piracy Sites Taken Down”

The Ministry of Justice notes that the operation received support from the Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA), an anti-piracy group that helps to protect anime content in Japan and overseas.

The statement indicates a significant operation; search and seizure warrants, blocking and/or suspension of websites, action against content in search engines, and the removal of profiles and pages on social networks.

“During the execution of the warrants, the objective is to seize computer equipment, including: internal HDs, computer devices, which demonstrate the materiality of the crime. The two biggest anime digital piracy sites have been taken down,” the government department adds.

Having supplied an abundance of information relating to who did what, where, and why, the names of the sites claimed to have been shut down are never mentioned, despite being the most important part of the story.

Report on Brazilian TV

The TV report embedded below doesn’t name the sites either but does reveal some details of the operation. Speaking in Portuguese, a police officer says that a target was identified in Arapiraca, the second-largest city in the Alagoas region.

An unnamed 22-year-old computing student is suspected of running a large anime piracy site.

The officer explains that running a piracy site could lead to four years in prison, “and with this regulation here in Alagoas, this young man must be indicted for the crime of piracy.”

Was BetterAnime Targeted?

When Brazilian authorities report Operation 404 successes, they rarely mention specific dates for individual actions. Indeed, there is some evidence to show that sites or applications may have been taken down or blocked over longer periods, weeks or even months.

Given the timing, some believe that BetterAnime.net was taken down as part of Operation Anime. The site enjoyed around six million visits each month, with users mostly complimentary regarding its speed and content selection.

A tweet published on the site’s official Twitter account yesterday confirms the closure of BetterAnime but says it had nothing to do with the government’s announcement.

“[F]or crying out loud. I wasn’t arrested,” the tweet insists.

“It happened to be at the same time. I received a DMCA notice with a ‘request’ to shut down the site. If you don’t comply, the thing could lead to court, etc.”

A message on the now-shuttered site adds the following: “For copyright reasons, the BetterAnime website has been closed down. It was a good journey and full of learning, but the time has come to close the project. Thank you to everyone who has supported us during this time.”

Case solved? Probably not.

Other Sites Targeted Recently?

With around five million visits each month and 95% of its traffic originating from Brazil, Animes-Vision has a similar profile to BetterAnime. Or rather it did, until recently.

A notice on the site confirms that its operators decided to close the platform down “for major and copyright reasons.”

There’s no direct information to confirm any arrests, but in any case, five million visits per month wouldn’t be anywhere near enough to claim the number one or even number two slots taken by the largest anime piracy sites in Brazil.

The recent shutdown of Anbient.com provides few additional clues. With over 60% of its traffic hailing from Brazil but with around 100,000 visits per month, the site simply wasn’t big enough to match the profile mentioned by the authorities.

The shutdown notice displayed on the former anime platform (above) is mostly generic, but in sticky situations, that’s often the case. Especially so when compliance with a cease-and-desist notice offers a much simpler way out.

Two Serious Contenders

Since anime-online.site is completely offline, there’s obviously no notice to report here. The site appears to have been popular in Brazil but with just a few hundred thousand visits per month, it can’t be considered a major player. A site with a similar name can.

Currently offline and displaying a Cloudflare error, animesonline.cc fits the profile perfectly. In December 2022 alone the site had over 20 million visits, and 99% of its traffic originated from Brazil.

The Cloudflare error appears regardless of visitor location but we can’t yet confirm the reasons for the message or the downtime. As far as we’re aware, the site’s downtime is yet to be explained and people are beginning to ask questions.

Interestingly, or potentially entirely coincidentally, the same Cloudflare message also appears on another massively popular anime piracy site.

Animefire.net had 10 million visits in December 2022, and almost 92% of its visitors were from Brazil. It meets the criteria mentioned by the Brazilian government perfectly. It may suddenly reappear online unscathed but that would contradict the government’s claims that the two largest anime piracy sites have been taken down. Stranger things have happened, of course, but there are other things to consider.

Mystery Solved or More Mystery?

While numerous moving parts can distort site popularity, Animes-Online.cc and Animefire.net seem likely to have been the two most popular anime piracy sites in Brazil, at least before they went offline. They may yet return but in the meantime, here’s an interesting coincidence.

With 22.3 million visits in December 2022 and over 99% of its audience coming from Brazil, Mangalivre.net is a hot contender for Brazil’s most popular site for Japanese comics, otherwise known as manga. Right now the site is down and displaying the same Cloudflare error as those on the anime sites.

Update: We’re informed that mangalivre is blocking visitors outside Brazil. There are a number of reports that users in Brazil are still experiencing issues but we can confirm the site is up

After pulling in millions of visitors in December 2022, sites also down and showing exactly the same Cloudflare message include Animeyabu.com and Animesbr.biz.

Other sites in the anime and manga niches appear to be offline too. Given that there are obvious links between some of these sites (and many other sites not even mentioned here), could that mean they’re all experiencing simultaneous but coincidental technical difficulties?

It’s also possible that they’ve all been taken down as a precautionary measure due to the recent actions in Brazil, and will eventually return as if nothing has happened. Or maybe, potentially, the authorities in Brazil – with help from Japan – have hit the jackpot.

Given that not even the names of the sites taken down are being made public, all options remain on the table. Coincidences happen – regularly. We’ll have to sit and wait patiently, just like everyone else.

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

In the summer of 2021, game developer Bungie filed a complaint targeting three well-known cheat sellers; Elite Tech Boss, Lavicheats & VeteranCheats .

The case against Elite Tech Boss has been the most eventful thus far. Within a few months, this resulted in a consent judgment where a key defendant agreed to pay $13.5 million in damages.

That judgment didn’t settle the matter completely as Bungie still has other targets in its crosshairs . Meanwhile, there are other cases to resolve.

LaviCheats and VeteranCheats failed to answer the complaints filed in the United States. As a result, Bungie requested a $12 million default judgment against the latter a few days ago, shortly followed by a similar, albeit lower, claim against Lavicheats.com.

You’ve Been Served

Late last week Bungie filed a motion for default judgment against LaviCheats at a Washington federal court. The game company asked the court to rule on the matter without hearing the defendant, as they apparently have no interest in making a court appearance.

Bungie believes that LaviCheats is operated by India-resident Kunal Bansal, AKA “Lavi”. However, no known address exists for this person. To alert Bansal to the legal proceeding, Bungie sent an email and posted a message in the LaviCheats forums.

These unusual serving options were authorized by the court and proved successful. Although there was no response in court, Destiny 2 cheats were removed from the LaviCheats website.

In a message posted on the website, LaviCheats explained that it will no longer sell Destiny 2 hacks because of the lawsuit. At the same time, however, LaviCheats advised people to buy cheats at Cobracheats instead.

The referral is not a coincidence; Bungie believes that Bansal is also the driving force behind this cheat shop, as well as others.

“[A]fter receiving notice of this lawsuit, Bansal moved his unlawful activities with respect to the Cheat Software to one or more other websites believed to be owned and/or operated by him, including the websites located at cobracheats.com, lavicheats.org, and protocolv.com,” Bungie explains.

$6.7 Million Default Judgment

As the defendant failed to show up in court, Bungie moved ahead on its own. In the motion filed last Friday, the company requests a total award of $6,700,973.34. This figure comprises damages, attorneys’ fees and other costs.

The bulk of the proposed award relates to Lavicheats’ alleged violations of the DMCA’s anti-circumvention provision. The game developer believes it’s entitled to $2,000 for each of the 2,790 cheat copies that were downloaded.

“Bansal’s […] ongoing conduct demonstrates a willingness to continue with his illegal activities, as to warrant a statutory damage award of at least $2,000 for each of the 2,790 Cheat Software for Destiny 2 that Bansal’s own website admitted were downloaded, for a total of $5,580,000.”

Bungie further alleges that Lavicheats infringed its copyrights, so is entitled to claim the maximum $300,000 in statutory damages for two titles. In addition, Bungie seeks $579,270 in damages for trademark infringements, an amount that equals Bansal’s Destiny 2 cheat profits.

High But Warranted

The $6 million figure is high but justified, Bungie tells the court. Stressing that the company had to spend millions of dollars to fight cheaters, it’s appropriate to send a strong message.

“[A]lthough the total amount Bungie seeks may be considered large, the damages are proportional to the harm caused by Bansal’s flagrant and willful violation of Bungie’s rights,” Bungie notes.

In addition to the damages request, the motion also seeks a permanent injunction, barring Bansal from engaging in any Bungie-related cheating or infringement activities going forward.

The Washington federal court has yet to review and rule on the motion. Without a defending party, however, little stands in the way of another Bungie victory.

—

A copy of Bungie’s motion for a default judgment against Kunal Bansal (LaviCheats) is available here (pdf)

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Various courts around the world have come to the conclusion that The Pirate Bay is a copyright-infringing website.

As a result, Internet providers in dozens of countries are required to block access to the site. This works well, but blocking measures are also quite easy to circumvent.

Some people may resort to VPN services, for example, or replace the default DNS resolver provided by their ISP with independent alternatives. Dedicated ‘proxy’ sites have also become quite popular.

These proxies act as a copy of The Pirate Bay, making the site accessible through an alternative domain name. These platforms are thorns in the sides of rightsholders, who fight back by adding proxy site domains to existing blocking orders targeting The Pirate Bay.

This cat-and-mouse game inspired the development of sites that provide an overview of working Pirate Bay proxy sites. ‘The Proxy Bay’ is just one of many similar examples.

Police Take proxybay.github.io Offline

The Proxy Bay has been operating in the ‘proxy information’ niche for many years. Aside from its main domain name, it also uses a proxybay.github.io version, which is linked to the Microsoft-owned developer platform GitHub. This variant has also been available for years, but last month found itself abruptly pulled offline.

The takedown was requested by City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit ( PIPCU ). On behalf of music group BPI, PIPCU sent a takedown request to GitHub, alerting it to the alleged criminal activity taking place on its domain.

“This site is in breach of UK law, namely Copyright, Design & Patents Act 1988, Offences under the Fraud Act 2006 and Conspiracy to Defraud,” PIPCU wrote.

“Suspension of the domain(s) is intended to prevent further crime. Where possible we request that domain suspension(s) are made within 48 hours of receipt of this Alert,” the notice added.

DMCA Counternotice

GitHub honored the takedown request and proxybay.github.io was redirected to a 404 error. However, The Proxy Bay operator clearly disagreed with this decision and responded with a formal DMCA counternotice .

“The person claiming DMCA doesn’t understand, that there is no content hosted on proxybay.github.com hence why it is wrong to send a DMCA request for it,” the site owner wrote.

“There are no content/media of any kind hosted on proxybay.github.com, if there is – again ask mister DMCA robot to provide with exact links of media files which were infringed and I will be glad to remove them from repository.”

That ‘mister DMCA robot’ was none other than the UK police didn’t seem to impress The Proxy Bay operator. Since there are no links to copyrighted content, the domain should be reinstated, they argued.

The legality of these sites can be debated. In the UK, thepirateproxybay.com and similar sites have been added to court-sanctioned blocklists in the past, making this a tricky situation when blended with DMCA notices relevant under United States law.

GitHub Restores The Proxy Bay

Despite the sensitivities, the DMCA counternotice was successful and this week GitHub decided to restore the domain and the site. As a result, proxybay.github.io is available once again to the public at large.

The reinstatement doesn’t mean that GitHub has taken sides. The DMCA simply dictates that disputed content has to be restored between 10 and 14 business days , unless the rightsholder takes legal action.

Apparently, no legal action was taken in this case, so the logical response was to reenable the domain name.

Interestingly, GitHub had an easy out if it wanted to keep The Proxy Bay offline. The counternotice listed the wrong domain name, as it referred to proxybay.github.com instead of proxybay.github.io. This .com domain doesn’t exist, which could render the DMCA takedown protest moot.

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

YouTube’s terms and service prohibit users from downloading audio and video, but there are numerous ‘stream-ripping’ sites available on the web that do just that.

These services are a thorn in the side of recording labels which consider them a major piracy threat. Some operators of these stream-ripping tools disagree, pointing at the variety of legal use cases instead.

At the end of 2020, the operator of one of the largest stream-rippers took matters into his own hands. Instead of hiding in the shadows like some competitors, Yout.com owner Johnathan Nader sued the RIAA , asking the federal court in Connecticut to declare his service non-infringing.

Last fall, the district court decided to dismiss the matter, handing a win to the RIAA. Judge Stefan Underhill ultimately concluded that Yout had failed to show that it doesn’t circumvent YouTube’s technological protection measures. This also rendered the associated defamation and business disparagement claims moot.

Yout.com Opens Appeal

Yout did not give up on the case. Site operator Johnathan Nader opted to appeal the case as he believes that YouTube rippers don’t violate the DMCA. After the RIAA’s request for legal fees was denied , Yout’s attorneys filed their opening brief yesterday at the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

The appeal begins by pointing out that the case deals with novel issues regarding the DMCA’s anti-circumvention provision. One of the key questions is whether YouTube videos have effective technological measures that aim to prevent the public from accessing copyrighted works.

Arguing that there is no DRM or encryption protecting the videos, Yout says that’s not the case here.

“Neither YouTube nor the Defendants employ any form of Digital Rights Management or encryption, the inclusion of which would eliminate the ability of the Yout software to allow Yout’s users to make copies of the works.

“Indeed, not only is there a lack of protection against such copying, the process can be accomplished by anyone with a web browser without the need for Yout’s services,” the opening brief adds.

The RIAA nonetheless asked Google to remove Yout.com URLs from its search engine, which it did. As a result, Yout’s traffic numbers dropped and similar takedown notices allegedly resulted in a PayPal ban too.

“Defendants improperly sent anti-circumvention notices to Google with the intent that Google would ‘delist’ Yout’s software platform, rendering it undiscoverable for the majority of Internet users seeking such services, which is precisely what occurred to Yout’s detriment.”

The 92-page appeal brief lists a myriad of issues and open questions, which suggest that the case warrants an in-depth proceeding. The lower court’s dismissal was premature, Yout’s attorneys argue, adding that the service is analogous to a VCR and has significant non-infringing uses.

The brief illustrates, through detailed descriptions accompanied by screenshots, that anyone can download video and audio from YouTube. The process doesn’t require any software other than a regular web browser.

Downloading Taylor Swift

The example used the music video of Taylor Swift’s “The Lakes” but the same process applies to all YouTube videos. Through this process the audio and video files are separate, but there are free tools to combine the two.

“A visitor can use Yout to save a personal recording on their personal computer for later viewing when not connected to the Internet. In essence, Yout allows a user to ‘time shift’ content. Yout never saves or retains its visitors’ time-shifted content on its own servers,” the attorneys write.

The fact that Yout’s attorneys are using a video from one of the biggest artists in the world shows that potential copyright sensitivities are not being evaded.

Instead, Yout explains that its service simply automates the ‘ripping’ process, without storing any content on its own servers. While rightsholders are clearly against this, the attorneys argue that there is no “circumvention” of a technological measure that prevents either access or copying.

YouTube does employ a JavaScript-based ‘rolling cipher’ to make it harder to download content directly. However, Yout doesn’t believe that this is an effective technological measure. In addition, it’s not clear whether YouTube implemented this code to prevent copying.

Copyright Protection or Bot Prevention?

The RIAA sees the rolling cipher as a form of DRM but the music group didn’t put the code there. YouTube has not been heard in the case but the video platform may have added the code to deter bots from generating fake views to generate income.

“There is no evidence […] that YouTube intended this to be a ‘technological measure’ designed to limit access or copying at all. And, if the technology was not designed or intended to limit or accessing copying, the Defendants cannot claim retroactively that such a technological measure exists by happenstance.”

The appellant doesn’t deny that the rolling cipher was introduced to make it harder to download videos but only YouTube itself can provide the answer.

“YouTube is not a party here and the Defendants can no better speak to YouTube’s intentions than Yout can,” the attorneys write.

Free Access

All in all, it’s clear that YouTube’s videos are not behind a paywall. They are publicly available to anyone with access to a web browser and the Internet. In fact, allowing access to videos is the main purpose of the site.

“Indeed, it is clear from YouTube’s Terms of Service – which the District Court took judicial notice of – that, by providing their videos to Youtube – the Defendants explicitly agreed that Youtube’s visitors were permitted access to the works , the brief reads (emphasis original).

Making copies of audio and video is an entirely different thing, of course. However, Yout argues that since users have access to the files, without any meaningful technological protection measures, there’s no DMCA violation.

The full arguments are much more detailed than we can summarize here. This is just the start of the appeal and certainly not the last time these issues will be raised.

No date has been set for RIAA’s response, which will likely follow in a few months. In addition, there may be several amicus briefs from interested parties as well, given the gravity of the case.

—

A copy of Yout’s full opening brief, filed as the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, is available here (pdf)

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

After building their sites almost from scratch and then populating them with the right kind of users, private torrent site owners understand the long haul.

Private tracker users also tend to be more invested, partly due to a community spirit mostly absent from public sites. For these reasons and more, merging two private sites into one is a fairly rare occurrence.

Private torrent trackers HDCity and HD-Spain did have things in common, not least a shared interest in Spanish-focused HD content, movies and TV shows in particular.

Operating from a .li domain, HDCity had its own encoding team, and becoming a member was no easy task. Opinions varied, but some believed that HD-Spain had more to offer. Soon that would become undisputed.

Time to Merge

Following a decision to merge the sites, the initial plan was for both to lose their identities and then reemerge as an ambitious single project, with fresh branding and a brand new name – Pixelados.

When it became clear that the Pixelados project needed more time, users from HDCity were migrated to HD-Spain as an interim measure. In time, HDCity ceased to exist and in line with tradition, the site departed with the usual quote from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Those behind the merged torrent sites previously joked that the site would become “ Schrödinger ‘s tracker” – HD-Spain.com carrying the merged user data with Pixelados.tv the new domain – despite not actually being the Pixelados as planned.

As recently as December 2022, both HD-Spain and Pixelados domains remained in use. A few days ago, all domains suddenly fell out of service. When they returned, any hope of Pixelados still being alive – or even both dead and alive – was removed.

Another ACE Shutdown

Like hundreds of sites over the past five years, Pixelados/HD-Spain had succumbed to the legal threats of the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment.

“As you can see (or not yet, depending on how you refresh the hd-spain.com and pixelados.tv domains in your browser) the domains now point to a website owned by the ‘Alliance For Creativity And Entertainment’,” an announcement by the sites’ operator reads.

“Currently, copyright laws in Spain allow websites to be sued for distributing files by any method that infringes copyright, whether or not there is a profit motive. If there is and it can be proven, the complaints would go through criminal proceedings with possible jail sentences and fines.”

Pixelados/HD-Spain had always maintained a no-profit policy, but as its operator notes, even when there is no profit involved, claims under civil law remain viable and can lead to damages awards reaching hundreds of thousands of euros. Technically, that’s not even the limit, but another option was also on the table.

“In exchange for NOT UNDERTAKING ANY LEGAL ACTION against those responsible for the websites or those related to it, the ‘Alliance For Creativity And Entertainment’ has retained ownership of the existing domains and of course requires the activity of the websites to cease,” the announcement adds.

“And that is how it will be done, it is well known to all that we have NEVER had any profit whatsoever, but this is a hobby, and as such at the moment that it may present a problem for any person in charge of the website or a relative, we close everything for real.”

With the domains transferred, all that remained was to finish the job. The announcement adds that everything has been destroyed; the website, hardware, and all data related to all users – nothing exists.

“Thank you all very much for the time shared, both in good times and in bad.”

Another Site Added to The List

For ACE, this shutdown is just another day at the office. After sending investigators to approach the site’s operator in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, an agreement was reached for everything to be shut down.

“Thanks to ACE’s rapidly expanding global network and decisive action against illegal piracy operators, the legal marketplace for creative content has never been so well protected,” says Jan van Voorn, Executive Vice President and Global Content Protection Chief of the Motion Picture Association and Head of ACE.

“As we enter 2023, our coalition is better equipped than ever to target and shut down the pirates who threaten the legal creative economy.”

ACE reports that 26,000 torrents attracted 300,000 visits to the domains each month, with almost all traffic coming from Spain.

At the time of writing, the domains hd-spain.com and pixelados.tv are in the hands of the Motion Picture Association along with two other related domains – hd-spain.org and hdspain.org.

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

When the federal government shut down pirate IPTV services owned by Pennsylvania and New Jersey man, Bill Omar Carrasquillo in November 2019, it became one of the most high-profile anti-piracy operations ever conducted in the United States.

Under handles including “Omi in a Hellcat” and “Targetin1080p” Carrasquillo publicized almost everything he did on social media, from selling pirate subscriptions and devices, to banking the mountains of cash he undoubtedly made from the service. When the FBI dismantled his operation, Carrasquillo expressed surprise that the “legal loophole” he’d exploited had somehow let him down.

As things stand, Carrasquillo and co-defendants Jesse Gonzales of California and Michael Barone of New York await sentencing after pleading guilty to a number of offenses, all related to the illegal capture and redistribution of Comcast, Verizon, Spectrum, DirecTV, and Frontier Communications broadcasts.

This week, counsel for Barone filed a sentencing memorandum explaining why the court should go easy on him. His story is fairly typical of people who take an interest in piracy at a base level and then find it difficult to check their own momentum.

Claims of being threatened by two sets of gunmen, and allegations that Carrasquillo himself threatened to kill Barone if he quit his job, are both extraordinary and unprecedented.

Barone Was Lured in By Carrasquillo’s Advertising

As outlined in the memorandum filed in court this week, Barone previously had a completely clean record. Having worked as a New York City train conductor, Barone quit in 2016 to become a full-time carer for his father. To make ends meet he began looking for work he could do from home, tech support in particular.

Barone had some experience with computers and had been hearing about a “new kind of television service called ‘IPTV’.” After discovering a chatroom run by Carrasquillo that advertised his ‘Reboot’ IPTV service, Barone decided to educate himself on the pros and cons of IPTV.

Barone says that Carrasquillo’s reading of “antiquated laws governing copyright protected television and movie content” led him to sign up to Carrasquillo’s service for a month.

From there, things escalated quickly. After participating in the service’s chatroom, Barone found himself helping people out. Carrasquillo spotted Barone’s work and offered him a job as a moderator. Barone says he was paid 25 cents for every support ticket he answered, earning him between $250 and $500 per week via PayPal.

Barone says he studied how Carrasquillo made his money; subscriptions to his Reboot IPTV service and advertising revenue from IPTV tutorials on YouTube, for example. The New York man also noted how Carrasquillo created “media hype and self-serving videos” to increase his following, which in turn encouraged more sales.

Moderator Becomes Admin

The time-honored tradition of promotion in file-sharing and other piracy circles is the transition from moderator to administrator. When Barone’s time came, his pay increased to between $400 and $600 per week, he says. New responsibilities included overseeing other moderators, supporting IPTV resellers, and remotely installing software on servers in Canada and the United States.

“Mike researched the legalities online and found numerous articles and blogs expounding on the benefits of IPTV and discussion of the legality of streaming,” counsel for Barone writes.

“Gradually Mike became convinced of the rosy picture painted by Carrasquillo and others in the IPTV world — that the legality of streaming television channels through an independent service was a ‘gray area’.

“Essentially, Mike became convinced that streaming was not illegal due to the outdated provisions of the Copyright Act, and was convinced that Carrasquillo’s service did not offer recorded content,” the memorandum continues.

According to Barone, the “legal loophole” IPTV business model made Carrasquillo “so flush with cash” that he began branching out into real estate and “buying up properties — in cash — at weekly auctions, purchasing bars and nightclubs.”

Carrasquillo’s Demeanor and Gears TV

As his company grew, and transitioned from the name Reboot to Gears, Barone says he observed Carrasquillo becoming “increasingly erratic and obnoxious.”

“[C]onstantly posting offensive videos flashing large boxes of U.S. currency, boasting about how much money he was making, displaying garish signs of wealth in jewelry, houses, bank accounts, sports cars, exotic dancer clubs, and directly and explicitly mocking law enforcement while declaring his income legitimate and that he was untouchable from law enforcement,” Barone says.

When Carrasquillo began posting videos online “openly threatening people perceived as undermining him or betraying him in some way,” Barone says he became afraid and decided to leave Gears TV. According to Carrasquillo’s co-defendant and then employee, that’s when the threats began.

“If you leave, I’ll kill you”

After Carrasquillo reportedly began posting videos of himself visiting local banks, making cash withdrawals of “hundreds of thousands of dollars” at a time, while “obnoxiously cursing at and declaring to bank personnel that he was entitled to his own money at any time, for any reason,” Barone says his desire to leave the IPTV business increased.

Barone claims that when he told Carrasquillo he wanted to quit, on several occasions his boss responded with “if you leave, I’ll kill you” – and not in a joking manner, Barone insists. From there, the situation only became worse.

“Thereafter, one day in the fall of 2017 when Mike left his house in Queens to walk to a local store, a car pulled up to him, a man exited while showing Mike a gun and announced ‘if you leave I’m gonna come back and see you’,” Barone’s counsel notes.

With no other conflict in his life, Barone concluded that this was a message from Carrasquillo. There’s no evidence presented in the memorandum to indicate that Carrasquillo was actually involved but the incident wasn’t the last of its type.

“In the spring of 2018, the same type of incident occurred again wherein Mike left his house and was walking up the street when a car pulled up and a different man got out, this time pointing the gun directly at Mike and stated ‘we’re not gonna tell you again. If you leave, we’re coming back’.”

Barone Leaves Gears TV

Barone’s memorandum states that he reported none of these alleged threats to the police; he hatched a plan to grind down co-defendant Jesse Gonzales instead.

Through the use of accusations and insults, Barone planned to antagonize Gonzales to the extent he would recommend to Carrasquillo that Barone should be fired. The memorandum doesn’t say whether the plan worked or was even attempted, but Barone reportedly left Gears in August 2018.

“After Mike left, Carrasquillo and Gonzalez and others helping continued on with the
business for more than a year, until the FBI executed search warrants on Omar Carrasquillo in November 2019,” the memorandum claims.

With Carrasquillo continuing to post videos online, including those that highlighted the “legal loophole” and questioned why he was being targeted by the U.S. Government, Barone watched events roll out in the media. Several months later, the FBI requested a meeting.

FBI Wanted to Discuss Gears TV

In February 2020, the FBI contacted Barone to discuss Gears TV, leading to a three-hour interview in New York conducted by two agents who wanted to know everything Barone could tell them about the service. The FBI did not search his apartment or seize any electronic equipment – Barone says he took that to mean he wasn’t the focus of the investigation.

A year later in March 2021, a second FBI interview with two agents took place in a restaurant parking lot in New York. Barone went on to hire an attorney who coordinated the handover of Gears-related documents, including personal banking and financial records, to the FBI.

Like Carrasquillo before him, Barone was arrested and charged with offenses related to the IPTV empire.

The case involved 120 terabytes of data in electronic discovery alone. Thousands of Hollywood movies, TV shows, sports events, and other programming accounted for the lion’s share. A reported 14 terabytes of data required actual review by the defense.

“For reference, one terabyte of data contains approximately 2 million pages of documents, or hundreds of social media videos,” the memorandum helpfully points out.

Mitigation

After many months of intensively reviewing “massive amounts” of discovery, and “hundreds of hours of discussion” between the defendant, his counsel and a support team, the memorandum notes that Barone came to understand he could be found responsible for being part of a conspiracy.

The Government’s evidence shows that for a two-year period, Barone was essential to the operations of the business day-to-day by assisting customers. For balance, Barone had no access to Carrasquillo’s massive profits, was paid a limited salary, and had no interest in the company.

Barone made no effort to hide himself online, using VPNs or Tor, for example, but was aware that Carrasquillo obscured sales of Reboot and Gears subscriptions by using the term ‘webhosting’. Barone also had encoders and other TV equipment set up at his house.

Overall Conspiracy Infringement: $167,817,004.60

As things stand, Barone appears liable for $64,912,444.52, representing a third of the overall conspiracy amount of $167,817,004.60.

The fact that the other two-thirds are attributable to Carrasquillo and Gonzalez appears to be a point of contention for Barone’s defense team. Barone’s total earnings amount to $122,402, and even if it’s decided he owes that in restitution, he’ll likely spend his whole adult life paying that off.

The statutory maximum sentence is five years imprisonment and Barone’s team believe that all things considered, sentencing guidelines indicate 8-14 months in prison. Barone also has a clean criminal history, setting him apart from the other defendants.

In summary, Barone’s team believe he “took a job ‘under the table’ so he could work from home,” and “turned his head away from recognizing” that the business was questionable.

“In spite of threats to his safety if he left, he did eventually leave. While the business was massively lucrative for Carrasquillo, Gonzalez, and perhaps a few others,
Barone was kept on the outside of the profits and the planning, including the massive money laundering,” the memorandum concludes.

Barone’s Sentencing Memorandum, filed Wednesday at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, can be found here (pdf).

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine coupled with retaliatory measures and dangerous brinkmanship threatens to destabilize the entire planet.

When a broad coalition of countries imposed sanctions on Russia last year, the goal was to limit Putin’s ability to wage war without resorting to war itself.

Sanctions were ostensibly crafted to curtail military capability while meting out punishment to Russia’s elite. They were never likely to deliver results overnight or be precise enough to avoid collateral damage, as entertainment and software companies are now acutely aware.

Intellectual Property, More Conflict

Thus far, diminished access to various types of licensed intellectual property has prompted mostly unofficial responses in Russia. Facing an existential crisis and no support from the government, some elements in the cinema industry began screening unlicensed Western movies , for example.

Unlike ally Belarus, which effectively legalized piracy recently , the Russian government has busied itself with proposals to introduce compulsory licensing for ‘enemy’ content but has faced opposition from within.

A current proposal envisages Russian cinemas legally screening foreign movies without rightsholders’ permission but with some kind of payment. After President Putin asked for input and opinions, the government department responsible for Russia’s economic growth issued its response late last week.

“The Ministry of Economic Development of Russia informs that the proposals contained in the appeal to amend the legislation of the Russian Federation are not supported, including due to the fact that they may entail a violation of international agreements to which the Russian Federation is a party, as well as negative assessments of Russian legislation and law enforcement practice in protection of property and property rights,” the document reads.

Since it “creates legal uncertainty,” Russia’s Ministry of Culture says the proposal requires significant revision, including assurances that rightsholders will get paid. The Ministry of Justice agrees that rightsholders should be compensated but says the proposals should not be limited to physical cinemas; online streaming portals should be allowed to screen unlicensed movies too.

Former Russian President Does Away With Formalities

As various governmental departments attempt to balance the reality of sanctions with the needs of the populace and the rule of law, yesterday former president Dmitry Medvedev brushed aside the legislative process by framing the unlicensed use of ‘enemy’ intellectual property as just one of Russia’s responses to Western sanctions.

“Enemy countries do not have the courage to admit that their ‘hellish’ sanctions have failed miserably. They do not work. The vast majority of industrial products and consumer goods were replaced by our own, Russian, and the missing ones – by Asian brands. Parallel imports also work, from which we get the same Western brands, and their owners get nothing,” Medvedev wrote on Telegam.

While Medvedev fails to recognize that Russia’s purchases of Western products in the gray market still generate revenue for Western companies, his role as deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia is to implement Putin’s national security decisions.

From his statement, it appears that while intellectual property rights may be enshrined in law, legislative amendments will, at best, catch up with the reality of events on the ground. And if they require any payments to rightsholders, that will be too much for Medvedev.

Recognition for Pirates Helping Russia

“So everything is as always: the Americans make money on a humiliated Europe. Crushed Europe endures and loses money. At the same time, even the IMF predicts economic growth in Russia this year,” Medvedev continued on Telegram.

“All that remains is to adopt the rules on the use of their intellectual property. Without any licenses and payment of royalties. This, among other things, will be our retaliatory sanctions on their property rights,” said the close Putin ally.

The current proposal deals with film content, but for Medvedev, that doesn’t go far enough. He says the use of unlicensed content should cover “everything” from movies to industrial software – nothing will be off-limits.

If Medvedev’s use of an old French phrase represents reality and the use of ‘trollface’ offers no contradiction, Russia may have been making best use of available resources for some time.

“Thanks, by the way, to those who have developed various programs for the unlicensed use of their expensive intellectual products. In short, for piracy in a personal sanctions regime, à la guerre comme à la guerre.”

In a comment posted to state media outlet RIA , Medvedev’s statement led to confusion.

“I don’t understand this, if the second highest person in security in the country thanks the pirates, then why do I still access torrents through a VPN to download the next movie?”

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Every year, the Office of the United States Trade Representative ( USTR ) publishes a list of ‘notorious markets’ that facilitate online piracy and related intellectual property crimes.

Drawing on input from copyright holders, the report includes a non-exclusive overview of sites and services that are believed to be involved in piracy or counterfeiting.

For more than a decade we have covered the online part of the report. Traditionally, that includes prominent torrent sites, download portals, cyberlockers, and streaming services that offer copyrighted content without obtaining permission from rightsholders.

In recent years, the scope of the report has broadened. For example, we have seen hosting companies, advertisers, and social media platforms being added. These don’t have piracy as their core business, but they allegedly facilitate infringing activity.

2022 Notorious Markets Review

Yesterday, the USTR published its 2022 Review of Notorious Markets. According to Ambassador Katherine Tai, the annual overview will help companies and countries to take proper action, where needed.

“The Notorious Markets List is an important tool that urges the private sector and our trading partners to take action against these harmful practices,” Tai notes , commenting on the release of the report.

The importance and political clout of the report shouldn’t be understated. However, the fact that some names have been listed for over a decade, shows that there are no guarantees for improvement.

Familiar Names

Looking at the 2022 Review of Notorious Markets, we see the usual suspects, including The Pirate Bay, RARBG, Rapidgator, Fmovies, Sci-Hub and 2Conv. These all come with a short description of the sites and why they are deemed problematic by rightsholders.

Some dedicated IPTV services and related companies such as Globe IPTV are called out as well, while ‘bulletproof’ hosting companies (Amaru / Flokinet) and even social media platforms (VK / WeChat) get mentioned too.

The same is true for popular foreign e-commerce platforms such as Aliexpress, Baidu Wangpan and Shopee.com. These stores are often linked to the sale of counterfeit goods. Meanwhile, there is no mention of anime piracy sites, which are massively popular.

Newcomers

This year’s overview only delivers a few new names, including torrent sites Rutracker and YTS. The latter was noticeably missing last year, despite being the most visited torrent site on the Internet.

Russia-based classified advertisement platform Avato is another newcomer. The same is true for hosting company Amarutu, which hosts many of the largest pirate sites according to rightsholders.

The fifth and final addition is an interesting one. The USTR lists Lalastreams / istream2watch.com as a family of sports streaming sites. And indeed, these were reported by the UK Premier League a few weeks ago.

What the USTR report fails to mention is that the istream2watch.com domain was seized by U.S. law enforcement authorities last December . Other domains from the same group are not called out and remain online.

Dropouts

We expect that istream2watch.com won’t be used as an example next year. And while we’re on the topic, it’s worth mentioning the sites that have been removed from the notorious markets list following appearances last year.

These are:

^{-Blueangelhost (reason unknown)
-Chomikuj.pl ( started filtering )
-Dytt8.net (reason unknown)
-Phimmoi (original site shut down )
-Popcorn Time ( popular fork shut down )
-Private Layer (reason unknown)
-Revenuehits.com (reason unknown)
-Uploaded.net ( shut down voluntarily )}

Finally, it’s worth noting that there are no immediate legal consequences for sites and services that appear on the USTR’s list. That said, over the past year, we have seen several requests in US courts where rightsholders asked intermediaries including ISPs to block domains that appear on the USTR’s annual list.

As far as we know, none of these requests have been granted, but that could change in the future.

—

A copy of the USTR’s 2022 Review of Notorious Markets is available here (pdf) . The full list of highlighted online sites/services, including those focused on counterfeiting, is as follows:

Torrent Sites
-1337x.to
-Rarbg.to
-Rutracker.org (new)
-Thepiratebay.org
-YTS.mx (new)

Cyberlockers
-1Fichier
-Rapidgator.net

E-commerce
-Aliexpress
-Baidu Wangpan
-Bukalapak.com
-DHgate.com
-Indiamart
-Pinduoduo.com
-Shopee.com
-Taobao.com
-Tokopedia.com

PaaS
-2Embed

Advertising
-Avito (new)

Streaming / IPTV
-Bestbuyiptv.store
-Chaloos
-Cuevana3.io
-Egy.best
-Fmovies / Bmovies / Bflix
-Globe IPTV
-Istar
-Lalastreams / Istream2watch.com (new)
-Pelisplus.icu
-Shabakatv
-Spider

Hosting
-Amaratu (new)
-FlokiNET

Social Media
-VK.com
-WeChat

Gaming
-Mpgh.net

Music
-Flvto.biz and 2Conv.com
-MP3juices.cc
-Newalbumreleases.net

Publishing
-Libgen
-Sci-Hub

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Pornhub is without a doubt one of the most visited adult entertainment outlets on the Internet.

The ‘entertainment’ platform is owned by MindGeek, the company formerly known as Manwin. In just a few years it has transformed the adult industry’s pay-to-access model into an all-you-can-eat, free-to-stream business.

Part of this magic formula is down to Pornhub and other MindGeek-owned tube sites allowing users to share content. This material includes legitimate videos from official Pornhub models, as well as thousands of videos that are copyrighted by MindGeek, such as the Brazzers and Reality Kings brands.

This content is freely available and monetized through advertisements. However, there is one particular threat to this lucrative business model: pirate sites.

When Pornhub got started fifteen years ago the site featured many pirated videos itself. Today, this image has changed, partly due to the mandatory verification of uploaders. Instead, Pornhub’s parent company MindGeek is now actively waging legal battles against competitors.

These DMCA takedown campaigns and lawsuits have already resulted in some success. Just a few months ago, MindGeek won its case against DaftSex . In addition to millions of dollars in damages, the court also ruled that the company could take over related domain names, which had millions of visitors.

DaftSex wasn’t completely defeated and soon reappeared with a new domain name . Meanwhile, MindGeek’s attention is drawn to its lawsuit against tube site Goodporn, which had some bizarre developments recently.

MindGeek Sues Goodporn

Initially filed in 2021 at a federal court in California, the copyright infringement lawsuit accuses the site and its operator of large-scale copyright infringement.

“The GoodPorn Website is a pirate website, displaying copyrighted adult entertainment content without authorization or license,” the complaint alleged.

MindGeek initially tried to contain the problem by sending DMCA takedown notices. This didn’t help, as the site purportedly ignored them, allowing it to profit from the alleged infringing activity of its users.

“Defendants do not even attempt to comply with their obligations under the DMCA. Instead, Defendants systematically refuse to comply with proper and compliant DMCA takedown notices,” MindGeek wrote.

The complaint is similar to those seen earlier targeting alleged pirate sites. The response is altogether different, however. Goodporn’s owner, Amrit Kumar from India, is fighting back hard.

‘Pro Se’ Defense & Attack

Kumar has answered the complaint with “pro se” filings, which means that he is representing himself without a lawyer. This is unusual but not noticeable from the text. The arguments read as if they were written by an attorney or even a team of lawyers.

After failing to have the case dismissed over a lack of jurisdiction, the defendant submitted an answer to the complaint which denies all copyright infringement allegations in addition to a counterclaim.

The counterclaims and defense go hand in hand. They are predicated on the claim that MindGeek (MG Premium) signed a bilateral agreement with Goodporn in 2019, to transfer the rights of its content.

A copy of the agreement is offered as evidence and signed by Kumar. MindGeek’s Ferass Antoon is listed as the second signatory. Antoon was the CEO of the adult company but left his position a few months ago, according to media reports.

Fraudulent Agreement?

Kumar brought this agreement up at an earlier stage of the lawsuit since it suggests that the site had the right to use the contested videos. In response, MindGeek subsidiary MG Premium dismissed the document as fraudulent.

“Defendant Kumar has made a claim of ownership of Plaintiff’s work and infringement by Plaintiff. First, he claims ownership over all of Plaintiff’s works via a contract that is, on information and belief, fraudulent.

“The alleged signatory for Plaintiff, Feras Antoon, has never held any position with Plaintiff,” MG Premium added.

The latter sentence may refer to the fact that MindGeek is not the same company as MG Premium. The latter is a subsidiary, under which thousands of MindGeek-linked copyrights are registered.

Whether the document is real or not remains a point of contention and it’s not our place to opine on that. The matter will eventually have to be resolved in court but the counterclaim suggests more fireworks may lie ahead.

Millions + Pornhub.com

Goodporn accuses MG Premium of unfair business practices and breach of contract. The first claim partly relates to DMCA notices MG Premium sent to Google, asking it to remove Goodporn URLs. The notices were illegitimate, Kumar argues.

The breach of contract claim alleges that MG Premium is the copyright-infringing party here, as the company signed over its rights to Goodporn.

“Counter Plaintiff entered into a bilateral agreement with Counter defendant, MG Premium Ltd, under which all the counter defendant’s contents, including videos, galleries, and stories, were transferred to Counter Plaintiff. Counter Defendant is currently violating counter Plaintiffs copyrights by continuing to use these works without permission.”

Kumar adds that the agreement is legitimate and suggests that there is a financial paper trail to back this up.

“The bilateral agreement is real and legitimate. The contract’s validity can be confirmed by checking Mr. Feras Antoon’s financial statements or those of his partners, such as Bernd Bergmair, who owns a majority of Mind Geek, and David Tassillo, the COO of the company.”

The court will ultimately have to make sense of this bizarre situation. Kumar’s demands suggest that there is a lot at stake, including Pornhub’s future.

As part of the counterclaim, Goodporn requests $10 million in damages for breach of contract, as stipulated in the agreement. In addition, Goodporn wants to be on record as the legitimate rightsholder, while MG Premium should stop all infringing activities.

The Pornhub.com domain name is also targeted, as Goodporn asks the court to sign it over if it wins the case. However, this domain is not owned by MG Premium, which appears to make the request moot.

The counterclaim further requests an order that requires Google to reinstate all Goodporn URLs that were removed based on MG Premium’s DMCA notices, while credit card businesses should be ordered to stop working with allegedly infringing sites such as Brazzers.com and Mofos.com.

Needless to say, the allegations from both sides must be proven before damages or other relief come into play. Thus far, the adult entertainment imperium doesn’t seem to be particularly concerned.

“These counterclaims are untrue, frivolous, and absurd. We look forward to our attorneys dealing with this matter through the court system,” MindGeek informs TorrentFreak.

Update: The original title of this article read “Pornhub Risks Losing Its Domain Name in Bizarre Piracy Lawsuit” and was updated for accuracy’s sake. MG Premium doesn’t own the domain name, so it doesn’t appear to be at risk. The counter-plaintiff demands a sign over nonetheless, as stated above.

—

A copy of Goodporn/Amrit Kumar’s answers, defenses, and the counterclaims are available here (pdf) . The document also contains the relevant exhibits including the agreement

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.