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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.