 Archive for the 'Piracy' CategoryFans pitch a fit over lack of LAN support for ‘StarCraft II’July 1st, 2009, 1:14 pm by Jayson Peters
Gamers are furious that Blizzard Entertainment’s upcoming real-time sci-fi strategy game Starcraft II will have no LAN support. They’ve been storming the message boards to express their displeasure with the decision, and, as reported by Wired’s Game Life blog, some have even started an online petition to implore Blizzard to reconsider. Read the rest of this entry » Avast! Pirate Bay bought out, plans to go legitJune 30th, 2009, 4:40 pm by Chris "KeL" AdamsTo the disappointment of many, the biggest Internet piracy site, The Pirate Bay, has been purchased by software company Global Gaming Firm X. GGF paid out 7.8 million dollars for the torrent tracking hub, which will now become a publicly traded company. The Pirate Bay has recently been fighting a copyright infringement conviction in Sweden. The future direction of TPB remains uncertain, but GGF CEO Hans Pandeya said “We would like to introduce models which entail that content providers and copyright owners get paid for content that is downloaded via the site.” So it seems the days of free illicit movies, games, television and software are running out. At least via TPB, there are still numerous other web sites which are havens for pirates. Will one of those rivals step up to fill the void or will a legal version of TPB be able to stay on top? It’s certain to be an uphill battle for TPB given the history of other piracy sites, such as Napster, that have gone legitimate. At least one D&D piracy case headed to mediationJune 19th, 2009, 11:33 pm by Jayson PetersAn Associated Press story reveals more details about the recent Dungeons & Dragons lawsuits than you can shake a Rod of Lordly Might at. One of the defendants is bravely questing forth to represent himself in a copyright infringement suit filed by Wizards of the Coast, which is basically Hasbro — one of the largest toymakers in the world. His case appears to be headed for mediation, so he may yet make his saving throw vs. scary corporate lawyers. Danger Mouse relies on piracy for new albumMay 18th, 2009, 6:14 pm by Chris "KeL" Adams
So he has decided to release a book of photographs which serve as visual accompaniment to the songs and a blank recordable CD labeled “‘For Legal Reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will.’” Since all of the songs on the album are already available on the Internet, if one were so inclined, a do-it-yourself version could be easily made. The album can be listened to for free in its entirety on NPR’s web site. Arrrrrrrr! Pirate Bay founders forced to walk the plankApril 18th, 2009, 9:01 pm by Chris "KeL" Adams
While the site doesn’t actually host any illegal material, it provides links to “torrents,” where music, games, software, movies, television shows and more can be downloaded illicitly. Though this seems like a victory for anti-piracy forces, the entertainment industry and software companies, it remains to be seen what the actual impact of the verdict will be. Lawyers for TPB have already said that they’ll appeal. Peter Sunde has also stated that they won’t pay the levied fine. “We can’t pay and we wouldn’t pay. Even if I had the money I would rather burn everything I owned, and I wouldn’t even give them the ashes.” Ironically, membership in Sweden’s Pirate Party is surging in response to the crackdown on TPB. The group has become one of the largest political parties in the country. The Jolly Roger continues to fly high for now. The site remains operational, complete with the message “Don’t worry - we’re from the internets. It’s going to be alright. :-)” D&D parent co. pulls legal PDFs off market, starts flame warApril 6th, 2009, 10:58 pm by Jayson Peters
Wolverine’s origin emerging a little too earlyApril 4th, 2009, 12:06 am by Chris "KeL" Adams
This year’s summer movie season is starting even earlier than the movie industry had planned. Almost a month before the official release date, a mostly completed version of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” has been leaked and is making the circuit on various torrent web sites. A big-time summer movie leaking early isn’t unprecedented, both the 2003 version of “Hulk” and the third Star Wars prequel, “Revenge of the Sith” were floating around online before their theatrical release dates. However, with the rampant growth of high-speed internet connections and DVD burners, the effects can be far more damaging than in previous instances. The film has reportedly been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times already and bootleg copies are almost certainly available on street corners and out of car trunks around the world. Read the rest of this entry »
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Producer, DJ and half of the duo known as 
It was a rough week for pirates, both on the 
Today the game company Wizards of the Coast filed three 
