In a move sure to outrage both file traders on BitTorrent networks and legal watchdogs, a well-known pornographer has filed a federal copyright suit against 7,098 individuals.
Axel Braun Productions filed the complaint in U.S. District Court for
the Northern District of West Virginia, alleging that the defendants
illegally shared the adult film "Batman XXX: A Porn Parody."
In an interview about the suit with Xbiz Newswire, a publication that
follows the adult-film industry, Braun made it clear he's prepared to
take on the file-sharing crowd. "People don't realize that when you
pirate a movie it hurts all of the people who work very hard to get it
produced--from the cast to the production assistants to the makeup
artists... So we are going after every one of them who pirates our
content."
• Accused 'Hurt Locker' pirates turn to law school
On the music front, Jammie Thomas-Rasset, the Minnesota woman who has
been fighting the recording industry over 24 songs she illegally
downloaded and shared online four years ago, has lost another round in
court. A jury in Minneapolis decided that she was liable for $1.5 million in copyright infringement damages to Capitol Records, or $62,500 for each song she illegally shared in April 2006.
• MP3tunes: iTunes will benefit if we win copyright case
More headlines
Washington's approach to technology regulation likely will remain the
same, aided in part by every Democrat who signed a Net neutrality pledge
losing.
• GOP's Whitman, Fiorina lose California elections
• Republican wins to hurt Obama's clean-energy plans
The single sign-on will replace Facebook Connect to log you onto partner sites and services using your Facebook credentials.
• Facebook to Foursquare: You're out
• EA's social games to run on Facebook Credits
• A 10-item Facebook wish list
Social-networking giant announces it has discovered that a data broker
was buying identifying user information from app developers.
• Facebook defends privacy practices to Congress
Apple initially hoped to announce 90-second samples in September, but licensing issues pushed the announcement back.
• Apple's tough iTunes note meant for indie labels
• Some iTunes special promotions aren't so special
Attackers target specific organizations, sending employees e-mails
directing them to a Web site where exploit code could take over their
computers.
Long accustomed to fending off the government's legal inquiries, Google
has filed its own suit claiming the government didn't fairly evaluate
Google Apps.
A Los Angeles-based holding company with 44 news-related Web sites has been flooding Google News with spam--with success.
• A day seen through Google searches
• Google offers cash for finding Web security holes
Market researcher says Microsoft's and Sony's motion-gaming peripherals
can expect a strong holiday season with up to 5.25 million units selling
in the fourth quarter.
• Does Kinect hate your small apartment?
• Bounty offered for open-source Kinect driver
• Microsoft Kinect: The launch lineup
• Review: Xbox 360 Kinect flexes muscles
IE lost another sliver of its dominance while Chrome grew in usage, according to October usage statistics.
• IE9 the best browser? Not so fast
The site is gradually and carefully rolling out a new feature that
displays ads, or promoted tweets, into the Twitter streams of individual
users.
• Twitter's promoted tweets come to Google
Also of note
• 'Toy Story 3' spouts Vudu streaming option
• Man nabbed for allegedly stealing sexy pics, posting online
• Blu-ray to receive an Emmy at CES
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