It’s clear the SOPA/PIPA hubbub has been a polarizing issue, one that stretches far beyond mere web chatter. Big name industry giants have thrown their hats into the ring very loudly and very clearly on both sides of the coin. …

Popular file hosting site Megaupload has filed suit against Universal Music Group today over claims that UMG abused YouTube’s automated copyright infringement reporting system to take down a video posted and owned by Megaupload On Friday we ran a story …

The RIAA and MPAA, in their push to rid the internet of what they dub rampant piracy, have set internet storage locker sites like MegaUpload firmly in their crosshairs as well. While saying that a site like MegaUpload is illegal …

Engine Advocacy, a entrepreneurial coalition whose mission is to “create an environment where technological innovation and entrepreneurship thrive by educating, collaborating, and innovating startups in shaping policy,” has gathered together a list of important tech figures who all voice opposition …

Digital rights management is still a concept of contention, which only gets exacerbated when companies like EA decide to block a consumer’s access to games they’ve already purchased. Yes, content developers and their publishers should have some level of control …

The government of Switzerland has issued a statement declaring that it will not take action to alter current copyright laws allowing the downloading of music and movies for personal use. The statement is the result of a lengthy study conducted …

The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook is a limited edition, 3-disc box set that comes complete with autographed memorabilia, rare photos, posters and more. The content was recorded during a two-night show in 2011 and includes some of the …

Last winter, Google discussed its efforts to improve how copyright works online. They outlined four changes that they’d be implementing, including: 1. Acting on reliable copyright takedown requests within 24 hours 2. Preventing terms that are closely associated with piracy …

Anti-piracy group Music Matters describes themselves as a “collective effort by artists and all those who work in and around music to remind listeners of its enduring value.” Their campaign “Why Music Matters” is an attempt to let people know …

John Steele, an anti-piracy “pay-up-or-else” lawyer, has filed close to 100 mass-lawsuits for his clients, targeting thousands of BitTorrent users, a.k.a. Pirates. Now it seems the moniker could even fit Mr. Steele himself. The folks over at TorrentFreak have pointed …

The Protect IP Act introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy in May is receiving a lot of criticism. The bill, which in full is called Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011, hopes to crack down on the illegal online sale of counterfeit goods.

Not long after the news broke that top Internet Service Providers had agreed to a deal with the music and film industries to adopt a new, graduated response to piracy, the White House threw its support behind the deal on …

A couple of weeks ago, we told you about a new anti-piracy campaign being pushed by the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA). The deal, backed by the music and movie businesses would have major Internet Service Providers sign a …

Top Internet Service Providers and media groups are very close to a deal that would amount to one of the most serious anti-piracy measures to date. According to multiple sources, CNET is reporting that a group of ISPs that includes …

The torrent watchdogs of the Internet have a beef with Google’s instant search feature and the way it deals with word “torrent” and related searches (bittorrent, utorrent).  That is, instant search won’t suggest any sites unless the term in question is completely spelled out.

Early in December, Google vowed to distance itself from piracy. To do so, the company agreed that it would remove terms that are closely associated with piracy from appearing in their Autocomplete and Instant services.

Google is making some significant changes to how it handles copyright infringement complaints and piracy that will go into effect over the next several months.

Google says it will act on reliable copyright takedown requests within 24 hours, will prevent terms that are closely associated with piracy from appearing in its Autocomplete feature, will improve its AdSense anti-piracy review, and will experiment to make authorized preview content more readily available in search results.