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1: ‘Repeat Copyright Infringer’ Case Against Cloudflare Can Continue, Court Rules
First off today, Ernesto at Torrentfreak writes that a case against the popular content delivery network (CDN) Cloudflare ie being allowed to head toward a trial as a judge dismisses Cloudflare’s theories on contributory liability.
The case was not filed by a major entertainment company but, instead, was filed by wholesale manufacturers of wedding dresses. They claim that Cloudflare provides services to various counterfeit dress makers and, even after repeated copyright notices, has failed to terminate their accounts. Cloudflare had argued it was under no such obligation saying that takedown notices did not constitute knowledge of infringing content and that its service, which acts as an intermediary between the site’s host and the web, did not provide material benefit to the alleged infringers.
The judge, however, flatly said that those theories are “wrong” and denied Cloudflare’s motion to dismiss. Though this is a very early ruling, it does inch the case closer to a trial. While the case is not directly about pirated content, rightsholders have long argued that Cloudflare does not do enough to stop piracy that takes place through its service and, depending on how this case goes, it could be used to force more compliance out of the company.
2: Lithuania to Block Russia’s Sputnik News Over Copyright Issues
Next up today, Dominik Istrate at Emerging Europe reports that a court in Vilnius, Lithuania has ruled that Russian news site Sputnik should be banned due to its repeated infringements of Lithuania’s public media.
The proceedings were initiated by the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania (RTCL), which oversees the local national media. According to the RTCL, Sputnik is a Russian disinformation outlet and it routinely would use content from Lithuanian public media without a license.
The Lithuanian outlet is one of 29 run by Sputnik with others operating in neighboring countries.
3: Password Sharing, Piracy Will Cost Streaming Companies $12.5B By 2024
Finally today, Dade Hayes at Deadline reports that streaming tracker Parks Associates has released a report on the harm of piracy and password sharing finding that streaming services could stand to lose $12.5 billion over the next five years.
The report found that some 27% of U.S. broadband households engage in some form of piracy or password sharing, already costing the streaming industry an estimated $9.1 billion over the past five years. However, the report expects the issues to grow as more streaming services come online and many customers may hit their upper limit on spending.
In addition to cost, the report called out other “pressure points” when dealing with streaming media. Most notably were technical and account log-in issues, which can drive otherwise legitimate customers to seek out pirate sources.
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