Blocking Pirating Sites Deemed to be Ineffective

Content that may be shut down in one location is likely to spring up somewhere else at a rapid pace, creating a cat and mouse game that cannot be won. They mentioned Megaupload, which, for example, was asked by Warner Bros. to remove more than 2,500 infringing links every day in September 2009. Yet even the seizure and shutdown of the site did little to slow piracy as this event is likely to have encouraged other "one-click hosters" (OCHs) to pick up Megaupload's traffic volume.

"Currently, this game seems to be in favor of the many pirates who provide far more content than what the copyright owners are taking down," the researchers said. "This imbalance of powers, together with the size and diversity of the One-Click Hosting ecosystem, suggest that anti-piracy laws to reduce the availability and reachability of pirated content may be less successful than what their proponents might expect."

The researchers said that there are currently more than 10,000 domains that are hosting pirated content. They said that copyright holders should not focus on the seizure of domains, but on blocking their ability to process payments from users, which could prove to be much more effective.

"On the other hand, strategies against economically motivated actors may effectively target certain parts of the ecosystem," the study concluded. "Together with increased legal proceedings, we expect them to render many OCHs more diligent, and maybe even proactive, in their own anti-piracy efforts."

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  • The thing is that most people wouldn't pay for this stuff that they download illegally, they would just go without, if it was something I really wanted and was worth my money then I would buy it
    Reply
  • abbadon_34
    I could have told you that, but who wants to help such a devious cause?
    Reply
  • ojas
    Slow news day?
    Reply
  • 25gtt
    I always thought that if the music was affordable then perhaps people would not be willing to pirate as much.
    Perhaps the funds spent on chasing the pirate website could be reinvested to reduce the price of the songs.
    That plus entrusting lets say Sony with my cc details is a risk, if you can recall what happed to the PS account sometime ago *Oops*
    So i cant help but think, overpriced music with unsecure transactions = overpriced risk.

    Reply
  • JOSHSKORN
    Can I get a Duh, Duh?
    Reply
  • manofchalk
    I thought that trying to block TPB and other sites was already known to be a bad tactic.
    Reply
  • may1
    It would be far more effective to generate a public black list of domains, pressuring ISPs to avoid them
    Reply
  • vittau
    I know a good anti-piracy measure: DRM-free services that don't treat their customers like criminals, and better prices.
    Reply
  • srap
    manofchalkI thought that trying to block TPB and other sites was already known to be a bad tactic.It cannot be said enough times. Especially for the guys at the media industry.
    Reply
  • azraa
    No shit, Sherlock
    Reply