Late last month, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) announced the launch of Operation In Our Sites – an initiative aimed at Internet counterfeiting and piracy. Operating largely at the behest of the  Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the first action [...]

On Tuesday, U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, Victoria Espinel, released the Joint Strategic Plan to Combat Intellectual Property Theft. In a blog post, Espinel notes the importance of balancing enforcement and creativity via fair use, “The Obama Administration has always embraced the free flow of information, online collaboration, and fair use by average citizens, which [...]

Michael Jackson musical blocked by estate Broadway producer Nederlander filed a suit against the estate of Michael Jackson claiming the estate won’t clear the right to use songs, including Beat It, Billie Jean, and Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin. From TMZ. ASCAP files 21 scattershot copyright lawsuits The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) [...]

As anticipated, Voltage Pictures LLC, producers of The Hurt Locker have filed a copyright infringement suit against 5,000 unnamed defendants in federal court (Washington DC). Voltage is proceeding without naming the individual defendants, but is confident that discovery will yield the identity of each offender via Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Once identified, the complaint (below) [...]