January 4, 2011
Audible Magic filed an amicus curiae with the court hearing the appeal in the Viacom vs. Google case. The amicus (“friend of the court”) brief provided the Court information on the application of digital fingerprinting for online services.
The amicus brief was filed in support of neither party and did not take a position on the legal issues of the case.
October 22, 2010
We do believe the trend of number of DMCA notices sent to colleges and universities is increasing. In a survey we recently conducted, over 40% of the campuses believed it was a growing problem.
We believe the increase is due to many factors. Here’s an interesting article about this growth and the reasons why it is occurring: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/06/the-riaa-amateurs-heres-how-you-sue-p2p-users.ars
October 22, 2010
Most campuses we see put their emphasis on tracking the number of DMCA take-down notices received to measure the effectiveness of their HEOA compliance plans. Obviously, notices are very visible and tangible. However, in my opinion, two other measures are better yardsticks – measuring a reduction in the number of users involved in illegal file sharing and a reduction in the number of illegal downloads. These measures more accurately reflect changes in behavior which is the spirit of the HEOA regulations on illegal P2P file sharing.
Additionally, we’ve seen examples of colleges & universities where we found rampant illegal file sharing activity on the campus networks but those institutions had not received any or very few DMCA notices. The HEOA specifically states that a campus plan must be effective in combating illegal activity, which in these cases the notices is not a good indicator of their plans effectiveness.
Other factors also influence how many DMCA notices are sent by content owners that are not directly related to the level of illegal activity. If for example a studio releases a new movie, that studio has the incentive to issue more take-down notices. Content owners may increase and/or decrease the number of notices they send at their own whim. While you may think your campus is getting better or getting worse, the opposite could actually be happening.
Metric should be considered very carefully in which you choose to measure your plans effectiveness.
Tags: , DMCA notice, HEOA, Q&A
Posted in: Colleges & Universities, CopySense Appliance
October 22, 2010
A cyberlocker is term that is frequently used to refer to online cloud storage services. Users are able to upload files (copyrighted or not) to these services and then share the links publicly and with friends. While not as prevalent as P2P file sharing, cyberlockers are growing fast as a source of illegal copyrighted content.
Tags: , Cloud, Cyberlocker, Q&A
Posted in: Colleges & Universities, CopySense Appliance
October 22, 2010
Blocking was one of the early attempts to control illegal file sharing. It was an effective technique when first deployed in the market. Today, however, it is a common misperception that blocking or significantly restricting the number of ports prevents all illegal P2P file sharing. We’ve seen many campus still trying to block activity but they have not been very effective. Simple and well-known methods have been published for file sharers to get around this potential obstacle. Some P2P software that is broadly distributed has even built-in techniques to get through networks that use this approach.
Tags: , P2P, Port Blocking, Q&A
Posted in: Colleges & Universities, CopySense Appliance
October 22, 2010
Wireless networks certainly make the Internet more accessible. On many campuses, users have “instant-on” access where ever they are on campus, including students, faculty, staff and the general public. Broad access to the internet gives more opportunity to download content illegally that can be watched on a users iPad/iPhone or Android Phone.
Tags: , iPad, iPhone, Q&A, Wireless Network
Posted in: Colleges & Universities, CopySense Appliance
October 20, 2010
Over 430 people signed-up to attend the webinar we sponsored with Campus Technology on October 19, 2010. About 210 people actually attending the webinar, which is actually a fairly good sign-up to attendance ratio for a webinar that is free to the user.
October 20, 2010
Yes, the CopySense Appliance will track it down to the specific piece of copyrighted content. If, for example, a copy of the movie Titanic is downloaded illegally, then that violation noting the title of the content will be listed in reports. With the report interface you can easily look at violations by content type.
The CopySense Appliance has identification filters that are configurable for music, video, games, software, and ebooks.
October 20, 2010
The HEOA of 2008 does not offer specific exclusions for guest networks so these networks need to be covered. One solution is to use the CopySense Appliance which will work well under this scenario. It detects the illegal P2P activity in real-time. It then will immediately communicate to the user that their activity is illegal and require them to agree not to continue that activity. If they continue, it is possible to configure the CopySense Appliance to block their use of the Internet.
Tags: , Guest Networks, HEOA, Q&A
Posted in: Colleges & Universities, CopySense Appliance
October 20, 2010
It does seem like there is always an arm’s race with technologies to detect illegal distribution of copyrighted content and those that want to avoid detection. I can’t speak specifically as to what content owners are doing but Audible Magic invests significant development resource to keeps its products fresh and effective. For example, encryption of data to prevent detection has become more prevalent as has the use of cyberlocker storage servicee. Audible Magic has addressed these sorts of issues and provides updates to all of its customers.
Tags: , Arms Race, Deterrents, encryption, Q&A
Posted in: Colleges & Universities, CopySense Appliance