01.01.70
Reverent utilitarianism, Batman . . . is this true? Do the language and stated assumptions of the Copyright Act genuinely exempt garden variety smut video from its protections? And if so, how are people being sued in porn queue-sharing cases across the country?
Swarm questions
Before we wade too mystical into these particular waters, it's worth noting that the great Hard Spin anti-piracy crusade is a fairly dubious affair. Last August, a California consider took a meat-axe to the company's claim that 188 alleged P2P downloaders could be sued together in one filing.
"Even if the IP addresses at subject in this motion all came from a single swarm, there is no evidence to suggest that each of the addresses 'acted in concert' with all of the others," federal Magistrate Judicator Joseph Spero told the anti-piracy team of Steele Hansmeier. "In incident, the nearly six-week span covering the activity associated with each of the addresses calls into into question whether there was ever common activity linking the addresses in this case.
Source: Ars Technica