Members of the Motion Picture Association of America have filed a lawsuit against MovieTube — “the search engine for free movies” — and third parties to force the disabling of sites providing access to pirated films including, recently, Disney’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” which is still in movie theaters. MPAA attorneys are trying another legal maneuver to hold third party ISPs responsible. This comes three years after the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) was not passed by lawmakers, dealing Hollywood studios a blow in their efforts to thwart content thieves. Continue reading MPAA’s MovieTube Suit Tries New Legal Tack to Block Pirates

A team of leading security experts from the Hollywood studios and the Cloud Security Alliance, working with the Entertainment Technology Center’s Project Cloud, helped shape the methodology for security guidelines related to cloud-distributed media content. Recommendations were handed off to CSA and the MPAA in September 2014 — and on March 17 of this year, the MPAA released “Content Security Best Practices” to the public. This is a fundamental milestone in moving studios toward the cloud. Security will be one of several topics discussed at the next Project Cloud meeting on July 27 at the Google offices in Venice. Continue reading Security Among Topics Slated for ETC’s Project Cloud Meeting

On April 15, at ETC’s Media Management in the Cloud conference held at the NAB Show, John McCoskey, EVP & CTO of the Motion Picture Association of America, and Jim Reavis, executive director of the Cloud Security Alliance, delivered the MPAA keynote updating the audience on the MPAA’s first cloud security standards, which are continuing to progress and may be launched later this year. They encouraged media industry professionals interested in cloud security to implement the CSA’s Cloud Controls Matrix. Continue reading Development of MPAA Cloud Security Standards Moves Forward

Five film companies are forming an antipiracy coalition called the Internet Security Task Force with plans to mobilize small businesses in the gaming, music, software, film and TV industries against online theft of intellectual property. The alliance — comprised of Bloom, FilmNation Entertainment, Millennium, Sierra/Affinity and Voltage Pictures — is considering a range of initiatives, including the launch of a media campaign, more political lobbying efforts, and placing pressure on companies that advertise on pirate websites. Continue reading Film Executives Form Alliance in Effort to Combat Online Piracy

Popcorn Time became one of the most popular torrenting sites since it debuted nearly a year ago, and even though the original was taken down, spin-offs plan to stay. Popcorn-Time.se, for example, makes it easy to find torrented content like pirated movies and television shows. Its developers plan to make the site harder to take down by implementing a peer-to-peer protocol. The MPAA was successful in shutting down the original Popcorn Time, but it has not been able to shut down the spin-off sites yet. Continue reading Popcorn Time Torrenting Sites Intend to Become Unstoppable

According to the Motion Picture Association of America, global box office numbers were up 1 percent in 2014 over 2013, but ticket sales in North America dropped about 5 percent. The MPAA notes that China saw significant growth, a 34 percent increase year-over-year. Global ticket sales climbed to $36.4 billion last year — with $10.4 billion recorded for the U.S. and Canada and $4.8 billion in China. While domestic per capita ticket sales increased among moviegoers 50 to 59 and slightly among those 40 to 49, sales among viewers younger than 40 dropped. Continue reading Sparked by Growth in China, Worldwide Ticket Sales Increase

In less than a year, Popcorn Time has become one of the most popular services to torrent pirated media content online. The slick grid interface looks similar to that of Netflix or Hulu, making the service look more legitimate and easier to navigate to find a TV show or movie. The program is actually an index of other BitTorrent sites. Popcorn Time’s popularity has been growing in the U.S. and abroad, especially in countries where streaming services are less established. Continue reading Popcorn Time Accounts for One-Ninth of U.S. Torrent Traffic

The FCC voted 3 to 2 yesterday to approve regulation of broadband Internet service as a public utility. The new rules, recently proposed by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, are designed to ensure net neutrality by discouraging content blocking and the introduction of “fast lanes” for Internet and media companies and “slow lanes” for others. Wheeler said the FCC was using “all the tools in our toolbox to protect innovators and consumers.” He added that Internet access is “too important to let broadband providers be the ones making the rules.” Continue reading FCC Rules in Favor of Regulating Broadband Internet as Utility

On the second day of the HPA Tech Retreat, Jim Burger, a partner at Thompson Coburn LLP in Washington, DC and copyright lawyer, gave his annual Washington Update. “Washington, as always, is a city under construction,” he said. “There’s a lot going on.” Burger discussed the potential impact of the Aereo decision on cloud storage, the latest regarding lawsuits against Dish Network, the FAA’s examination of drones, a very busy FCC and what’s next for net neutrality, and an update on the spectrum auctions. Continue reading HPA Tech Retreat: Jim Burger Delivers a Washington Update

Nielsen’s 2014 report for movie theater attendance shows that moviegoers aged 12-24 are making fewer trips to the theater compared to previous years. This year’s summer box office was reportedly the weakest of any summer for the past eight years. Nielsen’s numbers also reveal that streaming movies and TV shows has become the preferred alternative for Hollywood’s most coveted demographic. Americans 12-24 told Nielsen they saw 15 percent fewer films in theaters compared to 2013. Continue reading Nielsen: Streaming Impacts Theater Attendance Among Digitals

The MPAA has launched an ad-free search engine that helps viewers easily locate movies and TV shows available from authorized sources. WhereToWatch.com — essentially a refresh of the WhereToWatch.org site launched last spring — is the latest effort by the trade group to combat piracy and provide consumers with legal options for accessing their media content. The site offers links and related info for titles available via Amazon, Apple’s iTunes, Hulu, Netflix, SnagFilms and WolfeOnDemand. Continue reading MPAA Points Viewers to Legal Sources for Movies, TV Shows

The National Association of Theatre Owners, which currently maintains 32,000 U.S. screens, and the Motion Picture Association of America announced in a joint statement yesterday that their anti-piracy policies would now include powering off wearable devices. “As part of our continued efforts to ensure movies are not recorded in theaters,” the groups explained, “we maintain a zero-tolerance policy toward using any recording device while movies are being shown.” Continue reading NATO, MPAA Update Anti-Piracy Policy to Include Wearables

Google claims that it has taken additional measures to make search results more resistant to piracy. According to a new white paper, Google has changed its search-engine algorithms so the sites with a large number of takedown notices appear lower in search results rankings. The company has also enhanced autocomplete and related search, preventing the inclusion of terms associated with piracy. New advertising products will also promote copyright-friendliness.  Continue reading Google Report Explains Enhancement of Anti-Piracy Efforts

After negotiations with the Motion Picture Association of America, the Federal Aviation Administration has decided to grant permission for six film production companies to use small unmanned aircraft to shoot movies and television shows. The drones can only be flown within sight on closed sets by certified drone operators after notifying the FAA. The exemptions for production companies are only an interim measure while the FAA continues to write more comprehensive rules. Continue reading FAA Relaxes Restrictions on Drones for Film and TV Production

The Pirate Bay and TorrenTV have released new platforms to make it easier for people to download media content for free. The Pirate Bay has launched a mobile site known as Mobile Bay, which includes separate TV, music and movie sites. Later, the site hopes to add support for personalized RSS feeds so that users can launch torrents from anywhere. TorrenTV has introduced a new app for Mac, Windows and Linux that streams torrents directly to Apple TV. Continue reading Torrenting Just Got Easier with Mobile Site and New PC App