Movie downloads

Sky apes Microsoft with Sky+HD parties promo

Sky is taking a leaf out of Microsoft's book with the news that the broadcaster is encouraging those with Sky+HD to hold movie-watching parties in order to persuade their guests to sign up for the high def service.

Each party host will get one free film -...

Netflix launching streaming service outside of US

Netflix's CEO Reed Hastings has told journalists in a conference call that his company will be launching a streaming-only service, which will let users watch movies online without having to subscribe to the DVDs-by-mail part of the service that the company offers.

Most...

DDD reveals Yabazam 3D content store

DDD, the company behind forthcoming 3D laptops from the likes of Acer, Dell, HP and Sony, has told Pocket-lint that it'll soon be launching a content store for digital downloads of 3D movies and video. It'll be called "Yabazam", and should be open for business at the...

BT: Antipiracy efforts will cost £1m per day

BT has warned that the file sharing efforts proposed by the government and Peter Mandelson could cost the industry £1m every day. That would increase each customer's bill by £24 per year, said John Petter, the head of the company's consumer division.

The music...

Pirate Bay buyer facing bankruptcy

It's being reported that Global Gaming Factory X has been served with bankruptcy proceedings by its former director and board member Johan Sellstrom, who claims that he's owed 1.3 million Swedish kronor - a debt which should have been paid in July.

"This is...

Piracy kiosk set up in Weimar, Germany

Since the imminent closure of the Pirate Bay in its current form was announced, many have attempted to scrape the site of its contents to rebuild it elsewhere on the Web. However, one group of German fans of the filesharing site took it one step further.

It's...

Pirate Bay buyer removed from Swedish stock exchange

Brief recap for those who haven't been following this story. Earlier in the year, it was announced that Swedish software company Global Gaming Factory X would be buying the notorious Pirate Bay bittorrent tracker and attempting to turn it legitimate.

Then the...

YouTube to charge for streaming Hollywood movies?

YouTube is looking to charge viewers for the first time in the service's history. The number one video site on the web is currently in talks with a three major movie studios to start a video on demand model which would likely see feature releases available on a rental...

Pirate Bay deal gets shareholder approval

Against all the odds, the takeover of the Pirate Bay has been given approval by the shareholders of Global Gaming Factory X. The news comes following reports of executives walking out, allegations of insider trading and the site itself going down following a court order.

Government announces filesharing crackdown

The UK government has announced tougher plans for combating illegal filesharing, in the wake of criticism over the Digital Britain report, which rights holders saw as too weak.

The Department for Business Innovation and Skills issued an explanatory statement...

Pirate Bay sale back on the rocks

Despite a confident statement to the contrary earlier in the week, it looks like the sale of notorious Bittorrent tracker The Pirate Bay to Global Gaming Factory X might be in serious trouble. All trading in the company's shares have been suspended by the Swedish Aktietorget...

Pirate Bay sale still looking steady

Global Gaming Factory X, the company set to take over the Pirate Bay, has defied its critics and published the full proposal that it's due to give to its shareholders on 27 August.

It's also planning to pay for the purchase fully in cash, rather than the half-cash,...

Filesharing banned in Antarctica

The icy wastes of Antarctica, like Hull, are a little less free today, as employees of the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) have been banned from using any P2P filesharing programs.

There's only so much bandwidth available that goes to the South Pole,...

Pirate Party UK officially registered

The UK's own version of Sweden's Pirate Party has been officially recognised by the British electoral commission as a legitimate political party, according to a blog post from the party's leader, Andrew Robinson.

That means that it can now raise funds and put...

Hull ISP cutting off filesharing customers

Reports are coming through that Hull ISP Karoo is cutting off its customers if they're accused of downloading copyrighted content. It's believed to be the only ISP in the country that's taken on the approach.

For some time, content companies have pressed service...

Pirate Party gets German Parliament seat too

2 weeks after gaining 230,000 votes in the European parliament elections in Sweden, the German wing of the copyright activism organisation has scored a similar victory.

German politician Jörg Tauss has defected from the Social Democratic Party to the Pirate...

Pirate Party enters European Parliament

After months of campaigning against established parties, the Swedish Pirate Party (Piratpartiet) has managed to win at least one, and perhaps two, seats in the European parliament. It gained 7.1% of the Swedish vote.

The Pirate Party was founded in 2006 with...