Ridiculously Broad Ruling Against DVD Ripper Software Has Court Allow Seizure Of Domains, Social Media & More

from the how-is-that-proper-under-the-law? dept

Tue, Mar 11th 2014 10:21am — Mike Masnick

Who needs SOPA when US judges seem willing to pretend the law already lets them do what SOPA would have created? AACS, the licensing organization that handles the basic encryption used on DVDs, sued one of many DVD ripping software companies, DVDFab (which is based in China). DVD ripping is a somewhat contentious topic. While it's generally accepted (even by the recording industry) that ripping music CDs is legitimate, for whatever reason, Hollywood has fought exceptionally hard against the idea that movies should ever be rippable. With DVD software, they make it "illegal" by placing (weak) DRM on the DVDs, and then claim that any attempt to get around that violates the anti-circumvention clause of the DMCA, 17 USC 1201.

AACS sought a preliminary injunction against DVDFab, who chose not to respond to the lawsuit (understandable, seeing as it's based halfway around the world). Of course, rather than just granting a basic preliminary injunction, federal judge Vernon Broderick appears to have issued an order that is basically Hollywood's dream: ordering the seizure of basically everything in an attempt to wipe DVDFab off the internet entirely. It orders the company to stop using its website, domain names and social media. Then, it goes way beyond that, using "this Court's inherent equitable power" to order domain registries to disable the company's URLs and make them "transferable" on the orders of the court -- basically ordering the companies to seize the domain names. Then, it also orders all companies who have anything to do with DVDFab to stop doing business with the company. This includes social networking companies, service providers, advertising firms, payment processors and more:

Any third party service providers providing services to Defendants in connection with any of the DVDFab Domain Names, the DVDFab Websites or the DVDFab Social Media Accounts, and who receive actual notice of this Order, including without limitation, web hosting providers, social media or other online service providers (including without limitation, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+), back-end service providers, web designers, distributors, search-based online advertising services (such as through paid inclusion, paid search results, sponsored search results, sponsored links, and Internet keyword advertising), and any banks, savings and loan associations, merchant account providers, payment processors and providers, credit card associations, or other financial institutions which receive or process payments or hold assets on Defendants' behalf (including without limitation, Avangate Inc., Avangate B.V., PayPal, Western Union, PayEase, IPS Ltd., Realypay, WorldPay, Opus Payments, Amazon Payments, WorldPay, Money Gram International, WebMoney, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Visa Electron, Maestro, Solo, Laser, and Carte Bleue) for any Defendant or any of the DVDFab Domain Names or the DVDFab Websites, and who receive actual notice of this Order, shall, within three (3) days of receipt of this Order, cease or disable providing such services to: a) Defendants in relation to the DVDFab Software and/or any other products or services that circumvent the AACS Technology; andb) any and all of the DVDFab Domain Names, the DVDFab Websites or DVDFab Social Media Accounts.

This goes way, way, way beyond the normal remedies put forth under copyright law. In fact, it was these kinds of solutions which SOPA was designed to add to copyright law. I can understand how a judge only hearing one side of a case goes with the "default" judgment and just gives the single party everything they ask for, but at some point doesn't common sense have to come in, and have people point out that this kind of remedy, seeking to wipe an entire company completely off the face of the internet for daring to do something that's basically legal in similar realms (i.e., with music), seems immensely worrisome.

AACS Injunction (PDF)AACS Injunction (Text)

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Filed Under: anti-circumvention, china, dmca, dvd ripper
Companies: aacs, dvdfab

79 Comments

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ltlw0lf (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 9:25am

Guess that will mean no more updates for DVDFab, wink wink, nudge nudge.

Kinda like when they originally sold their software online and had the software that breaks DVD copy-protection on dvdfab.net and the software that doesn't on dvdfab.com (for those non-freedom-loving countries, or at least those countries that like to treat intellectual property is property for producers, but not for consumers.) Everyone I knew, even those in the US, downloaded the software from dvdfab.net even though the DMCA made it illegal to distribute.

I suspect dvdfab.cn will work just as well as dvdfab.com/.net.
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Avatar28 (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 10:33am

Re:
Yes but how do they get paid? All of the payment processors have been ordered to stop doing business with them. No credit cards, no paypal, etc. About the only thing left is going to be like bitcoin and such and most people aren't going to go to that much trouble.
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WDS (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 10:35am

New Hotspot
Looks like the Southern District of New York will soon see a rash of suits by the MPAA and their allies against anybody who does anything that they slightly don't like.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
btr1701 (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 10:40am

Order
> seeking to wipe an entire company completely
> off the face of the internet for daring to
> do something that's basically legal in similar
> realms

More like seeking to wipe an entire company off the internet for daring to follow the laws of its own country instead of the laws of a country on the other side of the planet; laws which it is actually under no legal obligation to follow-- no matter what this self-important federal judge thinks.

A Chinese company, based in China, with no presence in the United States does not suddenly become subject to U.S. law and forbidden to do things that are allowed under Chinese laws merely because it puts a website up on the internet.
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Jasmine Charter, 11 Mar 2014 @ 10:42am

Common Sense
"doesn't common sense have to come in"

Did you seriously just mention "JUDGE" and "COMMON SENSE" in the same paragraph? And while there ARE Judges who do display common sense (or sense period), they seem to be in the minority.
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SolkeshNaranek (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 10:46am

Copyright industry and judges
This ruling seems like a good indication that federal judges can be bought and paid for just like politicians.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Sandra Ellen Webber, 11 Mar 2014 @ 10:46am

DVD's
Whats a DVD? Haven't used for years. Hail Bittorrent.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 10:46am

It's hilarious that Mike Masnick thought copyright infringement on the web was just going to be forever unpunished.
Too funny.
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Matt (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 10:50am

Re: Re:
Wait, you can pay for DVDFab?

FWIW, it was hideously expensive last time I looked.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Webcat, 11 Mar 2014 @ 10:53am

that will show them
do these nimrods have any idea how many free/paid rippers out there in the market ?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 10:54am

Re: Copyright industry and judges
Good indication?

It is harder & more illegal to pay off a citizen than it is any elected official.

Think about this.

Show me a political person with integrity and with an 80% chance of success I can show you some sheep.
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 10:59am

Re:
By the reasoning of the Judge any US company that does not have a presence in China can have their domains and money frozen and confiscated for not abiding any law in China.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Gwiz (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 11:00am

Re:
It's hilarious that Mike Masnick thought copyright infringement on the web was just going to be forever unpunished.

You really think that people who want to format-shift their legally purchased DVDs should be punished?

I mean seriously, who do think this ruling affects? It's not the hard-core uploader - they would use free, open-source alternatives. It's not the average pirate - since they would download an already de-DRMed digital file, not a DVD. The only people really affected by this is your average computer user who wants to copy their latest DVD purchase to their hard drive for convenience.
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Mark Lensenmayer (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 11:00am

Couldn't they just rename themselves as DVDFEB, then DVDFUB and so on. Or how about NOTDVDFAB.COM. Just keep changing the name faster than they can file lawsuits. They can use their email list to keep paid users aware of the current name.

So far, they are still in business and the forums are still active.
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PRMan, 11 Mar 2014 @ 11:10am

Re: Re:
What it means is that everyone else in the world will start abandoning Visa and MC and start going with other payment processors like Alipay out of China.

And bitcoins can't be blocked like this.
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toyotabedzrock (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 11:16am

Isn't this about their bluray ripping software. I'm pretty sure aacs is for bluray content protection and css is Dvd.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
toyotabedzrock (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 11:21am

Re: Vote
I like notdvdfab.com/net
Maybe dvdfabulous.com
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Casey, 11 Mar 2014 @ 11:27am

toyotabedzrock - You are correct.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 11:30am

Re: Re:
And thus, the Quest To Find Some Obscure Law In Some Other Country That The MPAA And RIAA Violates has begun!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 11:36am

Re:
Just wait buddy boy. We'll see how this plays out. And I don't think you'll like the final ruling. Just call it a hunch.
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 11:46am

Re: Couldn't they just rename themselves ...
They are just using http://www.dvdfab.cn/ (in English), presumably the Chinese NIC, etc. are not too bothered about the pronouncements of some obscure foreign legal buffoon.
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 11:48am

Re:
No need, some of there sites are still working, like dvdfab.cn and dvdfab.jp.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 11:50am

...financial institutions which... hold assets on Defendants' behalf... shall, within three (3) days of receipt of this Order, cease or disable providing such services to: a) Defendants...

Wait. The financial institutions are prohibited from even holding the money? Normally in a situation like this they're ordered to hold on to the money, not ordered to get rid of it. How on earth are they going to collect any money if the banks are, essentially, ordered to give the money back to DVDFab?

Was this a screw-up on the part of the judge, or is there some legal reason it's worded like that?
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scotts13 (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 11:54am

March toward irrelevancy
Ever wonder why the USA, collectively, is so concerned about intellectual property? because basically, we don't produce physical good anymore - imaginary stuff is all we have. Same reason we're trying to get out IP right enshrined in international treaties, instead of US law. If we don't do so NOW, we'll become irrelevant in a few years, as they rest of the world so stuff like this and begins to just ignore us.
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 12:09pm

'at some point doesn't common sense have to come in, and have people point out that this kind of remedy, seeking to wipe an entire company completely off the face of the internet for daring to do something that's basically legal in similar realms (i.e., with music), seems immensely worrisome'

although this is extremely worrisome, i wonder what the USA would have said if the situation were reversed and one of the American companies had been totally closed down, had all assets seized and been banned from operating, just because an industry in the respective company had asked for that result? i would suggest the USA would have gone absolutely ape shit!
what is, perhaps, even more worrisome is how much did the industries back hand to get this result?
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 12:10pm

Re: March toward irrelevancy
Forget march, they're downright sprinting to irrelevancy with the revelations of widespread NSA abuse. Keep all servers outside of the United States? Good idea anyway regardless of copyright, that just compounds it.
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Chronno S. Trigger (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 12:11pm

Re:
It was probably worded that way to get the banks to give back the money people would be paying to get the software.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
crade (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 12:13pm

Re: Order
The further the U.S. goes off the deep end, the more important it's going to become to decentralize domain registration.. and it's been getting pretty urgent lately
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techflaws (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 12:20pm

Re:
Too funny to see you're dumb shills even grasping the consequences for you and your ilk (not to mention the fact that this will do NOTHING to stop people from ripping their BDs).
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crade (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 12:20pm

Re: Re:
Ever the optimist eh? I used to be like that :( In the end, The mafiaa gets more and more control over all countries while their goals become less and less aligned with serving the public in any country, and if the final ruling isn't horrible, they will be changing the law to make it so no matter the cost.
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 12:21pm

Welcome to USistan, Mike!
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 12:36pm

Re: Re:
Simple, use a Chinese processor:
http://global.alipay.com/ospay/home.htm

PS. Bitcoin is officially banned in China, though they basically just stop transactions from BTC to Yuan.
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 12:38pm

Re: Re: Order
It's already decentralized. It has been decentralized for decades.

I have a .br domain. I registered it in my own country. It is subject solely to my country's laws.

The same applies to any country in the world big enough to have a relevant Internet presence.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 12:46pm

Re: Re: Re:
Are you referring to this censored comment? :

"It's hilarious that Mike Masnick thought copyright infringement on the web was just going to be forever unpunished.
Too funny."

Ironic you bring up China on an American blog that censors any dissenting comments.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 12:51pm

Who needs SOPA .......

I've been saying that for two years, but you've been so busy with your extended victory lap I guess you didn't hear.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
SolkeshNaranek (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 12:55pm

Re: Re: Copyright industry and judges
Of course you are correct.

I should have included a "/s" at the end of my sentence. Sometimes communicating by the written word can be very limited unless you are a talented author, which I am not. :-(
[ link to this | view in thread ]
crade (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 1:01pm

Re: Re: Re: Order
Well, the U.S. is who gives brazil permission to use .br,
but thats not what I meant by decentralized anyway, even if the U.S. didn't have control over the root zone changes, .br would still centralized under brazil's control. I'm talking about a user controlled system.
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Baron von Robber, 11 Mar 2014 @ 1:06pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Really? China censors their comments by using "This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it."

Somebody should inform the Chinese public.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
John Fenderson (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 1:13pm

Re: March toward irrelevancy
"because basically, we don't produce physical good anymore"

Not true. We actually produce as much (more by some estimations) as we ever have. It's what we make that's changed. We don't make consumer goods so much anymore. Now we make really huge-ticket items instead -- manufacturing tools, industrial robots, supercomputers, that sort of thing.
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John85851 (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 1:35pm

Re: Order
What if the situation was reversed? What if this was an American company doing business in America and following the laws of America? Could the Chinese government allow someone to sue the company in China and then seize the domain and issue these kinds of sanctions? If the Chinese government can't do it, why does this New York judge think he can?

And if you want to be fair, suppose the American company in this situation was Microsoft or Google. Could the Chinese government order google.com, gmail.com, and youtube.com all taken down until Google complied with the government's orders?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 1:49pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Are you referring to this censored comment? :

"
"It's hilarious that Mike Masnick thought copyright infringement on the web was just going to be forever unpunished.
Too funny."

Ironic you bring up China on an American blog that censors any dissenting comments."
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 1:54pm

Re:
extended

And more importantly, last.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 2:12pm

Re:
The following words were Presented by John Steele in association with Paul Hansmeier. How's that RICO thing going by the way?

Back Under The Bridge where you boys belong now...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 2:28pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
How stupid do you have to be to act like a comment is 'censored', while at the same time proving that said comment is plainly visible to anyone including yourself?
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jackn, 11 Mar 2014 @ 2:33pm

Re:
This isn't copyright infringement. The software being sold by the company was theirs to sell.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 2:48pm

Re: Re: Order
In theory an alternative system for mapping names to IP addresses could be set-up, but requires software support from Microsoft and Apple, along with the ISP's. The latter rely on providing the DNS to their customers as it allows them to redirect when they want to throttle bandwidth, and in implementing government filters.
I was going to remind people that the hosts file can be ujsed to map a name to an IP address, but I read somewhere that Microsoft now prevent it being changed on Windows systems.
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David (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 3:07pm

Common sense?
I believe that if the judge had common sense that it would disqualify him for government service.

Even if DVDFab (a good product) is shut down, there are plenty of other good products out there for ripping DVDs. What i need now is a good product to rip my blu-rays to iso files.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 5:12pm

average_joe and darryl just hate it when due process is enforced.
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 5:19pm

And yet when an international legal body made a ruling the US didn't like, they screamed a blue streak.

More than once I've seen complaints to courts about foriegn entities not respecting US law and Judges giving it weight. Perhaps we really need to remind the judiciary that US law stops at the borders.
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JMT (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 5:22pm

Re:
What's really hilarious is that you think this will stop DVD's being ripped.

Too funny indeed.
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 6:06pm

Perhaps we really need to remind the judiciary that US law stops at the borders.

Funny. That's what Achmed and Hassan were saying to their lawyers in Gitmo. Didn't work for the skinny guy off of the Maersk Alabama either.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 7:43pm

Vernon S. Broderick used to be employed by WEIL, GOTSHAL & MANGES LLP
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/MPAA_DVD_cases/20010313_ny_dvdcca_amicus.html
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 7:48pm

Re:
Seems he's been in the mpaa's pocket for quite awhile.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 8:11pm

Re: Re: Order
Sure they could, but the servers are all located in the USA so nothing would happen.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2014 @ 8:22pm

Re:
Do you really think that corruption is the way to go to stop/ slow copyright infringement?

And you say that pirates are un-ethical.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
ltlw0lf (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 8:47pm

Re: Re: Re:
Wait, you can pay for DVDFab?

FWIW, it was hideously expensive last time I looked.

They have sales every once in a while (I still get ads for them via email.) I bought the suite a number of years ago for $49, and it was unlimited.

Of course, that was back when I used Windows.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
G Thompson (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 11:14pm

Re: Order
Another group that are NOT subject to this idiot of a US-centric Federal judge's orders are anyone outside of the USA who is part of the inclusive list (that is basically ANYONE on the planet) of the order to cease and desist from any and all business with DVDFab.

I might now just for the Lulz offer my services to DVDFab and send this idiotic federal US court a statement stating they either prosecute me for something and suffer the amazing amount of crap that would come their way (yes that is a threat) or STFU and remove the ambiguous and totally specious order that has just allowed the USA to dictate business contracts anywhere on the planet.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
G Thompson (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 11:19pm

Re: Re: Order
Absolutely and based on the above court order, the Chinese court could use it's own "inherent equitable power" to then seize any and all assets of those organisations within China or any other company that does business with them ie: Apple

Now that' I'd LOVE to see.

This is the old situation where Federal USA judges who are elected (WTF is with that dumb move) who basically even with default judgements are going ultra vires on their actual ability and instead are thinking themselves above any laws by any jurisdiction whatsoever.. in other words FUCK comity.. we are the USA obey us or we'll destroy you.
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Logic Lover, 11 Mar 2014 @ 11:21pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Awesome burn is awesome. :-)
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G Thompson (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 11:22pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
You seem to have confused obscurity with censoring.. though then again you also confuse coherent debate with whatever your yabbering of Blarggha Flargga bargha is.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
G Thompson (profile), 11 Mar 2014 @ 11:25pm

Re:
Petulant children hate not getting their own way
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John Pettitt (profile), 12 Mar 2014 @ 1:39am

Re: Re: Re: Order
FYI Federal Judges are not elected they are appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Wolly, 12 Mar 2014 @ 2:10am

Re:
Yes, dvdfab.cn will work well
[ link to this | view in thread ]
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Mar 2014 @ 3:09am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Glad you brought that up; slimy weasel Mike Masnick is so ashamed of how he censors comments here that he blanks out said comments to all IPs except that of the original poster; hoping they never notice they were censored.

You're quite the piece of work, aren't you Masnick?
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That One Guy (profile), 12 Mar 2014 @ 4:25am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Mike isn't the one sending you to time out, the rest of us are. Stop throwing tantrums like a child, and maybe you'll find people less inclined to treat you like one.
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crade (profile), 12 Mar 2014 @ 8:15am

Re: Re: Re: Order
I haven't really looked into it, but I don't see any reason it couldn't be a straight replacement and just change what your dns server points to. You could even point it to localhost and run local software locally that acts as a middleman.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
G Thompson (profile), 12 Mar 2014 @ 8:58am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Order
Thanks... though this also can lead to major political bias unless your Senate is somehow magically immune from political and/or other interest groups and can appoint someone as a Judge based on solely their merits, past actions and upholding of the Constitution, Equity and Procedural Fairness...
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Mar 2014 @ 10:15am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
I remember when I had my first beer.
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Jack, 12 Mar 2014 @ 12:09pm

Re: Re:
It won't have to - dvdfab.com and dvdfab.net are both registered through HICHINA ZHICHENG TECHNOLOGY LTD. which is a Chinese Registrar with no presence in the US. This ruling is going to have absolutely no effect on them at all other than not being able to use US CC processors, which isn't going to matter much to them since China has their own.

DVD Fab can basically tell the NY court to fuck off and there is nothing they can do. That whole sovereignty thing and all. While I know it doesn't matter much to the US, I don't think we will be going to war with China at Hollywood's request.
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johnson, 12 Mar 2014 @ 8:51pm

DVDFab needs our support.
DVDfab.com is now down for no good reason, everything needs to be redirected to dvdfab.cn. Currently, it needs our support. i just found this site ilikedvdfab.com which is to tweet support for DVDFab, let's get it rolling.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
4pcwhisperer (profile), 12 Mar 2014 @ 10:40pm

Easy solution to out-of-control Blu-ray restrictions
Blu-ray is now the industry's voice and clearly the iron fist blocking user freedom to enjoy personal-use reformatting. We all have stories about wanting to use our paid-for Blu-ray discs on a more convenient media player (example an Android tablet or phone in my case).

The industry wants me to pay for the Blu-ray disc, pay again to watch on my tablet and again to watch on my phone and if I want to watch again a Month later, pay them another time.

Clearly the industry is out of control. The most powerful tool we have is our purchasing power. If we all picked a week and simply refused to buy any Blu-ray product the industry would feel that impact.

If we all refused to buy any Blu-ray product the first week of every Month until the industry loosened the personal-use reformatting legal constraints, it would not take long for things to change,

We have the power to fix this, We just don't know it. Personally as long as DVDs are still being sold I am avoiding the Blu-ray discs just for that reason. I can easily make reformatted MP4s that work on Android tablets and the quality is perfectly acceptable.
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Logic Lover, 13 Mar 2014 @ 2:29am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
I'd quote your entire "slimy weasel" comment just to prove you wrong, but that was probably what you were aiming for so I won't do it. Boo hoo for you. What I will quote, however, is this awesome post by G Thompson:

"You seem to have confused obscurity with censoring.. though then again you also confuse coherent debate with whatever your yabbering of Blarggha Flargga bargha is."

LMAO! :-)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 13 Mar 2014 @ 1:50pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
After reading this 'censored' comment, I have found the answer to my question above:
Astronomically.
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Joe, 13 Mar 2014 @ 9:09pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Order
It's called onion routing AKA TOR/I2P.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Joe, 13 Mar 2014 @ 9:13pm

Re: Re:
They used to call 'pirates' 'enemies of mankind'. Who here seems to be the enemy of every individual outside of their click?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Joe, 13 Mar 2014 @ 9:15pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Order
Imagine an election where party affiliation is illegal.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
AncientAnon, 15 Mar 2014 @ 9:55am

Re: Re:
I think you missed the point....... The alleged infringement is upon the ripping of the video file from the copyrighted DVD to one's computer.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 21 Mar 2014 @ 2:55pm

You're all missing the point of the seizure
The point is, DVDFab has a built-in call home feature to check for updates. If you wanted to generate a large list of IPs to list in a subpoena for suspected copyright violations, what better place to get it than by seizing the domain and start recording who hits it?
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Branfon Rinebold (profile), 3 Nov 2014 @ 7:05am

Re: You're all missing the point of the seizure
DNS doesn't work that way. Your home router or computer never sends a single DNS query to the actual domain you're looking up (unless you're running something like BIND or a Windows Server DNS server). All DNS queries come from DNS servers, not clients, and they cache the results so you only see them at most once per TTL period.

You can only tell whose DNS SERVER is requesting a domain. So you could definitively determine that TWC and Comcast are major copyright infringers via this method. :)

If you were thinking of redirecting that update server to a server that logs connection attempts, even this judge wasn't crazy enough to reassign the registration to the plaintiffs. They only killed it via this order so their registrar had to remove the destination.
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