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12:14 am - 12/27/2012

Hollywood studio IP addresses caught pirating rivals’ films

Internet protocol (IP) addresses associated with several major Hollywood studios were recently logged using bittorrent networks to share films created by rival studios, according to a report on peer-to-peer blog TorrentFreak.

Working with the bittorrent tracking service ScanEye, TorrentFreak identified IP addresses registered to Paramount, Disney, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox and Sony Pictures sharing films, television shows and games. A “WhoIs” search confirms one of the addresses TorrentFreak published does indeed belong to Paramount.

The same studios are the principle driving force behind the forthcoming “six strikes” anti-piracy scheme that will log IP addresses engaged in media piracy and deliver warnings to users.

While it’s impossible to say exactly why these IP addresses were participating in bittorrent networks — and there are a variety of uses for peer-to-peer exchanges that do not involve illegal activities — it’s most likely that individual employees were sharing media from their work computers.

Though surprising, this isn’t the first time movie studio addresses have been caught engaging in piracy. A now-shuttered Russian website called “You Have Downloaded,” which functioned similarly to ScanEye, said in 2011 that it had also identified IP addresses belonging to the same studios engaging in online piracy. The site also picked up piracy at the Department of Homeland Security, the French president’s office and even at the Recording Industry Association of America.

IP addresses are often used by law firms that file suit on behalf of movie and music studios against individuals accused of pirating copyrighted materials online. The “Six Strikes” program will also focus on IP addresses, using them as the basis for injecting warning messages about illegal online activity.

Despite the entertainment industry’s reliance on IP addresses for copyright enforcement, a judge in New York ruled last May that the numbers are no longer enough to specifically identify an individual user due to the prevalence of wireless Internet that allows multiple users and devices to share the same IP address.


source

so_chic_doll 27th-Dec-2012 05:19 am (UTC)
It's hysterical they've been caught-- but it's still pretty messed up how they're like, "DOWNLOADING IS BAD! IT'S STEALING!" yet they're the ones instigating it. oy.
lestat 27th-Dec-2012 05:20 am (UTC)
i've always suspected insiders of posting screeners/hd versions in the first place, so this isn't entirely surprising. still tho, like damn you guys. at LEAST use a peerblocker.
so_chic_doll 27th-Dec-2012 05:21 am (UTC)
yeah, i mean, it's not shocking in the least-- but still... damn.
u_chai 27th-Dec-2012 05:23 am (UTC)
Amateurs getting caught...
lestat 27th-Dec-2012 05:28 am (UTC)
ifkr, tho if you work it and do tech support for these computers, it's not that hard to tell
winegums 27th-Dec-2012 04:16 pm (UTC)
ikr

Hypocrisy and ineptitude is a combination that makes me cackle twice as hard
chuk_is_dazzled 27th-Dec-2012 05:32 am (UTC)
yeah same i always thought that, cause i who else could get those first copyrighted copies?
finchroxxx 27th-Dec-2012 05:58 am (UTC)
Actually, it's not that hard to get ahold of screeners in hw. Maybe someone pissed off their assistant, so they popped the dvd into their laptop ripped it and put it online to be an asshole.
holyfrijoles_2 27th-Dec-2012 05:41 am (UTC)
it has to be insiders, esp. the ones leaking the oscar screeners.
hrhobo 27th-Dec-2012 09:08 am (UTC)
doesn't like... every/most sag members get those screeners?
finchroxxx 27th-Dec-2012 09:13 am (UTC)
SAG/DGA/WGA, Academy members (which there are like 6k of), etc. Agents, mangers, etc. get them too. So basically with so many of them going out it could be anyone.
finchroxxx 27th-Dec-2012 05:57 am (UTC)
To be fair it's not that hard to get your hands on screeners in LA. It's so easy for an intern, an assistant, someone's roommate, girlfriend/boyfriend, etc. to leak that shit. Especially during oscar season when they are giving those bbs out like free candy.
pseudovirus 27th-Dec-2012 06:11 am (UTC)
lol yeah my friend has a dad who is like basically retired right now but still gets shit, was watching the 'perks of being a wallflower' screener a couple weeks before it leaked online... she's just a normal woman in her 20s idk. i was jelly b/c it wasn't online yet then a week later i downloaded a screener-rip that had "academy viewing only" tagged throughout it or whatever their stupid tag is

my point is that it's not hard to get access to screeners and shit and most of them end up leaking online like at least 1-2 weeks after they're sent out

Edited at 2012-12-27 06:12 am (UTC)
finchroxxx 27th-Dec-2012 06:16 am (UTC)
I know I had the first 3 episodes of Torchwood s4, like 3 months before it aired, and I was tempted to put it online, but I didn't want to get my friend fired. It would have been SO EASY to upload that shit.

So yeah as long as you blur out the identifiers (numbers, etc.) then anyone really could have leaked it. Ngl though, I could 100% see rival studios leaking movies to kill box office.
unique_lilpixie 27th-Dec-2012 04:41 pm (UTC)
ia smh
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