tangent4ronpaul
06-21-2013, 04:41 AM
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/06/domains-seized/
By David Kravets
06.20.13
3:06 PM
http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/threatlevel/2013/06/Screen-Shot-2013-06-20-at-11.44.48-AM1.png
Federal authorities said today that, since June 2010, they have seized more than 1,700 domains that allegedly breached intellectual property rights.
Seized under a program known as “Operation in Our Sites,” the domains hosted material the authorities said illegally streamed sporting events; hawked counterfeit drugs, clothes, and accessories like handbags; and unlawfully allowed the downloading of copyrighted movies and music.
The figures were buried in the White House’s 2013 “Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement,” (.pdf) and they represent about 50 seizures a month following the operation’s adoption three years ago.
Under the program, implemented by the nation’s first and only IP czar Victoria Espinel, federal authorities are taking .com, .org, and .net domains under the same civil-seizure law the government invokes to seize brick-and-mortar drug houses, bank accounts, and other property tied to alleged illegal activity. The feds are able to seize the domains because VeriSign — which controls the .net and .com names, and the Public Interest Registry, which runs .org — are U.S.-based organizations. Under U.S. civil forfeiture laws, the person losing the property has to prove that the items were not used to commit crimes.
“After the domain names have been seized, they are processed for forfeiture to the United States. The Operation has resulted in 14 arrests and over $3 million seized,” Espinel wrote in the report that was delivered today to Congress and President Barack Obama.
The seizures are often based on the word of rightsholders, who claim infringement.
One of the clearest examples of the government going too far concerned a hip-hop music site called Dajaz1.com.
Federal authorities seized the popular site based on assertions from the Recording Industry Association of America, which said the site was linking to four “pre-release” music tracks. In 2012, a year after the seizure, the feds gave the site back to its New York owner without filing civil or criminal charges because of apparent recording industry delays in confirming infringement, according to court records obtained by Wired.
Espinel, in her letter today, said the government’s overall intellectual property enforcement efforts “will focus on infringement that has a significant impact on the economy, the global economic competitiveness of the United States, the security of our Nation, and the health and safety of the American public.”
A complicated web of bureaucracy and Commerce Department-dictated contracts signed in 1999 established that key domains would be contracted out to Network Solutions, which was acquired by VeriSign in 2000. That cemented control of all-important .com and .net domains with a U.S. company, putting every website using one of those addresses firmly within reach of American courts regardless of where the owners are located.
When the sites are seized by Immigration and Customs Enforcements, a message is left behind to online vistors warning that the government has taken control of the site.
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As usual, Wired has tons of links in their articles, so click through if interested. Also, other interesting articles...
-t
By David Kravets
06.20.13
3:06 PM
http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/threatlevel/2013/06/Screen-Shot-2013-06-20-at-11.44.48-AM1.png
Federal authorities said today that, since June 2010, they have seized more than 1,700 domains that allegedly breached intellectual property rights.
Seized under a program known as “Operation in Our Sites,” the domains hosted material the authorities said illegally streamed sporting events; hawked counterfeit drugs, clothes, and accessories like handbags; and unlawfully allowed the downloading of copyrighted movies and music.
The figures were buried in the White House’s 2013 “Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement,” (.pdf) and they represent about 50 seizures a month following the operation’s adoption three years ago.
Under the program, implemented by the nation’s first and only IP czar Victoria Espinel, federal authorities are taking .com, .org, and .net domains under the same civil-seizure law the government invokes to seize brick-and-mortar drug houses, bank accounts, and other property tied to alleged illegal activity. The feds are able to seize the domains because VeriSign — which controls the .net and .com names, and the Public Interest Registry, which runs .org — are U.S.-based organizations. Under U.S. civil forfeiture laws, the person losing the property has to prove that the items were not used to commit crimes.
“After the domain names have been seized, they are processed for forfeiture to the United States. The Operation has resulted in 14 arrests and over $3 million seized,” Espinel wrote in the report that was delivered today to Congress and President Barack Obama.
The seizures are often based on the word of rightsholders, who claim infringement.
One of the clearest examples of the government going too far concerned a hip-hop music site called Dajaz1.com.
Federal authorities seized the popular site based on assertions from the Recording Industry Association of America, which said the site was linking to four “pre-release” music tracks. In 2012, a year after the seizure, the feds gave the site back to its New York owner without filing civil or criminal charges because of apparent recording industry delays in confirming infringement, according to court records obtained by Wired.
Espinel, in her letter today, said the government’s overall intellectual property enforcement efforts “will focus on infringement that has a significant impact on the economy, the global economic competitiveness of the United States, the security of our Nation, and the health and safety of the American public.”
A complicated web of bureaucracy and Commerce Department-dictated contracts signed in 1999 established that key domains would be contracted out to Network Solutions, which was acquired by VeriSign in 2000. That cemented control of all-important .com and .net domains with a U.S. company, putting every website using one of those addresses firmly within reach of American courts regardless of where the owners are located.
When the sites are seized by Immigration and Customs Enforcements, a message is left behind to online vistors warning that the government has taken control of the site.
====
As usual, Wired has tons of links in their articles, so click through if interested. Also, other interesting articles...
-t