Research by TorrentFreak shows there has been a huge rise in the number of US lawsuits against online file-sharing pirates. A survey of US court filings showed that during 2018 the vast majority of anti-file-sharing suits were brought by just two pornography businesses: Malibu Media and Strike 3 Holdings. The two firms were responsible for 3,300 cases between them. In comparison, the third most litigious firm lodged 70 suits during the year. You can read the TorrentFreak article here.
Meanwhile, US authorities continue to pursue pirates with criminal charges. In December a Federal grand jury indicted individuals living in India, Malaysia, Dubai and the UK on charges of conspiracy to commit computer fraud, unauthorised access to a computer, aggravated identity theft, and copyright infringement after they circulated pirate copies of major Hollywood films including Godzilla and Fifty Shades of Grey. The pirates are alleged to have used a server in France to distribute the movies. You can read more about that story from Trademarks & Brands Online.
