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![]() February 25th, 2023 ![]() Canadians Are Pirating So Much Music & Film That The Country Is On An Official Watch List Who watches the watchers? Sofia Misenheimer Illegal consumption of music and movies remains rampant in Canada despite a torrent of costly lawsuits in recent years. Nearly a quarter of the country stole content online in 2022, either ripping songs from YouTube or downloading files on peer-to-peer (P2P) sites, like The Pirate Bay. A new report from International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), which aims to protect U.S. copyrighted material, finds Canadians among the most active media pirates worldwide and is calling for offenders to walk the plank, or, at the very least, into a courtroom. While Canada dodged placement on the IIPA "priority" watch list, reserved for the top 10 nations with the least regulation of pirated content, it did make the official top 20 watch list of countries having the most "adverse impact" on intellectual property south of the border. "Government at all levels continues to allocate insufficient resources and strategic priority to enforcement of copyright laws, especially online, and significant market access barriers continue to impede U.S. film and TV producers and distributors," the IIPA wrote about Canada. "The country has made some progress in shedding its reputation as an online piracy haven, but too many Canadian Internet businesses allow their services to be abused by pirate operators… It is nearly impossible to overstate the magnitude of the piracy problem in Canada," it continues. The IIPA estimates financial loss as a result of Canadian piracy at around $1.5B per year and it's calling on the government to allocate more funds and dedicated specific teams to investigate piracy sites and copyright infringements. It remains to be seen if the government will bite, or even whether the move by Netflix to crack down on password sharing will result in more casual streamers choosing the pirate's life. https://www.mtlblog.com/canadians-ar...ial-watch-list ![]() Survey: 1 in 10 U.S. Adults Pirated TV, Movies or Live Sports in 2022 Content piracy is rife in the U.S. Gavin Bridge Approximately 23 million U.S. adults (11%) pirated content in the last year, according to an exclusive survey fielded last month for VIP+ by YouGov. Whilst the vast majority of Americans are law-abiding when it comes to content consumption, a sizable proportion confess to dabbling with illegal downloads or streams for TV shows, movies or live sports. But this doesn't necessarily come down to some wanting to collect every episode of shows they love or a sense of getting one over on massive corporations. The ever-expanding number of subscription streaming services are a key driver behind content piracy. Close to half of survey respondents who pirated shows or movies said the cost of the content is too high. Individually, that is likely untrue, but the cost of subscribing to every service in order to watch titles wanted is getting steeper and steeper, forcing some to opt for other means. Yet the cost of watching everything is not the only factor behind illegal viewing. A third of survey respondents who admitted to pirating content said the content being unavailable in their region was a reason for doing so. This most likely covers international shows, movies and sports rights (often for leagues too small to be profitable for a TV rights deal in the U.S., such as the lower professional soccer leagues in the U.K.) but shows that not all piracy is owed to trying to avoid cost. The YouGov/VIP+ survey did find that the majority of content viewed illegally was available on a paid domestic streaming service, echoing the findings of the "reasons for pirating" question. With almost every major media company, save for A+E Networks and Fox, having individual SVOD services, this trend shouldn’t be expected to decline any time soon. The peak TV boom, which saw 2022 hit new heights in total output, may have helped to contribute to over one in three content pirates (approximately 7.4 million U.S. adults) saying they watched more illegal content in 2022 than in 2021. With content spend slowing down, there may well be fewer titles to pirate in 2023, which may see the total volume fall. Pirating content comes with risks, with some 37% of those watching or downloading content illegally reporting they had a device infected with malware as a result of doing so. Even knowing the risks, millions of Americans still opt to stream or download via illicit means. Content becoming more affordable will stem some of this, but with other content coming from a lack of availability, piracy will never easily be eradicated in the U.S. https://variety.com/2023/biz/enterta...22-1235525708/ ![]() Reddit Should Have to Identify Users Who Discussed Piracy, Film Studios Tell Court Plaintiffs say Reddit posts from up to 13 years ago show ISP ignored movie piracy. Jon Brodkin Film studios that filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against a cable Internet provider are trying to force Reddit to identify users who posted comments about piracy. The lawsuit was filed in 2021 against cable company RCN in the US District Court in New Jersey by Bodyguard Productions, Millennium Media, and other film companies over downloads of 34 movies such as Hellboy, Rambo V: Last Blood, Tesla, and The Hitman's Bodyguard. In an attempt to prove that RCN turned a blind eye to users downloading copyrighted movies, the plaintiffs sent a subpoena to Reddit last month seeking identifying information for nine users. Plaintiffs specifically asked Reddit for "IP address registration and logs from 1/1/2016 to present, name, email address and other account registration information" for nine users. Reddit's response provided at least some information about one user but no information on any of the other eight. According to the film studios, Reddit argued that "the requests for identifying information associated with the additional eight accounts are more in the nature of a fishing expedition and are neither relevant nor permissible under the First Amendment." Now, the studios want a federal court to force Reddit's hand. The film companies last week filed a motion to compel Reddit to respond to the subpoena in US District Court for the Northern District of California. The latest filing and the ongoing dispute over the subpoena were detailed in a TorrentFreak article published Saturday. "The evidence Plaintiff requests from Reddit in the Rule 45 subpoena is clearly relevant and proportional to the needs of the case," the film studios' motion said. The Reddit users' comments allegedly "establish that RCN has not reasonably implemented a policy for terminating repeat infringers," that "RCN controls the conduct of its subscribers and monitors its subscribers' access," and "establish that the ability to freely pirate without consequence was a draw to becoming a subscriber of RCN." Reddit user called RCN “fairly lax” 8 years ago For example, the filmmakers want to identify Reddit user ChikaraFan because the user once wrote that "RCN seems fairly lax... I looked up before I switched and had little trouble." The motion to compel describes the subpoena dispute as follows: Reddit argues that "The post from "ChikaraFan" mentions RCN, but is eight years old and therefore well beyond the three-year statute of limitations we understand applies in this matter. This argument misses the point. Plaintiffs do not wish to hold ChikaraFan liable for copyright infringement. Rather, Plaintiffs wish to use ChikaraFan's statement as evidence of RCN's "fairly lax" policy for terminating repeat infringers and that this "fairly lax" policy was a draw for becoming a customer. Even though the statement was made eight years ago, Plaintiffs can use the information requested in the subpoena to contact ChikaraFan and authenticate her/his post to obtain evidence to support their claims. Plaintiffs say Reddit's argument should be rejected because, under federal rules, "discoverable information does not need to be admissible in evidence." But the Reddit posts could help the studios counter RCN's argument that it "does not monitor subscriber access or have any ability control subscriber conduct," the motion said. In one case, the film studios say a Reddit post from 13 years ago "establishes that RCN has the technical ability [to monitor users]. If RCN had the ability 13 years ago, it certainly still has the ability now." Studios: We won’t retaliate against the users The film studios claimed the information they're seeking from Reddit "does not implicate the First Amendment Right to anonymous speech." The studios also wrote that "Reddit provided its users with notification of the subpoena and an opportunity to make objections yet none of its users made an objection." "Reddit has not identified any potential harm to these users by disclosing the information," the motion said. "Plaintiffs are not seeking to retaliate economically or officially against these subscribers. Rather, Plaintiffs just wish to discuss the comments the subscribers made and use their comments as evidence that RCN monitors and controls the conduct of its subscribers, RCN has no meaningful policy for terminating repeat infringers and this lax or no policy was a draw for using RCN's service." The film studios are also seeking identifying details on users who discussed piracy but didn't specifically mention RCN. Two of the users wrote in Reddit comments that they work for an ISP, and the film studios want those users' identifying details on the theory that they might work for one of the companies in the Astound Broadband group. (RCN is now known as Astound Broadband after being combined with several other cable ISPs in the same ownership group.) The plaintiffs' motion said: Reddit User "aromaticbotanist" boasts of being an employee of an ISP and advises the other users of a script: "tell them you changed your WiFi…" to say to their ISP in response to a Notice. aromaticbotanist's post demonstrates that the ISP he/she works for has not reasonably implemented a policy for terminating repeat infringers. Further, aromaticbotanist even encourages others to use a VPN to pirate. Therefore, if "aromaticbotanist" works for any of the ISPs in the Astound group, Plaintiffs can likely use this evidence to rebut RCN's assertion that it has the appropriate policy. "ilikepie96mng" also boasts of working for an ISP and admits that his ISP does not take notices seriously: "…so long as you don't get more than 3-5…in a short time span, you can effectively throw it in the rubbish…please use a VPN…" Therefore, if "ilikepie96mng" works for any of the ISPs in the Astound group, Plaintiffs can likely use this evidence to rebut RCN's assertion that it has the appropriate policy. Reddit argued that posts by these and other users "are not relevant because they do not appear to mention RCN at all," but the plaintiffs say the posts were "made either within a discussion thread of RCN's policies or about an ISP with 'lax policies' that is very likely an ISP that is a member of the Astound group that manages RCN." A hearing on the filmmaker's motion was scheduled for March 23. Plaintiffs withdrew their request for information on one of the nine Reddit users but still want access to the rest. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...os-tell-court/ ![]() Wireless ISP Starry is Filing for Bankruptcy The company says it’ll continue providing internet service to new and existing customers as it restructures. Mitchell Clark Starry, an ISP that launched in 2016 with a focus on delivering home internet with wireless antennas instead of cables, has declared bankruptcy. In a press release, the company says that it intends to quickly restructure and that it’ll continue providing internet service in its “five core operating markets.” Those are Boston, New York City, Los Angeles, Denver, and Washington, DC. The ISP has clearly been struggling over the past few months. In October 2022, it announced that it was laying off around 500 people, which amounted to about half of its staff. A few months later, Starry announced it was leaving Columbus, Ohio, in a bid to focus more on its five “core” markets. All the while, it was burning millions of dollars in cash, and its stock was dropping after a special purpose acquisition company-backed IPO in March — it started at around $10 a share but is now worth $0.012, down from last week when it was approximately $0.02 per share. The company also defaulted on its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund bids after it won awards from the FCC to work on providing internet to underserved areas in the US. Had it completed the work, it stood to receive almost $269 million, according to Light Reading. Starry has asked the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to approve a plan that would give it $43 million in funding from lenders, which it says would provide “the necessary liquidity to continue its normal business operations and meet its post-filing obligations to its employees, customers and vendors.” “With the support of our lenders, we feel confident in our ability to successfully exit this process as a stronger company, well-positioned to continue” providing internet to customers, said Starry CEO Chet Kanojia in the company’s press release. Unlike ISPs that use telephone or cable lines for data transmission, Starry uses large antennas to beam internet to smaller antennas throughout a city, which then connect to more traditional wireless routers. Cellular carriers like Verizon and T-Mobile have provided a similar home internet service in recent years using 5G and have attracted hundreds of thousands or even millions of users to their fixed wireless plans. https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/21/2...rvice-provider ![]() Starlink’s “Global Roaming” Promises Worldwide Access for $200 a Month Some people still waiting for regular Starlink get invites for $200 roaming plan. Jon Brodkin SpaceX's Starlink division has invited some potential users to try a "Global Roaming" service for $200 a month, saying the new plan "allows your Starlink to connect from almost anywhere on land in the world." "Global Roaming makes use of Starlink's inter-satellite links (aka space lasers) to provide connectivity around the globe. As this is a new technology, you can expect Starlink's typical high-speed, low-latency service intermixed with brief periods of poor connectivity, or none at all. However this will improve dramatically over time," said an email from Starlink shared on Reddit. Average Starlink speeds have dropped as more users sign up for the satellite service, speed-test data shows. It appears that at least some of the Global Roaming invitations were sent to people who are still on the waiting list for Starlink's regular home Internet service. "Participating in Global Roaming will not impact your place in line for Residential service," the Starlink email said. Global Roaming requires a $599 upfront payment for the Starlink hardware kit in addition to the $200 monthly price. Users who aren't satisfied with Global Roaming "can return for a full refund of the hardware within 30 days," the email said. The standard residential Starlink service costs $110 a month and has the same hardware cost of $599. Invites sent to people outside Starlink service areas PCMag reported that "SpaceX sent the message to at least two people who live in countries where Starlink isn't available," including Greenland. That seems to suggest SpaceX may use the roaming service to get Starlink into countries where governments haven't approved it. But the invitation email says the roaming service is contingent on regulatory approval and suggests it should be used only in "authorized" areas: At this time, payment for Global Roaming is only available in United States Dollars. If you are based outside of the US, you will also be responsible for acting as the Importer of Record for the Starlink Kit, which may include the payment of customs duties and import taxes, if required. Global Roaming services are contingent on regulatory approvals. Find a list of authorized territories on the Starlink map. The $200-per-month price took some users by surprise. "It's a great idea and is exactly what I want, but $200 a month is going to be way too expensive for most travelers I know," one person wrote on the Starlink subreddit. Starlink’s other portability options Starlink already offers an RV service for $135 a month "with a one-time cost of $599 for portable hardware or $2,500 for in-motion hardware." But Starlink for RVs is limited to the user's continent and often receives slower speeds than the standard plan. Customers who use Starlink for RVs in a foreign country for over two months are required to move their account to the new location or buy an additional Starlink. Starlink also lets residential users pay an extra monthly fee of $25 for portability, allowing use at "secondary locations" within the user's continent. The Starlink portability and RV options both have lower service levels than standard Starlink plans. "Starlink for RVs and Portable users are served best effort and can expect lower service levels than fixed users, particularly in areas marked as 'Low Capacity' on the coverage map. Service degradation will be most extreme in 'Low Capacity' areas during peak hours," according to SpaceX's support FAQ for the RV and Portability services. Starlink's terms of service say portability users "are solely responsible for (a) understanding and complying with all applicable laws and regulations associated with your use of Portability Services and the Kit; and (b) stopping use of the Portability Services or Kit if you are in an unsupported geographic location." Moreover, users of the existing portability option who stay in a secondary location "for an extended period of time... may experience further performance degradation to accommodate priority users at their registered Service addresses." SpaceX hasn't posted a support FAQ for the Global Roaming service yet, but it would presumably have fewer restrictions than Starlink's existing portability options. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...r-200-a-month/ ![]() Samsung is Readying its Own Smartphone-to-Satellite Communication Platform It'll support two-way text messaging and even high-definition video, Samsung said. Steve Dent There was speculation that Samsung could use smartphone-to-satellite technology in its Galaxy S23 much like Apple has for the iPhone 14, but that didn't happen in the end. Now, the company has unveiled a new standardized 5G NTN (non-terrestrial network) modem that will enable two-way communication between smartphones and satellites. The technology will allow users to send and receive calls, text messages and data without the need for a cellular network, and will be integrated into Samsung's future Exynos chips. The aim is to allow people in mountains, deserts or other remote areas to communication with others in critical situations. 5G NTN conforms to 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP Release 17) standards, meaning it works with traditional communication services from chip manufacturers, smartphone makers and telecoms. However, Samsung indicated that the tech could eventually be used to transmit high-definition photos and even video, on top of texts and calls. It simulated the tech using its Exynos Modem 5300 platform "to accurately predict satellite locations and minimize frequency offsets caused by Doppler shift," the company said. That will help pave the way for hybrid terrestrial-NTN networks "in preparation for the arrival of 6G," said Samsung VP Min Goo Kim. At CES 2023, Qualcomm unveiled Snapdragon Satellite, technology that would allow smartphones to send messages when no cellular signal is available. It'll work in smartphones that have both the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset and X70 modem system, plus some additional radios. Since Samsung's Galaxy S23 has both chips, it was thought the device may offer satellite communication technology to match Apple's iPhone 14. However, Samsung mobile experience VP TM Roh said it wasn't the best moment, as satellite functionality is still fairly limited. "When there is the right timing, infrastructure and the technology is ready, then of course for Samsung Galaxy, for our mobile division, we would also actively consider adopting this feature as well," he told CNET in an interview. https://www.engadget.com/samsung-is-...092522234.html ![]() Why the Disc Format Has Yet to Die for Some TV Series Kaare Ericksen As the Digital Entertainment Group, the trade association for home entertainment, tells it, business is better than ever: The U.S. consumer spend on home entertainment grew 11.4% year over year in 2022, totaling nearly $37 billion. Of course, success depends on how you define “home entertainment”: Essentially none of that growth came courtesy of anything other than streaming, let alone DVD sales of any kind. When you remove SVOD from the equation, the truth is tough but unsurprising — outside of theaters, people are increasingly losing the urge to pay for individual films or TV series, with all rentals and physical sales continuing to decline on an annual basis. One apparent exception to this is digital sales made across platforms like Amazon, Apple TV and Vudu. Digital sell-through commands the largest share of home entertainment spend after streaming and increased ever so slightly in 2022. That said, it’s important to remember that the scaling back of COVID restrictions throughout 2021 meant 2022 was the first (relatively) normal year at the box office since the pandemic started. As a result, more films from major studios were released in theaters and subsequently hit their digital windows sooner, per a bevy of deals Hollywood has worked out with exhibitors. But the key word there is films. TV is a different situation. Between February of last year and May 2023, just over 100 TV releases from the major studios alongside AMC Networks and Lionsgate will have received Blu-ray or 4K Ultra HD releases in the U.S. market. From a studio-by-studio standpoint, there is little to no consistency as to the strategy behind these physical releases. The most staggering factor is how Paramount alone accounts for well over a third of these releases. Blu-ray discs for the multiple series comprising “Star Trek” and “Yellowstone” are understandable, as these are currently the biggest TV franchises attracting consumers to Paramount+ and could theoretically catch the eye of anyone still venturing inside of a Best Buy. The primary “Yellowstone” series that airs on Paramount Network is also streaming on Peacock exclusively, so putting out physical releases for that show especially enables Paramount to make extra money on the side on top of what it charges NBCUniversal to license the series. What’s strange is Paramount’s sheer commitment to physical releases for its more obscure series spread across the TV landscape. Just about everything originating from Paramount Pictures has at least a Blu-ray release. This includes “The Lost Symbol” (Peacock), “Joe Pickett” (Spectrum Originals), the CW’s “Charmed” reboot and “Nancy Drew,” plus Showtime series “The Good Lord Bird” and “The Man Who Fell to Earth.” Most curious is “Station Eleven,” a miniseries made for HBO Max. The critically acclaimed post-apocalyptic drama received not only a Blu-ray release but also a 4K physical edition Tuesday, following a discontinued Blu-ray release in 2022. While this level of output for smaller series already available digitally seems like overkill, some home entertainment divisions manufacture less popular shows on an on-demand basis, meaning the discs aren’t made until orders have been received, allowing a more economical way to commit to physical media. As far as 4K Ultra HD releases go, they’re uncommon for TV, due in part to the many streaming services offering 4K versions of their programming on compatible devices as well as the video formats in which select series are shot. The 4K releases Paramount has committed to on the TV side are “Halo” on Paramount+, Prime Video originals “Reacher” and the first two seasons of “Jack Ryan,” as well as Showtime’s “Ray Donovan: The Movie.” “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” also has a 4K release for its first season due in May. Like Paramount’s other 4K physical TV releases, the “Star Trek: Discovery” spinoff was originally shot in 4K HDR, as opposed to “Discovery” and “Picard.” Other than those Paramount releases, the only TV series that got 4K physical editions over the last 12 months are “House of the Dragon” and the final season of “Westworld,” per Warner Bros. “Westworld” belongs to a crop of HBO and HBO Max series that Warner Bros. Discovery has removed from streaming in favor of licensing them out to third-party FAST services before the company unveils a newer service that combines its programming libraries with Discovery+. By contrast, Disney has practically parted ways with physical TV releases altogether. While it initially put out Blu-rays for some of its Marvel series made for Netflix, such as “Daredevil,” the company’s MCU series on Disney+ have never received physical releases, nor have any of the streamer's “Star Wars” series. To date, the only Disney+ series that has received a Blu-ray release is Peter Jackson’s “The Beatles: Get Back” docuseries. As for Hulu, the same is true. Blu-ray releases for “The Handmaid’s Tale” were capped after the third season in 2019, the same year Disney acquired 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets. However, if you’re looking to check out the first two seasons of Hulu’s “The Great” on Blu-ray, Paramount’s got you covered. https://variety.com/vip/why-the-disc...es-1235531182/ Until next week, - js. ![]() Current Week In Review ![]() Recent WiRs - February 18th, February 11th, February 4th, January 28th Jack Spratts' Week In Review is published every Friday. Submit letters, articles, press releases, comments, questions etc. in plain text English to jackspratts (at) lycos (dot) com. Submission deadlines are Thursdays @ 1400 UTC. Please include contact info. The right to publish all remarks is reserved. "The First Amendment rests on the assumption that the widest possible dissemination of information from diverse and antagonistic sources is essential to the welfare of the public." - Hugo Black
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