4 years of isoHunt [Now 8 years]

Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 11:35 pm

bluebonics wrote:

did the mpaa ever send you take down notices of links to specific torrents that promoted copyright infringement? if not then they have a much harder case to prove that you're promoting copyright infringement (of course if they did and then you DID remove the links to the torrents then they don't have a case, and of course if you didn't then they do have a case). the service you provide is akin to that of google. your search is just more specialized. torrents though (just like webpages), have a very legitimate use which can be easily shown in a court of law despite the uses involved with them concerning piracy (like webpages as well). has anyone on here ever downloaded knoppix? one means of distribution that they use is through torrents. if google cannot be held responsible for searches that return copyrighted material then by all means your use of computational algorithms to create a database of externally hosted torrent files that can then be searched through by a user is perfectly legitimate. google databases webpages and you database torrents. your main arguing point should be the validity of the torrent system and demonstration of a lack of wording on your site and in any advertisements you have that promotes copyright infringement (i've seen none, the best thing you could do to demonstrate this is to contrast this site with a torrent search site that does promote piracy). for the most part i don't see the mpaa winning the lawsuit if it's argued correctly. if you bring enough evidence to any preliminary hearings there's a good chance the mpaa will drop the case. the grokster ruling was one thing, but your circumstance is completely different...

this is the kind of stuff that pisses me off

why don't they sue google then? after all, just put a few popular movie titles into the searchbox and within a few pages you'll find a site that promotes copyright infringement. why isn't google being pursued then?

because the google empire's got a lot more assets than a torrent search site (no offense IH but it's true...)

if the mpaa sued google, they wouldn't have a chance

that's how the mpaa works though... chasing after the people that don't have as much money to hold up in court while ignoring the people that do

why don't they just let some of it go? copyrights are important to preserve a person's work, but there are a lot of free licenses and copyright agreements out there (i personally love the GNU for software) that allow the author to keep their right to their work but also allow distribution without infringement

a lot of individuals are catching onto the idea, but the corporations just want their money

Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 1:31 am

martianclay wrote

Quote:

why don't they sue google then?

I think If memory serves, They are on serveral accounts.

Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 11:07 am

Just wanted to say thanks for the site and good luck with the legal battle... set up a fund and I'll donate.

Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 10:43 pm

the way i see it is this, if the so called "copyright" owners want to protect there stuff then

A: they should also be going after companies that are makeing DVD players that can record!

B: VCR's that can record

C: TV companies that show there movies/shows

D: Library's that have photocopiers

because its prety much all the same thing!, either people download the movie and burn it, pay 4-5$ and get it off to PayPerView, or just wait a few months till its on the movie network and get it free!

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 1:40 pm

... As a relatively new torrent user, I wanted to throw in my .02.

I'm no expert on the lawsuits, nor do I have the attention span to read up on news for the past couple months about the suit. However, one issue that first hit me when I heard about isohunt being sued is : Where is the money going?

If they sue you, who gets the money?

This is a joke... We use art to ESCAPE from the pressures of everyday life. These mega corporations have no concept of morality.

I know for a fact that MANY statistical studies have shown that downloading audio and video files has no adverse affect on the money an artist or record label brings in. While this argument probably has no validity in a court of law, the fact remains that nobody is being harmed.

The guys that are going after you drive expensive cars and have steam rooms in their 'houses', which are probably mansions. Its all about greed, not copyright infringement.

If I had a nickel for every time an idea was stolen and a company ran away with million, I'd probably be able to afford a defense lawyer for you.

I reccomend you create a new splash page for isohunt.com. Something text only and concise. Bring attention to the issue. I don't know how many thousands of people use this website, but I do know that bickering back and forth in a forum isn't going to help. I didn't even really know isohunt had active forums until 20 minutes ago.

We are the people, and we own this f**kin planet. There are far more of us then there are them. Together theres nothing a large group of internet nerds can not accomplish.

Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 5:03 am

It would be interesting to see how much money they've invested in education of internet users as to what exactly is a crime, what is copyright infringement, etc, to prevent their intellectual property from being mistreated versus the amount invested in perusing alleged violators. It seems to me that it's a gamble either way, though they're going after the big money in the form of cash settlements. It's all about that ROI (return on investment) huh? It's clearly in their best interest to keep people in the dark about what's legal and what's not, not only to snag the unaware, but also to throw a proverbial "left-hook" at you with a new legal strategy should their first fail.

That said, you clearly have the support of the people here. Bit-torrent is a tool for transferring large sums of data efficiently, how people mistreat it is their own undoing. To filter through automatic indexing of millions of torrents by hand is unreasonable and absurd, though I would be interested to see the mega-corporations try to keep up themselves with all the variations of names for the various copyrighted material let alone keep you informed of all variations of names. That's not to say your request for a list of what they want blocked is absurd, if that's what they want to happen then yes, they should be responsible for keeping your informed. I do believe you and your team are 100% in the right and you will have my (and others) continued support.

Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 9:18 am

Hello, comming from a large chain of family lawyers and financial analyst at a family diner i brought up the possibility of iso actually being shut down because of this case is so small its abysmal.

IsoHunt dosn't do anything wrong, all they host .torrent files, thats it... Everything thats done after that is not the responsibility of Isohunt.

however other websites such as www.no dump sites.com host MANY different movies that with one click you can download at HTTP speed.

That my friend is completely 100% illegal.

Time for the MPAA to stop picking on the small guy.

Idk i think the MPAA is going after the small guy including me and you , thats why i feel that its not worth downloading pirated material i just go out and buy the DVD now, i cant get sued for thousands i just cant spare that kinda cash.

Just throwing my two sense in here, Good luck with the case ISOhunt.

Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 9:39 am

IH you have led from the front and shaped the p2p scene, we are all grateful and respect your work

thanks dude

Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 5:44 pm

Marz-barz wrote:

Just curious... what are some ways that we, the recipients of your hard work, can be supportive? Granted, monetary assistance would rock - but for those of us who have no ability to send fincances, what more can be done from this end?

Would rallying for you when you go to court be something that would help or harm? THAT is something that would surely make a statement. People willing to *peacefully* stand for you, for IH and Torrentbox, for right of free speech, technology and how the law must work to stay in step, showing up en masse; doing so in a manner that encourages knowledge over controversy (especially in the press), maturity over "those rebellious kids" stereotypes, proving we are out here and we are willing to show up and stand for what we believe alongside the person(s) that are chosen as the scapegoats... change isn't as hard when a few people are willing to stand up for what's right.

Sounds to me like the time is truly ripe for change - if we are only willing to make that stand. Specifically, however, would this be a good TIME and PLACE to do so?

In the spirit of the reknowned, "HACK THE PLANET!"
Shannon

That is one possibility. We aren't afraid of media attention because we don't have anything to hide. If I can't help it but go to court, we might organize a rally with the EFF and PPUS.

Thanks for volunteering to help. This will get political soon if the MPAA forces their hand.

Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:51 am

For all your troubles you must be reminded that they think they have the power when they harass you in your personal life with their lawsuits trying to make you their scapegoat for their stupidity an pride when they should be embracing and benefitting as we do from all the work you have done.

They believe to have the power and in fact they no longer do, thanks to selfless efforts like yours the balance is shifting towards the public. p2p might not seem that much in the context of this complex world we're living but you are at the very front of a cultural revolution, taking the shots for us.

Thank you very much!

They will not win!

Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 3:49 am

It seems I'll be the first to congratulate for being online again.
Well done and thank you for the job.

Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 5:18 am

It seems isoHunt is back online again.
G R E A T !
Congratulations you guys, you're really fast.
Hope you will stay online the next weeks :lol: :lol:

Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 6:27 am

what about Torrentbox? is it going to be online in the near future with all its torrent files?

Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 6:44 am

Well, the MPAA have succeeded in two things,

1. Gave isoHunt some free publicity,
2. Gary (IH) and SS (JTHM) Bow

also had a chance to upgrade the site.

So its not all bad when you look into it.

Cool

Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 1:08 pm

alcosta wrote:

You may be amazed to know that it is also possible to look for torrents in google: all you have to do is type "filetype: torrent" in the search bar.

But I BET they are not going for google, huh? Of course! A multibillion company can afford any lawyer and therefore can get away with murder: MPAA even risks getting a lawsuit back!

So it basically amounts to what I said: throwing responsibity on anyone who's helpless or just dumb enough to take it.

Valect wrote:

not to mention, isohunt doesn't host or even track any torrents. it mearly points to where you get get them Smile

They were going to sue google/YouTube but now that Google is going to give the MPAA money thru a business deal, they aren't going to sue anymore. These people just want money and if they get it they'll shut up. Otherwise they want to dip their hands in everyone's pockets.