As a result of the new P2P filesharing mandates signed into U.S. law this past summer, the country's 4400 colleges and universities are required to address issues of illegal P2P filesharing -- particularly music and movies. For instance, colleges and universities are "required to consider the use of technology-based deterrents" in developing plans to counter illegal P2P activity, such as traffic monitoring and bandwidth shaping. A new study by the Campus Computing Project reports the results of a summer 2008 survey aimed at addressing the campus costs of compliance with the new P2P filesharing mandates. more»
President Sarkozy suffered an embarrassing setback in his efforts to curb illegal downloading when an opposition ploy led Parliament to reject a controversial new law that would cut off internet service to offenders. The bill had already been passed by both houses in a first reading but the sudden arrival of Socialist MPs in a near-empty chamber led to a 21-15 vote defeat on the final vote in the National Assembly. more»
The European Court of Justice has ruled that content owners cannot ask ISPs to filter out illegal content. The ruling could have implications for the creative industries as they attempt to crack down on piracy. The court said that while content providers can ask ISPs to block specific sites, wider filtering was in breach of the E-Commerce Directive. more»
The music and film industries have launched a fight back against online piracy today, persuading Britain's six biggest Internet providers, BT, Virgin Media, Orange, Tiscali, BSkyB and Carphone Warehouse, to send warning letters to those suspected of illegal file-sharing. The plan is aimed at an estimated 6.5 million Britons who have downloaded files illegally over the past year. ISPs had previously argued they were mere conduits and not responsible for content. But they agreed to the deal after the government said it would impose legislation if they did not work to curb illegal file-sharing. more»
British Internet service providers will not be forced to cut off users who repeatedly break the law by illegally sharing music and video files, according the The Times. See last year's report, "Thousands of File Sharers Facing Lawsuits in UK". Andy Burnham, the Culture Secretary, said last year that the Government had “serious legislative intent” to compel internet companies to cut off customers who ignore warnings not to pirate material. However, in an interview with The Times, David Lammy, the Intellectual Property Minister, said that the Government had ruled out legislating to force ISPs to disconnect such users. more»
P2p traffic management was a hot topic at this year's NXTcomm convention in Las Vegas, as keynote speakers and telecom industry panelists highlighted new methods for handling P2P traffic crunches, reports Brad Reed of Network World. Ericsson North America CTO Arun Bhikshesvaran says: "In the end, ISPs are likely to try a wide variety of methods for managing P2P traffic, and users shouldn't expect one method will instantly crop up that will satisfy both their demands and those of the network. It's really more of an evolution of the service provider model than anything else. It's an evolution of the business model, and there will be more to come... hopefully not to the detriment of the users." more»
In an press release today, Microsoft has made the official announcement for the purchase of Skype — one the most expensive acquisitions to date according to the company. more»
Microsoft formally announced the closure of its acquisition of Skype originally announced on May 10, 2011. Microsoft and Skype have declared to remain focused "on their shared goal of connecting all people across all devices and accelerating both companies' efforts to transform real-time communications for consumers and enterprise customers." more»
