To help stifle piracy, a US judge has now greatly limited funds pooled by a website reliant on ad revenue that offers pirated material online. The website no longer has anonymity as the domain has been seized and the site's owner is no longer able to collect ad-based revenue until the ongoing case is resolved.
US District Court Judge Richard Stearns looks to identify the site's owner, but wants to ensure site operators also cannot still collect money.
A preliminary injunction has been issued by Judge Stearns against a Whois protection site and two advertising networks accused of working with a site that offers pirated e-books for download. Of note, Chitika and Clicksor have been told not to make payments -- or conduct business -- with the Pharmatext.org site operator, as the Whois protection site identifies the site’s owner.
Instead of trying to stop piracy after it already happens, increasingly proactive methods can reduce how much pirated content is released. Preventing advertisers and other companies from making payments to site owners using piracy for a business is the perfect example of this changing strategy to fight piracy.
The ability to crack down against online pirates has evolved from shutting down sites and services more to interrupting how effective the pirates can be online. In the future, copyright groups and governments will look to continue cutting off pirates and webhosts from money -- with individual sites expected to face increased scrutiny. As Pres. Obama’s administration shows support against pirates, this is the perfect opportunity for copyright and trade groups to step in and utilize this national effort.
