But .torrent files don't contain ANY copyrighted material.

Good point.

they contain the hash code to copyrighted material, and thus can be directly linked.

There's a problem though. Windows and other software are copyrighted - but what if I already bought a copy? What if I lost the disk or are incapable of making a backup of it or translating it to another form so I can use it?

Of course, this is illegal for music and such...god forbid you use the things YOU bought which YOU own in whatever manner on whatever device in whatever format you want.

Yeah, well. No argument with the law here. We really could do with accepting that what we (the majority anyway) do is wrong. And then find an alternative way to keep doing it.

Still, the way fines are decided are a joke. Those idiots really are just greedy twats. Makes me feel less guilty so it's not all bad.

damn it!! not mininova................

I can directly "link" to other illegal content, by the phone. So what now, everyone that sells illicit materials will bring down a lawsuit on their telco provider for providing the means (a phone number) to traffic illegal goods? This is so unbelievably stupid!

Mininova was as good as dead when they started the removal of tens of thousands of everyones torrents back in the early part of this year, TPB is dead, its time to find somewhere new if you are into torrenting. I honestly think these guys have more at stake pursuing people like Mininova, Napster, Kazaa, TPB, ect. because it keeps those mobsters and lawyers alive making money.

Piracy gives me flashbacks of the movie "21" where the mob is trying to be the eyes and ears in the new age of technology which does it better. RIAA/BREIN/MPAA/BSA refuse to accept and embrace the online spectrum and adapt and instead try and live in the past century. Maybe these guys need to join the military and learn the motto "Adapt and overcome"

If you lost the disc, if you lost the key, that's your fault and you have to go rebuy it. If you buy a TV but you "lose" your TV it doesn't give you the right to go to Best Buy and steal the TV because you "lost" it.

I'm probably going to get kicked to -20 by all the pirates for saying this but I think this a great thing and a definite step toward the right direction.

By removing all torrents for copyrighted material the bittorrent network can finally be used what it was meant for... LEGAL filesharing and downloads (you know, like linux distros, korean MMO game setups etc.)

By that line of thought, By writting in my post "Microsoft windows 7", this is an infraction because I've written a name which is copyright protected even though I don't have the software it's related to.

If the problem is the hash, that have been made public from day 1 rtm on microsoft page.

Waiting for them to go after www.google.com or www.msn.com since they host links to websites that contain copyright material o wait Microsoft/Google have the money and power to fight back never mind.

I'ts just semantics, the fact of the matter is, you go to their site, download the torrent file, then use that to download pirated material, and the site knows this, there is absolutely no other purpose of a .torrent file that downloads pirated material other than to break the law. name a single other use for a torrent file called "district 9". the file can't be used for any legal purpose, so hosting it should be illegal.

I think the best solution (tho not a great solution)is a formal complaint system that requires sites to investigate and take down .torrents when a complaint is made by the copyright holder.

The hash code being in the file is relevant, it proves beyond reasonable doubt that that file is meant to download the file which the hash matches. simply naming the torrent file "district 9" isn't really proof enough that the .torrent file's purpose is to download a pirated version of district 9. but the fact that the hash code matches a pirated copy of district 9, and that the .torrent file will only ever download a file that matches the hash, proves beyond reasonable doubt that the torrent file's ONLY purpose is to download a pirated version of district 9.

I'm so sick of all you arrogant pricks who think you are some sort of uber l33t hacker just because you think have a system of downloading pirated material that can't be traced by the law, that it spreads the responsibility so thin that no one can really be held responsible.

In the virtual world, it doesn't matter where the data actually physically is. eventually when we move to cloud computing, no one will actually have any of their data, on their own hardware at home, so what then? no one can be guilty of possessing copyrighted material? or child porn?? its all just semantics, and the .torrent file should be just a illegal as the movie file it's self, because it is directly linked to it (what if someone made a streaming movie player where you just 'play' the torrent file, and the player streams it through bit torrent? how would the torrent file be any different from the actual movie file then?).

of course the "Google links to mini nova" argument comes in now, but the fact of the matter is its just easier for the authorities to go after mini nova, because that way they kill two birds with one stone, Google linking to pirated material should be just as illegal.

also, notice how both my, and the Dutch solutions don't adversely effect legitimate torrents in anyway? which makes it infinitely better than any DRM I've seen at least.

I know, mininova was the best of them all. They have a clean looking site and you can see others comments to know if the torrent was crap or not.

They are not ordering Mininova to shut down. They are just ordering them to remove torrents of copyrighted material... But of course that's why you're sad because you will no longer be able to illegally download all of your games and movies anymore.

If you think games and movies are too expensive to pay for then the way to boycott is not buy AND not pirate... >_> ... Draconian DRM that us paying users have to face is a direct result of you pirates, so thanks for all of the trouble. Enjoy your pirated games and movies.

long live Usenet newsgroups! still going strong after all these years

always felt torrent files was the trailer park of the pirate scene. like the flea market of piracy..where everyone and their grandmother could download torrents and then cry "wtf! how do I run a bin/cue file..is that the Mac version or windows?".

Core2uu either way hurts the studios... They complain that piracy is ruining the market, but in fact the market has not changed. People that one can't afford to buy movies and or games are not going to buy them, so the studio's are not losing a sale. They were never going to make that sale so piracy doesn't hurt studio's it's a farce, it's a way to get out of paying the taxes they should pay. They can show on paper that they lost income due to piracy and write it off as a loss reducing their taxes. This is all just a scam, then they can sue people that will never pay (more write offs)... In fact they don't want these people to pay then they would have to pay the taxes on the income.

Quick! Some one put up the entire Mininova site (backup)on Torrent!
See: http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/ [...] torrent-i/

I wonder how big it would be? 18GB?

@Blessedman: Do you really think that many pirates can't afford to pay? or is it that they just don't want to...

And this tax thing is really kinda stupid... I think the studios would rather that the consumer would pay for the goods they produce rather than write-off lost revenue for all of us taxpayers to pay off... I mean, look at it... do you honestly think the amount they save on taxes is the amount they would get if everybody paid for the games/movies they would buy?

If what you say is true, then what happens here is taxpayers are paying for pirates' games and movies... Once again, thanks pirates.

Take out mininova 10 more pop up. They will never get them all. It's evolutionary just like people went from napster (pre legal) then limewire then torrents. There will always be ways to get the files your looking for.

your welcome Core2uu..anytime

It seems obvious to me. With so many people doing it, then it should just be made legal.

I honestly can't tell whether that's a joke or you're actually serious! xD

why do the legal folks think stopping torrents will help pirating? torrents are the bottom feeders of piracy.

think of a newly released pirated game as a new car..
the equals are:
1.)Release group dropping to a TopSite = New car from manufacturer

2.)Racers Racing to put on FXP boards/Usenet = Buying that car from Lot

3.)Copiers Making mirrors of that FXP = Giving Car as a gift to Child for birthday

4.)Leechers spreading that to friends = selling car used

5.)Friends making a torrent of it to upload to site = Selling that car in your driveway after 15 years with the good selling point is "COLD A/C!!"

so taking down the torrents is like trying to wipe out the Ford car company by removing all the used cars on the side of the road for sale.
They are just stopping the second hand market..not the source.

NOOOOOOOOO.... Not Mininova. DAMN YOU BREIN. What's next? you're going to charge people for breathing too?

And so the piracy sites fall. Well mininova is rather brazen so it was only a matter of time. What I'm worried about is governments monitoring internet traffic legal or not. Last thing we need is for big brother to have more ammo to "justify" monitoring your every move.

People tend to take things for granted. Saying taking a torrent site down means 10 more will pop-up is kind of stupid. It's clear copyright protection agencies are taking ground there, something new got to replace it, but that doesn't mean it will necessarily come down the road anytime soon. Also, the fact the torrent phenomenon been so hard to fight against strenghtened copyright laws, making it a whole lot harder to come out with an alternative to easy piracy than it was 10 years ago.

Good point.

the method will evolve//////// people will share ////lets see the chase and run of these two forces....with the rise of social networking and ever increasing internet speed.............sharing is probably going to increase even more..

While I've used torrent sites more than I should, I can say another user had a point.

We can try to claim the torrent file isn't "Illegal" and doesn't contain any copyright material and just a hash, but that's no difference to saying that the word file on your computer doesn't contain a bank robbery, just the plans for one (which are set to be carried out today, say).

It's easy for anyone with slightly advanced computer knowledge to try to reduce what we're doing into such simplistic terms that it almost sounds like they're targeting innocents, but, it's arrogant.

Either way though, I think the entertainment and software industries are far too used to the ridiculous profits they got last century, and, I don't like it. Half of the stuff they sell isn't even worth it.

Sites will just pop up in countries where the law will ignore them. The same way Switzerland and Monaco don't care where the money in your bank acct. came from. The industry needs to change their marketing. It's the only solution. Evolve or go extinct.