Rappers the Beastie Boys are the latest in a line of high profile cases involving alleged copyright abuse after a judge awarded then $1.7m (£1.11m) for the unauthorised use of their music in a fizzy drinks ad.
Disabled People Allowed To Copy Music And Film
Disabled people are now amongst the first groups allowed to copy copyright material, as part of broader legislation that eases copyright law, although the general copying of copyright material is still a crime.
PIPCU Shuts Down Copyright-Infringing Sites
The City of London’s Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) has shut down torrentz.eu, the largest torrent search engine on the internet, although the site continues to operate under two alternative domains and is hoping to move the .eu domain to a new registrar.
Intellectual Property Act Gets Royal Assent
As of October 2014, people who intentionally copy UK-registered designs will face criminal charges under the new Intellectual Property Act 2014, which received Royal Assent last week.
Piracy Warnings Coming
The British music and film industries and several UK internet service providers (ISPs) have drawn up an agreement to tackle internet piracy by sending people who download files illegally “escalating” warning letters.