So news is making its way around the internets that at the Wedbush Morgan Securities Management Access Conference, Atari founder Nolan Bushnell proclaimed the end of PC gaming piracy as we know it, thanks to a "stealth encryption chip." The magic chip he's referring to that "will, in fact, absolutely stop piracy of gameplay"? The TPM chip -- what's been on motherboards for years, that apparently Bushnell just found out about. While the tinfoil hats in the house will likely attribute TPM (Trusted Platform Module) and other onboard crypto-chips to the eventual downfall of privacy and personal computing, to date we've yet to see piracy stunted or civil liberties breached because of the little bugger. FUD you later, Nolan.

[Thanks, Carl]

Ouch, that payback, it can be a bitch -- Sony BMG, distributors of rootkit-installing CDs and litigious foe of P2P users worldwide, has just been busted in France for using pirated software on its servers. And it gets even worse: Windows admin tool developer PointDev says a Sony BMG was caught when an IT staffer actually called up for support and gave a pirated license number to the phone tech. That's some pretty shady behavior for a company that's rammed anti-piracy measures down its own customers' throats -- too bad it's probably not going to feel the hit of the €300,000 ($475,000) lawsuit nearly as hard as the college students it routinely sues for $5,000.

[Via ZeroPaid, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Although Comcast has been beating around the proverbial bush about its data-meddling ways, it seems the pressure from the recent FCC investigation efforts have forced it to play nice. Reportedly, the firm is getting set to (begrudgingly, we presume) announce that it will "stop targeting BitTorrent on the internet." More specifically, the cable company will purportedly "boost broadband capacity" in order to make things speedier all around, but details on this tidbit were unsurprisingly absent. Nevertheless, BitTorrent has also agreed to make its software "more efficient," but those hoping that Comcast would leave well enough alone are in for even more disappointment. The outfit still plans on managing traffic on the 'net (standard practice, we know), but Tony Werner, executive VP and CTO, noted that it was "working hard on a different approach that is protocol-agnostic during peak periods."

[Thanks, Mike and Kenneth]

Remember how the folks at the Meizu booth swore up and down that the M8 Mini One wasn't that similar to the iPhone? Well apparently the Hanover police think otherwise. According to a report, the booth (shown above in its vacated state) was shut down by cops for piracy during CeBIT and passersby were told that, "The venue is closed until further notice." It appears that after stopping down the M8 show, cops proceeded to confiscate equipment and literature associated with the painfully obvious knock-off, and will be making a more detailed statement on Thursday in regards to the action. Meizu, it might be time to get yourself a makeover... and a good attorney.

Update: As you've probably already read, the Meizu booth was apparently shut down due to its use of an unlicensed MP3 codec. At the time we wrote this, all signs were pointing to the cause being the M8's alarmingly familiar UI, though that appears to have slipped through unscathed.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in; Image courtesy Heise Online]

We're always a little skeptical of piracy impact numbers, especially when companies try to factor in things like "lost sales," which can't be adequately measured, but it's still interesting to hear how large the hit is estimated to be -- like Nintendo's recent filing with the US Trade Representative that piracy cost it and its partners some $975m worldwide in 2007. Saying that the popularity of the Wii and DS makes Nintendo an "attractive target" for counterfeiters, the big N broke the problem down by region, highlighting its efforts to stem the tide and proposed solutions and regulations. We'd say that with profits soaring and plenty of people clamoring for hard-to-find systems, Nintendo could probably get back a little of that cash by finally getting some boxes on shelves instead of pushing for new laws, but hey -- even Mario's lawyers probably get sick of being paid in mushrooms.

[Image courtesy of Nick Cueva]

In an unusual situation for a company so vocal about protecting intellectual property rights, Microsoft is being sued for allegedly distributing material copyrighted by a Philippine college -- despite the fact that the material in question seems to have only been given to fellow educational professionals. Southeastern College in Pasay City is suing Microsoft and Microsoft Philippines for 100 million Filipino pesos ($2.4 million) for handing out at least 700 CDs in 2005 and 2006 containing the 379-page "SEC Microsoft Office XP Manual," which had been copyrighted by SEC director Conrad Mañalac in 2005 (although work on it reportedly began in 1999). Apparently 10,000 copies of this same manual had previously been licensed from the school by the company in 2004, and retitled for use in a program to train high school teachers. For its part, Microsoft Philippines denies having "improperly distributed additional copies of the curriculum," although it's a little unclear what the company's actual position is, with the following statement -- emailed to the Inquirer.net -- seeming to indicate that the primary concern right now is protecting the mothership: "They brought this matter to our attention a year ago and we worked hard to resolve it, but without success. For all intents and purposes, this is a purely local matter which does not involve Microsoft Corporation." Um, okay, whatever you say. We'll be interested to see if / how Redmond responds to this one...

[Thanks, Mark]

Read - Microsoft sued
Read - Microsoft issues response

While it admits it's not possible to pin down an exact number, Microsoft has let out word today that it estimates the counterfeit rate of Vista to be about half that of XP, a figure that it seems to be more than pleased with. Of course, one could interpret those numbers in slightly less positive ways, but Microsoft claims the sharp dip in piracy is due to Vista's amped up authentication system, which it says is a "proven and effective way to combat piracy." To come up with the numbers, Microsoft apparently relied statistics based on Windows Genuine Advantage validation failures, as well as other unspecified internal data. As TG Daily notes, all this follows Microsoft's announcement of revised anti-piracy measures in Vista SP1 and, specifically, some big changes to the aforementioned WGA feature.

According to a report released by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Comcast has yet to relinquish its data discriminating habits, and users attempting to share content via P2P could still face slowdowns and unexpected delays. Of course, Comcast's Charlie Douglas proclaimed that the firm "does not, has not, and will not block any web site or online application, including peer-to-peer services," but followed up by stating that it did engage in "reasonable network management to serve all of its customers with a good internet experience." The EFF, however, saw things differently. During its own tests, it was reportedly able to confirm conclusions drawn earlier this year by the AP, and it also exclaimed that Comcast was "essentially deploying against its own customers techniques more typically used by malicious hackers." Pretty strong words, to say the least, but we're curious to know if the continued Comcast bashing is indeed legitimate. So, dear readers / Comcast users, are you still (or have you ever, for that matter) experiencing sketchy P2P performance, or is this all just one overblown mess?

Following AP reports published last week that painted Comcast in a less-than-positive light for apparently stifling BitTorrent uploads, the company has come clean (somewhat, that is). Reportedly, the firm did admit to "delaying" some subscriber internet traffic, but stated that any hiccups were "temporary and intended to improve surfing for other users." More specifically, Mitch Bowling, senior vice president of Comcast Online Services, was quoted as saying that Comcast utilized "several network management technologies that, when necessary, enabled it to delay -- not block -- some peer-to-peer traffic," but that doesn't exactly jive with the AP's findings. Nevertheless, Mr. Bowling also stated that the problem was "unintentional and due to a software bug [saywha?] that had been fixed." So with that being said, are any of the afflicted users out there still seeing issues, or has all this negative attention really resulted in a change of heart?

Just a week after the DVD CCA approved an unexciting (and incredibly restrictive) download-to-burn scheme, DataPlay has unveiled what it calls the "world's first CSS-managed recording DVD burner." Of course, this isn't the first time we've heard about this type of setup, and as it turns out, DataPlay is actually "participating in the Qflix technology and IP licensing program." The aptly-named MovieWriter is an external USB 2.0 device that is "capable of writing CSS encrypted content for playback on standard DVD players," but alas, you'll be forced to pick up the presumably expensive CSS-MR pre-keyed recordable discs through Verbatim or Taiyo Yuden before any burning can take place. Currently, no pricetag is being listed, but we are told that the outfit is already planning an internal version for OEMs to integrate into pre-fabricated machines. [Warning: PDF read link]

It's no secret that DirecTV has been on the hunt for content thieves for what seems like ages, but it faced a serious setback recently when "the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals tossed out a default judgment against a pair of alleged DirecTV television pirates, saying an unauthorized decryption device law the company invoked against them does not apply." Apparently, the duo of defendants were brought to trial after they allegedly purchased a smart card programmer and used it for less than legal purposes (like "repairing pirate access cards disabled by DirecTV countermeasures"). But reportedly, the satellite provider has been going after folks who purchase these things, assuming that their intentions must be ill. Still, the pair in question may face lesser chargers if they did indeed break other laws, but at least individuals who like to tinker with smart card programmers can (hopefully) go about their day without worrying over the carrier breathing down their neck. [Warning: PDF read link]

[Image courtesy of CBP]

Amidst the slew of new Blu-ray players showcased at IFA comes word that two new forces are pledging their allegiance to the BD camp. Reportedly, both Acer and China Huala Group have joined on as hardware partners, and the latter is supposedly looking to establish a "Blu-ray Disc authoring center in China." The announcements were purportedly made by the Blu-ray Disc Association while in Berlin, and while we're not exactly sure how long Acer will make us wait for more Blu-ray-equipped lappies, the more intriguing question -- you know, the one regarding concerns over piracy from a newfound authoring center in China -- has yet to be tackled by the BDA.

[Thanks, AG23]

If you think doing five months of hard time in the slammer for uploading a feature film to the internet is tough, try using Windows for nearly half a year when your heart belongs to Linux. Unfortunately, this heartbreaking scenario is indeed true, as the "ex-administrator of the EliteTorrents BitTorrent tracker" is now being forced to use an operating system in which the US government can install monitoring software on. According to Sk0t, who has served his jail time and is now sitting through five months of home confinement, he believes that the government "should have software that conforms to [him]," especially considering how expensive it would be to replace all of one's software... sans a job. Of course, his alternative seems to be just living out the sentence without using a PC at all, but c'mon, we all know that ain't happening.

[Via Slashdot]

Lucky and Flo, the two danger-loving police dogs whose exploits as international crime fighters are well know to readers of this site, have just become the first non-humans to be awarded Malaysia's outstanding service award for their tireless work in trotting around and sitting down at the first whiff of plastic. Following several raids that led to 26 arrests and $6 million in seized counterfeit DVDs during their five month tour of duty -- as well as a contract on their young lives -- these real-life Underdogs will be returning home to a hero's welcome in New York later this week, although there will be no ticker tape parade for the courageous canines. Rather, they'll be put right back to work in the hopes that they "take a bite out of movie piracy in the Big Apple," according to the Motion Picture Association's Edward Neurbronner -- that is, when they're not busy putting on little, um, dog-and-pony shows at local events. Well we certainly wish you guys luck as you begin your new career battling piracy stateside (and later on in Canada, apparently another hotbed of IP theft), although we're still not sure why the cops need trained dogs to help them track down all those nefarious pirates hiding in plain sight on almost every avenue in Manhattan.

Read - Medals
Read - Return to NYC

Granted, we've never had too much luck with those knockoff ink cartridges ourselves, but that doesn't mean that printer (and therefore, ink) manufacturers aren't looking to halt sales of the profit stripping units in any way possible. Aiding them in their quest is Cryptography Research Inc., which is currently developing "chip technology aimed at helping printer manufacturers protect this primary source of profit." Essentially, the CryptoFirewall chips would make it harder for printers to utilize counterfeit or "off-brand" substitutes, which leaves consumers stuck sans a choice and left to pony up whatever they must in order to get that essay turned in the next morning. The company claims that its technology will be ready to cripple new printers sometime next year, but hey, the hackers in the crowd are just salivating for yet another challenge.

[Via Slashdot]