95% of BitTorrent files infringe copyrights according to AFACT
According to a new report of the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), more than 95% BitTorrent files infringe copyrights, because the files are distributed without consent of copyright holders. According to the researchers, traffic of infringing files increased with eight percent.
The report is carried out by the Internet Commerce Security Laboratory (ICSL) at the University of Ballarat in Australia commissioned by AFACT. This is not the first report of AFACT. In July 2010, ICSL released a similar report. In the previous report, the percentage of copyright infringing BitTorrent files was set at 89%. According to the researchers, the reason that this year’s report has a higher percentage (97.2%) is because of improving technology to detect infringing files.
The AFACT was established in 2004 to protect the film and television community, retailers and movie fans against the negative effects of copyright infringement in Australia. Neil Gane, director of AFACT, said: “This report verifies conclusively that BitTorrent is used extensively for the illegal distribution and viewing of copyright protected movies and television shows”. The widespread use of infringing BitTorrent files creates as a major barrier for investments in the creative sector, according to Gane.
The report, also warns users about the dangers of downloading BitTorrent files. Paul Watters, director of the ICSL, said users should be careful when downloading, because 50% of the torrents are fake files and highly likely contain malicious malware such as Trojan horses.
For AFACT, the report is a tool in the battle against copyright infringement. The research is especially important for the creative sector, but also raises awareness about malware.
Read more about the battle of AFACT against copyright infringement on FutureofCopyright.com:
Comments(0)
Your comment