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US Television Network Provider Dish Aims to Track and Stop Piracy Using New Blockchain Systems

The Dish Network Corporation is a US television network provider based in Colorado, with over 16,000 employees and 9.5 million subscribers across all of America.

In recent years with subscribers moving to newer forms of media, including internet-based streaming services such as Netflix, Dish has struggled to maintain its customer base, with 381,000 subscribers lost in 2018’s Q4.

In this multi-facet battle against internet-based competitors streaming services DirecTV and cable television providers as well as illegal activity, Dish has applied to patent a system which allows content to be stored and updated using a distributed ledger, introducing new features and better means to protect the security of their network and rights.

This anti-privacy system would use blockchain to embed user data, granting access to verified users, storing names, contact information, and other ownership rights to ensure video and audio rights are not distributed to unauthorized third parties.

Efficiently checking copyright has been a struggle for all forms of media in the digital age, however, with this new form of tracking possible in distributed ledger technology, companies are increasingly testing blockchain to win against piracy finally.

Over the past few years, Dish has been in legal action filling two separate lawsuits against platforms redistributing content illegally, winning a $90 million sum in damages dispute earlier in 2018.

In response, Dish has been searching for new technologies to improve numbers, with blockchain seemingly the answer.

It is unclear if Dish will create their own blockchain, or use an existing platform, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, due to time and resources being a significant factor. However, with blockchains potential to enforce copyright, it may be the exact answer to the company’s problems.

Many other companies have reported investigating blockchain for all types of services in digital technology.

Image via Shutterstock

Leading Musicians Continue to Fight with Blockchain in Battle Against Piracy

In recent years, studies have shown that there has been a sharp decline in album sales net revenue due to online piracy and illegal creation or sharing of property righted materials.

In 2007 it was reported that 12.5 billion USD worth of losses were recorded. This includes revenue to the artist, income loss amounting to 2.7 billion USD annually, and taxable income to the government.

Blockchain is not a new addition to this space, with many artists and companies implementing new security features to fight crime and allow content creators full rights and income for their work. The solution is well discussed, but the process has been slow.

Across the entire entertainment industry, there have been problems in monitoring and fighting against illegal and criminal actions stealing and duplicating artistic work, but little progress in countering the problem effectively.

Widespread piracy, including software piracy has continued to affect many industries, but with blockchain being tested to combat fraud, has it, or will it be able to make a difference?

What has happened to date?

From 2007 to 2016, Imogen Heap, a famous British songwriter and artist was one of the first active celebrities to look into blockchain technology and what it could provide in the music industry. Using Ethereum, she was able to directly sell her music without the need for intermediaries or centralization. Her main goal was to allow musicians and other entertainers to have control over their works, including credit, terms of usage, transfer, and purchasing.

Since her initial involvement in blockchain, Heap has gone on to create a nonprofit company for artists called Mycelia, to realize a vision of the future, this premium digital identity standard enables music makers to control and manage their data through the creation of a verified database which contains discographies, personal information, acknowledgments, works, and business partners. Unique to each person, it promotes template‘smart contracts’ to speed up payments and encourage meaningful creative and commercial partnerships. Helping any level of the artist, get their songs off the ground, and also find alternative means to publish their work for sale.

“The first thing is to create some kind of hope that there is an alternative to a major label deal and that it’s coming, but it’s not quite there yet. Everybody is in a bit in limbo,” said Heap. “We’ve got this new technology, great possibilities ahead of us, but we’ve got this old cranky system trying to cling on to the remainders of [its] power.”

Heap has continued to pave the way herself, touring in 2019 she has just completed her latest show, across Europe and America.

During 2019, for six months, Heap has aimed to bring more people into the space to showcase blockchain technology through concerts, talks, workshops, and digital marketing.

Heap further added, “Thanks to everyone we’ve collided with; it has been a fantastic adventure over the last six months with my family, the band, and the team in and around the shows, conferences, and workshops we’ve done so far.”

Moving further into 2020, it is clear that we need more artists like Heap to grow awareness and adoption for blockchain, after years of efforts, small steps forward are fantastic for an old industry, showing that there is a chance for change in an industry that has outdated models, and a lack of fairness and protection for artists.

Image by Hanny Naibaho via Unsplash

Microsoft Fights Piracy by Using Ethereum Blockchain

American technology giant Microsoft is building a transparent incentive platform to help and boost the fight against piracy.

Presented in a research paper published on its website, the platform dubbed Argus, an Ethereum based tool, will work to reinstate the transparency and adequate reward for those making piracy reports.

Over time, the lack of proper incentivisation has stirred a plunge in the efficiency of the anti-piracy measures. The measures being adopted are also often questioned due to a large absence of transparency, a situation that is compounded with the inadequacy in data protection for all involved in the anti-piracy fight. The introduction of Argus and the efficacy of blockchain technology will help stem these challenges.

Argus in Operation and Gas Fee Workaround

As described in the research paper titled “Argus: A Fully Transparent Incentive System for Anti-Piracy Campaigns,” the Microsoft team and its partners said Argus would work through aiding the backtracing of pirated content to the source with a corresponding watermark algorithm.

The protocol also called the “proof of leakage,” will see each report of the leaked content succeeded by an information-hiding procedure. By doing this, only the informer can report the exact watermarked copy without actually owning it.

The entire reporting process on Argus leads to generating a lot of transactions. However, whistleblowers may want to shun the system if the gas fee becomes so high. To combat this, Microsoft said it has worked on the Argus system too:

“Effectively optimise several cryptographic operations so that the cost for piracy reporting is reduced to an equivalent cost of sending about 14 ETH-transfer transactions to run on the public Ethereum network, which would otherwise correspond to thousands of transactions.”

The efforts to boost the piracy fight through blockchain complements the prior applications of the technology to solve real-world music-related pirates. Alongside the latest Microsoft efforts to fight piracy, US Television Network provider, Dish has also developed new systems to help fight piracy.

Germany's Largest Bitcoin Seizure: 50,000 BTC Confiscated in Piracy Probe

German authorities have seized a record-breaking amount of Bitcoin, valued at approximately €2 billion ($2.17 billion). This event, involving the Saxony State Criminal Police Office and other German law enforcement agencies, marks the largest cryptocurrency seizure in Germany’s history.

The seizure of 50,000 Bitcoins was part of a broader investigation into alleged copyright violations and unauthorized commercial exploitation of copyrighted works. The Bitcoins were linked to two individuals, a German and a Polish national, accused of operating a piracy website until the end of 2013. The authorities suspect that these individuals purchased the Bitcoins using proceeds from the pirated materials distributed through their website.

Interestingly, the suspects voluntarily transferred the Bitcoins to official wallets of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), although the future utilization of these seized cryptocurrencies remains undetermined. This development raises questions about the potential impact on the cryptocurrency market, considering the significant amount of Bitcoin involved.

This seizure is notable not only for its size but also for the cooperation between various agencies, including the Dresden General Prosecutor’s Office, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), the FBI, and a Munich-based forensic IT expert company. It underscores the increasing focus of law enforcement on the intersection of cryptocurrency and illegal activities, particularly in the context of copyright violations and money laundering.

The event is part of a larger trend where authorities worldwide are intensifying their efforts to regulate and monitor cryptocurrency transactions, particularly those linked to illegal activities. This operation also highlights the growing sophistication of law enforcement in tracing and seizing digital assets, a significant development in the ongoing debate about the regulation and use of cryptocurrencies.

As the investigation continues, further details may emerge about the implications of this seizure for both the individuals involved and the broader cryptocurrency market. For now, this remains a landmark case in the history of cryptocurrency enforcement in Germany.