Andre Yoskowitz
28 Nov 2009 14:53
The once-giant torrent tracker Mininova has removed all illegal torrents this week, following the ruling of a Netherlands court that told the tracker that it must begin removing links to unauthorized downloads.
Mininova used to have a "notice and take down" policy in which copyright-holders would have to flag the content before it would be taken down. The court ruled that policy insufficient.
The tracker is now only host to a limited "featured content" service which offers legally licensed files.
Adds Tim Kuik, director of BREIN, the Dutch anti-piracy group: "We applaud the fact that Mininova now uses the BitTorrent technology for legal business. We are not against the technology but only against the use of that technology for illegal purposes."
Mininova did say they are still considering an appeal but at this point it seems less and less likely.