The easiest way to hurt a pirate site, at least temporarily, is by taking away its domain name. Historic

EU and NL Domain Registries Take Down Piracy-Linked Domains

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2024-12-23 22:00:03

The easiest way to hurt a pirate site, at least temporarily, is by taking away its domain name. Historically, domain name registries have been hesitant to take action but with the right approach, progress can be made. This week, anti-piracy group BREIN reported that following their complaints, the .nl and .eu registries took action against several 'pirate' domains. On closer inspection, it appears that copyright has little to do with it.

There are plenty of options for copyright holders to frustrate pirate site operations, but attacking their domain names is particularly effective.

The MPA previously signed landmark agreements with registries, enabling the movie industry group to act as a “trusted notifier” of “pirate” domains. Other players in the domain name market have been more reserved.

The Public Interest Registry (PIR), for example, which oversees the .org gTLD, previously denied requests to take action against The Pirate Bay. According to PIR, caution is advised to ensure a “free, open, safe and secure internet”.