📰 New article from TorrentFreak
Amazon Wins $6 Million in Damages Against Pirated DVD Stores, Plus Domain Takeovers
Amazon Wins $6 Million + Seizes Pirate DVD Domains in Landmark Anti-Piracy Win
In a major win for content creators—and a stark warning to bootleggers—Amazon has been awarded $6.075 million in damages against a network of pirate DVD sellers, with the added bonus of seizing eight domains and locking down their infrastructure.
The culprit? A China-linked operation using sites like dvdshelf.com.au, dvds.trade, and dvd-wholesale.com to peddle counterfeit discs—especially of Amazon originals like Fallout, The Rings of Power, and The Boys—masquerading as official releases. Even though some titles were never released on DVD, the pirates sold them anyway, tricking consumers and violating Amazon’s IP rights.
Despite being served in April 2024, the defendants ignored the court. So Amazon pushed for—and received—a default judgment this week in U.S. District Court, granting not only massive statutory damages but also a sweeping injunction.
Here’s what else the ruling includes:
- Domain transfers: GoDaddy, Drop.com.au, and top-level registries (like Verisign and Nominet UK) must hand over the eight domains to Amazon.
- Hosting shutdowns: Providers must suspend and administratively lock the sites.
- Future-proofing: The injunction can expand to cover new domains if the same crew pops up elsewhere.
While collecting cash from offshore defendants is unlikely, the real victory lies in cutting off their digital lifelines—a smart, strategic escalation in Amazon’s ongoing anti-piracy campaign. 🎬🚫