📰 New article from TorrentFreak
U.S. Rightsholders Applaud India’s “Lock and Suspend” Piracy Blockades
https://torrentfreak.com/u-s-rightsholders-applaud-indias-lock-and-suspend-piracy-blockades/
Ever notice how the same old “pirates‑on‑the‑high‑sea” story keeps playing out—until someone finally slashes the mainsail? That someone is a Delhi court, and its new weapon is a simple but brutal “lock and suspend” order that can yank a domain offline anywhere in the world.
In 2023 U.S. studios scored a landmark ruling: Indian ISPs must block pirate sites and domestic registrars have to freeze the offending domains while handing over registrant details. The ripple effect? Hundreds of sites—Animeflix, Fmovies, VidSrc and more—vanished overnight, wiping out what the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) calls “billions of global piracy visits.”
Rightsholders are cheering. Their annual Special 301 report notes that more than 400 piracy domains have been erased, shifting the pirated‑content pie away from Hollywood movies toward anime and manga. The orders even reach U.S. registrars like Namecheap, giving the crackdown a truly global punch.
But it’s not all smooth sailing. Some Indian ISPs drag their feet, and a few foreign registrars ignore the decree, limiting its reach. The IIPA urges India to roll the model out nationwide and tighten enforcement timelines—otherwise the “Priority Watch List” warning from Washington could stick around longer than a bad sequel.