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ARTICLE · 25 MAY 2011

A Dispatch From The Copyright Front Lines: MAFIAA Fire Takes On ICE

Foley Hoag LLP
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The ongoing conflict between content-industry groups and "open Internet" proponents has been heating up recently in a battle over Internet sites that allegedly allow users to access pirated or counterfeit content.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Foley Hoag LLP
Foley Hoag LLP
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The ongoing conflict between content-industry groups and "open Internet" proponents has been heating up recently in a battle over Internet sites that allegedly allow users to access pirated or counterfeit content. Since last summer, the Department of Homeland Security's Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division has been running a campaign it calls "Operation: In Our Sites" to seize domain names used in alleged criminal copyright infringement activities. Following seizure, visitors to affected web sites, such as www.watchnewfilms.com, see a notice stating that "This domain name has been seized by ICE – Homeland Security Investigations, pursuant to a seizure warrant issued by a United States District Court under the authority of 18 U.S.C. §§ 981 and 2323." The fourth and latest round of seizures reportedly took place on May 21. Opponents of these measures charge that the seizures amount to censorship, and have questioned their legality as well as

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