The KAT.ph domain name is back in the hands
of the KickassTorrents team after a temporary
injunction ran its course. Meanwhile, the legal
action initiated by the music industry
continues and it’s doubtful whether the second
largest torrent site on the Internet will return
to its old domain. The dotPH registry, who
were also named in the complaint, informs
TorrentFreak that going after domains is an
ineffective strategy, as the events of the past
week have shown.
With millions of
visitors every day
KickassTorrents
(KAT) is one of
the largest
torrent sites on
the Internet,
trailing only
behind The Pirate Bay.
This popularity attracted the attention of
several copyright holder groups, including the
Philippine record label association PARI. In an
attempt to shut down the site, PARI launched
a legal procedure in which the KAT.ph domain
owners are accused of facilitating copyright
infringements.
This resulted in the Intellectual Property
Office of the Philippines ( IPOPHL) issuing a
temporary restraining order last week. The
dotPH registry was ordered to suspend the
domain name for 72 hours, a period which has
now ended.
This means that once again the
KickassTorrents team has full control over its
KAT.ph domain.
Although the torrent site isn’t expected to
revert to the .ph domain, the move is
important as the KickassTorrents team are
able to point the site’s users to the new
Kickass.to domain. This minimizes the loss in
visitors and helps Google to index the site’s
new home.
At the same time the legal proceedings will
continue behind the scenes.
The dotPH registry, which maintains the
database of PH domain names, say that the
domain owners now have the option to appeal
the court’s decision. The company adds that
the domain could again be at risk if the
previous order comes back into effect.
“If the restraining order is extended, we will
comply and suspend the domain,” dotPH
founder Emil Avancena tells TorrentFreak.
Whether this will happen is uncertain at this
point. The KickassTorrents team hasn’t made
any public comments on the case thus far.
However, the Intellectual Property Office says
that it will try to hear all sides of the story
before making a final decision.
“Unless the complainant voluntarily desists
from pursuing the case, it shall proceed. The
IPOPHL shall decide on the matter based on
the evidence presented by all parties,” IPOPHL
informs TorrentFreak.
Even if the action results in a permanent
domain seizure, this will achieve very little as
KickassTorrents has already moved to another
domain.
DotPH’s Emil Avancena agrees that domain
seizures are not very useful when it comes to
making websites unavailable to the public. He
sees more results from ISP blockades, which
have become more prevalent in European
countries recently.
“It’s a simple matter to move to another
domain. Getting ISPs to block the sites would
be more effective but not foolproof, as the
Great Firewall of China has shown,” Avancena
says.
KickassTorrents, meanwhile, appears to be
unfazed by all the commotion and continues
business as usual at the new Kickass.to
domain. It’s unknown if they intend to file an
appeal and in their announcement of the
domain change there is no mention of a legal
case at all.
“We had to drop Kat.ph as a part of our global
maintenance and move to Kickass.to. This was
a hard decision, but it was necessary for the
further development of KickassTorrents,” the
KAT staff explain.
of the KickassTorrents team after a temporary
injunction ran its course. Meanwhile, the legal
action initiated by the music industry
continues and it’s doubtful whether the second
largest torrent site on the Internet will return
to its old domain. The dotPH registry, who
were also named in the complaint, informs
TorrentFreak that going after domains is an
ineffective strategy, as the events of the past
week have shown.
With millions of
visitors every day
KickassTorrents
(KAT) is one of
the largest
torrent sites on
the Internet,
trailing only
behind The Pirate Bay.
This popularity attracted the attention of
several copyright holder groups, including the
Philippine record label association PARI. In an
attempt to shut down the site, PARI launched
a legal procedure in which the KAT.ph domain
owners are accused of facilitating copyright
infringements.
This resulted in the Intellectual Property
Office of the Philippines ( IPOPHL) issuing a
temporary restraining order last week. The
dotPH registry was ordered to suspend the
domain name for 72 hours, a period which has
now ended.
This means that once again the
KickassTorrents team has full control over its
KAT.ph domain.
Although the torrent site isn’t expected to
revert to the .ph domain, the move is
important as the KickassTorrents team are
able to point the site’s users to the new
Kickass.to domain. This minimizes the loss in
visitors and helps Google to index the site’s
new home.
At the same time the legal proceedings will
continue behind the scenes.
The dotPH registry, which maintains the
database of PH domain names, say that the
domain owners now have the option to appeal
the court’s decision. The company adds that
the domain could again be at risk if the
previous order comes back into effect.
“If the restraining order is extended, we will
comply and suspend the domain,” dotPH
founder Emil Avancena tells TorrentFreak.
Whether this will happen is uncertain at this
point. The KickassTorrents team hasn’t made
any public comments on the case thus far.
However, the Intellectual Property Office says
that it will try to hear all sides of the story
before making a final decision.
“Unless the complainant voluntarily desists
from pursuing the case, it shall proceed. The
IPOPHL shall decide on the matter based on
the evidence presented by all parties,” IPOPHL
informs TorrentFreak.
Even if the action results in a permanent
domain seizure, this will achieve very little as
KickassTorrents has already moved to another
domain.
DotPH’s Emil Avancena agrees that domain
seizures are not very useful when it comes to
making websites unavailable to the public. He
sees more results from ISP blockades, which
have become more prevalent in European
countries recently.
“It’s a simple matter to move to another
domain. Getting ISPs to block the sites would
be more effective but not foolproof, as the
Great Firewall of China has shown,” Avancena
says.
KickassTorrents, meanwhile, appears to be
unfazed by all the commotion and continues
business as usual at the new Kickass.to
domain. It’s unknown if they intend to file an
appeal and in their announcement of the
domain change there is no mention of a legal
case at all.
“We had to drop Kat.ph as a part of our global
maintenance and move to Kickass.to. This was
a hard decision, but it was necessary for the
further development of KickassTorrents,” the
KAT staff explain.