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    “Game of Thrones” hit by piracy from Twitter-owned app users

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments668 Views
    In this image released by HBO, Daenerys Targaryen, portrayed by Emilia Clarke, appears in a scene from season four of "Game of Thrones." The 5th season of the show premiered on Sunday, April 12, 2015. (AP Photo/HBO, Helen Sloan)

    By Lynn Elber, Television Writer

    LOS ANGELES (AP) --

    HBO's "Game of Thrones" has the dubious honor of being popular with both pirates and viewers.

    After its fifth season began Sunday, users of a Twitter-owned live-streaming app shared the fantasy drama.

    HBO said Tuesday it sent "take down" notices to Periscope, the app that allows video streaming from users' phones to their Twitter followers.

    Twitter, which recently acquired Periscope, said the app complies with U.S. copyright law and will respond to valid take-down requests.

    On Monday, HBO said four unaired "Game of Thrones" episodes that were leaked online had come from within a group authorized to receive preview DVDs.

    The unrelated incidents don't appear to have hurt the show's ratings. HBO hasn't released figures, but reports say nearly 8 million viewers tuned in to the premiere, the best start yet for the series based on the works of George R.R. Martin.

    HBO indirectly chided Periscope, saying in a statement that app developers should have tools to "proactively prevent mass copyright infringement" and not rely solely on being notified after such incidents occur.

    Neither HBO nor Twitter had further comment on the issue.

    But in a Periscope copyright policy posted online, the company said it expects users to respect intellectual property rights and asks those alleging copyright infringement to contact it with details and proof.

    The policy also says that Periscope reserves the right to remove such content without prior notice and to terminate the account of a "repeat infringer."

    Tags:Game of ThronesHBOPeriscope



    Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)

    Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

    Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

    "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.

    Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

    His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

    Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

    "Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More

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