Government agencies in Latin America involved the anti-piracy initiative called Operation 404 have published an update on their latest round of work, stating that "to date the operation has resulted in the suspension of nearly 1500 domains, the removal of 780 infringing music apps and delivery of more than 100 search warrants".
This work - which targets unlicensed MP3 download apps and stream ripping services, among other things - is led by the Brazilian government's Ministry Of Justice And Public Security, working in partnership with the Peruvian Copyright Office INDECOPI and relevant authorities in the UK and US. It's also backed by record industry trade groups.
In the latest phase of the scheme, the Brazilian ministry and INDECOPI together blocked 157 music piracy domains. Meanwhile, the Brazilian authorities also took action against twelve major stream ripping and MP3 download mobile apps by ordering their removal from both the major app stores and other websites where the apps could be downloaded.
Welcoming these developments, Melissa Morgia, Director Of Global Content Protection And Enforcement at the International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry, says: “This sixth wave of actions by Operation 404 on infringing sites makes this one of the biggest and most concerted efforts in the world against music piracy".
"Not only does it make an impact on infringing websites", she adds, "it has evolved to tackle the growing threat posed by mobile app-based piracy. This would not be possible without international cooperation and we thank the authorities in Brazil, Peru, the US and the UK for their unstinting support in protecting the work of music creators".