Earlier this week registrar 101domain suspended the Popcorntime.sh domain name.

The grounds for the suspension initially remained unclear. However, after asking for clarification, 101domain explained to the site operator that it had received an injunction from a US court.

The injunction in question appeared to have been sent by the Motion Picture Association (MPA). It was signed by a federal judge at the US District Court for the District of Columbia and indeed targeted Popcorntime.sh.

Since the MPA had gone after various Popcorn Time forks in the past, this sounded somewhat plausible. However, the document clearly isn’t real.

At TorrentFreak, we received a copy of the same injunction two weeks ago. It was sent in by an anonymous tipster who urged us to report on it. While the story made some sense, on closer inspection we found that the injunction was obviously falsified.

For example, the court stamp and the signed date are from May 2019 while the document itself was filed in November 2019, according to the header. The case reference number also identifies a completely unrelated lawsuit and the paperwork shows several other signs of tampering.

Most telling, perhaps, is that the associated injunction is supposed to prevent “the immediate and irreparable harm will result to Microsoft.” Microsoft?

Some more digging showed that, while there is no such filing from the MPA, there is an almost identical order from last May in a case between Microsoft and several John Does who operated domains such as identity-verificationservice.info.

This case has nothing to do with Popcorn Time. Someone simply took the document and changed several details, making it look as if it came from the MPA targeting Popcorntime.sh.

Use slider to compare the original (pdf) and fake (pdf)

Although this didn’t take much effort for us to uncover, the fabricated document was apparently sufficient to convince 101domain to suspend the domain. Popcorn Time shared a copy of the response it received from the registrar’s abuse team, which attached the falsified document.

We reached out to the registrar to verify this and also pointed out our suspicions but unfortunately, we didn’t hear back. Interestingly, a few hours later 101domain suddenly realized that the document was fabricated.

A Popcorn Time representative informs TorrentFreak that the domain suspension was lifted after 101domain confirmed with the US District Court that the injunction wasn’t legitimate.

While this is good news for Popcorn Time, it may never have happened if people had started asking questions sooner.

Perhaps surprisingly, 101domain was not the only registrar to fall for the falsified court document either. When Popcorn Time had its .sh domain suspended it switched to Popcorntime.app, a domain they registered through 1API.

It didn’t take long before that registrar received a similarly altered ‘injunction’ (pdf). The same Microsoft order was used as the basis again, but this time targeted the new domain Popcorntime.app.

In an email, which the Popcorn Time representative shared with TorrentFreak, 1API explained that Popcorn Time had 48 hours to respond, adding that the domain name may eventually be put on hold.

1API also revealed the request from the original complainant, which was sent from a protonmail.ch address, supposedly by a member of MPA’s legal team named ‘John Gibetstan’.

“Hello 1API, I am a representative of the MPA’s Legal Team. We have obtained an injunction to take control of a domain under your system. The domain in question would be popcorntime.app. You have 5 business days to take action on the injunction,” it reads.

Aside from the various flaws in the underlying document, this email doesn’t appear to be very professional. The MPA doesn’t use Protonmail addresses either, and there’s not even a John Gibetstan working there.

For now, the PopcornTime.app domain remains available but 1API’s 48-hour window hasn’t expired yet. We reached out to 1API requesting additional details and comment on the issue but, at the time of writing, we have yet to hear back.

All in all the whole episode shows that it’s surprisingly easy for malicious actors to fool some domain registrars, at least initially. Who the fake complainant is and why he or she wants Popcorn Time offline, remains a mystery.

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People who operate or even get involved with pirate release groups take major risks. Those who release screeners of unreleased movies up the ante further still.

The movie screeners that are sent out to film insiders to be considered for various awards come with all sorts of protection mechanisms. These include visible and invisible watermarks as well as other tracers that can lead directly to the source.

These extensive protections are supposed to deter people from leaking screeners. This is important, as some of the films have yet to air in theaters. For example, ‘Color Out of Space’ is widely available on pirate sites at the moment, but will officially premiere in the US this Friday.

Apart from the deterrence factor, the watermarks also help to track down people involved in the leaks. They allow Hollywood to pinpoint the source and call in the feds who have helped to bring several people to justice.

Over the past decade, Hive-CM8 has been a constant factor. Rival group EVO has also shared several screeners in the last three years but most others stay away from the practice.

However, a few days ago another group joined in. Out of nowhere, TOPKEK released six screeners in the span of a few hours, including ‘1917,’ and the aforementioned ‘Color Out of Space.’

While the pirate audience was happy with this new material, it appears that Hive-CM8 didn’t appreciate the form in which it was offered. In the release notes of its most recent screener leak of the film “Just Mercy,” the group accuses TOPKEK of putting people at risk by leaving watermarks and tracers in its releases.

“Bet you all seen the topkek scr flood 2 days ago, we have nothing to do with them btw. We are not happy that they got out like this, with watermarks and tracers still in it. careless and unprofessional it was, its a shame for the community [sic],” Hive-CM8 writes.

“Whoever owned that bunch will regret sharing this for the rest of his life. Dont you think this will not get back to you, wish you luck. Dont trust the wrong people,” the group adds in its notes.

Verifying Hive-CM8’s claims independently would require a specific form of technical expertise mostly unavailable to the public. If they’re true, however, we can expect some legal action to follow soon.

After all, Hollywood sees screener leaks as one as the worst threats to their business. Not only because of the potential revenue losses but also because the screener leaks originate from within the industry.

If Hollywood, with help from law enforcement, can pinpoint a source and perhaps even a release group, they certainly won’t hesitate.

Hive-CM8, meanwhile, is attempting to play nice with Hollywood. The group has been criticized for holding back releases for too long, as they want to give films time to recoup their investments on the silver screen.

Not everyone appreciates that but the release group stands by the decision taken after it received heavy criticism for its early leaks in 2015.

“Some might say us delaying some titles is good, some will think this is stupid. Either way, but we think its more fair like this for everyone under the circumstances.

“We watch the gross in relation to budget so that the movie has a fair chance in cinemas and at the same time make some people happy at home who are not able to visit the cinema [sic],” Hive-CM8 adds.

Although the group appears to be sincere in its motivations, the major movie studios won’t hesitate to bring them down if they get the chance.

That said, it seems that the group is good at covering its tracks, as it’s been releasing screeners for a decade without getting busted. That would have been impossible if the group didn’t have its security in order.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and more. We also have VPN reviews, discounts, offers and coupons.

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Half a decade ago, Popcorn Time was the first application to bridge the gap between torrenting and streaming.

The software amassed millions of users by offering an easy-to-use Netflix-style interface, providing access to the latest pirated movies and TV-shows.

In recent years many other pirate streaming alternatives have outgrown Popcorn Time in terms of popularity. However, the various forks of the app still have a significant user base.

One of the most popular ones is Popcorntime.sh. Like all other forks, it’s not linked to the original developers, who have long moved on. However, that doesn’t mean it’s spared from legal issues.

Several movie companies previously targeted the app by obtaining a subpoena which directed Cloudflare to reveal the identity of the operator. The same companies also targeted alleged Popcorn Time users in court.

A few hours ago another problem emerged. Without prior warning, the Popcorntime.sh domain name was suspended by its registrar. A quick Whois search shows the associated “clienthold” status.

This clienthold status is set by the domain registrar, 101domain in this case, and informs the registry not to activate the DNS. As a result, the website had been rendered inaccessible to the public at large.

A spokesperson from Popcorntime.sh confirmed the problems and informs TorrentFreak that they were not warned in advance about the issue. Nor was it made clear by the registrar what the precise reason for this suspension is.

“They have sent zero notice before the suspension, neither did they explain why it’s suspended,” Popcorn Time’s spokesperson says.

The 101domain support team did inform Popcorn Time that a complaint had been received, the spokesperson says. However, who this complaint is from and what it’s about remains a guess.

This isn’t the first time that the registrar has taken action. Last November a similar problem occurred. However, according to Popcorn Time, this was the result of a payment issue. This time it appears to be an external complaint.

Given the nature of the Popcorn Time application and repeated complaints from rightsholders in the past about this type of software, it’s likely that a movie or TV outfit sent a complaint.

We reached out to 101domains with a request for further information but, at the time of writing, we have yet to hear back.

The Popcorn Time spokesperson says that they have switched to Popcorntime.app for the time being.
If they are unable to resolve the domain issue this change could become permanent.

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