PIRATE MOBILE APPS TARGETED BY STUDIOS

Movie studios are increasingly monitoring apps developed for smartphones and tablet devices that employ unlicensed content from their films, Reuters reported on Thursday, and they are often finding those bootleg apps available via top Internet destinations like Google Play and iTunes. Only last week, the wire service said, Warner Bros. sent Google a “take down” notice demanding the removal of “Hobbit 3D Wallaper HD” a mobile app using images from the film. While it was only the latest incident involving pirated material offered on the Internet giant, Reuters indicated that the other four major studios have also stepped up submissions of infringement notifications to Google. It quoted Marc Miller, head of Internet content protection for the MPAA as saying, “Smartphone apps that provide a direct link to infringing content have become a growing problem that needs to be addressed.”