ShareConnector

ShareConnector was a popular index site for files on the eDonkey network. ShareConnector does not host any files; instead, the links it contains are accessible through an eDonkey (ed2k) network. It was taken down by an anti-piracy foundation on December 14, 2004 due to the suspicion of breach of copyright and trademark laws. The site came back online, on December 19, 2006. The mainpage was used from a backup taken on November 23, 2004 shortly before it was shut down. The forum userbase was restored from a backup taken on November 20th 2004, however the posts database was started from scratch due a recent backup not being available.

First Closure

ShareConnector was closed down for the first time by a Dutch anti-piracy foundation named BREIN. Four months before ShareConnector received closure, a letter was sent from BREIN to remove all or the website administrators would be at risk of getting sued. ShareConnector did not follow BREIN's request because eDonkey links are not considered illegal only direct links are illegal. On December 14th 2004, the FIOD-ECD took down ShareConnector based on the concerns BREIN had.

The Return

On December 5th 2006, ShareConnector's administrator informed Slyck.com that ShareConnector was planning to return on December 14th 2006 (exactly 2 years after it was forced offline). ShareConnector did in fact return, however not on the 14th instead the 19th. There was problems setting an e-mail domain while the site's domain was in transfer.

The Trial

ShareConnector's first court case took place in June 2006, and the ruling was the anti-piracy foundation BREIN did not have enough evidence to convict the administrator or the ISP on any sort of charges. The jury ruled that BREIN had 6 months to 1 year to come up with some evidence against the accused defendant, Adi (ShareConnector's administrator and the ISP, The Mindlab Hosting). The year has passed and now the trial is going to be taking place on July 9th, and 10th (2007). The outcome should be know 2 weeks after the court case, which is sometime around the end of July.

Second Closure

As of November 12th (2007), ShareConnector is closed again. Apparently, BREIN visited the owner at home to convince him to shut down ShareConnector or else they would start a civil proceeding with a claim.
An update on 26th November (2007) new updates read that the civil case had been continued with, despite the closure. If the author had signed BREIN's agreement, stating the website is illegal, the case would have been dropped. The case on 10th January Continued, resulting in a new update being posted on the website. Users are advised to regularly check back to view any new updates.

Sources

* [http://www.shareconnector.com/ ShareConnector]
* [http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=1528 Slyck: ShareConnector Trial Finally Resumes]
* [http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=623 Slyck: Shut Down Story]
* [http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=1356 Slyck: The Return Story]
* [http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=1228 Slyck: ShareConnector Trial Begins]
* [http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=1232 Slyck: ShareConnector Trial Delayed]