WASHINGTON — U.S. authorities, in coordination with Bulgarian law enforcement, have seized the domain names of three of the European Union’s largest piracy websites, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
The U.S.-registered domains—zamunda.net, arenabg.com, and zelka.org—were taken into federal custody under seizure warrants executed by the Justice Department. The sites, allegedly operated from Bulgaria, offered tens of thousands of pirated movies, television shows, video games, and e-books, predominantly from U.S. copyright holders, authorities said.
According to court affidavits, the domains collectively received tens of millions of visits annually, generated millions of downloads, and cost copyright owners millions in lost revenue. One of the sites was frequently ranked among the top 10 most-visited domains in Bulgaria, and all three appeared to generate significant advertising income.
“This coordinated action targets criminal enterprises that steal the creative work and intellectual property of U.S. artists and companies on a massive scale,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division in a statement.
Visitors to the sites will now see a federal seizure banner notifying them that the domains have been confiscated and that willful copyright infringement is a federal crime.
