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Anti-Piracy Outfit Rightscorp Hit With $15m Lawsuit After Sale Went WrongAndy Maxwell, 27 Sep 10:00 AM After beginning life as DigitalRights back in

Anti-Piracy Outfit Rightscorp Hit With $15m Lawsuit After Sale Went Wrong Andy Maxwell, 27 Sep 10:00 AM After beginning life as DigitalRights back in 2009, anti-piracy company Rightscorp became known for its cut-price copyright-trolling operations. Where competitors would attempt to charge hundreds up to multiple thousands of dollars per alleged file-sharing infringement, Rightscorp initially offered to settle cases for around $20. The long game was for every ISP in the United States to forward Rightscorp notices to customers, thereby negating the need for courts, subpoenas, and other legal expenses. While some ISPs did indeed forward Rightscorp's notices, the anti-piracy company couldn't balance the books with its settlement model and lost millions of dollars. In a change of direction, Rightscorp data was later utilized by music publisher BMG to sue Cox Communications for failing to disconnect repeat infringers. After BMG came out on top, Rightscorp successfully persuaded the RIAA to sue several other ISPs based on the data in its infringement databases. Rightscorp Allegedly Entered into Acquisition Talks For many years, Rightscorp's very existence presented a conundrum. In 2013 the company went public but its accounts revealed that since at least 2011 it had being losing millions every year. With the situation worsening every year thereafter, Rightscorp changed its company status and removed the need to make future accounts public. Against all the odds, Rightscorp is still alive today, most likely due to perceived value in its repeat infringer database. According to an announcement Monday, Rightscorp's CEO encouraged a company called American Films, Inc. to acquire Rightscorp but things didn't go to plan. Through a multi-million dollar lawsuit filed in a Florida court, American Films is hoping to straighten things out. American Films, Inc. What Does it Do? In 2019, GuardaLey – the most infamous BitTorrent 'copyright-trolling' operation in the world – said it had entered into a joint venture with American Films, Inc. The U.S. company would become the 100% owner of GuardaLey's U.S. operations, the extent of which were never revealed. More than three years later, it still isn't clear what American Films actually does, where, or with whom. It has a website now and describes itself as an "innovative global intellectual property protector" but if the company is involved in a GuardaLey-style settlement business, it's hiding that very well. According to Yahoo Finance, "American Films, Inc. does not have significant operations. The company intends to merge or acquire one or more properties or businesses." At some point it appears that Rightscorp became an acquisition target but after a warm start, things failed to progress and eventually ended up in court. Filed at the Circuit Court of the 20th Judicial Circuit for Collier, Florida, the American Films lawsuit targets Rightscorp, Inc. and its CEO and chairman, Cecil B. Kyte. "The lawsuit alleges Rightscorp and Kyte lured [American Films] into a transaction to acquire Rightscorp, and then Rightscorp and Kyte used confidential information from the deal to reap a profit," the company's announcement reads. From the limited court documents we've been able to obtain, the claim amount is officially listed as "over $100,000.00" in the category "contracts and indebtedness". American Films says the lawsuit seeks to recover in excess of $15 million from Rightscorp but what the amount relates to is unknown. American Films is a Rightscorp Shareholder American Films further revealed this week that the company owns shares in Rightscorp, a supposed rival. How many of the anti-piracy outfit's $0.01 shares are held by American Films (AFI) isn't clear but the company appears to be flexing its muscles, for the benefit of Rightscorp, it insists. "As a shareholder of Rightscorp, Inc. common stock, AFI is currently reviewing the possibility of initiating a shareholder rights action against Rightscorp, Inc. Any shareholder rights action would be brought for the benefit of all Rightscorp shareholders and the corporation, Rightscorp, Inc., itself," the American Films statement reads. It seems unlikely that Rightscorp has $15m lying around so whether it will choose to fight or pay a settlement remains to be seen. In the meantime, American Films failed to mention an interesting detail about its lawsuit in its September 26, 2022 announcement. According to Collier County Court documents, the lawsuit against Rightscorp was e-filed on March 22, 2021. Why it's taken 18 months for the big public reveal isn't clear but that's largely in keeping with American Films' activities in general. American Films may be doing big things in the shadows but right now, we're unable to highlight anything beyond an 18 month old lawsuit against a company with no money. That being said, Rightscorp does own a massive repeat infringer database, the perfect gift for a company that apparently owns a massive copyright-trolling operation in the United States. From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. U.S. Copyright Groups Are Concerned About Russia's Handling of Online Piracy Ernesto Van der Sar, 26 Sep 08:56 PM Following Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February, life in both countries has changed. While Ukrainians fight for their freedom, Russian citizens must deal with the effects of sanctions and other restrictions. Many large companies, including those in the entertainment industry, support sanctions. For example, major Hollywood players and streaming services voluntarily pulled out of the country. These actions are a direct hit to the multi-million dollar revenues of these companies, as expected. However, it appears that the effect on Russian citizens is less severe. Apparently, many people are turning to piracy instead and even some local cinemas have followed suit. As we have documented previously, more than a hundred Russian movie theaters have started to show pirated movies in Russia in response to the sanctions. While clearly illegal, the chairman of the Russian Association of Cinema has sympathy for the plight of these struggling theater owners. The Russian Government has also made matters worse for US copyright holders. A few months ago, it proposed a 'forced licensing' bill that would effectively legalize piracy of media produced by "unfriendly" states, including the US. U.S. Copyright Groups Conerned These developments are causing concern among organizations such as the IIPA, which counts the MPA, RIAA, and ESA among its members. The group recently shared its thoughts with the US Trade Representative for its annual review of Russia's World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations. The submission highlights the ever-present piracy problem and several areas where Russia can improve its intellectual property enforcement. That includes more criminal proceedings, where possible. "The harm caused by commercial-scale piracy in Russia cannot be adequately addressed with civil measures alone; rather, enhanced administrative actions and penalties and criminal remedies are needed," IIPA writes. These demands are not new but may seem odd, considering the tensions between media companies in Russia. IIPA is aware of this but believes that it's important to keep the focus on copyright issues despite the conflict and sanctions. Legalizing Piracy? That said, Russia's response to the sanctions hasn't gone unnoticed. Specifically, a bill that would allow Russian companies to obtain licenses for copyrighted content against the will of US companies is seen as a grave concern. "[I]t has been recently reported that the Government of Russia is drafting legislation that, if enacted, would drastically undermine exclusive rights," IIPA writes. "As U.S. industries have suspended operations in Russia in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, such a bill, in effect, would legalize piracy of copyrighted materials owned by U.S. rights holders, in clear violation of Russia's WTO obligations — essentially amounting to state-sanctioned IP theft." Pirating Cimemas The fact that many Russian cinemas have resorted to piracy to show the latest blockbusters is also mentioned. These films are often presented as "private club" events that are organized by third parties. However, that's just a trick to avoid liability, rightsholders believe. "Unfortunately, third party operators have recently begun organizing illegal screenings of U.S. films in theaters throughout Russia," IIPA notes. These cinemas reportedly source their content from pirate sites. This includes dedicated Russian Digital Cinema Packages that are openly shared online. Due to tensions between the West and Russia, anti-camcording enforcement is not a key priority either. If cinemas are also engaging in piracy, they won't be motivated to stop moviegoers from doing the same. "The content shown at these illegal screenings are sourced from pirated Digital Cinema Packages (DCP) that are illegally distributed online. Moreover, there is evidence of camcording occurring at these illegal screenings, compounding the harm." Overall, the submission makes it clear that US copyright holders remain very concerned about Russia's stance toward copyright infringement. While the country has many other issues to deal with right now, it should not ignore its WTO commitments, IIPA stresses. —- A copy of IIPA's response to USTR's request for comments concerning Russia's Implementation of its WTO Commitments is available here (pdf) From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. ©2022 TorrentFreak | Office 21338 PO Box 4336 Manchester, North West M61 0BW United Kingdom Web Version   Preferences   Forward   Unsubscribe     Powered by Mad Mimi®A GoDaddy® company