Catching Pirates: Now A Profitable Game

[admin]

Piracy may be costing various industries a lot of money, but there's also a lot of money to be made from suing people who download unauthorized content.

Step forward Digiprotect, a company specialising in suing file sharers. In a very candid interview with Digiprotect's account manager, Thomas Hein, the whole process of how to monetize anti-piracy was revealed. It involves the following steps:

1. Digiprotect leases copyright licenses from copyright holders.

2. Using the right, they distribute the leased content on P2P networks as a "honeypot" to trap potential downloaders

3. Once people start downloading the files, they keep a record of all the IP addresses and then start suing.

4. They will sue all over the world, but concentrate on the most profitable regions.

5. They will limit damages, not based on actual losses, but on how likely they are to win the case in court.

These are just some of the interesting tidbits revealed by Mr Hein. Here are some in his own words:

We get the legal rights from the companies to distribute these movies to stores, and with these rights we can sue illegal downloaders. Then we take legal action in every country possible, concentrating on the places where such action will be profitable.

-- snip --

No one working for DigiProtect has a fixed salary. If we make money, everybody makes money. If we don’t, nobody does. This means the lawyers, sales people and customers. It’s all about how much money can be recouped and then sharing it.

Welcome to the world of anti-piracy.

More:

http://torrentfreak.com/when-pirates-become-copyright-cash-cows-090830/

Full Interview:

http://www.hush-hush.co.uk/world-sex-news/DigiProtect-Targets-Piracy.php

[doctorhardware]

It always has been and always will be about the money.

[Wombler]

Surely that's entrapment!

I think they'd have difficulty in Court explaining why they made this content available in such a deliberately insecure manner.

Unless they don't plan on going to Court and intend intimidating people for money which is despicable.

Also if they've acquired the right to distribute to stores presumably it's against the terms of the Licence to distribute to individuals and they're therefore involved in illegal distribution.


Wombler

[Chewy]

Good post Wombler, these corporate types never quite grasp that they are subject to the law themselves.

[doctorhardware]

I had forgotten that I received letters from Direct TV, until Wombler posted his thoughts. It is true, that is the same thing Direct TV did to people, that bought smart card reader/programmer. I was one of the people that received the threating letters stating that either I pay up or end up in court. I just ignored the letter, I did get several more after the first one. The letters were never sent register mail, so in my opinion that meant that Direct TV counsel was not serious on the theft of services charges. If they were that serious on the charges, they would have sent the letters registered mail with a return receipt requested.

[Budreaux]

I had forgotten that I received letters from Direct TV, until Wombler posted his thoughts. It is true, that is the same thing Direct TV did to people, that bought smart card reader/programmer. I was one of the people that received the threating letters stating that either I pay up or end up in court. I just ignored the letter, I did get several more after the first one. The letters were never sent register mail, so in my opinion that meant that Direct TV counsel was not serious on the theft of services charges. If they were that serious on the charges, they would have sent the letters registered mail with a return receipt requested.

DTV, nor DishNetwork, have never won a single case in court unless it was settled ahead of time. You are correct, the letters were not sent registered mail because they were not legal documents. They were scare tactics and the ones that did send in any form of money were the ones they pulled into court.
The old DTV hacking days were some of the best of my hobby days. We had lawyers in the game on our side that gave legal recommendations along the way and kept things balanced out quite well. Those were some real cut throat days. I still have my F, H, and HU cards, along with my glitcher/unlooper/programmer. Just to sentimental to get rid of em.

[doctorhardware]

DTV, nor DishNetwork, have never won a single case in court unless it was settled ahead of time. You are correct, the letters were not sent registered mail because they were not legal documents. They were scare tactics and the ones that did send in any form of money were the ones they pulled into court.
The old DTV hacking days were some of the best of my hobby days. We had lawyers in the game on our side that gave legal recommendations along the way and kept things balanced out quite well. Those were some real cut throat days. I still have my F, H, and HU cards, along with my glitcher/unlooper/programmer. Just to sentimental to get rid of em.

Yes that is true. The cat and mouse game was a hell of a lot of fun. Alway trying to be ahead of the game, some times we were and other times we were not. But that is the way it goes. Use to be on the sat boards discussing what options there were when the letters were sent.

[Budreaux]

I loved those days. So much fun on Tuesday when the new ECM's came down the stream. Had to log, find and then decode. Then figure out a new way to code for a fix with as little coding as possible. Man, I still think back to those days. Some great fun. I always hung out at Mili's.

[Wombler]

Good post Wombler, these corporate types never quite grasp that they are subject to the law themselves.

Thanks Chewy.

I just think it's appalling the way companies can get away with intimidating people out of money.

Rather ironically it might strengthen the case against punitive damages if companies such as this are seen to be profiteering in such a blatant manner.


Wombler

[Chewy]

Not to worry, in the end judgement and retribution may be exacted and justice served.

As an enviromentalist I remember this case which was hushed up in the national media when the Rockwell manager of the Rocky Flatts nuclear facility was taken offsite in handcuffs.

http://www.constitution.org/jury/gj/rocky_flats/rocky-flats-grand-jury-report.htm

something about the term "and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."