DigiProtect: alive and well in the US
p2pnet news view Freedom | P2P:- In January this year, An anonymous correspondent has written to us, indicating that the German company `Digiprotect`, which engages in RIAA-style tactics on a contingent basis in Europe, is now operating in the United States, said Ray Beckerman on Recording Industry vs The People.
If you have any information on Digiprotect demanding `settlements` from US residents, I would appreciate your letting me know about it, either by submitting a comment to this post, or by email.”
An anti-P2P, anti-filesharing company, it’s infamous in Europe where it threatens people with lawsuits unless they settle with cash payments.
When Ray’s post appeared, there was little evidence DigiProtect was at that point actually operating in the US.
However, TorrentFreak has turned up a still-relevant 2008 Hush-Hush article which confirms the company is indeed in America, and has been since December last year at the least.
Certainly, when the RIAA fired MediaSentry, the “investigative” company which produced most of the dodgy data still used by the RIAA in its file sharing cases, a vacuum was created.
MediaSentry, now merged with former rival Media Defender, was re-born as Peer Media Technologies, and whether or not the corporate entertainment cartels will use it remains to be seen.
But, “DigiProtect has branched out to American adult studios, and signed its first U.S. client last December,” says Hush-Hush. “Since then, the firm has signed with others and today boasts of five major American studios among its clientele.”
However, although DigiProtect has a presence on American shores, unless it’s decided to operate illegally in the US, as MediaSentry was said to have been doing, it’s doubtful if it’s actually begun investigating alleged file sharers to the extent it’s actively supplying data on them to Hollywood or the Big 4 record labels.
On “legal hurdles” found in the US, Thomas Hein, “key account manager,” is quoted by Hush-Hush as saying, “It’s a very complicated business.
“Every state has a different set of laws, especially for adult material. Our services probably will be available only in some states of the U.S. We don’t know which ones yet, because we have to wait for the lawyers to look into it.”
Meanwhile, as we wait to discover if DigiProtect will become the new entertainment cartel private eye, it’s happily making a living out of porn.
“Structurally, DigiProtect has set itself up as something similar to a franchise,” says the story, adding »»»
The company obtains customers seeking its infrastructure to track down pirates, then partners with legal firms around the world that specialize in intellectual property cases. DigiProtect works with these firms on a no-cost basis. The law firms get their fees from the profits gleaned through victorious lawsuits.
“No one working for DigiProtect has a fixed salary,” Hein said. “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. But there is no financial risk to the customer whose content we protect. We pay for everything like court costs and legal costs. The studios give us the rights to distribute their material for free to P2P networks, which really shows a lot of trust in our company.”
The system has turned out to be very profitable, says Hein in the story. “This is why DigiProtect has branched out to American adult studios … ”
Stay tuned.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Recording Industry vs The People – Digiprotect in US?, January 9, 2009
settle with cash payments – Davenport Lyons attacks Wikileaks, February 19, 2009
TorrentFreak – When Pirates Become Copyright Cash Cows, August 30, 2009
Hush-Hush – DigiProtect Targets Piracy, December 13, 2009
RIAA fired MediaSentry – RIAA fires MediaSentry: confirmed, January 4, 2009
Peer Media Technologies – MediaSentry, MediaDefender, re-born, August 19, 2009
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September 1st, 2009 at 10:48 am
What has happened to Ray? He seems to have almost stopped posting.
September 1st, 2009 at 11:49 am
All they have is iP addresses….You’re not still doing P2P from your home iP….right?
September 1st, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Hasn’t been anything newsworthy, that’s all. I’m still around.