opinion

Pirates Beware!

At the XBIZ LA conference last month, Free Speech Coalition proudly introduced the FSC Anti-Piracy Action Program, or APAP. After more than a year of developing the program with industry producers, mainstream entertainment companies and technology experts, we can offer content producers an affordable option for protecting their content and pursuing action against infringing websites.

Stealing is wrong — and because pirates profit from infringing on copyrighted adult content, the entire industry is suffering; from the producers themselves, to performers and company personnel, all the way down to the mom-and-pop adult retailers that are watching their DVD sales dwindle.

APAP offers to producers: Copyright counseling; content fingerprinting and Web spidering with best-of-breed Vobile software; deployment of DMCA notices from a law firm specializing in infringement litigation; infringement history data reports; pre-litigation and litigation services, when necessary (separate litigation costs are extra); FSC-APAP branded logo to use with online or DVD product, alerting users the product will be tracked; and monthly enewsletter featuring infringement/technology topics.

But that’s not all. One of APAP’s unique features is a content-monetization option for producers. APAP administrators will negotiate with tube sites to take down infringed content and replace it with authorized promotional clips that lead users to an option to purchase the content being viewed. This technology is similar to what mainstream producers use on YouTube and other legal tube sites.

APAP will target 10 of the largest tube sites and, if they refuse to cooperate with DMCA notices or the content monetization option, legal action may result on behalf of the individual producers, or even groups of producers when warranted.

Above all, producers small and large can subscribe to APAP for a low start-up fee. Monthly charges will be based on the amount of content you want tracked. For a few hundred dollars a month, you can use all APAP services to create a customized approach to dealing with content piracy. You can do something about it – because stealing is wrong.

APAP is scheduled to go live on April 1, and is available to FSC members. For more information,contact (818) 348-9373, or joanne@freespeech coalition.com.

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