The FSC showed off in detail how APAP’s tracking software works in front of a full-capacity crowd.
The offering by the adult industry trade group allows producers an affordable, organized approach to dealing with content theft and copyright infringement, mainly through tube sites.
The dynamic software, which was developed for numerous mainstream studios, tracks fingerprinted content and offers a way to build cases against infringers or possibly making deals with them in a subscription model.
“It’s an effective approach to copyright infringement,” said Diane Duke, the FSC’s executive director. “ It embraces technology rather than fight it.”
“We needed it to be low cost and to help the biggest companies as well as the smallest companies."
Duke was joined by two software specialists and Titan Media attorney Gill Sperlein, who has battled numerous infringement cases for his company and has vowed to help APAP’s efforts. They also were joined by the vendors supplying the program.
APAP includes copyright registration counseling; infringement location services, which uses software to fingerprint content and crawl tube sites; take-down notices; and a content-monetization option, where FSC negotiates with infringing tube sites to post trailers that take users to a retail option where they can purchase content from the APAP subscriber producers.
It also offers documented stats; pre-litigation provided by Sperlein, who reviews site ownership, analyzes practices and compiles data for infringing sites, as well as helps producers formulate an individualized approach to legal recourse against infringers.
Program participants also receive a logo they can use online or on a DVD product, warning that the content has been fingerprinted to target infringers for legal action.
So far, a large number of content providers and studios have joined the FSC’s APAP program, including Adam & Eve, Wicked Pictures, Digital Playground, Evil Angel Productions, New Sensations, Zero Tolerance, Channel 1 Releasing, AEBN/Raging Stallion, Titan Media, Hot House Entertainment, BelAmi, Kristen Bjorn, Bear Entertainment, Factory Video, Girlfriends Films, Treasure Island Media, as well as distributor Pacific Sun Entertainment and video-on-demand provider Sureflix.
Halfway through the meeting, Jim Camp of FabulousCash punctuated the anger operators feel about poached content and pointed to one company in particular as an example.
“Why don’t you talk about Brazzers,” he said. “Throw Brazzers out there .… No one wants to say Brazzers."
Duke fired back, “I agree with you. But they are the ones we will be tracking. That’s the hammer point, I absolutely agree with you. Brazzers.”
Camp retorted, “Just say it — 'Brazzers.' ”
In near-unison, the speakers and crowd yelled “Brazzers.”