Rightscorp

Rightscorp, Inc., formerly known as DigitalRights, is a Los Angeles-based copyright-enforcement company focused on identifying alleged unauthorized online distribution of copyrighted works and pursuing monetary settlements or legal damages for copyright owners. Its activities have centered on music, films, video games, and print publishing. Rather than operating as a consumer entertainment brand, Rightscorp functions as an intermediary and enforcement service for rights holders, combining automated monitoring, notice forwarding, settlement collection, and litigation support. The company’s monitoring model relied on crawlers that searched BitTorrent and other file-sharing environments for allegedly infringing activity. The system recorded Internet Protocol addresses associated with file sharing and then sought the cooperation of Internet service providers in identifying or notifying the relevant subscribers. Rightscorp’s notices offered recipients an opportunity to settle an allegation for a comparatively small amount per work, while warning that copyright law could permit substantially larger statutory damages if a rights holder pursued a civil action. The company generally divided collected settlements with its clients. Rightscorp reported relationships with a range of entertainment and publishing interests. Referenced clients and represented catalogs included Warner Bros., BMG Rights Management, Blue Pie Productions, Rotten Records, and other music, film, and publishing organizations. By May 2014, the company said it was managing approximately 1.5 million copyrights. Its film catalog was described as covering more than 800 feature films, including titles with aggregate box-office sales of more than $3.5 billion. The company also reported monitoring music works appearing on the Billboard Hot 100 and managing more than 13,000 copyrights associated with Blue Pie Productions. Its business model generated controversy because notices combined infringement allegations, settlement requests, and references to potential litigation or account interruption. Critics argued that an allegation based on an IP address did not necessarily identify the actual infringer and questioned whether settlement payments could be perceived as admissions of liability. Courts and commentators also disputed the scope of subpoenas used to obtain subscriber identities under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Internet service providers varied in their willingness to forward Rightscorp’s notices, and Comcast was reported to have modified or declined to transmit the company’s settlement language in its original form. Rightscorp expanded its stated ambitions beyond peer-to-peer file sharing. In May 2015, it announced a Streaming Rights Monitoring service intended to track allegedly unauthorized streams distributed through emerging mobile and social-video platforms, including services such as Meerkat, Periscope, and Popcorn Time. The company also announced plans to expand into Canada and investigate European operations. However, its operating history was marked by litigation, criticism of its collection practices, a reported security weakness affecting payment pages, and recurring losses. It became publicly traded on the OTCQB in October 2013 under the symbol RIHT. The available reference material does not establish the company’s present operating status, current ownership, or current service footprint.

Rightscorp emerged as a specialized copyright-enforcement business under the earlier name DigitalRights. Its core proposition was that rights holders could use automated detection and centralized settlement administration to respond to unauthorized file sharing at a much larger scale than conventional individual lawsuits would allow. The company concentrated on digital networks, especially BitTorrent environments, where monitoring systems could identify works being shared and record the IP addresses associated with the activity. The company’s process involved several stages. Crawlers searched file-sharing networks and tracked alleged seeders over time. Rightscorp then sought cooperation from Internet service providers, asking them to forward infringement notices to subscribers associated with the observed addresses. The notices offered a settlement, commonly described in the reference material as approximately $10 to $20 per alleged violation, while pointing to much higher statutory damages that might be available under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Settlements were divided between Rightscorp and the relevant rights holder. The notices themselves were not court judgments, and liability would still have to be established through civil litigation if a dispute proceeded. Rightscorp built a client base across the entertainment and publishing industries. Its reported relationships included Warner Bros., BMG Rights Management, Blue Pie Productions, Rotten Records, and other rights organizations. In 2014 it said it managed roughly 1.5 million copyrights, including more than 800 feature films and over 13,000 works associated with Blue Pie Productions. The company also described monitoring selected commercially prominent music. These figures illustrated its effort to present enforcement as a scalable catalog-management service rather than as a series of isolated legal claims. The model encountered practical and legal resistance. ISPs were not uniformly willing to forward notices in the requested form, and Comcast reportedly removed settlement and threatening language from the material it sent to customers. Legal disputes also focused on whether DMCA subpoenas could compel ISPs to disclose subscriber identities and whether a settlement notice could create misleading pressure or function as an admission. In 2014 and 2015, plaintiffs brought proposed class-action and consumer-communications cases alleging improper use of automated calls, texts, collection methods, and subpoena procedures. The litigation produced mixed procedural results: some claims were dismissed or narrowed, while other allegations remained part of the disputes. The company broadened its stated strategy in 2015 with Streaming Rights Monitoring, aimed at detecting allegedly unauthorized streams on mobile and social-video services. It also announced Canadian expansion and explored Europe. At the same time, a reported weakness in its online payment system exposed personal information associated with alleged infringement cases, adding a security and privacy controversy to existing criticism of its enforcement practices. Financially, the reference material describes continuing losses. Rightscorp became publicly traded on the OTCQB in October 2013 under RIHT. It reported a cumulative loss of $6.5 million from 2011 through the first three quarters of 2014, a $3.5 million net loss for 2015, and a $784,000 net loss for the first quarter of 2016. The available material does not establish later financial performance, present listing status, current management, or whether the company remains active.

• 2015

  Streaming monitoring service announced

  [1]Rightscorpen.wikipedia.org

  Rightscorp introduced its planned Streaming Rights Monitoring service for mobile and social-video networks.

• 2015

  BMG wins Cox copyright judgment

  [1]Rightscorpen.wikipedia.org

  A jury awarded BMG Rights Management $25 million in litigation concerning Cox Communications’ handling of repeat alleged infringers.

• 2014

  Copyright-management scale expands

  [1]Rightscorpen.wikipedia.org

  The company reported managing approximately 1.5 million copyrights, including substantial film and music catalogs.

• 2014

  International expansion announced

  [1]Rightscorpen.wikipedia.org

  Rightscorp announced plans to expand into Canada and investigate European opportunities.

• 2013

  Public OTCQB trading begins

  [1]Rightscorpen.wikipedia.org

  Rightscorp began trading publicly on the OTCQB under the symbol RIHT.

An automated copyright-enforcement and settlement-collection service for music, film, video-game, and publishing rights holders.

• Digital rights enforcement

  Copyright Monitoring

  Rightscorp used automated crawlers to search peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, particularly BitTorrent, for allegedly unauthorized distribution of copyrighted music, films, games, and other works. The system recorded IP addresses and monitored activity over time before the company sought ISP cooperation. The service was designed to give rights holders a repeatable way to identify alleged infringement across large catalogs.

• Copyright enforcement

  Settlement and Notice Services

  After identifying an alleged infringement, Rightscorp requested that an ISP forward a notice to the associated subscriber. The notice presented an out-of-court settlement option and referenced the possibility of statutory copyright damages and further legal action. Rightscorp collected settlements on behalf of participating rights holders and shared proceeds with them. The notices were settlement demands, not judicial findings of liability.

• Streaming enforcement · 2015

  Streaming Rights Monitoring

  Announced in 2015, Streaming Rights Monitoring was intended to continuously watch mobile and social-video services for allegedly unauthorized streams. The announcement responded to the growth of platforms and applications such as Meerkat, Periscope, and Popcorn Time. The available material does not establish the service’s later commercial scale or continuing availability.

• 2015

  Automated-call and text-message allegations

  Plaintiffs alleged that Rightscorp and associated rights holders made automated calls and sent text messages without consent and continued communications after requests to stop, asserting claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

  Source

• 2014

  Online payment-system security exposure

  Reported weaknesses involving hidden form fields, SSL configuration, and search-engine indexing exposed names and addresses connected with alleged infringement cases, including some individuals who had paid settlements.

  Source

• 2014

  Class-action allegations over enforcement methods

  A proposed class action accused Rightscorp and related parties of violating telephone and debt-collection laws, California statutes, and procedural rules through settlement communications and DMCA subpoena practices. The case was later narrowed, with some claims dismissed and an outside attorney removed as a defendant.

  Source

Read more

• 2015

  Add streaming surveillanceProduct launch

  Background

  Mobile streaming and social-video applications created new distribution channels that were not limited to traditional peer-to-peer file sharing.

  Action taken

  Rightscorp announced Streaming Rights Monitoring for continuous observation of allegedly unauthorized streams.

  Aftermath

  No later performance or adoption data is established in the available material.

  Source

• 2015

  BMG litigation succeeds against CoxOther

  Background

  BMG Rights Management challenged Cox Communications over its handling of subscribers identified through infringement notices associated with Rightscorp.

  Action taken

  A jury awarded BMG $25 million and found that Cox had not reasonably implemented a repeat-infringer termination policy, limiting its ability to invoke DMCA safe-harbor protection.

  Aftermath

  The decision intensified debate over ISP obligations, repeat-infringer policies, and the legal consequences of Rightscorp-style notices.

  Jury award. $25 million (December 17, 2015)

  Source

• 2014

  Pursue international expansionStrategy

  Background

  The company sought to extend its rights-enforcement model beyond its United States base.

  Action taken

  Rightscorp announced expansion into Canada and said it was investigating opportunities in Europe.

  Aftermath

  The available source does not document the scale or durability of the international operations.

  Source

• 2013

  Enter public marketsStrategy

  Background

  Rightscorp sought capital and visibility for a copyright-enforcement model built around automated monitoring and settlement collection.

  Action taken

  The company began trading on the OTCQB under ticker RIHT.

  Aftermath

  The reference material later records continuing operating losses, but does not provide a complete subsequent listing history.

  Source

• 2015

  Rightscorp announces Streaming Rights Monitoring[1]Rightscorpen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  The company announced a service designed to monitor allegedly unauthorized streams on mobile and social-video platforms.

• 2015

  BMG prevails against Cox Communications in copyright case[1]Rightscorpen.wikipedia.org

  Lawsuit

  A jury awarded BMG Rights Management $25 million after finding that Cox had not reasonably implemented a repeat-infringer termination policy and therefore could not rely on the DMCA safe-harbor defense.

• 2014

  Rightscorp reports expansion plans for Canada and Europe[1]Rightscorpen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The company announced an expansion into Canada and said it was investigating possible European operations.

• 2013

  Rightscorp becomes publicly traded on the OTCQB[1]Rightscorpen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Rightscorp began trading publicly on the OTCQB under the ticker RIHT.

1. 1Rightscorpen.wikipedia.org