BY ANDYĀ ON
Rightscorp has attracted the attention of the Canadian government just days after a new law was passed requiring ISPs to pass infringement notices to customers. The U.S.-based anti-piracy outfit made false claims in an effort to scare users into cash payments but that practice is now being outlawed by authorities.
Recent changes to Canadian copyright law mean that when rightsholders observe local Internet users infringing copyright online, ISPs must forward any resulting infringement notices to their customers.
The new system has only been in place for just over a week but rightsholders havenāt wasted any time sending notices out. Even smaller ISPs such as Teksavvy are forwarding in excess of 3,000 notices per day.
While notices are one of the more reasonable anti-piracy options available today, there are companies that want to augment those gentle warnings into something more aggressive. Close to day one of the new law, U.S.-based anti-piracy outfit Rightscorpbegan sending infringement notices to Canadians with cash-settlement threats attached.
āYou could be liable for up to $150,000 per infringement in civil penalties,ā the noticestold alleged music pirates.
Sadly, the claim is completely untrue. Canadian law caps liability for non-commercial infringement at $5,000 for all infringements. This miscalculated eagerness to break the Canadian market could now cost Rightscorp dearly.
Within a day of the companyās bogus threats being made public, Rightscorp attracted the negative attentions of the Canadian government and placed the turn-piracy-into-profit business model under scrutiny.
āThese notices are misleading and companies cannot use them to demand money from Canadians,ā said Jake Enright, a spokesman for Industry Minister James Moore.
The good news for Internet subscribers is that government officials will contact Internet service providers during the days to come in order to put an end to these threats. However, itās not clear that will put a complete end to Rightscorpās activities in Canada.
According to University of Ottawa professor Michael Geist, there is nothing in Canadaās new legislation which restricts the ability of rights holders to include information in notices that goes beyond a simple advisory that copyright law has been breached.
On this basis it seems unlikely that Rightscorp will simply give up. Government comment on the original notices centers around the anti-piracy companyās erroneous citing of U.S. law so modification to reflect the true Canadian position should bring the piracy monetization outfit into line.
It may be, however, that given the government intervention ISPs will choose not to forward Rightscorp notices at all.
Demands for cash arenāt popular with Internet subscribers and there are signs that leading ISPs in the United States donāt like the approach either. While they forward the infringement notices themselves, Comcast, Verizon, AT&T and other major ISPs remove the attached cash settlement demands.
Nevertheless, Rightscorp does work with dozens of smaller ISPs who are happy to assist with the companyās business model. And despite plenty of information being available which advises letter recipients not to pay, many still pay a $20 āfineā to get the company off their back.
Sadly though, sometimes this has the opposite effect. One of Rightscorpās tactics is to send a bill for $20 for one track from an album and then when people pay, they are subsequently billed for the rest of the tracks at a further $20 each.
Before the notice recipient pays the first $20, Rightscorp has no idea of the personās identity and would need to spend a lot of money in court to find out ā hardly worth it for $20. But having paid $20 and signed a disclaimer, the company now knows the personās name and address.
At this point the pressure to pay can become overwhelming. Time will tell if Canadians can avoid these tactics. Source
