US’ Rightscorp readying hunt for Australian online pirates

California-based anti-piracy regulators and enforcers, Rightscorp, have been awarded a patent by the Australian Patent Office to deter Aussie companies stealing their piracy tracking model.

The system devised by the US company, targets and tracks down repeat copyright offenders through an intricate model of algorithms and data. Sourcing and identifying the ISPs of infringing users, Rightscorp’s system is a leading development in the battle against piracy.

The current system is tracked through BitTorrent networks, which then sends DMCA-style notices to ISPs which are then encouraged to forward the notice onto the customer.

The going rate for the settlement notices are logged at $30 per notice and earlier this year Rightscorp began litigation with multiple companies which hosted unidentified infringers of their clients’ copyrighted material. A staggering 112 DMCA notices were sent to a single Comcast user in the period of 48 hours in June.

In terms of the patent, Rightscorp will be entitled to issue infringement notices and Letters of Demand to competing companies using the system, as Rightscorp believes the model ‘itself’ is not immune to piracy. 

In a statement regarding the inception of the patent, Rightscorp CEO Christopher Sabec referenced comments by Attorney-General George Brandis who said Australia is the “worst nation for piracy on the planet”.

Sabec went on to state, “There is a tremendous need in Australia for content protection. Our proven technology is effective, making it an ideal solution for artists and copyright holders in every region. Australia has been plagued by infringement over the years and is now taking key initiatives to curb piracy. We believe our technology will be an invaluable asset to the Australian entertainment industry.”

In a Rightscorp press release, the company loosely advised that statutory penalties “up to $150,000 per infringement” would likely be the figure in Australia for companies using the system.

Rightscorp believes the $30 settlement may still be raised given the severity of Australia’s piracy.

Whether the system will be implemented in Australia is yet to be determined, however, the discussion continues to highlight the need for better levels of copyright infringement monitoring.