Copyright infringement - Cash reward incentives

[SilentKnight]

Here's the drill:

After years of watching our original content being used illegally by countless bottom-feeding webmasters - Kastle Archives Productions Inc. is now offering a cash reward to anyone out there who supplies us with information that leads us to thieves and copyright infringers of our original material. With the size of the net these days, obviously we don't have the time to search and monitor websites ourselves...which is why we're making this offer to everyone.

Here's how it'll work:

You supply us with the URL and screenshot(s) of a commercial adult paysite that features our original male BDSM/fetish images (that contains the "Scrunt's Male BDSM Erotica" logo within the image) - that doesn't link back to our websites with either a banner or text link.

After establishing that the website is copyright infringing against us, we'll provide all information to our company attorney with instruction to pursue the website owner(s) for monetary compensation based on damages as a result of loss of livelihood. We have been very successful on numerous past occasions in pursuing individuals and reaching out-of-court settlements through our attorney. The Toronto legal firm we deal with specializes in online copyright and trademark cases and is considered one of the best in Canada.

If the information you supply us with leads to a successful settlement with the offenders - we will pay you HALF (50%) of what we receive in damages. In the past we have successfully reached settlements ranging from $800 to $2600usd. Websites that illegally feature our work without permission as part of their mainpage/splash page or free tour get special attention from us and our attorney demands higher settlements in those cases.

TGP sites are excluded since we routinely post to them ourselves. We own Scrunt's Male BDSM Erotica, ChamberOfChains and Fetishopolis - so obviously don't advise us of those three. Other than that - we currently have no 'guest galleries' of male fetish/bdsm content in circulation or images we've granted permission for.

This is a serious offer and an easy way of making some good coin for a bit of sleuthing. Your half will be paid via PayPal or Epassporte upon our receipt of settlement from our attorneys.

Contact us at:

webmaster @ kastlearchives.com
sltknt @ cogeco.ca
scrunt @ cogeco.ca
(remove spaces)

or leave msg. on ICQ #268345149

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me and I'll do my best to reply promptly.

[Shoehorn!]

Good idea.

I will offer the same 50% reward to anyone who finds images of Baileys Room being used illegally.

[L-Pink]

Very nice trend I hope you are starting.

Professionally presented .... just like your images

[NTSS]

i'll be on the look out....bookmarked

[BusterBunny]

note to self...do not chop any s.k. pics....gl in your quest and congrats to all the winners that catch a bad guy....

[AllStar]

Yeah that is a great idea. You should also tell that to your members actually, they are the ones who look at other sites and they are the ones who will tell you right away. Even if you offer them a free year or something for any substantiated proof of photos or video being used.

[camouflaged123]

very good deal... i am sure now this solves your problem!

[SilentKnight]

Originally Posted by BusterBunny

note to self...do not chop any s.k. pics....gl in your quest and congrats to all the winners that catch a bad guy....

Heck, I don't mind a good chop of our pics for shits 'n giggles. Obviously that's not where we're going with this.

We just figure the infringing sites we occasionally hear about are only the tip of the iceberg - and we're attempting to get a little proactive about it lately.

Its a win-win for everyone...except the pirates.

[The Ghost]

Originally Posted by AllStar

Yeah that is a great idea. You should also tell that to your members actually, they are the ones who look at other sites and they are the ones who will tell you right away. Even if you offer them a free year or something for any substantiated proof of photos or video being used.

Excellent idea.

[Mr.Right - Banned For Life]

That is a fantastic idea.

[american pervert]

I've reported sites using stolen content to the rightful owners before. now im gonna step it up!

[SilentKnight]

Originally Posted by camouflaged123

very good deal... i am sure now this solves your problem!

I doubt it'll solve the problem - but hopefully its a start.

[MarcusG]

It's good to see that the industry attitude has changed so much toward copyright infringement over the past years. I remember when it was the standard practice to grab all the pics you can off the newsgroups and slap them into a member area for your paysites.

More producers need to be proactive like this to help keep the piracy down, but unfortunately, there will always be those who will do it the easy way instead of the right way.

Good luck and I hope it works out for you.

[gooddomains]

Nice to see that someons steps forward

[SilentKnight]

Originally Posted by AllStar

Yeah that is a great idea. You should also tell that to your members actually, they are the ones who look at other sites and they are the ones who will tell you right away. Even if you offer them a free year or something for any substantiated proof of photos or video being used.

Good suggestion.

I plan on adding mention of it on our sites. We get contacted quite often by our members who pass along info on pirate sites since they're the ones most familiar with our material and easily recognize it.

[mortenb]

I have a small script that can easily be added to your site that will tell you which username downloaded the pics that are being used without your approval if you are interested in that.

[brand0n]

i kinda like the idea and i kinda donts

[pr0]

rats for hire.....gotta love it....plenty on gfy, so the perfect board to come to

only issue i see here is....who's gonna keep a logo on a photo for their splash page?

[SilentKnight]

Originally Posted by mortenb

I have a small script that can easily be added to your site that will tell you which username downloaded the pics that are being used without your approval if you are interested in that.

Thanks for offering Hinc, but I'll take a pass for now. By the sound of it, the script would spit out a large list of names that wouldn't do me much good.

Plus a lot of the time stuff gets grabbed from Usenet, Yahoo groups, etc.

[mortenb]

Originally Posted by SilentKnight

Thanks for offering Hinc, but I'll take a pass for now. By the sound of it, the script would spit out a large list of names that wouldn't do me much good.

Plus a lot of the time stuff gets grabbed from Usenet, Yahoo groups, etc.

Hinc??? What?
What the script I have does is that when someone is logged in to your site and loads an image, it tags the image with that users username.
Anyways.. It was just an offer.. :-)

[writersworld8]

kewl idea! lets start looking...

[~Ray]

Originally Posted by SilentKnight

Thanks for offering Hinc, but I'll take a pass for now. By the sound of it, the script would spit out a large list of names that wouldn't do me much good.

Plus a lot of the time stuff gets grabbed from Usenet, Yahoo groups, etc.

it probably renames/timestamps the content being downloaded and crosses them with the user who did it. I would use it and contact the member who downloaded it then distributed it and sue them too.

[mortenb]

Originally Posted by AdvertisingSex

it probably renames/timestamps the content being downloaded and crosses them with the user who did it. I would use it and contact the member who downloaded it then distributed it and sue them too.

It doesn't work that way exactly, but the end result would be something like that. It allows the siteowner to contact the user that downloaded the image in question.. :-)

[SilentKnight]

Originally Posted by mortenb

Hinc??? What?
What the script I have does is that when someone is logged in to your site and loads an image, it tags the image with that users username.
Anyways.. It was just an offer.. :-)

Sorry, glanced quickly at your nick and mistook you for another webmaster buddy of mine in Denmark - Hincapie.

Sounds like an interesting and useful script - and appreciate the offer, but although it'd provide some useful info...it wouldn't actually prevent the piracy. A lot of the pics often come from sources other than our own paysites (TGPs, newsgroups, etc.).

[clickclickclick]

silly question, wouldnt u send out c&d letters first before going to court?

[SilentKnight]

Originally Posted by clickclickclick

silly question, wouldnt u send out c&d letters first before going to court?

We simply turn the information over to the attorneys and leave it up to them to handle.

Sometimes they send out a cease & desist notice, other times they simply go after them for damages. We leave it to their discretion. A C&D notice doesn't negate the fact that they've been illegally profiting from the use of our images and impacting our potential livelihood.

Put it in terms of shoplifting from a store. You get caught, you're busted and charged. Cops don't hand you a cease & desist order. Theft of copyrighted images is no different - its still a protected commodity/product.

[digifan]

Go get them, good luck to you.

[SilentKnight]

Originally Posted by digifan

Go get them, good luck to you.

Hopefully luck's not a factor - but thanks

[Vasago Reno]

Originally Posted by Shoehorn!

Good idea.

I will offer the same 50% reward to anyone who finds images of Baileys Room being used illegally.

That's what I love about this industry. Someone comes up with a good idea, and the lemmings leap aboard the bandwagon in seconds flat.

[minusonebit]

Your best settlement for copyright infringement has been 2,600 USD? Your lawyers suck, fire them. Isnt it a $100K cap for each infringement plus actual damages? And if those are the best lawyers Canada has, god have mercy on your legal system. Come to the land of lawsuits (America) and get some of our lawyers.

Good idea, tho. But for half of a max of 2600 (I am sure thats after your lawyer takes his cut), its not worth my time.

[SilentKnight]

Originally Posted by minusonebit

Your best settlement for copyright infringement has been 2,600 USD? Your lawyers suck, fire them. Isnt it a $100K cap for each infringement plus actual damages? And if those are the best lawyers Canada has, god have mercy on your legal system. Come to the land of lawsuits (America) and get some of our lawyers.

Good idea, tho. But for half of a max of 2600 (I am sure thats after your lawyer takes his cut), its not worth my time.

So you've gone through the legal process and received $100k yourself?

Firstly, these are settlements between lawyers - not court-awarded. We've never gone to court (yet) with a case. Settlements are always substantially lower than amounts a judge would hand down. And much of the time the infringing individual is a nickel-and-dime punk with very little liquid assets available. Obviously a lawyer takes into consideration the amount a person can conceivably pay when attempting to negotiate a settlement.

As for 50% of $2600 not being worth your time, you must be a real BMOC if sending a simple email isn't worth $1,300usd.

In Canada, copyright damages are awarded based on the potential loss of revenue each infringement represents. Are you saying you have images that generate $100k each for you?

As for saying our lawyers suck - I guess they've been sucking since 1887.

http://www.patents-toronto.com/ (Riches, McKenzie & Herbert LLP)

[madawgz]

nice, i will keep an eye open for ya!

[minusonebit]

Originally Posted by SilentKnight

So you've gone through the legal process and received $100k yourself?

Firstly, these are settlements between lawyers - not court-awarded. We've never gone to court (yet) with a case. Settlements are always substantially lower than amounts a judge would hand down. And much of the time the infringing individual is a nickel-and-dime punk with very little liquid assets available. Obviously a lawyer takes into consideration the amount a person can conceivably pay when attempting to negotiate a settlement.

As for 50% of $2600 not being worth your time, you must be a real BMOC if sending a simple email isn't worth $1,300usd.

In Canada, copyright damages are awarded based on the potential loss of revenue each infringement represents. Are you saying you have images that generate $100k each for you?

As for saying our lawyers suck - I guess they've been sucking since 1887.

http://www.patents-toronto.com/ (Riches, McKenzie & Herbert LLP)

If I see it, I'll send you an e-mail and collect my 1,300. What I should have said was that amount wasnt worth my going out and looking. :-)

I dont have any content to copyright, so no, I havent been through the process as I have never had a need. And I am aware of the lowness of settlements, but that just seems really low. Apparently US and CA copyright is very different, something I would not have expected. In the US, as long as a handful of requirements are met (namely that you actually recorded a copyright with the USLOC), you can go after a $100K verdict for each infringement as a stautory damage, without need to prove actual harm or potentional for same.

[SilentKnight]

Originally Posted by minusonebit

If I see it, I'll send you an e-mail and collect my 1,300. What I should have said was that amount wasnt worth my going out and looking. :-)

I didn't mean for anyone to quit their day job and become Inspector Clouseau...just if they happen to encounter our images being used illegally in their travels, its potentially some quick and easy pocket money to let us know.

With regards to the $2600 upper limit we've received in the past, that's not to say its the absolute ceiling - just what WE'VE received thus far. I'm sure much larger damage awards could conceivably be negotiated...it all depends on a case-by-case situation. The attorneys look at factors such as how long the infringement has been going on, how many images are involved, how deep the pockets are of the website owner, how much revenue they may have generated using those images...and of course how much it represents to us in lost revenue.

We're not on a crusade here - just attempting to put a damper on the piracy any way we can. Like many other producers of original content, we spend considerable sums of money creating our images...and its mind-numbingly galling to see others illegally making an income off our sweat and investment.

(/end rant)

[SilentKnight]

Originally Posted by Vasago Reno

That's what I love about this industry. Someone comes up with a good idea, and the lemmings leap aboard the bandwagon in seconds flat.

Copyright protection and going after thieves is hardly a bandwagon, and its certainly not a new concept.

I say anyone who makes the same offer of rewarding 50% of their damage awards - all the power to ya'. I wish more content producers would do the same thing and help send a stronger message to these pirating assholes.