Rightscorp Prompted The RIAA to Sue Internet Provider

[Matrix]

With help from the RIAA, several companies are waging a legal battle against Grande Communications, accusing the company of not taking proper action against pirating subscribers. It turns out that this idea didn't originate at the music group. Instead, it was anti-piracy group Rightscorp that prompted the lawsuit.

Two years ago, several major record labels filed a lawsuit against Internet provider Grande Communications.

The labels argued that the ISP’s subscribers engaged in more than a million BitTorrent-based infringements, yet it took “no meaningful action to discourage this continuing theft.”

While the RIAA is not a party to the case, on paper at least, the music group’s lawyers are closely involved in the matter. From the earliest stage, it provided the labels with legal assistance.

That said, filing a lawsuit against the Internet provider was not the RIAA’s idea originally. It was brought to their attention by none other than the piracy-settlement outfit Rightscorp.

In fact, the RIAA wasn’t even aware of any of the copyright infringement allegations before Rightscorp alerted the group.

This was revealed by the RIAA itself in a recent court filing, where the music group objects to handing over information regarding certain communications it had with Rightscorp.

“RIAA first learned of Defendants’ misconduct when Rightscorp approached RIAA in January 2016 regarding potential litigation arising from evidence of copyright infringement by Grande’s subscribers,” the RIAA writes.

“RIAA, on Plaintiffs’ behalf, retained Rightscorp as a litigation consultant with respect to Grande’s subscribers’ online infringement of Plaintiffs’ works, and that engagement resulted in the filing of this lawsuit.”

Rightscorp’s consulting in anticipation of the lawsuit wasn’t cheap. We previously revealed that the RIAA paid over $300,000 to the company in 2016, which represented approximately 44% of its total revenue for that year.

At the time it wasn’t clear what this money was for. However, the RIAA’s new filing shows that Rightcorp helped the music group and its members to carve out their legal strategy.

“RIAA’s considerations that led to the engagement of Rightscorp and the filing of this lawsuit were legal strategy; and RIAA’s communications with Plaintiffs and Rightscorp involved counsel and were for the purpose of rendering legal advice about, and in anticipation of, potential litigation against Defendants.”

These details are made public now because the ISP has also taken an interest in the collaboration. As part of the ongoing discovery process in the case, Grande has requested testimony on the communications between Rightscorp, the RIAA, and the labels.

The RIAA, however, believes that these and other requests go too far.

For one, the music group argues that its communications with Rightscorp are protected under the “common interest privilege,” which can cover communications between parties with a common legal interest.

In addition, it argues that the communications among the RIAA, the labels, and Rightscorp are protected work. This can prohibit the discovery of material prepared, by or for an attorney, in preparation of litigation.

The RIAA also objects to several other testimony requests, including information regarding its business with anti-piracy outfit MarkMonitor, and the technical functionality of Rightscorp’s online infringement detection system.

It’s now up to the court to decide how much information the RIAA must disclose. However, we already know a bit more about how the lawsuit got started, which makes it clear that Rightscorp, which also provides crucial evidence for the lawsuit, was not just a bystander.

A copy of RIAA’s motion for a protective order is available here (pdf).

source

 

[straycat19]

While torrent users are keeping Rightscorp busy chasing them the rest of us are using a different venue to get our movie and music fix, a venue that no one is monitoring as long as they are busy chasing torrent users.  Keep up the good work torrent users, you make it safe for the rest of us.

[steven36]

12 hours ago, straycat19 said:

While torrent users are keeping Rightscorp busy chasing them the rest of us are using a different venue to get our movie and music fix, a venue that no one is monitoring as long as they are busy chasing torrent users.  Keep up the good work torrent users, you make it safe for the rest of us.

Wtf are you on about  ?  Rightscorp  dont stand a chance out side of p2p programs because there no way to monitor direct downloads . What Rightscorp does any one has access too because p2p is a open platform . there BitTorrent trolls and if it was not for torrents they would not even exist  and as much as they have lost in court in the past  they have almost went bankrupt and its a waste of money that the industry even pays them . Buying a VPN  prevents them from doing there job because there not law enforcement .  If Rightscorp had access to filelockers like they do BitTorrent  no one would be safe form them ether you're misinformed are just like spreading fake info?   You should change you're user name to Deep State  or Peter Strzok.  

 

The NSA and FBI have been watching p2p since the days of Naspter  and they dont care about if  you download GOT there not the ones that come after you it's private groups like  Rightscorp that snitch you out to you're ISP and takes people to court. Even ACE  has never went after anyone for downloading they go after Box Sellers ,IPTV sellers  and  people who make addons . The FBI is not going to waste there time with no Civil mater for them to get involved it at lest has to be a felony crime committed. The NSA  broke Kazza and EDonkey encryption was one interest  they had with it, the other was people using BitTorrent on Government owned computers . The FBI  interest was simple people using USA  based servers to extort millions of dollars off torrent sites.

 

The FBI seized  Megaupload servers from leaseweb  back in 2012  because they charged Kim  with   extorting money on leaseweb owned USA servers  and they took everything  he had. they had records of millions of people who were repeat copyright abusers  and they never went after no one who didn't  work for  Megaupload.  They have no Jurisdiction  on non USA based servers  it was Germany who caused Rapidshare to close down. Same with uploaded there tied up in the courts in Europe right now and now they ban every uploaders account so not many blogs are even use them,  there on the way to closing down. Once sites start doing this they never last very long because no one will buy them.

 

Your never safe you never know when laws may change were you are from and stuff you did in the past may make you a person of interest. Have you ever read most of  filelockers  TOSS?  They  will throw you under the bus only thing is saving you is that it's just a civil  matter.

 

One thing is for sure, if you are  not using a VPN you're ISP can see what you're doing and they can throttle you for using Filelockers .. It's just like some guys in the Kodi Community  from California  were complaining  about COX  throttling them the other week while using Kodi they  got a VPN  and it fixed it. COX was the 1st ISP in the USA that  Rightscorp snitched out so they cause trouble to everyone in the USA.  Still there is no way to prove that COX was  throttling them because it could of been high latency from the servers were they are so far away,  but in most all cases when people are having speed problems  with kodi a Vpn will fix it.

 

Also you're ISP can sell you're data now too Anti Piracy  groups , are  any one who wants to buy it if you don't use a VPN . 

 

Trolls like Rightscorp  are the reason i started using a VPN years ago it was not because of the Government ..I downloaded and upload from Kazza , Imesh . Limewire , BitTorrent , FTP and Filelockers   for a decade before i used a VPN . Now a VPN for downloading is like a Condom for safe downloading to me .

[earthfather]

Your first sentence says there is no way to monitor direct downloads but then you say that the filelockers TOSS allow  them to throw you under the bus. which one is it?