NO. Even CEG-TEK [who now looks like an angel compared to their RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT evil twin] had trackers and issues with their website. I always told recipients of their DMCA scare letters to be very aware of what websites they visit and what trackers are embedded in those websites.
[This article is a continuation of the “WHAT DO I KNOW ABOUT RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT” article. It made sense to separate out the topics and keep them short and to the point.]
IS THERE ANY LEGAL DANGER TO LOGGING ON WITH MY CASE NUMBER AND IP ADDRESS TO THE RIGHTSENFORCEMENT.COM WEBSITE?
YES. When you log into the RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT website, *YOU CREATE A RECORD WHICH PROVES THAT YOU WERE GIVEN THE ABILITY TO SETTLE* which can later be used against you in a lawsuit if you choose not to settle, or if RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT somehow plays a game and causes your settlement to crash.
More importantly, RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT is able to track which accused internet users logged into their website using the provided Case Number and Password (here, your accused IP address). By logging in, they will create a record and a log which captures data about who is logging in (which IP address you are coming from, what computer you are logged into, what kind of computer it is, possibly what the MAC address of that computer is), how long you are logged in for, and whether or not you settle the claims against you.
BY LOGGING IN ALONE AND NOT SETTLING, accused internet users give RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT a record that they could later use if a lawsuit is filed indicating that “on XYZ date, they logged in, were offered a $XYZ settlement for the illegal download of these titles, and they chose not to settle the claims against them.”
It goes without saying that this record can be used to justify a higher settlement amount offered after the lawsuit has been filed, and it can be used to prove that the accused defendant (once sued) had a chance to settle, but chose not to settle.
In sum, for these reasons alone, if you receive a notice in your inbox (or in the mail), QUASH YOUR CURIOSITY AND DO NOT LOG INTO THE RIGHTSENFORCEMENT.COM WEBSITE. INSTEAD, CONTACT AN ATTORNEY (me, or anyone else), AND LET US HANDLE THE ISSUE FOR YOU.
WHY I AM ABLE TO SHARE THESE DETAILS WITH YOU.
The reason I already know what the issues are surrounding logging into the RIGHTENFORCEMENT.COM website is because I have already gone through years figuring it out from the CEG-TEK business RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT reverse engineered (a.k.a., ‘stole’, or ‘copied’ is likely also an accurate description).
Based on my many years of dealing with the CEG-TEK website, where CEG-TEK was only interested in stopping piracy (and making a modest profit along the way), there were barbs and traps built into their website that any sensible person would have known to stay far away from, and although we made them the villains on our website for their business model of scaring accused subscribers into settling, compared to Carl Crowell (the owner of RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT), CEG-TEK now look like angels.
You can read for yourself who Carl Crowell is, what his reputation is, and what things he has said and done to those he has already accused of copyright infringement. Let’s just say it’s worse than anything you could imagine, but my job here is to share the FACTS, not the opinions about the character of the attorneys.
For that reason, ASSUME WISELY THAT THERE ARE TRAPS AND BARBS BUILT INTO CROWELL’S RIGHTSENFORCEMENT.COM WEBSITE, AND STAY AWAY FROM IT AT ALL COSTS.
Obviously, if you want my help circumventing his traps, I already know what to look for and how to get around them.
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CONTACT FORM: If you have a question or comment about what I have written, and you want to keep it *for my eyes only*, please feel free to use the form below. The information you post will be e-mailed to me, and I will be happy to respond.
NOTE: No attorney client relationship is established by sending this form, and while the attorney-client privilege (which keeps everything that you share confidential and private) attaches immediately when you contact me, I do not become your attorney until we sign a contract together. That being said, please do not state anything “incriminating” about your case when using this form, or more practically, in any e-mail.