Patrick Collins

CEG-TEK’s client list.

by
[2017 UPDATE: Carl Crowell has created a new entity called RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT which has reverse-engineered CEG-TEK’s proprietary DMCA copyright infringement notice system.  Many of you have visited CEG-TEK links thinking that RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT was CEG-TEK, but really they are an ‘evil twin’ competitor.  Since the two entities operate almost the same way, and since Crowell has solicited (and likely taken) most of the clients on this list, this article is relevant.]

2016 UPDATE:  I wrote this article in June, 2014.  Immediately afterwards, a number of the companies changed their names which confused the issue of who was a copyright troll suing defendants, and who was not a copyright troll.  It is now almost two years later, and while I usually do not update older posts, since this article does still come up from time to time, I am updated a few of the copyright holders’ names.  -RZC

I believe it is the duty of the copyright holders to “police their own copyrights,” meaning, if a company sees a bittorrent tracker or website hosting an unlicensed copy of their copyrighted work, BY ALL MEANS, issue a DMCA takedown notice to the website or to the bittorrent tracker, and that torrent will be GONE AND UNAVAILABLE for downloaders to take the content.

Rather than doing this, copyright holders hire CEG-TEK to target EVERY SINGLE DOWNLOADER with a letter forwarded by various ISPs, VPN providers, or university IT departments who are cooperating with CEG-TEK (sometimes for profit). Account holders receive “notice of infringement” letters sent directly to them either via an e-mail, FedEx, or a screen pop-up link along with a notification that they have violated the ISP’s terms of service. CEG-TEK’s letters now ask for $250-$300 per download, and they direct the accused downloaders to the “Copyright Settlements” website (http://www.copyrightsettlements.com) with a link which pre-populates the assigned Case Number and Password into the website.

With the cooperation of the ISPs in forwarding CEG-TEK’s letters to accused downloaders, there is no longer an anonymity barrier between the accused downloaders and the copyright holders as there once was when CEG-TEK would need a court order to access the identities of the accused downloaders. Now, since various ISPs and universities (e.g., Charter, Suddenlink, CenturyLink, Giganews/VyprVPN, etc.; NOTE: Comcast, Verizon, and the other big ISPs appear NOT to be working with CEG-TEK for the moment) have been useless in stopping the copyright holders from contacting the account holders, other than hiring a lawyer such as myself to create a buffer between the copyright holders and the accused account holders, bittorrent users should probably be aware of which companies are using this extortion tactic of “we will sue you unless you pay us money for the video you have downloaded.”

Here is a list I compiled from my own records as to which copyright holders are [at the moment] using Ira Siegel and CEG-TEK to “monetize” their “most pirated” copyrights. I want to point out that I am conflicted as to whether to post this list because the list itself can be deceiving — a title “not” on this list can still be monitored, and by no means am I suggesting that someone avoid these titles and download others. Perhaps by listing which companies are enforcing their copyrights using this extortion-type of “settle or else we’ll sue” method, it might shame the companies into doing something a bit more ethical (e.g., by policing their own copyrights and issuing DMCA takedown letters rather than attacking the downloaders as a means for financial revenue):

Axel Braun Productions
– “Batman XXX: A Porn Parody”

Celestial Inc., DBA Lethal Hardcore
– Fuck My Mom and Me 17

Cinderella Distributors Inc.
– Backdoor To Hollywood 6

Coast to Coast Video
– Older Women Younger Men 16

Combat Zone Inc.
– Daddy’s Little Princess #2

Daring Media Group
– Pretty Woman

Diabolic
– Swallowing is Good For You

Digital Sin, Inc.
– All About Ashlynn 1
– Incestuous
– Little Darlings
– My Anal School Girl
– My Plaything Ashlynn Brooke
– Perfect Little Pussy
– The Family That Lays Together
– The Innocence Of Youth #3, #5, #6
– This Is My First… A Gangbang Movie

Echo Alpha, Inc. DBA Evil Angel
– Fetish Fanatic 12
– Fetish Fuck Dolls 3
– Raw 16
– Rocco’s Perfect Slaves 3
– Rocco’s Young Anal Adventures

Fallout Films
– Naughty Girls 2

Froytal Services Limited DBA Babes (now known as “MG Premium Ltd.”)
– Abrasador
– Amatores
– Dancing With Myself
– Hearts Racing
– Love Encounter
– Raving With Pleasure

Froytal Services Limited DBA Brazzers (now known as “MG Premium Ltd.”)
– Dani’s Back and Ready to Play
– Driving Mrs. Madison Wild
– I Can Walk!!!
– Miss Titness America
– Mommy Got Boobs 15
– Sharing My Roommate’s Cock (Milfs Like It Big)
– Slutty Sorority Contest
– Teens Like It Big 12
– The Dangers of Working From Home (Kiki Minaj)

Froytal Services Limited DBA Mofos (now known as “MG Premium Ltd.”)
– Best Vacation Ever! (Ivy Laine)
– Cheerleader Fantasy
– Flashing Gets Her Whatever She Wants
– Fun And Sex Games
– I Make It Rain On Your Tits (I Know That Girl; Dillon Harper)
– Jewels for the Duch-ASS
– Rub a Dub Gimme a Tug
– Swinging Slut Buffet

Froytal Services Limited DBA Twistys (now known as “MG Premium Ltd.”)
– Burnin’ Luv
– Cum Over And Taste..

GGW Direct, LLC DBA “Girls Gone Wild”
– ALL NEW COLLEGE GIRLS EXPOSED VOL 1
– ALL NEW COLLEGE GIRLS EXPOSED VOL 2
– ALL NEW COLLEGE GIRLS EXPOSED VOL 3
– ALL NEW COLLEGE GIRLS EXPOSED VOL 4
– ALL NEW COLLEGE GIRLS EXPOSED VOL 5
– ALL NEW COLLEGE GIRLS EXPOSED VOL 6
– Baby Bash Live & Uncensored
– Bad Girls 2
– BEACH BABES 3
– BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
– Best Breasts Ever
– BEST BREASTS EVER 2
– Best of Blondes 2
– Celebrity Look-A-Likes
– CO-ED TRYOUTS
– CO-ED TRYOUTS 2
– CO-ED TRYOUTS 3
– DADDY’S LITTLE GIRLS
– Endless Spring Break 3
– Endless Spring Break 4
– Endless Spring Break 5
– Endless Spring Break 6
– Endless Spring Break 7
– Endless Spring Break 9
– Endless Spring Break 10
– Endless Spring Break 11
– Endless Spring Break 12
– Endless Spring Break 13
– Endless Spring Break 14
– EXTREME ORGY 1
– EXTREME ORGY 2
– EXTREME ORGY 3
– FIRST TIMERS
– FIRST TIMERS 2
– Freshman Class
– FRESHMAN ORIENTATION 1
– FRESHMAN ORIENTATION 2
– FRESHMAN ORIENTATION 3
– FRESHMAN ORIENTATION 4
– GGW – Extreme Sex
– GGW – On Tour 1
– GGW – On Tour 2
– GGW – On Tour 3
– GGW – On Tour 4
– GGW – On Tour 5
– GGW – On Tour 6
– GGW – On Tour 7
– GGW – On Tour 8
– GGW – Sweet Young Sex Maniacs
– GIRL POWER
– GIRL POWER 2
– GIRL POWER 3
– GIRL POWER 4
– GIRL POWER 5
– GIRL POWER 6
– GIRL POWER 7
– GIRL POWER 8
– GIRL POWER 8
– GIRL POWER 9
– Girls On Girls
– GIRLS WHO CRAVE SEX
– GIRLS WHO CRAVE SEX 3
– Girls Who Like Girls
– GIRLS WHO LIKE TOYS
– Horny Cheerleaders
– HORNY SCHOOL GIRLS
– HORNY SCHOOL GIRLS 2
– HORNY SCHOOL GIRLS 3 (PRIVATE TAPES)
– HORNY SCHOOL GIRLS 4
– Hottest Texas Coeds
– ISLAND ORGY
– MARDI GRAS INVASION
– My 18th Birthday
– Road Trip
– ROCKS AMERICA
– Sex Race
– SEX STARVED COLLEGE GIRLS 2
– SEX STARVED COLLEGE GIRLS 3
– SEX STARVED COLLEGE GIRLS 4
– SEX STARVED COLLEGE GIRLS 5
– SEX STARVED COLLEGE GIRLS 6
– SEX STARVED COLLEGE GIRLS 7
– SEX STARVED PANTY RAID
– Sexiest Moments Ever
– Sexiest Moments Ever 2
– SORORITY GIRL ORGY
– SORORITY GIRL ORGY 2
– SORORITY GIRL ORGY 3
– SORORITY GIRL ORGY 4
– Spring Break 2007
– SPRING BREAK SEX RIOT
– The Perfect Pair
– THE SEIZED VIDEO
– Ultimate Rush
– Usually a siterip or a torrent containing 25+ titles.
– Wild World
– Wildest Bar in America

Giant Media Group, Inc. DBA Devil’s Film (they have changed this name more than once, but have kept the “Devil’s Film” trade name.)
– Ass Full Of Cum 4
– Best Of Gangland Cream Pie
– Cum On My Hairy Pussy 2
– Cum On My Hairy Pussy 16
– Don’t Tell My Wife I Buttfucked Her Best Friend
– Gangland 70
– Gangland 85
– Gangland Cream Pie 24
– Gangland Cream Pie 25
– Gangland Cream Pie 26
– Gangland Cream Pie 27
– Gangland Cream Pie 28
– I Wanna Buttfuck Your Daughter 10
– My Wife Caught Me Assfucking Her Mother
– My Wife Caught Me Assfucking Her Mother 2
– My Wife Caught Me Assfucking Her Mother 5

Girlfriends Films Inc.
– I Dream of Jo 4 True Passion
– Mother Daughter Exchange Club 27
– Poor Little Shyla 2
– Tides of Lust
– Lesbian First Timers
– Lesbian Seductions 46

Intense Industries
– Fucking Your Socks Off

JM Productions Inc.
– Suck Off Races 3

JW Releasing Ltd
– Kinky Business

Kick Ass Pictures Inc.
– Foot Fetish Daily 9

LFP Internet Group, LLC DBA Hustler
– Barely Legal 2
– Barely Legal 16
– Barely Legal 19
– Barely Legal 84
– Barely Legal 100
– Barely Legal 127
– Barely Legal 128
– Barely Legal 131
– Barely Legal 134
– Barely Legal 138
– Barely Legal 139
– Barely Legal 140
– Barely Legal Little Runaways
– Barely Legal: All Stars 5
– New Wave Hookers
– The Opening of Misty Beethoven
– This Ain’t Game of Thrones

Manwin Content RK Limited DBA Reality Kings (now known as “MG Content RK Limited”)
– 2 For 1 Pink
– A Lavish Load
– Belle Bottom
– Bouncing Deluca (Big Naturals; Angel Deluca)
– Cum Hard
– Dirty Minds
– Full Figure (Monster Curves; Katie Banks)
– Getting Hardy
– Girlfriends Revenge (GF Revenge 6)
– Hello Alexis
– Leather and Lace
– Licking Lessons – Jasmine Wolff (Moms Bang Teens 2013-12-30)
– Naughty Kennedy – Kennedy Leigh (Moms Bang Teens 2014-01-20)
– Pussy Love (Money Talks – Esmi & Lily)
– Riding Riley
– Ripping Through
– Sexy All Star
– Sexy Stella
– Sweet Veronica
– Tits and Hips
– Ass In Heels – Angell Summers (EuroSexParties 2013-05-30)
– Busty Bikini Babes 1
– Finger Licking Good
– Lick It

Manwin DP Corp. DBA Digital Playground
– Bad Girls 5
– Bad Girls 6
– Bridesmaids
– Code of Honor
– Don’t Fuck My Sister
– For Sale
– Island Fever 2
– Island Fever 3
– Jack Attack 4
– Jack’s POV 2
– Jack’s POV 3
– Jack’s POV 5
– Jack’s POV 7
– Jack’s POV 8
– Jack’s POV 10
– Jack’s POV 12
– Jack’s POV 15
– JACK’S POV 19
– Jesse Jane Fuck Fantasy
– Jesse Jane Kiss Kiss
– Lost and Found
– Nurses
– Pink Slip
– Pirates
– Raven Alexis The Substitute
– Riley Steele Deceptions
– Riley Steele Satisfaction
– The Girlfriend Exchange
– Titlicious 2
– Top Guns
– unSEXpected
– Web Whore
– WHEN DADDY’S AWAY

Marc Dorcel
– Cathy 40 (Cheating Housewife)
– WIFE NEXT DOOR

Marc Dorcel DBA SBO Pictures, Inc.
– Orgy Anthology

SBO Pictures DBA Vouyer Media
– Jack In Me POV 2

SBO Pictures DBA Wicked Pictures
– Daddy Did The Babysitter
– I Was a Mail Order Bride
– Octomom: Home Alone
– Selfies
– Spacenuts
– Teen Ravers

Metro Media Entertainment
– Cute Little Asses

Millennium TGA, DBA Grooby Productions
– Buddy Wood’s Shemale Bedtime Stories

New Sensations Inc.
– Almost Heaven
– Anal Sex Secrets
– Ashlynn Brooke Is Sexy
– Big Bang Theory A XXX Parody
– Big Girls Are Sexy #3
– Double D Vixens
– Friends A Xxx Parody
– I Can’t Believe I’m Doing This (Zeina Heart)
– I Love Asians 11
– I Love Asians 5
– Redheads Are Sexy #5
– Sexy Student Bodies`
– WKRP in Cincinnati: A XXX Parody
– Young Girls With Big Tits 10

Patrick Collins Inc., DBA Elegant Angel
– Alexis Texas Is Buttwoman
– Big Wet Asses #3
– Big Wet Asses #6
– Big Wet Asses #7
– Big Wet Asses 16
– Cuties 4
– It’s A Daddy Thing!
– It’s A Secretary Thing!
– It’s A Secretary Thing! 2
– Massive Facials 5
– Performers Of The Year 2014
– Real Female Orgasms 10
– The A Line
– The Bombshells 5
– The Greatest Squirters Ever! 4

Pleasure Productions Inc.
– Wild Honey 2 (Tera Patrick)

RLD Distribution LLC
– Girls Of Red Light District – Sasha Grey
– I Bang Teens (Megan Salinas)
– White Dicks Black Chicks

Second Phase Distribution Inc.
– Big Butt All Stars – Crystal Clear
– Mama Turned Me Out 3
– Mama Turned Me Out 4
– Mama Turned Me Out 5
– Pigtail Virgins

Third Degree Films, Inc.
– Big Boob Orgy 2
– Curve Appeal
– Illegal Ass 2
– Laid In Lingerie 2
– Laid in Lingerie 3
– Spunk’d 7
– Spunk’d 8
– Top Ten 2

Vivid Entertainment LLC
– Farrah 2 Backdoor and More
– Farrah Superstar: Backdoor Teen Mom
– Kim Kardashian Superstar
– Raven Alexis Unleashed
– Raylene’s Dirty Work
– Tera, Tera, Tera (Tera Patrick)
– Tila Tequila Backdoored and Squirting
– Tristan Taormino’s Expert Guide to the G-Spot

White Ghetto Films Inc.
– Group Sex Junkies

Zero Tolerance Entertainment
– Dr. Ava’s Guide to Sensual BDSM For Couples
– Is Your Mother Home?

Now obviously you will notice a common theme along each of these copyright holders, and that is the “genre” of content they all produce. You will also notice that in this list there are “copyright trolls,” (meaning, companies who in the past have used or use the federal courts to sue individual downloaders for copyright infringement) and there are “not” copyright trolls (meaning, companies who have NOT sued defendants for copyright infringement). You can see which are copyright trolls by either searching the web for their name, or doing a search on http://www.rfcexpress.com to see whether they have sued in federal court.

A few things to note.

1) Many of the larger companies have multiple websites, and do business as multiple entities. For example, Froytal Services Ltd. “does business as” (“DBA”) Mofos and Brazzers (corresponding to their Mofos.com and Brazzers.com websites).

2) Many copyright holders are OLDER COMPANIES and FAMILY OPERATED BUSINESSES. This means that it is common to have former porn companies hire CEG TEK to track and send letters for “vintage” films from the 1970’s and 1980’s. The copyrights for these films ARE STILL IN EFFECT, and the former owners of those companies are now elder individuals who are now enforcing their copyrights from FORTY YEARS AGO. On the flip side, many older couples have been caught downloading a film from their youth thinking that since the titles were so old, it was probably legal to do so.

In sum, all I ask of everyone is to understand that the bittorrent networks are no longer safe, and when you download something, assume someone else is watching you. And, be aware that there are companies out there like Copyright Enforcement Group (CEG-TEK Int’l) who are waiting to send you a settlement demand letter.

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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.

    shalta boook now cta

    CEG-TEK’s new “you didn’t settle” letters sent from Marvin Cable.

    by
    [2017 UPDATE: Carl Crowell has created a new entity called RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT which has reverse-engineered CEG-TEK’s proprietary DMCA copyright infringement notice system.  Many of you have visited CEG-TEK links thinking that RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT was CEG-TEK, but really they are an ‘evil twin’ competitor.  Since the two entities operate almost the same way, this article is relevant.  Once thing to note.  The “you didn’t settle” letters that Marvin asked for here will no doubt be copied by Crowell.]

    Back in November 2012, I wrote an article about CEG-TEK’s CopyrightSettlements.com web site “crashes” where following a failed settlement transaction (purposeful or not), accused infringers received letters essentially saying, “[B]ecause you have decided not to settle, we will be moving forward against you in a copyright infringement lawsuit. Please pay us $3,500 or else we will sue you.” These letters were apparently sent from Copyright Enforcement Group (CEG-TEK), a software brainchild of Ira Siegel.

    Now it appears that CEG-TEK is “stepping up” their game again, and more letters are being sent out, but this time from CEG-TEK’s local counsel, Marvin Cable. What is particularly concerning is that this letter appears to be sent out to:

    1) ANYONE WHO CALLED IN TO CEG-TEK, BUT DID NOT SETTLE (they are scouring the CALLER-ID RECORDS and matching them with publicly available contact information), and

    2) ANYONE WHO ENTERED THEIR CONTACT INFORMATION ON THEIR WEBSITE (e.g., to process their credit card payment), but the website “crashed,”

    3) ANYONE WHO LEFT “BREADCRUMBS” WHEN INTERACTING WITH THEM, BUT DID NOT SETTLE.

    NOTE: I have personally heard reports of 1) and 2), but 3) is a catchall for items I have not yet heard about, but expect that they are doing.

    In sum, as I suspected when the Six Strikes System was put into place, with the big ISPs no longer forwarding their “$200 per title” settlement letters, their settlement stream of cash has started to run dry. As such, their production studio clients are forcing them to do whatever they can to “monetize” their clients IP (here, scrubbing the voicemail records, the caller ID records, and website tracking records, and putting names to those traces left by accused internet users), or else sue. In order to keep these clients, we see examples of letters such as this one:

    [scribd id=131868392 key=key-v3kkn86k16ertw216iv mode=scroll]

    Just to be clear, for a long time, when people ask “Should I settle or ignore CEG-TEK’s DMCA letters? What are my chances of being sued if I ignore?” I have been telling people that they could do either, and I laid out the factors to consider.  I am still of this opinion, namely that 1) Neither Ira Siegel, Terik Hashmi, Marvin Cable, or Mike Meier have sued anyone in MANY MONTHS (since July, 2012 to be exact), and 2) the purpose of their CopyrightSettlements.com website was to convince production companies that it is easier for them to sign on with CEG-TEK and run a settlement “IP monetization” campaign, rather than to sue everyone in a copyright infringement lawsuit.  I assume they are still trying to salvage this system, especially with the renewed efforts to find those who have not settled.

    And as always, if you haven’t read my previous articles on the topic, I am still getting reports of website transactions not working (website “crashes,” failed transactions), and so once again, be smart and protect your contact information. Know that when you visit a website, unless you are using Tor or you subscribe to a private VPN, you share with that website your IP address, and when you call Copyright Enforcement Group’s phone number to inquire about your matter, you leak your phone number which can easily be cross-referenced back to you.

    In other words, be careful with your information, and the “breadcrumbs” you leave when you conduct your daily life.  These breadcrumbs can be traced back to you, and next thing you know, you’ll be on the phone with me asking how to defend a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against you and 200 other Doe Defendants.

    —
    UPDATED COPYRIGHT ENFORCEMENT GROUP (CEG-TEK) ARTICLES:
    Canada begins receiving CEG-TEK DMCA settlement letters. (3/12/2015)
    How time limits / purged records stop a copyright holder from learning a downloader’s identity. (12/18/2014)
    CEG-TEK’s growing list of participating ISPs, and their NEW alliance with COX Communications. (11/12/2014)
    The Giganews VPN Problem (11/12/2014)
    CEG-TEK is now your friendly “photo” copyright troll. (6/13/2013)
    CEG-TEK’s new “you didn’t settle” letters sent from Marvin Cable. (3/22/2013)
    CEG-TEK’s DMCA Settlement Letters – What are my chances of being sued if I ignore? (2/22/2013)
    Why CEG-TEK’s DMCA settlement system will FAIL. (2/22/2013)

    —
    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.

      shalta book now cta

      Why CEG-TEK’s DMCA settlement system will FAIL.

      by

      This is a rather tricky article to write, especially since I am setting some copyright trolls apart from others, and I am unsure whether this is a good idea or not.

      It is my opinion that the “Six Strikes” System which has recently gone into effect will ultimately kill Copyright Enforcement Group’s (CEG-TEK)’s “CopyrightSettlements.com” settlement system. In short, their selling point of attracting new copyright holders (the production companies) with the promise of big profits through volume settlements (from you, the internet users) by the sending of DMCA scare letters directly to internet subscribers via their ISPs will fail. I am concerned that the production companies / copyright holders might decide to start once again suing defendants in copyright infringement lawsuits.

      Copyright trolls take two forms — the “copyright troll” lawyer, and the production company who embraces the concept of extorting settlements from so-called “infringers” rather than selling their copyrighted product on the marketplace.  There is one entity often missing from our blog’s focus on lawyers and their clients — the “IP enforcement company” (“IP” = intellectual property) who is working behind the scenes to 1) acquire clients for their firm, 2) track the peer-to-peer / bittorrent downloads and torrent swarms, 3) hire and maintain one or more attorneys capable of suing, and 4) converting their tracking efforts into CASH [in terms of $$$ settlements from accused downloaders].

      This explains why whether you are sued by Patrick Collins, K-Beech, or Malibu Media, you’ll be contacted by someone on the Lipscomb & Eisenberg law firm’s collection team. Similarly, if the production company is Digital Sin, Zero Tolerance, Girls Gone Wild, etc., then your IP enforcement company is the Copyright Enforcement Group (CEG-TEK) and you will be sent DMCA letters suggesting that you settle their claims against you or else they may sue you (so far, this has not been the rule, but the exception). Yet, if your plaintiff is AF Holdings, Hard Drive Productions, Openmind Solutions, or any of the others connected with Prenda Law Inc. or the new Anti-Piracy Law Group, your IP enforcement company is one of John Steele’s entities. In other words, every copyright troll plaintiff is a client of a particular IP enforcement company, and that IP enforcement company has one or more lawyers on their team (or more often then not, as with John Steele and Ira Siegel — very different entities) — the lawyers themselves appear to own an ownership interest in the IP enforcement companies they run and work on behalf of.

      It is my understanding that an enterprising attorney (or members of his IP enforcement company’s sales team) will often attend annual pornography conventions, and they will rub shoulders with production companies who end up being the copyright holders in these lawsuits.

      The traditional IP enforcement companies (Lipscomb, Steele, etc.) will tell them, “I am aware of your company’s piracy problem, and I have a solution. Look at all our data as to the piracy of your videos.  Our team of experts can track the piracy of your copyrighted content, and our team of “expert” lawyers will sue defendants on your behalf. Instead of defending themselves, the accused internet user will be shamed with a lawsuit and will settle with us for thousands of dollars (average asking price: $3,400), we’ll take our commission, and we’ll both be millionaires. And, we’ll cut down on piracy in the process.

      CEG-TEK (the Copyright Enforcement Group) and Ira Siegel has a different approach, and I believe the Six Strikes System will be the achilles heel of their “out-of-court pre-lawsuit settlement” approach.

      The Copyright Enforcement Group was essentially formed because Ira Siegel didn’t like the idea of suing defendants and having all of his settlement activities monitored by a federal judge who can ask him uncomfortable questions about his activities. Rather, he has been paying ISPs to send out “DMCA” settlement letters (invoking and in my opinion, misusing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act) in order to scare defendants into settling cases before they are filed in federal court. Settlements average $200 per accused title, but I have seen a few $500 per-title settlements as well.

      It is my understanding that the way CEG-TEK acquires new clients — their “unique selling proposition,” if you will — is that they tell production companies, “we can track and sue the downloaders if we want — we have attorneys in a number of states who can sue defendants, and possibly get a $3,400 settlement from a few of them [once in a while]. However, if you come on board with us, we will send DMCA settlement letters out to the internet user directly via his ISP, and that letter will point them to our Copyright Settlements (www.copyrightsettlements.com) website where they can enter their unique username and password and privately pay their settlement fee. The settlement fee will be $200 and not $3,400, but the quantity of users who will pay us our small fee and move on will be significantly higher than those who will settle a federal copyright infringement lawsuit. We’ll all make millions!”

      The reason I think CEG-TEK’s business model of sending DMCA letters will ultimately fail is because the Six Strikes System has undermined CEG-TEK’s abilities to contact so many internet users. In short, instead of sending the DMCA letters directly to the ISP subscribers as Charter and a number of smaller ISPs do, the big ISPs have banded together and formed something called the “Six Strikes System” which essentially gives six warnings to their subscribers before giving copyright holders access to their subscriber’s contact information for the purposes of suing for copyright infringement or sending DMCA threat letters as CEG-TEK does every day.

      In other words, anyone who has Comcast, Time Warner, Verizon, etc. as their ISP will no longer receive CEG-TEK’s DMCA letters. Instead, they receive a notice such as “we have received a complaint of copyright infringement from your account; stop this activity.” But with ISP members of the Six Strikes Program, CEG-TEK’s DMCA LETTERS ARE NO LONGER FORWARDED OVER TO THE SUBSCRIBERS! What this means is that let’s say 75% of the market share of internet users (I’m using this number merely as a hypothetical) will no longer go online and settle CEG-TEK’s claims against them. Or in other words, the www.CopyrightSettlements.com website as of a week or so ago [the plan went into effect roughly a week or so ago] will have experienced a 75% drop in settlements.

      Knowing the production companies who signed on with CEG-TEK with the sole purpose of making millions in settlements from these DMCA letters, I suspect that they are starting to get upset and impatient because CEG-TEK’s promise of directing would-be defendants to their website is no longer the money-making machine they thought it would be. As a result, I am concerned that the production companies who signed on with CEG-TEK might start opt for suing defendants once again en masse.

      PERSONAL NOTE: I obviously don’t want to scare anyone because I am very far from screaming “the sky is falling.” We have been defending clients in countless cases filed in federal courts across the U.S., and in recent months, there has been a clear change in the level of education of the judges and their feelings towards “copyright troll” plaintiffs. Possibly with the help of our POLICY LETTER (or simply our phone calls and faxes to a judge’s chambers when one is assigned to a copyright infringement case).  Judges are now educated as to the copyright trolling problem, and it is much more difficult to go after defendants because our collective arguments (such as, “an IP address is not a person,” and “just because you can prove an IP address snapshot was involved in a download does not mean that copyright infringement occurred,” etc.) are starting to take plant themselves deeply in the federal court system. In other words, if they start suing, we are very prepared, and they are almost a year-and-a-half behind.

      —
      UPDATED COPYRIGHT ENFORCEMENT GROUP (CEG-TEK) ARTICLES (from this blog):
      Canada begins receiving CEG-TEK DMCA settlement letters. (3/12/2015)
      How time limits / purged records stop a copyright holder from learning a downloader’s identity. (12/18/2014)
      CEG-TEK’s growing list of participating ISPs, and their NEW alliance with COX Communications. (11/12/2014)
      The Giganews VPN Problem (11/12/2014)
      CEG-TEK is now your friendly “photo” copyright troll. (6/13/2013)
      CEG-TEK’s new “you didn’t settle” letters sent from Marvin Cable. (3/22/2013)
      CEG-TEK’s DMCA Settlement Letters – What are my chances of being sued if I ignore? (2/22/2013)
      Why CEG-TEK’s DMCA settlement system will FAIL. (2/22/2013)

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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.

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        (TXSD) Patrick Collins, Inc. case about to be dismissed for inactivity.

        by

        2/4/2013 UPDATE: CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL CASHMAN LAW FIRM, PLLC CLIENTS WHO HAVE BEEN DISMISSED FROM THIS CASE!

        To glance back at the Patrick Collins, Inc. v. Does 1-75 (Case No. 3:11-cv-00389) case in the Southern District of Texas case that we have been tracking almost daily since August, 2011, I wanted to give a quick snippet that I think this case is about to go bust.

        Lionel Martin (is he even still doing these cases?) is the plaintiff’s local counsel for this lawsuit. Late last year, the judge ordered that plaintiff Patrick Collins, Inc. has taken too long with this case, and that they decide whether they will proceed against each defendant or not. Their deadline to decide (by the way) is today.

        Now obviously things can go terribly wrong in this case, and if so, we would see a whole SLEW of filings naming a number of the 75 defendants in the next twenty-four hours.  More likely, we’ll hear radio silence from the plaintiff attorney, and the case will be dismissed.  I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything further.

        —
        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.

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          The Sunshine State: No longer a “Happy” place for copyright trolls.

          by

          A number of copyright trolls hit a snag when the judges in both the Middle District of Florida (FLMD) and the Northern District of Florida (FLND) froze a whole slew of cases, consolidated some, and severed many others. This is just a simple indication that 1) federal judges in Florida are talking to one another, and 2) Florida has caught on to the copyright trolls’ extortion scheme.

          In the Northern District of Florida, the mass bittorrent lawsuit West Coast Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-581 (Case No. 5:12-cv-00277) was “smoked,” resulting in all defendants [except one] being severed and dismissed from the case. Judge Smoak not only denied plaintiff attorney Jeffrey Weaver of Dunlap Weaver, PLLC (think, “Dunlap, Grubb, & Weaver, PLLC” from the olden days) an extension of time to name and serve defendants (as if he would have if he was given the chance) but he also killed Weaver’s lawsuit by severing out all the defendants. Now obviously Jeffrey Weaver can always re-file against individual John Does in their home states, but so far [with few exceptions] I have not seen individual lawsuits from these plaintiff attorneys.

          However, here is the problem with the West Coast Productions, Inc. severed case. We know it is severed. You now know it is severed. However, your ISP does not know, and as far as they are concerned, they are still under an order signed by Judge Smoak on 9/4/2012 forcing them to produce the names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mails of the 581 accused defendants. And, based on my conversations with defendants in this case over the past few days, these deadlines are coming up right around the corner.

          I would assume that eventually the ISPs would pick up on the dismissal after enough notice, but I want to remind defendants to make sure to give notice to your ISP not to produce your information. This is something you can do on your own, but if you want an attorney to do it for you, I have already taken care of this for my own clients. Remember, your ISP gets paid by the plaintiff attorneys for each name they hand over, so they have a financial interest in producing the names “accidentally,” unless you give them notice. And, Jeffrey Weaver (your plaintiff attorney) will gladly pay your ISP for their accident because he wants nothing more than to get your names so that he can ask for $3,500 from each one of you. For this reason, be smart and follow-up with this, whether you use me to send the letter and documentation to your ISP for you, or whether you do it on your own.

          As if the severance is not enough exciting news, in the Middle District of Florida, PRETTY MUCH EVERY CASE HAS BEEN EITHER FROZEN, SEVERED, OR DISMISSED.  Hoo yah!

          I am happy to share that many of these cases were frozen in their tracks BEFORE THE JUDGES GAVE ORDERS PERMITTING THE PLAINTIFFS TO RECEIVE SUBPOENAS.  In other words, the ISPs were never subpoenaed, and you — the thousands of John Doe Defendants — never received ANYTHING in the mail!  Here are just a few examples of various cases:

          West Coast Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-448 (3:12-cv-01277) — STAYED
          West Coast Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-675 (3:12-cv-00964) — STAYED

          Night of the Templar, LLC v. Does 1-23 (6:12-cv-01777) — SHOW CAUSE WHY SANCTIONS SHOULD NOT BE AWARDED.
          Night of the Templar, LLC v. Does 1-92 (6:12-cv-01778) — SHOW CAUSE WHY SANCTIONS SHOULD NOT BE AWARDED.
          Night of the Templar, LLC v. Does 1-98 (8:12-cv-02645) — SEVERED AND DISMISSED.

          Bait Productions Pty Ltd. cases — CONSOLIDATED; ALL CASES ASSIGNED TO JUDGE COVINGTON AND GIVEN NEW CASE NUMBER (6:12-cv-01779).  This applies to the following cases:

          Bait Productions Pty Ltd. v. Does 1-81 (6:12-cv-01779)
          Bait Productions Pty Ltd. v. Does 1-96 (6:12-cv-01780)
          Bait Productions Pty Ltd. v. Does 1-40 (5:12-cv-00644)
          Bait Productions Pty Ltd. v. Does 1-36 (5:12-cv-00645)
          Bait Productions Pty Ltd. v. Does 1-82 (8:12-cv-02643)
          Bait Productions Pty. Ltd. v. Does 1-95 (8:12-cv-02642)
          Bait Productions Pty. Ltd. v. John Does 1-26 (2:12-cv-00628)
          Bait Productions Pty. Ltd. v. Does 1-78 (3:12-cv-01274)
          Bait Productions Pty. Ltd. v. Does 1-44 (2:12-cv-00629)
          Bait Productions Pty. Ltd. v. Does 1-71 (3:12-cv-01252)
          Bait Productions Pty. Ltd. v. Does 1-31 (6:12-cv-01721)
          Bait Productions Pty. Ltd. v. Does 1-73 (8:12-cv-02554)
          Bait Productions Pty. Ltd. v. Does 1-41 (8:12-cv-02555)
          Bait Productions Pty. Ltd. v. Does 1-52 (8:12-cv-02556)
          Bait Productions Pty. Ltd. v. Does 1-66 (3:12-cv-01204)
          Bait Productions Pty. Ltd. v. Does 1-73… and so on.

          According to @copyrightclerk, “Bait Productions ha[d] 25 active cases in the Middle District of Florida against a total of 1,536 defendants.” Her write up on the consolidation of Bait Productions cases can be found here.

          In sum, while Florida might be “the sunny state,” it appears as if a deep cold front has come in and given the flu to the trolls.  I saw a number of Florida cases from other plaintiffs as well that have been frozen, killed, stayed, or severed and dismissed.  It took them over two years, but I am happy they have finally caught on.

          —
          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.

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