SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 19, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rightscorp (OTCQB:RIHT), a leading provider of monetization services for artists and holders of copyrighted Intellectual Property (IP), announced that the Company has filed for patents internationally, including filings in Europe, China, Israel, Japan, Brazil, and India. Rightscorp's proprietary patent-pending copyright infringement monitoring software protects copyright owners against digital loss and the unauthorized online distribution of content including music, movies, videos, books, software, and games.
The Company represents more than 1,000,000 copyrights and has partnered with major motion picture studios, numerous Platinum recording artists and songwriters, Academy Award winning films, and top TV shows. Rightscorp currently operates in the U.S., and has recently announced plans to expand its copyright monetization services into Canada, a first step into a multi-billion dollar market for monetizing copyrighted IP globally.
"We continue to advance our proprietary technology for protecting and monetizing digital assets regardless of where in the world an infringement occurs," said Christopher Sabec, CEO of Rightscorp. "Copyright infringement is a serious global problem causing billions of dollars in lost wages and revenues and we are looking to tackle this issue on an international level. These new patent filings not only present us an opportunity to add overseas protection for our current clients, but also allow us to expand our business and protect the rights of international artists and content creators."
According to the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, digital theft of music, movies and copyrighted content takes up huge amounts of Internet bandwidth, approximately 24% globally, and 17.5% in the U.S. An analysis by the Institute for Policy Innovation concludes that global music file sharing causes $12.5 billion in economic losses every year, a loss of 71,060 U.S. jobs, a loss of $2.7 billion in workers' earnings, a loss of $422 million in tax revenues, $291 million in personal income tax, and $131 million in lost corporate income and production taxes. With software piracy, the commercial value of what the software industry has lost to theft now hovers around $63.4 billion, up from $58.8 billion in 2010 according to the Business Software Alliance (BSA).
About Rightscorp, Inc.
Rightscorp (RIHT) is a leading provider of monetization services for artists and holders of copyrighted Intellectual Property (IP). The Company's patent pending digital loss prevention technology focuses on the infringement of digital content such as music, movies, software, and games and ensures that owners and creators are rightfully paid for their IP. Rightscorp implements existing laws to solve copyright infringements by collecting payments from illegal file sharing activities via notifications sent through Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The Company's technology identifies copyright infringers, who are offered a reasonable settlement option when compared to the legal liability defined in the Digital Millennium Copyrights Act (DMCA). Based on the fact that 24% of all Internet traffic is used to distribute copyrighted content without permission or compensation to the creators, Rightscorp is pursuing an estimated $2.3 billion opportunity and has monetized major media titles through relationships with industry leaders.
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