As a co-founder and CEO of Rightscorp INC, Christopher Sabec, has represented various

music professionals in the industry, protecting them from copyright

infringement.

In 1710, the Statute of Anne was created to protect the ownership and copyright of materials an author created for up to

fourteen years. This was the first law that gave authors copyright to the works they

created themselves.

In the midst of a new recording industry in 1909, a major revision of the US Copyright Act was born. This revision broadened the scope of works that

could be considered in authorship and extended the term of protection from fourteen years to twenty-

eight years.

Digital piracy has been around ever since Bill Gates’ personal computer debuted on the cover of Popular Electronics in 1975. In 1997, the Digital Millennium Copyrights Act was passed. This act increased the

penalties for copyright infringement and made Internet Service Providers liable for their users

engaging in illegal downloading activities.

In 1999, Shawn Fanning created Napster at Northeastern University in Boston. It was the first Peer-to-Peer (P2P) digital file sharing program and it would forever change the music and media industries. In 2008, P2P traffic was at 44% of all global consumer Internet traffic. In 2010, P2P traffic was

more than twice as much as web browsing. Because of all of this P2P traffic, copyright monetization companies like the one Christopher Sabecstarted were coming out of the woodwork to help copyright owners gain

the money they deserve from people stealing their created property online.

Rightscorp is a copyright monetization company that protects intellectual property by offering settlements to people who illegally download music, videos, and videogames. The company works on

behalf of the copyright holder by sending letters to illegal downloaders giving them options for financial restitution.

Rightscorp has worked with various Hollywood studios and agencies. Some of their more notable clients are Warner Brothers

Studios and BMG Rights Management.

The technology that Rightscorp uses to catch illegal downloaders is a software that monitors worldwide

P2P file sharing networks to fine illegally downloaded digital media. They work closely with major Internet Service Providers to catch and demand payment to

Rightscorp who then pays the copyright owners.

If the illegal downloader does not pay, then they will be removed from their Internet Service Provider.

Under Federal Copyright Law, Internet Service Providers are required to enforce the rights of the

copyright owner once they become aware of copyright infringement.