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Web Sheriff

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Web Sheriff
IndustryIntellectual property rights
Founded2000
FounderJohn Giacobbi
Headquarters
London
,
United Kingdom
Area served
International
Key people
John Giacobbi, Steve Ochard
ServicesCopyright enforcement, digital rights management, website building, hosting and management, video editing
OwnerWeb Sheriff Corporation
Number of employees
20
Websitehttp://www.websheriff.com/

Web Sheriff is a United Kingdom based internet policing [1][2][3][4][5]organisation that provides intellectual property, copyright and privacy rights protection services. It operates from two offices in the UK with a work team of twenty employees.[6][7] The company was founded in 2000, by John Giacobbi.[3][8]

Description

The company performs online rights management services including copyright infringement and libel.[2][9] It monitors blogs, BitTorrent trackers, file-sharing sites, YouTube, film-sharing sites and websites that host links to downloads of copyrighted music and film.[10] It performs copyright protection services for record labels, music artists and film companies when releasing new material. It also provides design, website build and maintenance services[3] as well as online security for the live broadcasts of concerts.[5] It provides video editing services and manufactures watermarked CDs and DVDs and provides individually watermarked streams of audio and video for journalists. [2][3] The company also recovers fraudulently registered domain names.[11][8]

Web Sheriff uses proprietary software and visual scanning to monitor the Internet.[9][4] It relies on phone calls and relationship building along with technology and targets the web site owners who host infringing content.[1]

The company's deals with piracy of unreleased music which includes promotion of the upcoming media release through fan interest.[12][13] When approaching fans on blogs, a polite request is made for the copyrighted material to be removed, while providing the fans with free official tracks and clips from the artist and record label. When it detects pirated content on BitTorrent and other file-sharing sites, the offending party is given an initial warning before further action is taken.[9][14] According to Web Sheriff, some Torrent sites provide access and allow them to remove infringing content.[8][10][15]

Web Sheriff has represented Columbia Records,[16] Matador Records,[3] Warner Bros. Records,[17] Domino Records[18] V2 Records,[19] and Magnolia Pictures[9][8][20]

History

Web Sheriff was founded by attorney, John Giacobbi in 2000 and Steve Orchard, CEO for Quidem serves as its chairman.[21]

Web Sheriff came to international attention when the company was hired by Prince in 2007 to remove all traces of the artist from the internet.[8][22] Prince's agents released a statement which said: "Prince believes that as an artist, the music rights must remain with the artist and copyrights should be protected across the board."[23][24] Some of the Prince fans fought back, formed their own organization called "Prince Fans United" and hired an attorney.[8][25] In September 2007, Web Sheriff announced it would launch lawsuits against YouTube, eBay and The Pirate Bay on behalf of Prince.[22] These sites were described by the company's spokesman as in the "vanguard of online piracy".[26] Peter Sunde, co-founder of The Pirate Bay, dismissed the threats, stating that American law was not applicable in Sweden.[27] YouTube complied by removing over 2,000 illegally uploaded videos from the site.[26][28] Over 300 eBay auction sites were also closed down and numerous unauthorized overseas online sites selling merchandise featuring Prince were shut down.[29]

In 2007, when Bloc Party's album A Weekend in the City leaked three months previous to release, their record label, V2 Records hired Web Sheriff to stop the leakage.[30] Web Sheriff at first appealed to fan sites to not post links to the album out of respect for the band. When this approach did not work, widespread uploaders were tracked down and sent letters that referred to possible prosecution. Said to face a possible one million illegal MP3 files downloaded, the leakage was reduced to an insignificant amount and the album was a Top 20 hit and went gold in the UK, upon release.[19]

In 2008, Van Morrison hired the company to contact fan sites and demand that photos, lyrics and other copyrighted material be removed immediately. His manager stated that posting the photos were an invasion of Morrison's privacy. The two most popular sites closed down soon after they were notified. Through the wishes of the artist all related videos on YouTube and elsewhere promptly disappeared from the internet.[8]

Bryan Adams employed the company in 2008 to remove thousands of low quality bootleg video clips from YouTube and replace them with official videos on his own channel. The new channel was a success and had 187 million views one and one-half years later.[5]

As soon as Qtrax introduced their new file-sharing site with much publicity In January 2008, Web Sheriff notified the site on behalf of Prince, Van Morrison and The Black Crowes that regardless of whether the music companies supported the service, individual artists would have to give their approval.[31][32]

When "Brother Sport", the first song from Animal Collective's album Merriweather Post Pavilion leaked in November 2008, Web Sheriff posted to Grizzly Bear's blog that they were the "global-leak-source of the track" and asked for an apology to be posted on the blog for a week to Domino Records, Animal Collective and Web Sheriff.[3][33] Grizzly Bear band member Ed Droste complied and apologized stating "The Web Sheriff is just doing his job, and we're all aware of the damage internet file sharing is doing to album sales."[34][35] The album leaked a month early and while Web Sheriff said it was "virtually impossible to completely put an album back in the box after a leak", the company was able to remove 90% or 10,000 of the links.[8]

RLSLOG, one of the world's most popular release news sites, was taken offline in January 2009 through efforts by Web Sheriff. The site was shut down by complaints by Web Sheriff to its web site host and band width provider. Although RLSLOG claims to not host any copyrighted material on its site, it provides readers with links to the copyrighted files.[36][37][38]

Bob Dylan used the company's services pro bono to protect his charity Christmas album, Christmas in the Heart following its leak in October 2009.[2][39] A Dylan fansite had an entry that informed the fans that "YouTube is a different place with the Dylan content disappearing even as we speak. The Web Sheriff has performed this function for other artists, e.g. Van Morrison, to some dramatic effect. You can't eliminate all forms of file and content sharing on the internet, but you can certainly severely limit it."[40] Web Sheriff has stated that 90% of the musical acts that it has worked with have ended up with higher sales than their previous record.[14].

On 8 July 2011, Web Sheriff announced that it was taking legal action against a Russian website that has copied the Web Sheriff trademark and also purports to offer the same services as the anti-piracy company. American and Russian litigators were retained for the "intercontinental legal attack" against the Russian site.[41]

Web Sheriff has been instrumental in the removal of Ken Bigley execution videos and has closed down terrorist related sites[9] as well as the extreme pornographic strangulation sites at the center of the notorious Jane Longhurst 2003 murder trial at the Old Bailey in London, England.[42][43]

Reception

Web Sheriff is said to also function as a "fan outreach organization" [2][5] through its unique, "gentle, gradual approach".[44] The company's methods make use of each fan encounter to "turn a negative into a positive by using viral marketing and including fans and bloggers in their marketing and promotion."[6][34] [10][14] [20][9] Music fans and bloggers often initially respond angrily when first requested by Web Sheriff to take down MP3 tracks or to not post them on the music-related site. Web Sheriff's usual approach is an appeal to the fans to respect the wishes of the band with offers of links to approved tracks and samples for the new album. Fans sometimes interpret this as Web Sheriff saying, "I've got my eye on you."[34] The company spokesman says that eventually most of the fans tend to respect the wishes of their favored artists by cooperating.[10] As related by The Guardian, The Prodigy fans on the brainkiller forum engaged with Web Sheriff on a thread that lasted through 18 pages. Some of the fans who had been hostile at the beginning, then asked what they could do to help the band.[14] Bit Torrent file sharers are much more resistant to a friendly approach and may be sent letters threatening the consequences of non-compliance with civil or criminal charges being instigated.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b "File-sharing meets Web Sheriff: Uk firm patrols Web for Copyright violators". The Spokesman-Review. 15 February 2008. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e Goetz, Rick (2010-07-06). "A Kinder, Gentler & More Effective War On Piracy". musiciancoaching.com. Retrieved 2010-10-02-. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ a b c d e f Weiss, Dan (10 December 2008). "Meet the Web Sheriff". The Village Voice. Retrieved 14 March 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ a b Cooper, Duncan (25 April 2011). "Respect Yourself: Interview with the Web Sheriff". The Fader. Retrieved 25 April 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ a b c d Reinartz, Joe (10 March 2011). "Meet the Online Police". Pollstar. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Web Sheriff Comes to Hollywood: Music's Top Web Enforcer Brings New Approach to Fight against Movie Piracy". CBS MoneyWatch. 2 March 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  7. ^ "Prince casts purple Rain on the Pirate Bay". Tech.Blorge. 14 September 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Rolling Stone, "Battle Over Online Piracy Gets a Sheriff", Andy Greene, RS 1077, April 2009
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Esquire Magazine, UK edition, "Meet the Web Sheriff", August 2009
  10. ^ a b c d Sandoval, Greg (25 September 2007). "Web Sheriff Doing it different than Media Defender". CNET. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  11. ^ "Web Sheriff Goes To The Mats Against Russian Clone". Encore. 4 July 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  12. ^ Daniels, Andrew (12 April 2011). "The Most Hated Man on the Internet". Men's Health. Retrieved 12 April 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ billboard.biz - Upfront, "Anti-Piracy Company's Shifting Tactics Reflect Markets Pivot From Enforcement to Engagement", July 01, 2011
  14. ^ a b c d Lindvall, Helienne (12 October 2009). "Web Sheriff is Watching You". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) Cite error: The named reference "WS guardian" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  15. ^ Emory, Daniel (30 September 2010). "Lawyers to continue piracy fight". BBC. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
  16. ^ "The Brown Coach of Leisure". Silent Talkie. 17 January 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  17. ^ Raible, Allan (27 March 2008). "Review: The Raconteurs' "Consolers of the Lonely"". ABC News. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  18. ^ "Web Sheriff on the new leaked Animal Collective". Incubate. 7 January 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  19. ^ a b Sherwin, Adam (31 March 2007). "Arctic Monkeys go Bananas Over File Sharing". London: The Times. Retrieved 12 March 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ a b Smyth, David (11 April 2009). "Caught in the net". The Scotsman. Retrieved 11 April 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ Luft, Oliver (18 June 2009). "CN group sells five radio stations to Quidem". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  22. ^ a b "Prince takes on YouTube over clips". London: The Times. 13 September 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  23. ^ "Prince get tough on web pirates". BBC News. 13 September 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
  24. ^ "Prince gets tough online". BBC Radio 6. 13 September 2007. Retrieved 2 April 2010.
  25. ^ "Prince sites face legal threats". BBC. 7 November 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
  26. ^ a b Kiss, Jemima (13 September 2007). "Prince seeks to 'Reclaim the net'". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  27. ^ Söderling, Fredrik (15 February 2008). "Prince stämmer Pirate Bay" (in Swedish). Stockholm, Sweden: Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
  28. ^ "Prince to sue YouTube, eBay over unauthorized content". Billboard. Retrieved 12 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  29. ^ Byrne, Ciar (14 September 2007). "Prince sues internet sites for breaching his copyright". The Independent. Retrieved 18 August 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  30. ^ "V2 and Web Sheriff shield Bloc Party". Music Week. 26 March 2007. Retrieved 24 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  31. ^ Sowa, Tom (29 January 2008). "Not even out the door and already the Web Sheriff is after Qtrax". The Spokesman-Review. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  32. ^ Sandoval, Greg (29 January 2008). "After label, Qtrax must satisfy Prince, Van Morrison". cNET.com. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  33. ^ Thompson, Paul (24 November 2008). "Grizzly Bear Apologize to Animal Collective for Leak". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 24 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  34. ^ a b c "Off the Record: Web Sheriff is watching you". Evening Standard. 4 March 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  35. ^ "Grizzly Bear Likes to post leaks too". Mog Blog. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  36. ^ "Web Sheriff Takes Down RLSLOG". TorrentFreak. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  37. ^ "RLSLOG pulled offline after Universal Music complaint". p2ptalk. 26 April 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  38. ^ Hefflington, Mark (27 April 2010). "Universal Music complaint gets web leaks news site pulled". DMW. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  39. ^ Brown, Lane (8 October 2009). "Bob Dylan's Awesome Christmas Album Leaks". nymag. Retrieved 14 March 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  40. ^ "A new sheriff's in town". rightwingbob. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  41. ^ "Web Sheriff Files Lawsuit in 'Cold War' Against Alleged Russian Imposters". Reuters. 8 July 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  42. ^ "BBC: Two years to close porn site". BBC. 12 March 2004. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  43. ^ Giacobbi, John (11 September 2005). "How we can clean up the internet". The Mail on Sunday.
  44. ^ Lewis, Randy (9 June 2011). "Web Sheriff tackles music piracy with a soft touch". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 9 June 2011.

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