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Last updated on: August 9, 2023
Online piracy is nothing new. For years pirates have been taking advantage of legitimate websites by uploading pirated products and services to the web. They violate intellectual property (IP) rights, undercut brands, and pose a risk to consumers. Pirated content takes up nearly 24% of the bandwidth in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific while also accounting for 36% of all malware infections.Â
So, how can your business combat the threat of online piracy? One of the key first steps you can take is to start reporting piracy when you encounter it. Piracy websites that violate intellectual property laws and place consumers in danger can be removed through a variety of avenues. But before they can be taken down they have to be discovered and reported.
In this blog, we’ll be focussing on how to report a piracy website to help you protect your revenue by highlighting a few key topics, including:
There are a variety of places online where you can report a piracy website. For example, in the US alone you can report piracy to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, and U.S. Department of Justice. You can also report specific incidents of piracy to online platforms like Google and Amazon.Â
Below we’ve outlined how to report a piracy website via the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center. Their process involves gathering evidence and submitting a detailed report, which is standard procedure for whatever body or association you might use to report piracy.
1. Download a Report Form
2. Fill out the relevant sections with the details of the alleged digital pirates.Â
3. Describe the incident, including as much specific information about online piracy as possible. Also, include the details of others who may have witnessed or interacted with the pirated online material.Â
4. Submit your report. Make sure to follow up after your submission to ensure that action is taken.Â
Digital piracy can ruin a brand. If you allow digital pirates to access and exploit your content without any struggle, they will do so again and again. This will result in lost revenue, damage to your reputation, and potentially extensive legal costs.Â
Piracy websites offer consumers a cheap, sometimes free, alternative to your products and services. When presented with a less costly option, some consumers will be tempted to switch to the pirated version.
This means that you will lose out on revenue, as these consumers will no longer be paying for your products or services. If this continues to happen at a high level, it could significantly hinder your brand’s financial prospects.
Digital piracy can also impact your brand reputation and your ability to develop authentic customer connections. Reputation and relationships are built on trust. Digital pirates will disrupt these links of trust.
Consumers will struggle to trust your brand if they know you can’t protect them or your business from being exploited by pirates. If you continue to be taken advantage of by digital pirates, you will develop a reputation for being weak in security which will undermine your brand’s image online.Â
Digital pirates may also cause your business to start thinking about legal action. If the bad actors are misusing or distributing your intellectual property without permission then you may have a strong case in copyright or trademark law.
Nevertheless, if you want to pursue an IP lawsuit on your own the proceedings will likely be complex, lengthy, and costly. This will be a drain on the resources of any business and there is no guarantee that you will be successful.Â
One way to detect and identify piracy websites is to simply monitor online platforms and spaces. This can be done manually and will allow you to see how and when your content is being distributed without authorization. It will also let you see who is behind the piracy.
However, the internet is a big place. It is very time-consuming and difficult for an individual to manually monitor multiple online platforms and websites. Moreover, on the off-chance that you do uncover a bad actor, you are not necessarily in the best position to act.Â
The other option is to leverage automated anti-piracy tools and services to do the job for you. Today there are a variety of digital tools that can detect and identify piracy with greater precision and efficiency than any manual monitoring can do. These services will utilize automation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to scour the web and uncover potential piracy.Â
Red Points’ Anti Piracy Solution will help your business fight piracy with first-class technology, a streamlined process, and an experienced team of experts. Our Anti Piracy software finds, logs, and removes pirated content ensuring that you can safeguard your brand and customers.Â
Our system works via three simple steps:
Our automated bot-powered search allows us to rapidly detect pirated content anywhere online. Bolstered by machine learning, every search is targeted and more effective than the last. As we discover potential infringements they are logged and placed in a list for your to review.
You can then review potential piracy incidents and decide whether or not you want to enforce them. This process can be automated based on guidelines you set up, ensuring that you act quickly and effectively.Â
Once validated, we swiftly send de-index and removal requests using these automation rules. Our trusted piracy experts can then move on your behalf to pursue out-of-court actions to stop further violations.
Throughout the process, we use real-time documentation to help you understand the results of your anti-piracy coverage. You will be able to benefit from our performance dashboards and customized reports.Â
This will help you learn more about how piracy is impacting your brand. Ultimately, this will aid your decision-making when you encounter further incidents of digital piracy.
If piracy websites are allowed to operate without resistance they can present a serious threat to your business. To ensure you can protect your brand, IP, and customers you need to act now. One of the first steps you can take is to report the alleged infringer to a legal body or online regulator. Following that, you can invest in a smart Anti Piracy solution to handle the whole process for you.
Red Points’ Anti Piracy Solution will help your business combat the problem of piracy websites. We have a robust system of tracking and removal that allows you to quickly take down illegal content and increase the lifetime value of your intellectual property. With automation, machine learning, and a team of experts at your side you will be able to mitigate the impact of digital pirates and protect your brand.Â
To learn more about how Red Points can help tackle the problem of digital piracy, request a demo here.
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