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Cyber Cops Hall Of Shame Members Category Added December 1, 2007 |
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We have an attitude about Cyber Cops. We state that up front. We think they are basically dishonest and only motivated by their revenues. We also believe
that they outright lie (gasp!) when threatening non-infringers for the sole purpose of improperly obtaining extortion money or improperly exerting market control.
While there certainly are cases of copyright and trademark infringing going on, and we do receive emails about some of these, what we report are the
abuses, of which there appear to be far too many. And Cyber Cops appear to be a significant part of the abuse problem.
Generally speaking, police are decent, honest, under-paid and at risk, much like the military. Being in the military and being a cop
are the two jobs where you get paid to get shot at in protecting the public who doesn't seem to give a damn. Unlike those
who make the laws, they are expected to be perfect. They cannot lose their tempers, they must not make mistakes, and they must not defend themselves unless fired
at first. However, this isn't about either occupation. This is about those who voluntarily and willingly take on the job of Cyber Cop but with a
profit motive, not to serve and protect. Our attitude shows. We think yours will after you read these pages.
Cyber Cops troll the internet for people who are infringing upon the copyrights and trademarks of others. And, as we suspoected, many do not use
trained professionals, but like Continental Enterprises, they use untrained low-paid staff or on-commission contractors to do the trolling. We have
posted a copy of the employment agreement that Continental Enterprises uses where they pay a "bounty" of $20 for every lead.
So, you ask, how do these Cyber Cops make their money? They convince companies to use them to police internet violations of their intellectual
property rights. This billing is done by the hour, the takedown, on commission, or the threat, or a combination of these. Like law firms, billable hours are their gravy.
Some, like Continental Enterprises, engage in what we call
Trademark Extortion
The rights of the other party is not an issue with them because they don't care about that aspect. It's their client who sets the rules
and pays the bills. We're thinking they get a high percentage of the take after expenses.
This list isn't going to be complete. There are companies joining the fray everyday. We can only report those about which we have heard
and received documentation concerning their activities. Some we add when we find others sources who attack them. Here they are in order of induction to
The Tabberone Trademark & Copyright Abusers' Hall of Shame as agents for the abusers (or the actual abusers themselves, we can't tell):
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Cyber Cops In-Waiting These companies appear to be wanna-be Cyber Cops. We know little about them except what we have noted. We are seeking more informations about them. As we have noted, any damn fool can start an internet company and talk some other fools into believing they can do what they claim. Cyber Cops are a good example of this. Alphabetically listed:
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Rebuttals
In an effort to provide a balanced view, we make the following offer to anyone who feels they have been wrongly accused on this web site. If you, or your company, have been referenced on these pages, and you would like the chance to post a rebuttal, we will post your rebuttal (provided it is in good taste) so others can read it. The rebuttal must be submitted in a format that can easily be converted into HTML. We reserve the right to alter the rebuttal to make it more readable. However, we will not alter the content (unless there is offensive material to be removed). We also reserve the right to comment on any rebuttal received. Emails protesting the content of this web site may be treated as rebuttals by us at our discretion. |
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