All told, 18 adult production companies participating in APAP have fingerprinted more than 5,000 titles with the software to track content and gather data from infringing tube sites in its first three months.
Adam & Eve President Bob Christian called the FSC's first APAP data announcement "an eye opener."
"To see from a small test that over 13 million illegal, unauthorized viewings of just seven of our expensive, high-quality movies have occurred is staggering to us," he said. "This is important work going on.”
Since the program's launch in April, more than 1,700 take-down notices have been sent to infringing sites on behalf of APAP participants, according to attorney Gill Sperlein.
Sperlein, who is Titan Media's general counsel and leads Sperlein Law, oversees APAP’s day-to-day operations.
In addition to tracking content, delivering data reports to participants and issuing DMCA notices to infringing sites, APAP also offers producers an option to monetize their content on tube sites, the FSC says. APAP organizers are negotiating with tube site operators to take down illegal content and replace it with legal clips that lead viewers to a retail option where they can purchase content.
“I’m really excited to be working on this project, because it is going to bring about a fundamental shift,” Sperlein said. “APAP provides a model for tube sites to go legitimate and for content owners to start getting their fair share.”
Sperlein also said the program offers free pre-litigation counseling to assist producers that are considering legal action against infringers. In addition, participants are given a FSC-branded APAP logo to use on DVD packaging or display on their websites.
APAP is available to FSC member content producers for a set-up fee of $450, with monthly fees based on the amount of content being tracked. For more information on APAP, contact (818) 348-9373 or joanne@freespeechcoalition.com
