MARC Anti-Piracy Platform

MARC helps copyright holders end piracy by identifying both the pirates who are illegally “seeding” the copyrighted material as well as the “fans” of the copyrighted material who are illegally downloading the files. Nexicon’s collection products (GetAmnesty and DigitalRanger) leverage the MARC platform to collect settlement fees from the downloaders, and help investigate and enforce copyright laws that support content owners.

MONITOR

MARC monitors every conversation on the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) system, simultaneously tracking more than 80,000 files at one time. In a single day, MARC inspects 19.6 billion file transmissions using three agent servers -- and since the platform is easily scalable, the number of files to be scanned can be easily increased by adding servers. The platform monitors potential infringement data through a global network of data mining agents that scan Internet protocols such as BitTorrent, Ares, auctions, Gnutella, and newsgroups. As pirates leverage new distribution methods, Nexicon engineers can quickly adapt the platform to monitor any new protocol. Nexicon knows of no other technology that monitors Internet file transfer activity on a scale close to the MARC Anti-Piracy Platform .

ANALYZE

After MARC collects the potential infringement data, the Analyze process filters the data through a proprietary “rating engine” to find known infringers. The rating engine, also called a “threat matrix,” is comprised of artificial intelligence made possible through third-party data of known infringers’ IP addresses as well as Nexicon’s own piracy data collected since 2000. Evolved from sophisticated telephony billing software, the rating engine is the backbone of MARC – it does the heavy lifting to find infringers. In competitive anti-piracy systems, false-positive instances of piracy are common. Nexicon’s artificial intelligence matches a downloaded file to a known copyrighted version of the title, reducing false positives. When a Nexicon client requires an absolute guarantee as to a pirated title’s legitimacy (e.g. to support litigation or for theatrical release planning), the Automated Human Visual Verification™ (AHVV) feature is leveraged. Titles are verified at a rate 50X faster than competing methods, translating into reduced costs and improved efficiency for clients.

REPORT

After performing the necessary tasks to analyze and validate the collected data, MARC begins generating the products used by Nexicon customers. The reporting products – Business Intelligence and DataView – produce the most relevant, accurate and actionable intelligence available today to copyright holders. MARC’s reporting options range from the simple DataView, where a text file is transmitted via secure FTP to a customer for analysis by its own analytic reporting software, to the advanced, user-friendly Business Intelligence reports designed for executive-level readers. With these reports, aggregated piracy data provides business users trend information on who is downloading what files, and where and when it happens. The Business Intelligence reports are the first step toward educating copyright holders about the scope of their piracy problems.

COLLECT

The final component of the MARC Anti-Piracy Platform is comprised of Nexicon’s collection products: GetAmnesty and DigitalRanger. With these products, copyright holders literally turn piracy into profits. With GetAmnesty, individuals who have violated copyright laws by downloading protected content, identified during the Monitor process and verified during the Analyze process, are offered an option to settle with the copyright holder and avoid any legal action. It begins with Nexicon sending the downloader’s ISP a DMCA notice which is auto-generated by MARC. The ISP is then legally obligated to forward this notice to the infringer. The user clicks a link within the email taking them to the GetAmnesty website, and in less than three clicks, the user can settle with the copyright holder for a nominal fee. While GetAmnesty targets the fans of copyrighted material, DigitalRanger targets the more malicious side of piracy – the seeders of the illegally shared files. DigitalRanger investigates and targets high-volume pirates who distribute large volumes of protected material, and enforces copyright laws. The program includes the ability to automatically collect evidence and store in its DigitalRanger tool, for use in litigation. DigitalRanger is an easy-to-use web-based software application most commonly used by the legal departments of Nexicon’s clients. If prosecution is warranted against pirates, DigitalRanger ensures that the copyright holder has implausible data in court.