American Films Inc. Is Threatening ISP and VPN Vendors With Lawsuits

• American Films Inc. wants to build a new copyright trolling system based on concrete data.
• For this reason, they have recently made highly targeted acquisitions of data collection companies.
• The firm will go after ISPs and VPN product developers and is calling rightsholders to join in.

American Films Inc., the U.S.-based entertainment company, is now launching threats against ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and VPN product vendors. The company has recently acquired the notorious copyright troll “GuardaLey” and the strategic data company “Maker Data Services LLC”, so it looks like they are lining up for full-fledged attacks. The reason why American Films is going against ISPs and VPN vendors is that the former are believed to turn a blind eye to piracy, while the latter is enabling users to pirate content safely and anonymously.

The acquisition of the Maker Data Services opens up a new possibility for American Films to track peer-to-peer file-sharing activities. The firm is planning to collect all the data of this kind that they can and then share it with the concerned parties. This is why they are calling for copyright holders to join in, as the law enforcement will have to come from the joint forces of everyone in the field. As they point out, the revenue from the acquired entity will be totally dedicated to the development of new data products that are focused on their piracy-fighting goals, and which will help them gather digital evidence that will substantiate and support lawsuits.

While the American Films Inc. will be making money out of selling this data to the filmmakers, the latter will be winning legal fights and receiving compensation from VPNs and ISPs. Once again, we’re witnessing the birth of a business model that heavily relies on copyright trolling. This time, however, the key difference is the supporting evidence, and this is precisely where the hard part of the whole process will be. The courts will have to decide on highly technical matters, dealing with a field that is hard to fully comprehend, so there’s a certain risk involved.

Targeting VPN vendors and ISPs sounds a lot simpler than it really is, and it’s definitely going to cost American Films Inc. a lot to do so. The field of VPNs is an elusive and transforming target, so many experts believe that what American Films Inc. is really preparing for is a deafening failure. Courts have changed their stance on copyright trolling a long time ago, so the firm will have to avoid method resemblance while proving their points at the same time. This one is going to be a tough trick to pull off.