What do you do when you see lots of your full length paywall content for free?

[RyuLion]

What do you do when you see lots of your full length paywall content for free?

 

[AmberCutie]

Option 2: Watermark all your streams and posted content, and if/when it gets posted, people can google you or go to the watermarked url to find your actual content sites.

I don't consider it "lost sales" because people who actually intended to ever pay for your content will do so, and those who only seek out free stuff never would have paid in the first place. Brand awareness wins out.

 

[RyuLion]

Option 2: Addition to Amber's watermark suggestion:
Make your watermark scroll or reappear static in a different section of your video.
Some sites will overlap your watermark URL with their own URL.

 

[RyuLion]

Also note, regarding content leaks, some large portals like manyvids.com automatically Fingerprint videos that get uploaded by thier performers. This way they'll get flagged for takedown by some large tubes.

 

[LaceyRoyce]

DMCA and when they don’t comply, I have sent a DMCA subpoeana to get their info,

I’ve also tried things like getting their discord servers taken down, going after individual uploaders (some are way too easy to find) and dig until I find the fuckers who run these sites.

Sometimes I go to their advertisers too and the hosting companies. Loved seeing one site owner complain about having to move hosting companies.

Doesn’t always work but I’m like a dog w a bone when some of these sites piss me the fuck off. I’ll become such a pain in their ass they blacklist me.

There’s one particular site that’s killing me right now … and I haven’t cracked it yet. Yet.


I do notice though that we get traffic from these sites, though it’s hard to tell how much is paying traffic. Honestly it’s just the principle of the matter for me. I can say that early leaks on niche bigger releases where I have a higher overhead can seriously hurt my profit margin.

 

[LaceyRoyce]

Note on watermarks:

If you ever decide to sue someone and you have registered copyright on the work and they fuck with or cover a logo or watermark the amount you can go after in damages increases from like 25k to $150k

Course you have to find the person to sue, establish they have $$$ to go after and then out yourself in the process.

 

[KingMarti]

Course you have to find the person to sue, establish they have $$$ to go after and then out yourself in the process.

Cant you do what Nintendo does and be like "since he dosnt have the money we are going to take x% of his income for the rest of his life" ? Nintendo has done that to quite a few people recently, although I assume the rest of his life is because of the amount of damages nintendo is trying to claim and it would never be paid back since it's in the 10's of millions normally.

 

[LaceyRoyce]

Cant you do what Nintendo does and be like "since he dosnt have the money we are going to take x% of his income for the rest of his life" ? Nintendo has done that to quite a few people recently, although I assume the rest of his life is because of the amount of damages nintendo is trying to claim and it would never be paid back since it's in the 10's of millions normally.

I dunno cos I’ve never sued anyone but yeah, you can make someone’s life hell if you have the money lol

 

[GUNNER]

Note on watermarks:

If you ever decide to sue someone and you have registered copyright on the work and they fuck with or cover a logo or watermark the amount you can go after in damages increases from like 25k to $150k

Course you have to find the person to sue, establish they have $$$ to go after and then out yourself in the process.

You're absolutely right Lacey. Great advice!
That's why every model/creator should TM their brand (if they have one to TM). Spend the money and hire an attorney like @adultbizlaw to help you... and you'll be glad you did.
We were able to get our username on X/Twitter this way, all because we held the TM to the name. And rarely does a company like X decide to rule in your favor... RARELY, IF EVER.

 

[LaceyRoyce]

You're absolutely right Lacey. Great advice!
That's why every model/creator should TM their brand (if they have one to TM). Spend the money and hire an attorney like @adultbizlaw to help you... and you'll be glad you did.
We were able to get our username on X/Twitter this way, all because we held the TM to the name. And rarely does a company like X decide to rule in your favor... RARELY, IF EVER.

Thanks!

So.. my understanding is (just to be clear to anyone reading) you do not need trademark NOR registered copyright to claim damages under CMI infringement

"Beyond the lower range, statutory damages in CMI claims differ from those in infringement claims in one other significant respect: CMI claims do not require registration of the copyright. Recall that in a traditional copyright case, a copyright owner must have registered his or her work either before the infringement took place or within three months of publication to qualify for statutory damages. Not so in a CMI claim. Accordingly, if the facts of a particular case support it, CMI claims can be a useful way to secure a damages award even if the underlying work was not timely registered, and proving actual damages for infringement is unrealistic (as it is in most cases)."

Removing a Watermark Can Cost an Infringer Up to $25,000 - Art Journal

Recently, Google warned of new methods to remove watermarks online. However, those that do so face larger consequences under DMCA laws. Art Law Journal breaks it down.

journal.atp.art

Wikilegal/Removal of watermarks from Commons images - Meta-Wiki

meta.wikimedia.org

Obv none of this is legal advice but this was what I was told while working directly under an intellectual property attny last year when I asked him. Not to dissuade anyone from getting copyright registration OR trademarks - they make things MUCH easier. But it's still worth putting your watermark (probably best with your name or website) on your work as you still may be able to claim damages even without these things.


To me the biggest sucky thing was always the fact that I had to out myself to take legal action past a DMCA claim