Description & Fee Schedule

For the last two decades, SIIA and its predecessor organizations have been providing cutting edge anti-piracy services to its members. During the past several years, we have seen changes in the anti-piracy landscape and within SIIA’s membership that has prompted significant changes to the the anti-piracy program. These modifications include changing the type of services we provide, broadening the scope of the organizations that we provide these services to, and altering the manner in which we provide these services.

The most significant change we made involves the scope and name of the program.
We recognize that companies’ intellectual property concerns don’t begin and end with piracy. Today, software and content companies are also concerned with counterfeiting, fraud, registration of their works with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and U.S. Copyright Office, and registration and protection of their domain names, and many other intellectual property-related issues. For that reason, we have broadened the scope of our program to address these issues as well as many others. We also revised the name of SIIA’s anti-piracy division to the “Intellectual Property Protection Division” (“IPP Division”) to reflect our broader focus.

We also altered the program to reflect our changing membership. With the acquisition of the Specialized Information Publishers Association (“SIPA”) and American Business Media (“ABM”), as well as the addition of many new companies who are interested in our IP protection services, and existing members who have a renewed interest in our initiatives, we wanted to ensure that we could provide all the services outlined in this document in a manner that was fiscally responsible. With this in mind, we recalibrated the type and amount of IP protection services offered to members so that our financial and staff resources are used in proportion to the size of the company involved. To accomplish this, we divided member companies into three different tiers:

• Tier I member is an SIIA member who pays an annual dues amount equal to or above $76,001.
• Tier II member is an SIIA member who pays an annual dues amount equal to or between $76,000 and $35,001.
• Tier III member is an SIIA member who pays an annual dues amount equal to or below $35,000.

We also recognized that there are companies that for one reason or another are not interested in joining SIIA as full dues-paying members, but are otherwise interested in obtaining SIIA’s IP protection services. To better serve these companies, we now offer our IP protection services to non-members and also offer an IPP Division-only membership.

• Non-member companies that participate in the IPP program pay SIIA in accordance with the number and types of service(s) they request. Companies that are first time non-member participants must pay an initial set-up fee of $500.
  
  
• A company that is not an SIIA member may become an IPP Division-only member for a cost of $25,000 annually. IPP Division members obtain services from SIIA as Tier II members.
  
  
• All companies that participate in SIIA IP Protection Services — whether they are SIIA members, IPP Division members or non-members — will be identified as IPP participants on the SIIA website.

Lastly, we also changed the program to reflect the varied needs of the diverse companies we serve. Many companies use SIIA IP protection services as a comprehensive solution. For example, we will monitor for and identify infringing products, investigate those responsible for the infringement, and take action against the infringement. But other companies are interested in a more targeted approach. For example, they may just want SIIA to do a test buy or a website workup to better understand what is taking place, but have no interest in taking further action. For this reason, we have segmented our IP services into numerous categories:

• Internet Monitoring Services: Through a combination of automated and manual processes, SIIA monitors online marketplaces, P2P, and cyberlockers sites for participating companies.
  
  
• Internet Investigation Services: SIIA offers several services relating to the collection of information about an infringement and the infringer. These include: doing a website “workup”, conducting test buys, and filing DMCA subpoenas and/or an ISP personal information requests to gather information about the infringer.
  
  
• Internet Countermeasure Services: SIIA can take numerous different “non-legal” steps to ensure that companies’ intellectual property rights are adequately protected and that infringing products are not being made available online. These services include removal of the infringing material on a website or links to the infringing material on a search engine; termination of accounts that infringers have with payment processors and domain name registries; and filing of WHOIS complaints.
  
  
• Internet Legal Protection Services: SIIA can take numerous legal actions to stop the infringing activity and/or pursue the infringer for damages. These services include sending cease and desist letters, participating in SIIA’s very successful restitution or ALP programs, and/or making a criminal referral. SIIA can also help protect a company’s IP by registering their copyrighted works and brands with the U.S. Copyright Office and/or U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
  
  
• Corporate End-User Legal Protection Services: For over 25 years, SIIA has been pursuing cases of software and content piracy taking place within an organization. Any company can participate in this program at no charge.

In the future, SIIA will likely add to the present slate of services being offered in this document. If there is an IP protection service that interests you but you do not see it listed here, please contact us so we can consider adding it to the menu of services going forward. If you have any questions about this document or the services, please contact René C. Bowers SIIA’s Associate General Counsel and Director of Intellectual Property Protection, at (310) 379-5252 or rbowers@siia.net.

SIIA Internet Monitoring Services

E-commerce/Online Marketplaces: Through a combination of automated and manual processes, SIIA monitors for the piracy of participating companies’ assets across 24 online marketplaces, including domestic-based sites such as eBay, Amazon, Craigslist, and Sell.com and international-based sites such as Taobao, Alibaba, and Mercado Libre. SIIA provides monthly monitoring reports to the company that identify infringements, notices sent, and compliance.

P2P: Monitor for the piracy of participating companies’ assets across specified P2P protocols such as BitTorrent and Gnutella. SIIA provides monthly monitoring reports to the company that identify infringements, notices sent, and compliance.

One-Click Hosting Sites/Cyberlockers: SIIA monitors for the piracy of a participating companies’ assets across linking (blogs and forums) and hosting sites, such as rapidshare.com. SIIA provides monthly monitoring reports to the company that identify infringements, notices sent, and compliance.

SIIA Internet Monitoring Services Pricing Schedule

Prices below are discounted by 20% if the company agrees to annual monitoring services. Additional discounts may apply if the company requests monitoring for numerous products: 10% discount for 2-4 products, 25% discount for 5 products and over.

SIIA Internet Investigation Services

Website/Seller Profile Workup: SIIA conducts an extensive investigation of suspected piracy or other illegal distribution of a company’s proprietary assets by gathering data from multiple sources to create a detailed profile of either a seller or website (or both) that is engaged in illegally selling or distributing a company’s proprietary assets on the Internet.

Test Buys: SIIA conducts a controlled test buy of suspected pirated or other illegal distribution of a company’s proprietary assets using a covert account. Screenshots, email correspondence, and purchase receipts are supplied in a detailed “test buy” report the company receives upon completion.

Personal Information Request: SIIA requests the personal information of a seller– believed to be engaged in piratical activities in relation to a company’s proprietary assets (currently this service only applies to eBay, iOffer and PayPal). NOTE: This service may only be available through certain intermediaries or if the site or listing has been taken down. If a PIR is not possible, SIIA can get the same information through a DMCA subpoena.

DMCA Subpoenas: SIIA requests the personal information of U.S.-based website operators pursuant to Section 512(h) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

SIIA Internet Investigation Services Pricing Schedule

SIIA Internet Countermeasure Services

Takedowns/DMCA: Based on information SIIA gathers from its monitoring and investigations and/or leads forwarded by participating companies, SIIA sends takedown notices to an Internet Service Provider (“ISP”) pursuant to laws where the website is hosted. After a takedown notice is sent, SIIA conducts regular compliance checks to determine when the infringing content was removed and whether it is re-posted. In the case of P2P and one-click hosting and cyberlocker sites, SIIA will send takedown notices to both the linking site and the hosting site that is making the pirated asset available for download. SIIA provides reporting details identifying the takedown recipient, where the takedown was sent, when it was sent, and whether and when the infringing material was removed.

Search Engine Link Takedowns: SIIA works with the participating company to formulate key search queries. Using these queries, SIIA monitors search results (using both manual and automated means) on the Google and Bing search engines for links to infringing websites. Once these sites are identified in the search results, SIIA sends takedown notices to the search engine to have the link removed from the search results and to the ISP hosting the website to get the website removed. SIIA provides reporting details identifying the takedown recipient, where the takedown was sent, when it was sent, and whether and when the link and the infringing material was removed.

Payment Processor Termination Request: SIIA gathers data on the payment processor used by by infringers and then contacts that payment processor to have the infringer’s account terminated for illegally selling or offering for sale the company’s assets. SIIA provides reporting details identifying the payment processor(s) contacted by SIIA, where and when the request to terminate the account was sent, and whether and when the account was terminated.

Domain Name Registry/Registrar Termination Request: Based on information SIIA gathers from its monitoring, and investigations and/or leads forwarded by participating companies, SIIA sends demands to domain name registries and registrars requesting that they terminate the domain name of the infringing website. SIIA provides reporting details identifying the registries and/or registrars contacted by SIIA, where and when the request to terminate the domain name was sent, and whether and when the domain name was terminated.

Domain Name Registry/Registrar WHOIS Complaint: In the near future, ICANN will be providing a complaint mechanism that will allow rights owners to submit to domain name registries and registrars reports of inaccurate WHOIS data or when the domain name registration is being used to facilitate or promote piracy, trademark or copyright infringement, or counterfeiting. SIIA can submit these complaints for your company and follow up to ensure that the appropriate and timely consequences are imposed on the website and the website operator by the registry/registrar. SIIA will report back to let the company know whether and when the complaint was acted on and what action was taken.

Registration of Domain Name with Trademark Clearinghouse: Registration of a company’s trademarks in the Trademark Clearinghouse is the first step in helping to prevent cybersquatting and trademark infringement of a company’s valuable brands from occurring on the new domain names that will be launched in late 2013 and beyond. SIIA can register a company’s brands with the Trademark Clearinghouse on its behalf and work with the company to develop a strategy to protect its brands through the two new trademark protection services — the Sunrise and Trademark Claims services — being offered by ICANN.

SIIA Internet Countermeasure Services Pricing Schedule

SIIA Internet Legal Protection Services

Cease and Desist Letter: Based on information SIIA gathers from its monitoring and investigations and/or leads forwarded by participating companies, SIIA will send cease and desist (“C&D”) letters directly to known individual(s) responsible for the piracy to prevent future infringements. SIIA will provide reporting details identifying the recipient of the C&D letter, where the C&D was sent, when it was sent, and whether and when the infringing material was removed or otherwise terminated.

Restitution Letters: SIIA sends C&D letters to domestic infringers whose auctions have been terminated due to an SIIA takedown request. Unlike a regular C&D letter, these letters also demand that infringers surrender the infringing material, provide relevant supplier information, and make a payment for damages and costs incurred in connection with the investigation SIIA will provide reporting details identifying the recipients of letter, where the letters were sent, when they were sent, and the recipient’s response to the letter.

Anti-Piracy Litigation Program (“ALP”): In the most egregious piracy cases, SIIA will pursue civil litigation against the responsible individuals and organizations, demanding that they cease their infringing activities and pay a steep monetary penalty. SIIA provides status reports of ongoing cases and settlement agreements to participating companies.

Criminal Referral: SIIA works closely with agencies such as the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), the U.S. Postal Service, and other federal and state agencies to urge these law enforcement agencies to pursue criminal charges against the most egregious infringers. SIIA will provide status reports of ongoing investigations and provide continued assistance to law enforcement during investigation.

Filing and Prosecution of Copyright Registration with the U.S. Copyright Office: SIIA will file and prosecute a copyright registration application with the U.S. Copyright Office per a company’s request. This includes working with the company to complete the registration application, submitting the application and any accompanying material, and following up with the Copyright Office to answer any questions and ensure the prompt issuance of the registration application.

Filing and Prosecution of Trademark Applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: SIIA has partnered with trademark counsel to provide participating companies with reduced fees for filing and prosecution of trademark applications.

Search of U.S. Copyright Office Records: SIIA will search for and make copies of any copyright registration records and other records per a company’s request.

Hand Delivery of Copyright Office Application to U.S. Copyright Office: SIIA will hand deliver copyright registration applications or other documents or materials to the U.S. Copyright Office upon request. Hand delivery ensures faster consideration by the Copyright Office because the documents/material are not delayed by the scans that delay receipt of mailed documents.

SIIA Internet Legal Protection Services Pricing Schedule

SIIA Corporate End-User Legal Protection Services

Corporate End-User Infringement Protection: For over 25 years, SIIA has been pursuing cases of software and content piracy taking place within an organization. This occurs when software has been installed or content is being copied and/or distributed by an organization without the proper license from the publisher. SIIA is notified of the piracy taking place within a company by someone associated with the company or a company that participates in the SIIA program. SIIA investigates the claim and decides whether to pursue it. If SIIA pursues the case, SIIA notifies the participating companies whose products were identified in the piracy report and seeks their authority to pursue the case on their behalf. Once the authorization is received, SIIA forwards the case to outside counsel, who then contacts the reported organization to request that it conduct a cooperative investigation (such as a software audit) of all of its workstations, laptops, and servers to determine the extent that software or content was copied and/or distributed illegally. After the organization conducts the investigation, it provides SIIA with the results documenting the quantity and titles of the software and/or content it has in its possession or has distributed. The organization also provides SIIA with license documentation that establishes whether it has sufficient licenses for the software or content. If unlicensed software or content is found, the organization must (among other things) delete the infringing software and content; license sufficient copies of the software and content, pay a significant fine, and adopt and implement organization-wide software and content compliance policies. In return, SIIA releases the organization from any liability it would otherwise have had under the copyright law.

SIIA’s Corporate End-User Legal Protection Services Pricing Schedule