Private, copyright enforcement 'officers' for hire

[Joanne98]

Private, copyright enforcement 'officers' for hire
Kevin Spiess - Wednesday, August 8th, 2007 | 12:39PM (PST)
http://www.neoseeker.com/news/story/6966/

There is a new sheriff in intertown

Migrating from malls and banks to the internet, for-hire security guards are now available -- for the protection of intellectual property and copyright.

They call themselves the Net Enforcers. They claim they're the established "leader in comprehensive brand protection and online monitoring services." They have a narrow focus; they mostly "specialize in Internet enforcement for product-based companies." What can they do for you? Well, they offer a few services, such as:

Anti-grey market enforcement -- they'll keep an eye out for goods in "improper distribution channels"
Anti-counterfeiting enforcement -- they'll look up and down the Internet for any unauthorized goods
Intellectual property monitoring -- they'll employ "abuse surveillance services" to help make sure that your brand is not "belittle" or subject "to negative, anti-social or offensive associations."
When the Net Enforces find violations, they send cease-and-desist letters, so watch out.

It'll be interesting to see if this sort of privatized copyright enforcement flourishes, or vanishes, with hardly even a trace.
http://www.neoseeker.com/news/story/6966/