Los Angeles
– RapidShare, the online file-hosting service that has come under fire from
copyright holders for hosting unauthorized content, has sought negotiations
with media company executives on distributing licensed content through the
service, TorrentFreak reported.
Communications obtained by TorrentFreak,
purportedly from RapidShare general manager Bobby Chang to unnamed parties, outline
the company’s recent efforts to terminate the accounts of people uploading
copyrighted content, and to focus on distributing authorized content.
One
tactic the company pitched was to direct users trying to download unauthorized
files to legal downloads of the content.
"If a user finds out that several
attempts to download an illegal copy of a DVD are in vain, and if his several
attempts to ‘steal’ this DVD have just brought him to an online-store, he may
finally be frustrated and willing to purchase a licensed version of this
movie," Chang wrote.
RapidShare partnered with Warner Bros. last year to
launch RapidMovies, a site that currently offers promotional content but is
envisioned as a legal content store.
"We are willing to invest
substantially into this online store and I would be glad to not just talk about
RapidShare as a threat for the entertainment industry, but also about
RapidShare as an interesting option to sell your products," Chang added.
"My company does have several million users per day. I am sure, that quite
a significant proportion of these users may be willing to buy your companies’
movies."
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/v35rw
(TorrentFreak)
http://snipurl.com/v360o
(DMW previous coverage)
