Nice filesharing server you've got here. Be a pity if anything happened to it.

Meet DigiRights solutions, a company whose business plan seems to verge on blackmail:

After initially running through some pretty mundane stats about how much online piracy is costing copyright owners, the DRS presentation goes through their process of finding and pursuing users who illegally download songs and movies. They explain that after they find the alleged downloader, they send out an email demanding a payment of 450 euro ($650) per file. DRS keeps 80% of whatever they collect thus leaving 20%, or 90 euro ($130) per download, for copyright holders.

Then suddenly the presentation turns into a pitch comparing the profitability of legal and illegal downloads. Ernesto goes on to report :

“A legal online purchase of a song brings about €0.60 into the pockets of the copyright holders compared to the €90 per alleged file-sharer that pays up. So, the copyright holders get 150 times more from pursuing filesharers than from selling actual music, the company claims.

Yes, why bother selling stuff when you could just leave the door of the shop open, wait for people to help themselves, and then send some thugs round to threaten them into handing over their life savings?

Hopefully, even the record labels might draw the line at this behaviour. Right? Theu would, wouldn't they?