SANTA MONICA, Calif., Oct. 28, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rightscorp, Inc. (OTCQB:RIHT), a company focused on the monetization of copyrighted Intellectual Property (IP), today announced it has completed an alternative public offering (APO) and has commenced trading on the OTCQB under the ticker "RIHT".
In conjunction with the public offering, Rightscorp has completed a $2 million equity financing priced at $0.50 per common share with warrants at an exercise price of $0.75 that expire in 18 months. The funds will be used to ramp up revenue-producing operations and build out its proprietary technology portfolio, as well as for general administrative and operating expenses.
Rightscorp is uniquely positioned in the IP asset space due to its focus on the monetization of copyrights. The Company's patent-pending digital loss prevention technology focuses on the infringement of digital content such as music, movies, software, and games and ensures that owners and creators are rightfully paid for their IP. In recent years, artists and the entertainment industry as a whole have experienced lost revenue estimated to be in the billions of dollars due to the rampant theft of copyrighted intellectual property.
As reported by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), since 1999 when peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing site Napster emerged, music sales in the U.S. have declined 53%, from $14.6 billion to $7.0 billion in 2012. According to the RIAA, approximately 30 billion songs were illegally downloaded on file-sharing networks between 2004 through 2009. Rightscorp estimates that this number was well above 100 billion songs over the last 12 months. The digital theft of music, movies and copyrighted content accounts for 24% of global internet bandwidth, according to the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation.
Rightscorp offers an efficient solution to this problem. The Company is pursuing an estimated $2.3 billion opportunity and has monetized major media titles through relationships with industry leaders.
"We have reached a new threshold by completing our going public transaction and becoming a fully reporting company. We expect to expand our corporate awareness and gain greater access to growth resources," explained Rightscorp CEO Christopher Sabec. "This could not come at a better time, as we ramp up our copyrights under contract and expand our relationships. Rightscorp is consistently delivering double-digit quarterly revenue growth, and our proven method of monetizing copyrights is tapping into an enormous market opportunity."
"DigitalRights," founded in 2011 by Christopher Sabec and Robert Steele, has recently changed its name to "Rightscorp."
"Rightscorp more succinctly describes our Company's mission and the value we deliver to the creative community as well as to our shareholders," added Sabec.
About Rightscorp, Inc.
Rightscorp (OTCQB:RIHT) monetizes copyrighted Intellectual Property (IP). The Company's patent pending digital loss prevention technology focuses on the infringement of digital content such as music, movies, software, and games and ensures that owners and creators are rightfully paid for their IP. Rightscorp implements existing laws to solve copyright infringements by collecting payments from illegal file sharing activities via notifications sent through Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The Company's technology identifies copyright infringers, who are offered a reasonable settlement option when compared to the legal liability defined in the Digital Millennium Copyrights Act (DMCA). Based on the fact that 24% of all Internet traffic is used to distribute copyrighted content without permission or compensation to the creators, Rightscorp is pursuing an estimated $2.3 billion opportunity and has monetized major media titles through relationships with industry leaders.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release may include forward looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's anticipated financial position, business strategy and plans and objectives of management of the Company for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company or its management, identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of the Company's management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company's management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors not limited to, general economic and business conditions, competitive factors, changes in business strategy or development plans, the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel, and changes in legal and regulatory requirements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events and are subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to the operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity of the Company. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this paragraph.