Web Sheriff

Web Sheriff performs various copy protection services. These include protection from copyright infringement, libel, cyber-bullying, identity theft privacy issues of social media, policing of trading sites and recovery of fraudulently registered domain names. It also furnishes online security for concert tours. ==Operating methods==

Web Sheriff uses proprietary software and web crawler programs to search the Internet, using human auditing to determine the type of site that is posting its clients' copyrighted material. It relies heavily on phone calls and relationship building and when locating unauthorized links it targets the persons running the sites. The supposed offending party is sent a take-down notice before further action is taken. The Los Angeles Times described the company's approach as representing "a sharp turn in the recording industry's life-and-death struggle with piracy, one driven largely by performers and their managers rather than the record companies." ==History==

Web Sheriff was founded in 2000 by former music attorney and industry consultant Web Sheriff was hired by Prince in September 2007 to help him "disappear entirely from the internet." Peter Sunde, co-founder of The Pirate Bay, dismissed the threats, stating that American law was not applicable in Sweden. YouTube complied by removing over 2,000 videos from their site and eBay removed more than 300 auctions. In November 2007, three fan sites were given the notice to remove all images of the singer, his lyrics, and "anything linked to Prince's likeness". Some of the Prince fans fought back, formed their own organization called "Prince Fans United" and hired an attorney. Multiple unauthorized overseas online sites selling merchandise featuring Prince were shut down. In 2008 the company was hired by Bryan Adams to take down fan sites and tribute bands as well as the owner of the domain name pointlookout.com that had nothing to do with the artist. In 2016, the company was hired by Axl Rose to remove an unflattering picture by claiming the copyright belonged to Axl Rose and not the photographer. ==Reception==

Music fans and bloggers often initially respond angrily when first approached by Web Sheriff on its clients' official and unofficial forums. According to the Evening Standard, "Music blogging sites are littered with comments with the Sheriff's contact details at the top, thanking bloggers for obeying the rules." Fans sometimes interpret this as Web Sheriff saying, "I've got my eye on you." Web Sheriff's method of using a "velvet glove approach" to appeal to fans has been said by Randy Lewis with the Los Angeles Times to have notable successes, including Lady Gaga's Born This Way and Adele's 21. This journalist also notes that despite these examples of the success of the "diplomatic strategy", the company's gentle approach still has skeptics, with some critics calling it naïve: Brad Buckles, an executive in copyright enforcement with RIAA, was quoted as saying: "It's certainly well-intended and may work in some cases. The problem is in many, many cases, you're dealing with people who have no respect whatsoever for the intellectual property of record labels or the artists themselves." A Billboard journalist concludes that to appeal to sites that post links to unauthorized music and engaging with fans and redirecting them to authorized content by the artist is a "strategy with a future if implemented properly." == See also ==