Attention Aussie ISPs: who's laying bets on how long the Movie Rights Group will survive?

I’m laying bets ;-) as to how long the Australian company Movie Rights Group manages to stay afloat and keep its legal attack dog onside, as it endeavours to get hard cash from people it alleges breached copyright and illegally downloaded movies 'owned' by Lightening Entertainment, a Santa Monica-based sales and distribution company.

For heaven's sake, The Movie Rights Group's spokesman doesn't even appear to realise that Lightening Entertainment doesn't actually hold the film copyright of Kill the Irishman.

This is what is known so far…………….

ABC News on the 5th October 2011 ran this interesting information:

Australian internet service provider (ISP) Exetel says it has been approached by a firm acting on behalf of the film's copyright holder Lightning Entertainment and asked if it would be able to hand over the names and addresses of internet users.

Exetel boss John Linton says the Movie Rights Group – a Gold Coast-based organisation representing the interests of Lightning Entertainment – approached his company’s lawyers asking whether Exetel would be able to provide the names and addresses of 150 of its IP users were an Australian court to issue a subpoena…..

In the blog post, published on Exetel's website but behind a paywall, Mr Linton suggested the Movie Rights Group's positioning could be part of a "US extortion scam" but said it looked to be "real" and "properly thought through".

"What may or may not transpire from here is not possible, at least for me, to assess," he wrote.

The Age coloured the picture in further on the 8^th October 2011:

Movie Rights Group was set up a year ago by two brothers, and does not appear to be connected to studio groups or copyright organisations.

It was registered in November 2010 to New Zealand-born Matthew Wade Clapham and Richard Dean Clapham, according to documents lodged with the corporate regulator. Matthew Clapham declined to comment yesterday.

The Movie Rights Group had this to say on its website as of 10th October 2011:

Settlement

Settling quickly is an easy process that may well avoid costly and time-consuming Court appearances. Upon settling your matter, you'll be issued with a full release of liability. Your settlement terms and personal information will be kept strictly confidential.

If, however, you decide not to settle and wish your matter to be heard in Court, we strongly suggest you engage a lawyer as soon as possible.

Full details of how to settle are contained in your infringement notice.

Here is an excerpt from Gordon Walker’s Linked in brag page viewed on the 10th October 2011:

Gordon Walker's Experience

VP Sales and Marketing

Movie Rights Group LLC

Internet industry

2010 – Present (1 year)

Founder and CEO

Munro Medical Pty Ltd

Medical Devices industry

October 1997 – March 2002 (4 years 6 months) Queensland, Australia

Imported, sold and leased Hospital Grade infant respiration monitors for "SIDS at risk babies" to hospitals, public health services, local area health services and individuals throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Founder and CEO

Munro & Kay Pty Ltd

Real Estate industry

February 1987 – March 2002 (15 years 2 months) Queensland, Australia

Company formed to build and renovate residential properties on the northern end of the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

Gordon Walker's Education

Royal Australian Air Force OTS

Advanced Diploma Aviation, Air Traffic Control

1975 – 1980

Australian Joint Anti Submarine School

Anti Submarine Warfare

Australian Joint Warfare Establishment

Joint Operations

Department of Transport (ATG)

Civilian Air Traffic Control course

RAAF School of Air Traffic Control

Air Traffic Control

Gordon Walker's Additional Information

Websites:

Company Website

Groups and Associations:

Leukaemia Foundation, Surf Life Saving Australia, Guide Dogs, SIDS for Kids

Honors and Awards:

Air Force Commendation

So does any of the above information lay to rest the voiced suspicion that Movie Rights Group's positioning could be part of a "US extortion scam" or the possibility that Movie Rights Group may not have a very long business life?

Well the only people associated with the company who've gone public are:

1.  Gordon Walker who claims to have founded Munro Medical Pty Ltd a current corporation with a registered address at Murwillumbah as well as being listed as having premises in Ballina on the NSW North Coast (although the deregistered company which most matched his published timeline above is here) and, Munro & Kay Pty Ltd a defunct Queensland company which commenced sometime between 1987 & 1991 and applied for deregistration in 1992, but if the Linked in entry is correct continued to trade until 2002.

2. Matthew Wade Clapham and Richard Dean Clapman who were directors of a New Zealand company, Ram Productions Limited which came into being in 1999 and was deregistered in 2006 according to the NZ Register of Companies.

Matthew appears to have been a shareholder in another New Zealand company, C.M.R. Productions Limited – which unsurprisingly was deregistered in 2005 five years after it was born.

UPDATE:

Internet Media Productions is a 10 year-old Queensland company which was deregistered in August 2011.
WebTrafficAgents.com lists this company and Matthew Clapman as the registrants for pornconductor.com.
Whois also records the company and Matthew as registrants for throatsex.com.
While WooRank still lists the company and Matthew as registrants for seductivepornmovies.com.
Though I think he may have sold on or anonymised two of those sites by now.

FURTHER UPDATE:

MSM finally catches up with the p0rn angle and finds more websites - as well as publishing photos of the Clapham brothers.
*http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/playing-dirty-20111017-1ltam.html
*http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/porn-link-tipped-in-net-piracy-case-20111017-1ltex.html
Bet those boys are starting to feel sorry they ever approached Extel!