Message from IP provider about illegal download of content using peer-to-peer service

Software & Apps Downloading & File Sharing (Archive)
#1

So I am a bit worried because I got the following message last night from my IP provider about some content that I may, or may not have downloaded through VUZE (yes, horrible site).

I am writing this letter in regards to an email we have received on
behalf of Showtime Networks Inc. (“SNI”). They have listed your IP
address to be involved in the download of copyrighted television
program(s) through a “peer-to-peer” service. The title of the copyrighted material is:

Dexter

The distribution of unauthorized copies of copyrighted television
programs constitutes copyright infringement under the Copyright Act,
Title 17 United States Code Section 106(3). We suggest you take the
appropriate action to cease the download of any copyrighted material.onShore Network’s Acceptable Use Policy can be found at the link below.
Please read it before you download copyrighted material.

In our experience, many of these exploits stem from unsecure wireless
routers. We ask that you secure your wireless router immediately if it is currently unsecure.
If you feel your computer system has been compromised we
advise you to contact us so we could promptly address the situation.

I responded that I put a password in place and also asked for a copy of original message my IP provider received. They sent me the notice and basically said that it was common practice and they receive a lot of these and that if I added a password I am fine. Here is the message…

We are writing this letter on behalf of Showtime Networks Inc. (“SNI”).

We have received information that an individual has utilized the below-referenced IP address at the noted date and time to offer downloads of copyrighted television programs through a “peer-to-peer” service, including such title(s) as:

Dexter

The distribution of unauthorized copies of copyrighted television programs constitutes copyright infringement under the Copyright Act, Title 17 United States Code Section 106(3). This conduct may also violate the laws of other countries, international law, and/or treaty obligations.

Since you own this IP address (66.146.xxx.xx), we request that you immediately do the following:

  1. Remove or disable access to the individual who has engaged in the conduct described above; and

  2. Take appropriate action against the account holder under your Abuse Policy/Terms of Service Agreement.

We also would request that you inform the individual who engaged in this conduct that legitimate copies of SNI content are widely available for viewing online, for example on www.sho.com <http://www.sho.com/> , as well as iTunes, Amazon.com and Movielink.com.

On behalf of SNI, owner of the exclusive rights in the copyrighted material at issue in this notice, we hereby state that we have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by SNI, its respective agents, or the law.

Also, we hereby state, under penalty of perjury, that the information in this notification is accurate and that we are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive rights being infringed as set forth in this notification.

Please direct any end user queries to the following:

CopyrightQs@mediasentry.com

Please include the Case ID …, also noted above, in the subject line of all future correspondence regarding this matter.

We appreciate your assistance and thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Your prompt response is requested.

Respectfully,

A Kempe
Enforcement Coordinator
MediaSentry

INFRINGEMENT DETAIL

Infringing Work: Dexter
First Found: 11 Oct 2009 22:25:29 EDT (GMT -0400)
Last Found: 11 Oct 2009 22:25:29 EDT (GMT -0400)
IP Address: xxxxxxxxxxx (i deleted this)
IP Port: 62554
Protocol: BitTorrent
Torrent InfoHash: 3B1359976C73B8588956AB31E36657639D81A97C
Containing file(s):
Dexter.S04E01.HDTV.XviD-NoTV.avi.torrent (576,721,958 bytes)

Was this just a warning? Am I out of the woods? Should I take any further action?

Thanks much!

#2

You can ignore any and all letters of this nature UNLESS they are court documents; e.g. a summons or notice of prosecution etc.

Slainte

midders

#3

This company does a lot of work for the MPAA/RIAA and isn’t even licensed to in certain states of the US. Go figure.

I’d suggest contacting your isp if they ever recieved a subpoena from this company. If not, then ask if they always act on strange emails or would rather accept 100% proof before acting…

And i read the TOU of your ISP… Get a beter ISP stat.

#4

Welcome to CDFreaks / MyCE :slight_smile:

From what I can tell, this is just basically a warning letter, so you should be fine as long as you’ve dealt with the issue.

#5

Thank you I really appreciate the help. It appeared to me that it was just basically an automatically generated warning from this Media Sentry group. Also, I don’t think I can get a new ISP. I live in a condominium high rise, and this is what they offer so I’m not sure if I can switch providers. Is there really a need for that?

#6

[QUOTE=JSPEH;2450314]lso, I don’t think I can get a new ISP. I live in a condominium high rise, and this is what they offer so I’m not sure if I can switch providers. Is there really a need for that?[/QUOTE] Not really, but i’ve seen better TOU’s. Perhaps something like Eweka or Giganews proves to be sufficient for you.

#7

or relaaks

https://www.relakks.com/?cid=gb

thats were most people dont get it…your ip can freely be seen in your torrent client and those guys could be monitoring all sorts of downloads in all types of torrent sites…and if they have a deal or have a good relationship with your isp…your ISP will dime you out all day long…thats why you can go with another ISP if possible(i would try) or get a proxy service…they’ll see the proxy ip in your client and you wont be bothered again :slight_smile: … i would make sure the proxy service is over seas…the ones herei n the states may do the same as your isp…speed is almost the same as yours but do to traffic and encryption it may be a tad slower…but negligible imo

#8

[QUOTE=midders;2450306]You can ignore any and all letters of this nature UNLESS they are court documents; e.g. a summons or notice of prosecution etc.

Slainte

midders[/QUOTE]

Sounds like something a company BayTSP would do send out out those letters to generate money for themselves and tell the companies they did their jobs. Like p2p is going to stop maybe if they rethink outside of the box they would do themselves more servcies. MPIAA/RIAA is bunch of gangsters whom could care less about you and instead of just getting every inch of blood from the artists whom they claim to represent but have no interest in helping advance their careers only their CEO playboy lifestyle. Why else would you think artist are now going online and selling their music and some are doing pretty good now that they actually see the money coming to them and not CEO pockets and nothing to them. So in the end they can do all the huffing and puffing p2p is here to stay legal and illegal both live in the same company. One can’t live without the other.

#9

Is there really a need for that?

Not really, but for a good case of overkill, move to Russia.

#10

I was kind of freaked out too last week when I checked my Comcast email which I never do, but I was having Television service issues and need to get some support. It was just after thepiratebay got shut down and the just sent an email that said “Notice of Copyright infringement” in the subject line, and there was nothing else. Every instance I have seen there is usually some information on what you downloaded, when, and who contacted the ISP. Not with me.

The ISP is required to act as a middle man…in most cases they will not reveal any information about your identity unless like previously mentioned the are given a warrant/subpoena. I wouldnt worry about it, if you were in any trouble you wouldnt know, because the RIAA would have the feds raid your house so they could seize certain evidence. I think it is the RIAA you have to worry about more so than the MPAA.

Just be sure to permanently remove any torrents you have already downloaded. Especially the one that gave you the red flag.

I guess there are ways to make downloading torrents “safer” but they also flag ip addresses that aren’t bad, and don’t flag ones that are. Best bet if you are going to use torrents, don’t seed after downloading, or find a way to download without uploading…i tried and it turtlenecked the connection terribly.

#11

[QUOTE=misterpink;2451945]Best bet if you are going to use torrents[/QUOTE]

Borrow your neighbors wireless network. It has the added benefit of saving your bandwidth if your ISP meters your broadband.

#13

[QUOTE=misterpink;2451945]

Just be sure to permanently remove any torrents you have already downloaded. Especially the one that gave you the red flag.

I guess there are ways to make downloading torrents “safer” but they also flag ip addresses that aren’t bad, and don’t flag ones that are. Best bet if you are going to use torrents, don’t seed after downloading, or find a way to download without uploading…i tried and it turtlenecked the connection terribly.[/QUOTE]

Like that has stopped them from taking the computer and recovering what you deleted… I doubt most if any people will do as what you just mentioned. Why else would they have spent the time to download them even if they got the message. From the statement you would follow right along but the vast majority that gets the files won’t. Also static IP changes so it doesn’t remain on one network so blocking IP does nothing to stop it - now throttling a network is illegal in my eyes cause you paid to have that bandwidth mind it - this is the legal usage not torrenting illegal files.

#14

[QUOTE=coolcolors;2452215] now throttling a network is illegal in my eyes cause you paid to have that bandwidth mind it - this is the legal usage not torrenting illegal files.[/QUOTE]

It is their network, not yours. In exchange for your money, they provide a service on their terms. By using their network you agree to them, if you do not like those terms, use another providers network.

#15

[QUOTE=brokenbuga;2452678]It is their network, not yours. In exchange for your money, they provide a service on their terms. By using their network you agree to them, if you do not like those terms, use another providers network.[/QUOTE]

There is also a wording called “Fair Use”… also there is something called Electronic Frontier that is calling all what they are doing shady… MPAA and RIAA hasn’t been getting any better in the PR business model. They become more a handicap rather then improving the business model.

#16

Are you suggesting “Fair Use” now extends to network providers terms of service or that the RIAA/MPAA has some say in how broadband should be utilized? Because that is how I read your last comment.

Do not confuse the issues, one has nothing to do with the other. Yes the RIAA is completely out of control, suing your customers is neither a sustainable business model nor does it solicit good will. They desperately need to get with the times, the MPAA to a lesser extent needs to do the same.

I do not see how you can group ISP’s in the same group however, that is silly. ISP’s are not doing anything questionable here, let alone illegal.

#17

[QUOTE=brokenbuga;2453026]I do not see how you can group ISP’s in the same group however, that is silly. ISP’s are not doing anything questionable here, let alone illegal.[/QUOTE]

That entirely depends on how a society sees an isp and on what terms the isp is or isn’t allowed to interfere. Yours or some other individuals opinion does not define, make or uphold the law that is active in your country, county or state. (I assume you don’t make or pass law bills).

To give you a perspective:

I live in the country with the highest rate of tapped phones in the world, both in absolute as in relative numbers.

But we can legally download any movie or music file from the internet.

Again, we cannot upload or make available any data we’re not authorized to do so.

#18

[QUOTE=brokenbuga;2453026]Are you suggesting “Fair Use” now extends to network providers terms of service or that the RIAA/MPAA has some say in how broadband should be utilized? Because that is how I read your last comment.

Do not confuse the issues, one has nothing to do with the other. Yes the RIAA is completely out of control, suing your customers is neither a sustainable business model nor does it solicit good will. They desperately need to get with the times, the MPAA to a lesser extent needs to do the same.

I do not see how you can group ISP’s in the same group however, that is silly. ISP’s are not doing anything questionable here, let alone illegal.[/QUOTE]

Really so they tapping and listening and reading your emails cause of the patriot BS law isn’t illegal by the ISP? RIAA/MPAA has the say well then you shouldn’t use the net cause they say all of it is against their laws. Right if you go by their standard. Illegal downloads started cause of RIAA/MPAA business model of screw the artists and buyers…just so you can get your Ferrai and Mistress…If they really wanted to stop privacy they would get it done but as with anything they whine and whine and say its of illegal downloads. But whatever the case illegal or legal downloads will continue it like asking the chicken and the egg. Or the cow are already out of the pen and asking how to keep in the pen afterwards does no service.

#19

[QUOTE=Mr. Belvedere;2453382]That entirely depends on how a society sees an isp and on what terms the isp is or isn’t allowed to interfere. Yours or some other individuals opinion does not define, make or uphold the law that is active in your country, county or state. (I assume you don’t make or pass law bills).

To give you a perspective:

I live in the country with the highest rate of tapped phones in the world, both in absolute as in relative numbers.

But we can legally download any movie or music file from the internet.

Again, we cannot upload or make available any data we’re not authorized to do so.[/QUOTE]

Fair enough.

I should have qualified my comment, I certainly am not in any position to speak on matters globally. Here in the US, the phone companies have chosen to remain neutral, in AT&T’s case, or fiercely protect customers rights, in Verizon’s case. Verizon was sued by the RIAA for failing to provide customer information. I do not know where the cable companies stand, as I am not a cable customer, nor do I have much interest.

Law making and line tapping are out of the hands of the ISP, that is a government issue. At that point, isn’t an individuals issue with the government and not with the ISP? Which leads to the following.

[QUOTE=coolcolors;2453543]Really so they tapping and listening and reading your emails cause of the patriot BS law isn’t illegal by the ISP? RIAA/MPAA has the say well then you shouldn’t use the net cause they say all of it is against their laws. Right if you go by their standard. Illegal downloads started cause of RIAA/MPAA business model of screw the artists and buyers…just so you can get your Ferrai and Mistress…If they really wanted to stop privacy they would get it done but as with anything they whine and whine and say its of illegal downloads. But whatever the case illegal or legal downloads will continue it like asking the chicken and the egg. Or the cow are already out of the pen and asking how to keep in the pen afterwards does no service.[/QUOTE]

Are you able to remain on topic? It is difficult to have a discussion when the topic keeps bouncing to unrelated subjects.

Personally, I couldn’t care less if the feds tapped into my email account. If they felt the need to get the latest EggSaver deals or wanted the latest University of Phoenix Spam, they can have it.

They can not tap into the line without first getting a warrant from a judge. I would have to be doing something very suspicious to have the Feds go to the trouble to obtain a warrant to tap into my internet connection, wouldn’t you agree? The nonsense about secretly tapping into lines to protect against terrorism, whatever that means, was overturned by a federal judge.

The Feds are not going to tap your line because you are torrenting Lady GaGa CDs or the latest Star Trek BluRay Rip before street date, no matter how much bitching the Hollywood suits are doing. ISP’s don’t care either, they are only throttling p2p connections because they use a disproportionate amount of available bandwidth.

I get it, you don’t like the RIAA/MPAA. I don’t either, just keep it on topic instead of branching off to unrelated topics.

#20

[QUOTE=brokenbuga;2453914]just keep it on topic instead of branching off to unrelated topics.[/QUOTE] You’re right. I guess everything is solved when JSPEH stops downloading illegal content :slight_smile: