mario620
join:2003-06-27
Los Angeles, CA
| Notice of Claim of Copyright Infringement
This is what I got through email. I don't understand what it trys to say. Should I worry about this? What should I do about it? I have already deleted the file.
Dear Comcast High-Speed Internet Subscriber:
Comcast has received a notification of claimed infringement made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the 'DMCA'). This notification, made by a copyright owner or its authorized agent, reports an alleged infringement of one or more copyrighted works made on or over Comcast's High-Speed Internet service (the 'Service'). The works identified in the notification of claimed infringement are listed below. In accordance with the DMCA and Comcast's Acceptable Use Policy, Comcast request that you immediately remove the allegedly infringing works from the Service or Comcast will be forced to remove or block access to the works.
If you believe in good faith that the allegedly infringing works have been removed or blocked by mistake or misidentification, then you may send a counter notification to Comcast. Upon Comcast's receipt of a counter notification that satisfies the requirements of the DMCA, Comcast will provide a copy of the counter notification to the party who sent the original notification of claimed infringement. We will then follow the DMCA's procedures with respect to a received counter notification.
For more information regarding Comcast's copyright infringement policy, procedures, and contact information, please read our Acceptable Use Policy by clicking on the Terms of Service link at »www.comcast.net.
Sincerely,
Comcast Network Abuse and Observance Team
Copyright work(s) identified in the notification of claimed infringement:
Title: Will & Grace (TV)
Infringement Source: BitTorrent
Initial Infringement Timestamp: 15 Mar 2006 10:27:18 GMT
Recent Infringment Timestamp: 15 Mar 2006 10:27:18 GMT
Infringer Username:
Infringing Filename: Will.And.Grace.S08E15.HDTV.XviD-LOL.avi
Infringing Filesize: 183711744
Infringers IP Address: 00.000.00.00
Infringers DNS Name: c-00-000-00-00.hsd1.ca.comcast.net
Infringing URL: 00.000.00.00:51323\Will.And.Grace.S08E15.HDTV.XviD-LOL.avi
Changed IP addy's just to be safe. |
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Justin413
join:2003-07-22
Methuen, MA | Sounds like you have some copywrite stuff on your computer.. are you using some type of p2p? sharing the files with the network.. ect.. i would get rid of the file if i was you. |
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GOLFnSUN
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
 ·Comcast
1 edit | reply to mario620
said by mario620  :This is what I got through email. I don't understand what it trys to say. Should I worry about this? What should I do about it? I have already deleted the file. It means you were caught by a company hired to track down those offering illegal copies of copyrighted work(namely Will & Grace in this case). Deleting it was the right decision. But you may still get hit with one of those offers to settle for a few thousand dollars whether you reply to Comcast or not. And if you don't settle, you could be sued. Yes. I'd worry if I were you.
P.S. chging IP addr won't help you. They already gotcha.
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jbob
Reach Out and Touch Someone
Premium
join:2004-04-26
Little Rock, AR
·Comcast
 ·AT&T Southwest
| I assume he meant changing his IP addy in his post.
If the OP is really worried it'd be better to consult a lawyer than anyone on this site. If you were sharing, as in uploading the said file, then you were in violation. One movie or file might not get you any trouble since historically they seem to be going after the mega uploaders, at least in the music area. If you only downloaded the file and didn't allow it to be shared(uploaded) then "MAYBE" you'll be ok. Unfortunately unless you made changes to the default settings while you were downloading the file was also being shared with other trying to upload it from you.
In some recent court challenges though the judges seem confused about the differences between illegal sharing and just downloading. YMMV |
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Matt420
@comcast.net | reply to mario620
Sorry to hear this but by the way what program did u use to download the file? Just curious? |
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Matt420
@comcast.net | nevermind you used Bittorrent |
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J D McDorce
Premium
join:2001-12-29
Westland, MI
| reply to mario620
said by »www.comcast.net/terms/use.jsp :
Copyright Infringement
Comcast is committed to complying with U.S. copyright and related laws, and requires all customers and users of the Service to comply with these laws. Accordingly, you may not store any material or content on, or disseminate any material or content over, the Service (or any part of the Service) in any manner that constitutes an infringement of third party intellectual property rights, including rights granted by U.S. copyright law. Owners of copyrighted works who believe that their rights under U.S. copyright law have been infringed may take advantage of certain provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the "DMCA") to report alleged infringements. It is Comcast's policy in accordance with the DMCA and other applicable laws to reserve the right to terminate the Service provided to any customer or user who is either found to infringe third party copyright or other intellectual property rights, including repeat infringers, or who Comcast believes in its sole discretion is infringing these rights. Comcast may terminate the Service at any time with or without notice for any affected customer or user.
Copyright owners may report alleged infringements of their works that are stored on the Service or the Personal Web Features by sending Comcast's authorized agent a notification of claimed infringement that satisfies the requirements of the DMCA. Upon Comcast's receipt of a satisfactory notice of claimed infringement for these works, Comcast will respond expeditiously to either directly or indirectly (i) remove the allegedly infringing work(s) stored on the Service or the Personal Web Features or (ii) disable access to the work(s). Comcast will also notify the affected customer or user of the Service of the removal or disabling of access to the work(s). If the affected customer or user believes in good faith that the allegedly infringing works have been removed or blocked by mistake or misidentification, then that person may send a counter notification to Comcast. Upon Comcast's receipt of a counter notification that satisfies the requirements of DMCA, Comcast will provide a copy of the counter notification to the person who sent the original notification of claimed infringement and will follow the DMCA's procedures with respect to a received counter notification. In all events, you expressly agree that Comcast will not be a party to any disputes or lawsuits regarding alleged copyright infringement.
This snippet from the AUP should provide some insight regarding why you received the email.
In addition to deleting the file, you may also want to consider discontinuing the use of whatever software you used to obtain the file, as well as delete any other similar copyrighted material. |
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mario620
join:2003-06-27
Los Angeles, CA | reply to mario620
Sounds like I should just sit and wait and see what happens. I wonder if anyone else has gotten this from thier isp's. I hope that they really pay more attention to the mega uploaders and music shares. |
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J D McDorce
Premium
join:2001-12-29
Westland, MI
| I've seen them posted from time to time. ISPs (in this case, Comcast) are bound by the DMCA to provide notification to their customers should the copyright holder (or their agent) report alleged infringements of their works. Most of the letters of this type that I have seen are for TV shows. Had it been a work of music associated with the RIAA, you would likely have been presented with the opportunity (by a party other than Comcast) to pay several thousand dollars to avoid being sued by a RIAA member instead of receiving an email from Comcast. |
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oldTDNickell
Premium
join:2000-12-19
Federal Way, WA | reply to J D McDorce
The advice and info given by J D McDorce is the correct way.
Just don't do it again and you will be alright:) |
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mario620
join:2003-06-27
Los Angeles, CA | reply to mario620
I'll do that, I'm glad to hear that it's more or less a slap of the hand. Just wondering how they know exactly what has been downloaded. And if there is anyway that the files that I download can not be scanned or read my the isp? |
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scooby
Premium
join:2001-05-01
Schaumburg, IL
| said by mario620 :I'll do that, I'm glad to hear that it's more or less a slap of the hand. Just wondering how they know exactly what has been downloaded. And if there is anyway that the files that I download can not be scanned or read my the isp? Bittorrent has trackers that show whats being downloaded by which ip. The company just sends a letter to abuse@comcast.net saying this ip was downloading such and such at this time. Comcast lines the ip up to your account and forwards the warning.
Dont use bittorrent or use bittorrent with password protected trackers. |
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mario620
join:2003-06-27
Los Angeles, CA | reply to mario620
Password protected trackers, if I stick to these. Will it be harder for them to locate me? Or they can still see me downloading, but they would have to sign up to that tracker and have access? |
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motoracer
join:2003-09-15
Valencia, CA | Why not just stop the problem at the source and stop downloading/uploading copyrighted material  |
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Combat Chuck
Too Many Cannibals
Premium
join:2001-11-29
Erie, PA
3 edits | reply to mario620
With bittorrent, anyone that can connect to the tracker eventually is able to know everyone else that is downloading the file. In addition, clients that make use of a distributed database and/or peer exchange (such as Azureus) make it so that even people not able to connect to a particular tracker may be able to see everyone who is downloading a particular file regardless of what client they are using.
Bottom line is if you are really concerned about it don't download copyrighted material unless you know the owner of said copyright is ok with it, especially if you choose to use bittorrent, even with password protected trackers. Bittorrent is, by design, not anonymous.
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He that winna lout an lift a preen wull nivver be warth a groat. |
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hurl8
Premium
join:2003-01-21
Ontario, CA | reply to mario620
Try IRC. lol =) |
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Kaltes
Premium
join:2002-12-04
Los Angeles, CA
| reply to mario620
No big deal, idle threats
If I were you, I'd just ignore it. You downloaded will & grace using bittorrent? big deal.
Comcast has no means of blocking access, nor are they required to by law. I don't see them actually doing anything at all about this. After all, Comcast benefits from p2p use because it is one of the attractions of broadband.
This is a tactic a company is using to scare you. The only thing you have to fear is fear itself, quite literally. If you blow this off, like I would, you'll see that ultimately it is hot air.
In the extremely unlikely event that you were to get sued, you could merely claim that you did not download the file. It would be impossible for the company suing you to prove that you did, unless you came out and admitted it.
- changing IP won't matter
- deleting the file won't matter
- whether you continue to use BT or not won't matter
said by mario620 :Sounds like I should just sit and wait and see what happens. Good idea. If I were you, I would throw it away and do nothing, or send a counter-notice.
said by J D McDorce : ISPs (in this case, Comcast) are bound by the DMCA to provide notification to their customers should the copyright holder (or their agent) report alleged infringements of their works. No, they are not. They are required to give the user notice when they receive a subpoena from the copyright holder requesting their customer's identity. If you don't want them to get your identity, you can send a counter-notice. Otherwise, they get it.
said by J D McDorce : Had it been a work of music associated with the RIAA, you would likely have been presented with the opportunity (by a party other than Comcast) to pay several thousand dollars to avoid being sued by a RIAA member instead of receiving an email from Comcast. You would have seen the comcast letter first, then the RIAA demand letter (an empty threat) sometime later.
said by oldTDNickell :Just don't do it again and you will be alright Allow yourself to be intimidated, and the copyright terrorists win.
said by motoracer :Why not just stop the problem at the source and stop downloading/uploading copyrighted material Maybe he likes to watch will & grace, and doesn't have a TIVO to record it with 'legally'? :P I download episodes of TV shows all the time. It is a convenient thing that means I don't have to schedule my life around when a given show is going to be on TV. I could care less if the copyright holder doesn't like it. This is no different from getting a TIVO or some similar device to record shows, then taking out the commercials. |
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samkaye
join:2001-04-14
Beverly Hills, FL | reply to mario620
Re: Notice of Claim of Copyright Infringement
When will people learn not to use Bittorrent ect. Get yourself a news host (i use newshosting) and you will never see a letter like that again. |
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cmaenginsb
Premium,MVM
join:2001-03-19
Palmdale, CA
| reply to mario620
As someone who works for an ISP, I can shed a bit of light on this. We would get those types of requests all the time. All we would do is notify the appropriate end user that they have attracted some bad attention and to delete the offending file.
At this point generally they haven't been supeoned nor will they if the offending file/s is/are removed.
As what you are doing is against Comcast's TOS the correct thing to do is delete the file and forget about it.
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CCNA, Comtrain Certified Tower Climber |
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Lumberjack
Premium
join:2003-01-18
Newport News, VA
| reply to mario620
First, you shouldn't share copyrighted material. Second unless you have a license to obtain/use the material you shouldn't obtain it (regardless of the source).
Here are the common reasons people do stupid things with copying data (not pointing any fingers here).
1) They think it costs to much to legally obtain. Ah yes, "I don't want to pay $20 for a CD; it's not fair, so I'll download it, ha". This is stupid. Even though the commercial is stupid (we've all seen it by now) you most likely don't steal tangible items (purse, car, etc..) yet because data can be "copied" you think its not stealing. The license and laws state that copying digital works (usually) is a bad thing unless you own the original and don't distribute the copies.
2) The law on copyright isn't fair. This one is a pure excuse people use when they don't want to pay for copyrighted works (almost the same as #1 above). Guess what folks, like other things in the US and other countries if you don't like the law work to change it. If you just bitch and complain it means nothing (except you're a looser).
3) They don't read the license. For software this is simple. If you can obtain it for free and the license says its free, fine... just follow the license for distribution rights. If you had to buy it or the license says you have to buy it don't give away copies (reselling the original is ok). Moves/tv shows etc. "credits" and usually the credits have a copyright statement. This usually tells you that the owner owns it and users can't just take it and resell/give it away.
4) For software, this is my favorite... "Software should be free, damn the copyright, patents and licenses!" While I enjoy using GPL, BSD and Apache style license (as well as others that give away for free) I also write software for a job. When you steal software its like stealing a car... it costs to design, assemble and produce so where the @#@# do people get off thinking it should all be free? In the case of the GPL and other free license the auther decided to be nice and give the software away. With other software (MS, Oracle, WinRar, etc..) the author spent time, money and effort to bring you applications you use and for the most part enjoy. They need to eat and you need the software so like buying a car, you should buy the software. I can go on and on about this.. but as most of us "experienced users/engineers" know Linux and most popular GPL licensed projects would be nowhere today with out some sort of income. While the software can be obtained for free people have been paid to work on it or have gained financially from using it (hmm, does this server run on Apache? Does it host adds?).
Anyway enough of my rant...
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»www.fairtax.org |
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