I was contacted about downloading copyrighted material...

[vultures]

So uhh.. I don't really know where to post this, but I need some advice. We received a letter today from our ISP, telling us that they tracked our IP address to a torrent website to which we downloaded copyrighted material. They forwarded the information to Universal Studios, and they might be pressing charges against us for sharing/downloading/distributing copyrighted material without their permission.

So.. I may or may have not actually downloaded these files, I'm not going to admit to anything.. Because if they tracked that, I don't know what they're watching. What do I do? I just deleted every file in my video section with Tuneup Utilities shredder, and I might remove any bit torrent programs from my computer because they said they tracked it through a bit torrent website.

The thing is, they only tracked it to an IP address, not necessarily my computer. I also recently had to lock my internet connection due to multiple unknown users accessing my router. Can I use that as a legit excuse.. They leave a website for me to go to so I can respond to this.

Should I completely wipe my hard-drive? I don't even know how to.. Should I give my laptop to a friend if anything happens and he/she holds onto it until it all blows over? Do you think they'll actually persue any legal action? I'm majoring in criminal justice to go in law enforcement and I can't have any legal trouble.

Any help would be appreciated dudes, I'm posting from a completely different state right now, and I'm still paranoid..

 

[Anonymous]

Don't make any attempts to contact them. Anything further, deal with a lawyer.

 

[Variable]

There is a whole slew of info here:

http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/

Do not do anything unless you get a "Pay us our extortion fee or we'll take you to court" letter from Universal. There is more info on this racket at the above website. Yes, it IS a racket, and NO, the judges are generally too stupid to understand that an IP is not a valid form of identification.

Also, check your ToS for your ISP (I'm curious who it is, btw). For them to release information about you to Universal without your consent might be illegal. For them to be monitoring the details of your traffic could also be illegal.

Generally, private investigation companies like MediaSentry (recently renamed to something else f I'm not mistaken) are the ones collecting this information about you. What then happens is the offended label will file for a John-Doe discovery subpoena to find out your name based on their collected data.

Even IF there is something in the ToS from your ISP saying they'll do what they did, it may still be illegal depending on what state you live in. Just because it's in a contract doesn't mean it is legal. For example, if you sign a contract saying that you're giving me the right to shoot you dead, it doesn't make it any less illegal for me to do it.

If you DO get a letter from Universal and decide to go to court, be ready for an incredibly lengthy, drawn out case. The whole reason this is a racket is because the $1000+ damages are less than a lengthy court battle would cost (unless you counter-sue them for lawyer fees, etc, which I don't think has worked for anyone yet), so most people pay the lesser fee. It's like saying "I think you took my screwdriver blueprint, copied the design and gave it away to a million people based on this shabby evidence; pay me money or I'll take you to court".

And if you do go to court, MAKE IT AS PUBLIC AS POSSIBLE. The only way to fight the RIAA right now is to throw shit in their face and make them look stupid, because THAT causes album sales to go down.

 

[vultures]

There is a whole slew of info here:

http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/

Do not do anything unless you get a "Pay us our extortion fee or we'll take you to court" letter from Universal. There is more info on this racket at the above website. Yes, it IS a racket, and NO, the judges are generally too stupid to understand that an IP is not a valid form of identification.

Also, check your ToS for your ISP (I'm curious who it is, btw). For them to release information about you to Universal without your consent might be illegal. For them to be monitoring the details of your traffic could also be illegal.

Generally, private investigation companies like MediaSentry (recently renamed to something else f I'm not mistaken) are the ones collecting this information about you. What then happens is the offended label will file for a John-Doe discovery subpoena to find out your name based on their collected data.

Even IF there is something in the ToS from your ISP saying they'll do what they did, it may still be illegal depending on what state you live in. Just because it's in a contract doesn't mean it is legal. For example, if you sign a contract saying that you're giving me the right to shoot you dead, it doesn't make it any less illegal for me to do it.

If you DO get a letter from Universal and decide to go to court, be ready for an incredibly lengthy, drawn out case. The whole reason this is a racket is because the $1000+ damages are less than a lengthy court battle would cost (unless you counter-sue them for lawyer fees, etc, which I don't think has worked for anyone yet), so most people pay the lesser fee. It's like saying "I think you took my screwdriver blueprint, copied the design and gave it away to a million people based on this shabby evidence; pay me money or I'll take you to court".

And if you do go to court, MAKE IT AS PUBLIC AS POSSIBLE. The only way to fight the RIAA right now is to throw shit in their face and make them look stupid, because THAT causes album sales to go down.

Thanks for the information.. I've been talking to some lawyer friends and from what I understand it's illegal how they find out this information, and they target middle/working class families because they don't think they can hire a lawyer to figure out they can counter sue. Hopefully nothing comes from this

 

[cloudnine]

Welcome to responsibility for your actions.

 

[vultures]

Welcome to responsibility for your actions.

Pretty funny considering I never mentioned if these files were actually downloaded, or by whichever person in my household. You're comments are both ignorant and not welcome

 

[cloudnine]

Welcome to responsibility for your actions.

Pretty funny considering I never mentioned if these files were actually downloaded, or by whichever person in my household. You're comments are both ignorant and not welcome

Oh please. Let's not get into semantics. We both know you downloaded the files.

I'm not saying the ISP had any right to pass on your information to anyone (they shouldn't) but let's get real here; you stole stuff that you didn't pay for and now it's coming back to bite you.

 

[vultures]

The cool thing is, when you add someone to the foe list.. You don't have to read their posts anymore

 

[cloudnine]

Oh no, someone is taking me to task for something I did and who feels I should take responsibility! I'll just ignore them.

Sorry I didn't give you what you wanted to hear.

 

[Variable]

Welcome to responsibility for your actions.

Pretty funny considering I never mentioned if these files were actually downloaded, or by whichever person in my household. You're comments are both ignorant and not welcome

Oh please. Let's not get into semantics. We both know you downloaded the files.

I'm not saying the ISP had any right to pass on your information to anyone (they shouldn't) but let's get real here; you stole stuff that you didn't pay for and now it's coming back to bite you.

Actually, legally speaking it's not "stealing". So don't call it that. It's "copyright infringement". It's not like he took a CD from a store. It's also not a "lost sale", as there's no way Universal can prove he was ever going to pay money for the CD/movie anyway. Hell, the methods they use to "prove" he downloaded any file are dubious at best. Considering you can easily spoof an IP address and MAC address, it's entirely possible someone not even in this country downloaded those files using his identifying information. "Cyber-crime" isn't black and white. What if a friend downloaded the stuff on his computer? It's like saying the owner of a gun is guilty of murder when someone else uses it for that murder. How can they prove he was sitting at his computer when this happened? How can they prove nobody hacked his PC (like the millions of Windows PCs taking part in bot-nets these days) and used it to download the files?

And before this thread falls apart into the typical "people vs. struggling artists" routine, keep in mind that statistically speaking, record sales contribute a negligible amount of money to an artist's coffers. Nearly all real income comes from gigs (unless you're lucky enough to be a platinum artist).

Anyway, in this country people are innocent until proven guilty. Just thought I'd point that out in case anyone forgot.

 

[Juggernaut]

Change ISPs first of all....

Buy a NEW HD, and trash the old one...

One more arguement that can be made is a neighbor or someone piggybacking on your wireless.

 

[duodecim]

Oh please. Let's not get into semantics. We both know you downloaded the files.

I'm not saying the ISP had any right to pass on your information to anyone (they shouldn't) but let's get real here; you stole stuff that you didn't pay for and now it's coming back to bite you.

Copyright infringement isn't theft.

If the RIAA would force people to pay for the CDs they downloaded, it would have a point. Now, it uses FUD, scare tactics and racketeering to keep an outdated distribution model in place. And since justice for all is about as fake a national value as any other when it concerns big corporations and money in an overly capitalist democracy, no individual will get a fighting chance by him-/herself.

If I steal a CD, I get off free (here at least) with a warning. If I download the songs, I would be in debt for the rest of my life, having to pay even hundred thousands of dollars (in the US)... While copyright infringement should be a lesser offence than theft since I don't directly deprive anybody in a tangible and, more importantly, proven way.

Perhaps greed has made the US a less fair, equal and ultimately free country to live in, when it comes to this sort of things. Money by way of powerful industry lobbies and political influence groups has become an ever more dangerous weapon in modern societies.

I advise not to admit to anything and wait for the accusing party to deliver on the burden of evidence. I would just get a new hard disk and keep the old one somewhere out of sight... Or run AES or some other crypto cypher over it. You're protected by law against incriminating yourself anyway.

 

[vultures]

Oh no, someone is taking me to task for something I did and who feels I should take responsibility! I'll just ignore them.

Sorry I didn't give you what you wanted to hear.

You can stop being an elitist, because no one here cares

 

[Audioholic]

Best way to stay safe is to avoid any possible illegal downloading and sharing. Not trying to point fingers at anyone, infer that anyone has, or sound like a punk, but I think its just respetable for all parties.

I seriously doubt though that anything will come about from this, unless anyone was doing something on an alarmable scale. I am sure it will work out for you, but also if there was a chance of doing anything infringing on legal stuff, might be a good wake up call to us all to keep things legit.

best of luck man.

 

[bravedude2]

complete reformat of your pc. that should keep you clear.

 

[bbp]

complete reformat of your pc. that should keep you clear.

Nope. Unless you overwrite the data several times it's possible to restore it and even then you might not be in the clear. The best solution is to put in an entirely new hard drive and physically break the old one, making sure that the platters are in as many pieces as possible.

As far as piracy is concerned, I think the whole issue is blown out of proportion. I'll readily admit I download stuff on a regular basis but, and this is the thing that's missing in the debate most of the time, I make a point of buying the stuff I like and use on a regular basis if/when funds allow.

 

[scottosan]

I would add a wireless router with a wide open security, delete all of the files and play dumb like somoeone must have highjacked your wireless signal

 

[Digital Jams]

About ISPs and your rights...............

All ISPs due to 9/11 now have taps installed on every broadband router and once the court order goes through anyone's line can be tapped if a request is made through the legal system. PLease dont refute this because I have installed it and have worked with men with "certain" IDs. Not saying right or wrong or taking sides, just telling you what you may have on your line.

IPs................your router takes a static IP from the pool from the ISP and the equipment that serves you. If someone "war drives" your house that IP is given by YOUR router if you have that option enabled. Dont use that agrument or you will look like you are hiding something. The only way you could go that route is to say someone hacked your router's password so change it to the default if you changed it.

Hard drives...............you have to destroy it if you want to be sure.

Sorry about this stuff, keep your head and DO NOT SPEAK TO THEM. Let your laywer do that.

 

[Digital Jams]

I would add a wireless router with a wide open security, delete all of the files and play dumb like somoeone must have highjacked your wireless signal

Yes that is exactly what you do.

"sorry dudes but I was war driven!!!!!!"

 

[Variable]

About ISPs and your rights...............

All ISPs due to 9/11 now have taps installed on every broadband router and once the court order goes through anyone's line can be tapped if a request is made through the legal system. PLease dont refute this because I have installed it and have worked with men with "certain" IDs. Not saying right or wrong or taking sides, just telling you what you may have on your line.

IPs................your router takes a static IP from the pool from the ISP and the equipment that serves you. If someone "war drives" your house that IP is given by YOUR router if you have that option enabled. Dont use that agrument or you will look like you are hiding something. The only way you could go that route is to say someone hacked your router's password so change it to the default if you changed it.

Hard drives...............you have to destroy it if you want to be sure.

Sorry about this stuff, keep your head and DO NOT SPEAK TO THEM. Let your laywer do that.

Just out of curiosity, can an ISP use that tapping equipment on the line WITHOUT a court order? The way the original post reads, the ISP was packet sniffing, and THEN they notified Universal. That sounds illegal to me. IE, this wasn't a government request for info, and they mentioned nothing about a court order to do what they did.