Takedown notice from comcast, but I havn't been downloading

[sourceninja]

I got this notice today and I'm confused.

Dear Comcast High-Speed Internet Subscriber:

Comcast has received a notification by a copyright owner, or its authorized
agent, reporting an alleged infringement of one or more copyrighted works made
on or over Comcast's High-Speed Internet service (the 'Service'). The copyright
owner has identified the Internet Protocol ('IP') address associated with your
Service account at the time as the source of the infringing works. The works
identified by the copyright owner in its notification are listed below. Comcast
reminds you that use of the Service (or any part of the Service) in any manner
that constitutes an infringement of any copyrighted work is a violation of
Comcast's Acceptable Use Policy and may result in the suspension or termination
of your Service account.

If you have any questions regarding this notice, you may direct them to Comcast
in writing by sending a letter or e-mail to:

Comcast Legal Response Center
Comcast Cable Communications, LLC
650 Centerton Road
Moorestown, NJ 08057 U.S.A.
Phone: (856) 317-7272
Fax: (856) 317-7319
E-mail: dmca@comcast.net

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 http://www.comcast.net.


Sincerely,
Comcast Legal Response Center

Copyright work(s) identified in the notification of claimed infringement:

Title: Heroes (TV)

Infringement Source: BitTorrent
Infringing Filename: Heroes Season1 Ep1-23
Infringing File size: 8434266290
Infringing URL: http://tracker.prq.to:80/announce.php

Of course this is edited to remove any data that identifys me. However, I'm confused. I have not been downloading anything via bittorrent, and in fact my wife and I have been watching Hero's via NBC's own website. (Which I would not be doing if I downloaded Heros.) I have checked and I do not see anyone using my wireless or anything like that. Should I just ignore this and move on, or is this something I need to contact them about?

 

[p0lar]

Originally posted by: sourceninja
Of course this is edited to remove any data that identifys me. However, I'm confused. I have not been downloading anything via bittorrent, and in fact my wife and I have been watching Hero's via NBC's own website. (Which I would not be doing if I downloaded Heros.) I have checked and I do not see anyone using my wireless or anything like that. Should I just ignore this and move on, or is this something I need to contact them about?

The following discussion assumes heavily that you did not use bittorrent to download copyrighted material. If that assumption is wrong, you got what you deserved.
---
Direct them to further discussions with your attorney, do not get involved personally under any circumstance. I suggest you migrate to another provider immediately and without hesitation. There's nothing top brass hates to see more than wasted customer acquisition and retention dollars; could they really give a $#@% about filesharing? No. Don't forget, your value to Comcast is worth approximately 2 years worth of subscriber fees in revenue -- that is how they see you as Joe Customer. Supposing you pay $50/month, from the eyes of their financial department, they have just watched $1200 float away (plus acquisition and retention cash). This will prompt them to more seriously consider bringing unproven charges against paying subscribers in the very near future.

 

[sourceninja]

I have downloaded copyrighted material. I do not deny that. I however do deny that i have downloaded heros. I thought about downloading it, however I found out it was viewable for free on NBC's own website. So I have been watching it there. I the only 'illegal' downloads I have made are episodes of shows I missed. I believe this year to date I have only downloaded a handful of Season 5 of the ultimate fighter. In fact if this was put on spike tv on itunes, I'd actually just buy it.

I am not some stupid kid who thinks the world should be free. I understand the reasons for protecting IP. I do not support some of the methods, but I do not use that as an excuse, I buy songs in itunes that I really really like.

However that is not the point. They are accusing me of downloading something I simply did not download. Send me a notice for TUF 5 episode 12 (I did not realize there were 2 episodes in a row last thursday and went to bed after the first one, missed the second, downloaded it and watched it) I won't complain. But they are excusing me of distrusting or downloading a file I simply did not download. I'm guessing they are mind readers and simply knew I was thinking about downloading it before I found it for free on NBC's own website.

I do have a problem though. There is no other broadband service I can use. My only option is to have no internet at all, or comcast. I do not have a phone, I use comcast digital voice. I have been a comcast customer for over 7 years. There do not seem to ask me to contact them in any way. I'm hesitant to pay my attorney to handle this issue if they are not going to persue it, unless you really think it could come back and bite me in the ass later. I currently pay comcast 100.00 a month for tv, internet, and voip service. I wish the freaking phone company would offer dsl to me without a bundled phone service, I'd switch in a heart beat to sunrocket, dsl, and dish. I'd even concider dsl with bundled phone service if it was reasonable.

 

[p0lar]

Originally posted by: sourceninja
I have downloaded copyrighted material. I do not deny that. I however do deny that i have downloaded heros. I thought about downloading it, however I found out it was viewable for free on NBC's own website. So I have been watching it there. I the only 'illegal' downloads I have made are episodes of shows I missed. I believe this year to date I have only downloaded a handful of Season 5 of the ultimate fighter. In fact if this was put on spike tv on itunes, I'd actually just buy it.

I am not some stupid kid who thinks the world should be free. I understand the reasons for protecting IP. I do not support some of the methods, but I do not use that as an excuse, I buy songs in itunes that I really really like.

However that is not the point. They are accusing me of downloading something I simply did not download. Send me a notice for TUF 5 episode 12 (I did not realize there were 2 episodes in a row last thursday and went to bed after the first one, missed the second, downloaded it and watched it) I won't complain. But they are excusing me of distrusting or downloading a file I simply did not download. I'm guessing they are mind readers and simply knew I was thinking about downloading it before I found it for free on NBC's own website.

I do have a problem though. There is no other broadband service I can use. My only option is to have no internet at all, or comcast. I do not have a phone, I use comcast digital voice. I have been a comcast customer for over 7 years. There do not seem to ask me to contact them in any way. I'm hesitant to pay my attorney to handle this issue if they are not going to persue it, unless you really think it could come back and bite me in the ass later. I currently pay comcast 100.00 a month for tv, internet, and voip service. I wish the freaking phone company would offer dsl to me without a bundled phone service, I'd switch in a heart beat to sunrocket, dsl, and dish. I'd even concider dsl with bundled phone service if it was reasonable.

Let me get this straight... you make no argument that you deserve the takedown notice, only that they got the content it was served on incorrect?

I'm not sure what to tell you -- perhaps you should call them back and correct their mistake?

I seriously hope, for your sake, you're not looking for empathy on this one.

P.S. Even if you are guilty, you're paying $100/month. They don't want to lose you -- that's $2400 worth of customer, serious leverage. I personally still think you're in the wrong, but that doesn't mean you can't take a slap on the wrist and move on.

 

[KenAF2]

I would take that as a warning.

Comcast has detailed tracking data on every customer since [at least] early 2006. They know exactly what IP address you were using on February 14, 2006 at 5:43pm. The fact that you received that email means the MPAA identified you as an abuser and contacted Comcast with your IP. If the MPAA issued a subpoena for your information -- which they have been doing at the rate of hundreds per month-- they've now got you on record (with all your personal information) as having downloaded pirated materials.

They don't know what IP you have at any given time, but any future violations in your name -- determined by subpoena -- will be added to your MPAA pirate "profile." If the list of violations in your "profile" gets long enough, you'll receive the letter from the MPAA telling you to pay a $5000-$15000 (depending on your level of abuse) fine and sign a statement never to infringe again. The alternative is to face them in court. If they've subpoenaed the records from Comcast, you will almost certainly lose.

Right now, the MPAA is following a lottery system. They submit hundreds of subpoenas every month looking for repeat offenders (i.e. serious abusers). If you only get hit once, twice, or thrice, you are not going to be sued. On the other hand, if you use p2p to pirate MPAA materials on a regular basis, and are unlucky enough to get hit many times by their subpoena "lotto", then you will receive the letter telling you to pay the $5000-$15000 fine and sign the agreement never to infringe again (or show up in court). Once they've got that signed letter, you'll be subject to tens of thousands of dollars in fines should you infringe again.

 

[sourceninja]

Most people speed in cars. If they get a ticket when they are not speeding, would you recommend they just pay it because they probably did speed at some point before?

I don't care about empathy. I just want to know if I need to contact my lawyer, or if this is just a warning that I can ignore.

I will keep my eyes open for another provider. I tried att but they do not offer dsl service yet in my area. I wish I could call and cancel, but I need broadband for my job. I wish I had a way to verify that was my IP on that date. As silly as this sounds, I have been billed for my fathers service before (It was funny to ask the rep why I was getting billed for 2 internet services, and 2 cable services ) . He lives on the other side of the state, but has the exact same name. We also used the same morgage company, and they were applying his payments to my house for 2 months before someone noticed. There is also a guy in Gary, IN with my exact same name who frequently gets things placed on my credit report (I've had to remove 2 car repo's to date). I will keep a detailed IP record in the future. I know that currently my IP is not the IP they listed in the email. Comcast has trouble billing me properly, I really doubt they have a fool proof tracking system.

The biggest craziness of this is that you can watch heros for free on NBC.com. For some reason my firefox also does not show commercials and can go full screen (my wife's computer will not go full screen and plays commercials). So I can watch it commercial free on NBC.com legally, but they are worried about me downloading it? I'm actually so ticked now I'm tempted to use a FLA downloader to download it right from NBC.com.

The good news is there are no illegal files on my computer. When I download a show, I watch it and delete it. I just want to see the show I missed. I've even bought season dvd's of shows I really liked that I watched because of bittorrent. But now I guess I need to stop doing that, this means I'm going to stop watching tv shows. Because I can't always make a show every week and most shows get me lost if I miss one (try watching heros, lost, etc after you miss an episode or two). So this means comcast is going to lose money because I'm going to drop my tv service down to the lowest I can go with comedy central and cartoon network (the only two channels I watch because they don't require keeping up on the series). So all of this has actually cost them money. And is only a minor annoyance for me.

 

[KenAF2]

Most people speed in cars. If they get a ticket when they are not speeding, would you recommend they just pay it because they probably did speed at some point before?

I seriously doubt that is the case here. I would be surprised if the MPAA even told Comcast what you infringed. Accusing you of pirating a network program is about the best thing Comcast can do in this scenario. It doesn't upset the average customer which may not be aware that it is illegal to download network TV shows. But it does let them know that the behavior is illegal, so they know not to do it again.

The key issue here is that you have now been warned. Which means any future infringement came after the fact that you were duly warned, making you liable in court for higher damages. This is one of the key issues that has come out of RIAA's efforts. They've found they are far more successful in civil litigitation after the customer has been warned, because they can no longer claim ignorance ("my child was doing it and I didn't know," "I didn't know it was illegal to download that," etc).

I don't care about empathy. I just want to know if I need to contact my lawyer, or if this is just a warning that I can ignore.

It's a warning -- so you shouldn't ignore it. But you don't need a lawyer. Nothing more will come of this unless you continue to infringe after having been warned.

 

[sourceninja]

I can tell you 100% with out a doubt (I'd take a lie detector test) that I did not download heros. I simply did not do it. The only thing I can think of is a mistake on comcasts part. My wife didn't do it, my wireless is secure. It just didn't happen.

 

[p0lar]

Originally posted by: sourceninja
Most people speed in cars. If they get a ticket when they are not speeding, would you recommend they just pay it because they probably did speed at some point before?

I don't care about empathy. I just want to know if I need to contact my lawyer, or if this is just a warning that I can ignore.

I strongly suggest you avoid seeking [pre]legal consultation in a public internet forum. What would your recourse to such heresy be?

"I'm afraid you are incorrect, judge. RogueBattleWitch8834 from AT said that..." :roll:

If you are concerned enough to make a post about it, you should be concerned enough to make a proper legal consultation. I feel that my original advice stands.

Originally posted by: p0lar
Direct them to further discussions with your attorney, do not get involved personally under any circumstance.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: sourceninja
I can tell you 100% with out a doubt (I'd take a lie detector test) that I did not download heros. I simply did not do it. The only thing I can think of is a mistake on comcasts part. My wife didn't do it, my wireless is secure. It just didn't happen.

I always laugh out loud when people try to justify doing downloading illegal stuff. They will worm and squirm and spin and try to justify it till no end.

Stop downloading stuff and you won't have this problem.

 

[Idontcare]

Some people call it Karma...the take away here is that IF you weren't doing things that you knew were wrong then you'd have no concerns over receiving this statement.

Your uncertainty over the ramifications of the statement from Comcast is proof positive over your own concerns of the legitmacy of your "I only engage in soft-piracy, but I openly detest those hard-pirates so that makes it OK".

The stated fact that you have no other options for broadband internet but you would still risk losing it over downloading ever one copyrighted material hints to mental capacity limitations on your part.

I would be very worried if I were you, not because of this one Comcast message, but for the same reasons you received it you are also likely not going to be smart enough to help yourself in the future by not being a soft-pirate anymore. You will do it again, they will find you again, rinse and repeat.

 

[RebateMonger]

This was a warning letter.

"Comcast reminds you that use of the Service (or any part of the Service) in any manner that constitutes an infringement of any copyrighted work is a violation of Comcast's Acceptable Use Policy and may result in the suspension or termination
of your Service account. "

Continued downloading of unauthorized copyrighted material could result in your suspension from Comcast, or could result in a lawsuit from the MPAA. Either of these may or may not be correct or justified. Either will be costly to you. I suggest that admitting to ANYONE that you've downloaded anything is not the best way to begin your defense.

Have you considered buying a small child and blaming him?

 

[Kelemvor]

Just email them back letting them know they are mistaken and they should consult with the IT staff to get their info straight before they accuse you of breaking the law. Let them know that the next time it happens you will confer with your attorney to discuss filing a lawsuit against them for the emotional stress this has put you through because you have been accused of doing something you did not do.

 

[child of wonder]

The MPAA and RIAA don't send out DMCA violation notices because you were downloading anything. They send them because they found your IP address sharing a file with the name of their copyrighted material in the file name, the extension is a format that would fit the material, and the size suggests it is the material in question.

That's it.

Kind of like if I had a blank CD that said "Terminator 1" and the MPAA saw me leave it on my front porch for anyone to pick up, then they sued me for Copyright Infringement without ever actually checking to see if the movie "Terminator 1" is actually on the CD or that I ever gave a copy to anyone.

 

[sourceninja]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: sourceninja
I can tell you 100% with out a doubt (I'd take a lie detector test) that I did not download heros. I simply did not do it. The only thing I can think of is a mistake on comcasts part. My wife didn't do it, my wireless is secure. It just didn't happen.

I always laugh out loud when people try to justify doing downloading illegal stuff. They will worm and squirm and spin and try to justify it till no end.

Stop downloading stuff and you won't have this problem.

What exactly am I squirming out of, I did not download that file. Period.

I would be very worried if I were you, not because of this one Comcast message, but for the same reasons you received it you are also likely not going to be smart enough to help yourself in the future by not being a soft-pirate anymore. You will do it again, they will find you again, rinse and repeat.

Actually, I already called comcast, lowered my tv package down to the minimum (from digital Plat). I also canceled my voice service with them. I have no plans to download any more tv shows. In fact as I've stated I've only downloaded shows that a) I could not get on itunes or another legal service such as nbc.com (in the case of the file in question), and b) I missed on tv. I have no illegal music (I've bought cd's or itunes songs), I have no illegal video games, no illegal movies.

Some people call it Karma...the take away here is that IF you weren't doing things that you knew were wrong then you'd have no concerns over receiving this statement.

I'd have even more concerns if I never downloaded anything and still go this notice. Because how can ANYONE prove they did not download a file. Obviously comcast and the MPAA has some kind of incorrect proof. But its still more then I have. It is impossible to prove you did not have a file. Essentially if I was taken to court on this I would have no way to prove innocence. Comcast either mistakenly thinks that IP was mine and someone downloaded that file, somehow someone downloaded something on my connection (I can't see how that is possible), or comcast sent me this in error.

The MPAA and RIAA don't send out DMCA violation notices because you were downloading anything. They send them because they found your IP address sharing a file with the name of their copyrighted material in the file name, the extension is a format that would fit the material, and the size suggests it is the material in question.

It sounds to me like they looked a tracker, grabed all the IP's and then sent notices to the providers. It's hard to use bittorrent and not upload packets (if you want people to send you packets anyways). However, I wonder what proof they have that those people are uploading the file beyond being attached to the tracker.

You guys are missing the point. I don't care if you agree with dcma, I don't care if you are for or against piracy. I don't even care I got the notice. I care that I got the notice for a file I did not download. This is just like getting charged with speeding when you were speeding yesterday, but not the day the cop pulled you over. It would be like killing a man, then getting charged with killing his wife when you didn't do it. If this was for a file I knew I downloaded, I would just suck it up and wait and see if they contacted me and then I would get my lawyer. I've decided to take the same strategy here. If they contact me in any other way, I'll lawyer up.

But this has cost them money, both comcast and the people who advertise on these shows. I am now afraid to download any show I might miss. So unless it is already for free online (such as Heros on NBC.com which is why I did not download it). I will not be watching it. I've decided to stop buying shows on itunes as well.

I'm not some young kid who says he is going to do something and backs out. I have not shopped at walmart in almost 8 years because I decided I did not like them and wanted to boycott them (after watching a tv show on how they fought to get in a town that did not want them). I hardly watch tv (I watch maybe 3 channels). So I will just cut it out totally now.

It is still silly that they accuse me of downloading something they provide for free on their own website. Hmm, watch it for free legally, or illegally. Man this is a tough one...I'm gonna have to go legally.

 

[JackMDS]

Quote: "In fact as I've stated I've only downloaded shows that a) I could not get on itunes or another legal service such as nbc.com (in the case of the file in question), and b) I missed on tv".

So if something is Not available legally it is OK to Steal???:shocked:

 

[p0lar]

Originally posted by: Kelemvor
Let them know that the next time it happens you will confer with your attorney to discuss filing a lawsuit against them for the emotional stress this has put you through because you have been accused of doing something you did not do.

Bah! Never threaten to use an attorney.

"DO, or DO NOT." - Yoda

 

[RebateMonger]

As child of wonder points out, it's not the "downloading" that's tracked by MPAA or RIAA. It's the "sharing" of unauthorized copies that they detect and may sue over.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: sourceninja
Essentially if I was taken to court on this I would have no way to prove innocence. Comcast either mistakenly thinks that IP was mine and someone downloaded that file, somehow someone downloaded something on my connection (I can't see how that is possible), or comcast sent me this in error.

That's basically how Civil Lawsuits work. You may end up having to prove innocence, versus a Criminal Trial, where the prosecution has to prove guilt. It's how O.J. Simpson won in Criminal Court, but lost in Civl Court.

 

[JackMDS]

The legal discussion is kind of silly.

Why?

If the downloader take the initiative, he would have to pay a lawyer hefty amount upfront since this is Not a contingency type of case.

If the ISP (or any other plaintive) takes you to court, it will end up costing even more in legal fees defending yourself.

Therefore, the out come of the court decision per-se is Not going to be relevant as much as the cost of the legal fees.

I.e. it is going to be one of the most expensive TV episode in history.

That actually leaves only one viable choice.

Originally posted by: RebateMongerbuying a small child and blaming him?

But than in order to have a Kid you have to grow up. Nah, forget it.

 

[sourceninja]

Originally posted by: JackMDS


But than in order to have a Kid you have to grow up. Nah, forget it.

That's what you think.

I guess I should apologize. I'm a horrible person. I'm going to go turn myself in right now. I can't believe I would download an episode of the ultimate fighter so I could know what happened before the final episode this saturday. Its just horrible. I just have no excuse for my actions. I'm sorry for all the homeless i have created. I will make amends by buying copys of every season of TUF on vhs, dvd, blueray, and hd-dvd. Then I will go buy the white album on itunes, cd, dvd, blueray, and cassette.

It sucks you don't believe me. But luckily for me, My question does not require you to believe me.

I guess the answer is the same no matter if I'm guilty or innocent. Just ignore it and if they try to blame it on me, either pay up and give in, or fight it in court and lose no matter if I win.

Of course on the internet you all must assume I'm 15 years old and just hoping comcast doesn't contact my parents, then I'd really be in trouble!!

But you are all right about this. I guess I should of bought a tivo, then I could of watched the ultimate fighter episodes I missed legally and cost the MPAA whatever it is they lost. Of course that wouldn't of helped me with Heros, because I DID NOT DOWNLOAD IT OR UPLOADED IT!. The only thing that would save me with this one is to simply not have internet access. The only place on the internet I have watched heros is NBC.com.

 

[p0lar]

Originally posted by: sourceninja
<gibberish snipped out>

Arrrr... don't be all butt-hurt about it, matey, just put yer eye patch back on an' host yer own prock-see servar somewhars else with a lot of ye fellow pirate mates, arrrr!

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: p0lar
Arrrr... don't be all butt-hurt about it, matey, just put yer eye patch back on an' host yer own prock-see servar somewhars else with a lot of ye fellow pirate mates, arrrr!

<==== Thinks he remembers this scene from a Disney Pirate movie starring Kurt Russell. Was it Torrent Island?
Or Twenty-thousand Gigabits Under the C++ ?

 

[JackMDS]

Originally posted by: RebateMonger

Originally posted by: p0lar
Arrrr... don't be all butt-hurt about it, matey, just put yer eye patch back on an' host yer own prock-see servar somewhars else with a lot of ye fellow pirate mates, arrrr!

<==== Thinks he remembers this scene from a Disney Pirate movie starring Kurt Russell. Was it Torrent Island?
Or Twenty-thousand Gigabits Under the C++ ?

OMG, he might be violating Disney copyright. :thumbsup: :shocked:

 

[p0lar]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
OMG, he might be violating Disney copyright. :thumbsup: :shocked:

I got the first $20 that says he already did and they're actually sending him the notice for an MGM infringement!