Copyright Infringement Notice Received from My ISP

[absurdity]

Last night I came to find my internet service in a "restricted mode", where I could only access - https://activate.suddenlink.net/ -. Apparently my services had been temporarily disabled, and I was told that Suddenlink was notified about my IP address sharing and infringing on copyrighted materials. The title and protocol of the offense were both correct, as I did in fact have the content on my PC and it was in fact sharing with other P2P users. I didn't realize the bit torrent client was sharing, but I guess that's beside the point.

Anyway, the re-activation portal had me confirm my physical address, and my Suddenlink account number before reinstating service. Some people have suggested to me that this is possibly all a fraud, and that no ISP will ever ask you for your address or account info. However, it did seem very legit, and after I confirmed the info my web access was reinstated. Reading around it seems that Suddenlink does in fact have a 3 copyright strike policy, but I was never warned that this counted as an offense, it simply stated the typical check your router, deleted copyrighted content, etc.

A notice from Copyright Enforcement Group, LLC, was attached to the restricted web access message:

---------------------------------


(Please note that "Johnna Turner" is Suddenlink's agent for receiving copyright infringement notices on behalf of our customers.)




***NOTE TO ISP: PLEASE FORWARD THE ENTIRE NOTICE***
March 6, 2012
Re: Notice of Unauthorized Use of Registered Copyrights Owned by Metro Media Entertainment
Case #:[elided]

Dear Sir or Madam:

This notice is intended solely for the primary Suddenlink Communications internet service account holder. Someone using this account has engaged in the illegal copying and/or distribution of pornographic movies. This notice may contain the titles of those movies, and therefore may contain text that is offensive to some readers.

Copyright Enforcement Group, LLC, ("We") represent Metro Media Entertainment. Metro Media Entertainment owns all right, title and interest to the registered copyrights listed below.

Evidence:
Infringement Title: xxxxxx
Infringement File Name: xxxxxx
Infringement Hash: xxxxxx
Infringement File Size: 2767016492 bytes
Infringement Protocol: BitTorrent
Infringement Timestamp: 2012-03-06 01:15:29 North American Eastern Time
Infringers IP Address: xxxxxx
Infringers Port: xxxxxx

The following files were included in the download:
File 1: xxxxxxx
File 2: xxxxxxx
File 3: xxxxxxx
File 4: xxxxxxx
File 5: xxxxxxx
File 6: xxxxxxx
File 7: xxxxxxx
File 8: xxxxxxx
File 9: xxxxxxx
File 10: xxxxxx


You are hereby notified that your unauthorized copying and/or distribution infringes the registered copyrights of Metro Media Entertainment under the U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. 106. In this regard, demand is hereby made that you and all persons using this account immediately and permanently cease and desist the unauthorized copying and/or distribution of the registered copyrights listed in this notice or otherwise owned by Metro Media Entertainment.

You may also be held liable for monetary damages, including attorney's fees and court costs if a lawsuit is commenced against you. You have until Thursday, April 5, 2012 to access the settlement offer and settle online. To access the settlement offer please visit http://www.copyrightsettlements.com/ and enter Case #: xxxxxx and Password: xxxxxx. To access the settlement offer directly please visit https://www.copyrightsettlements.com/xxxxxxxxx

Settlement Information:
Direct Settlement Link: https://www.copyrightsettlements.com/xxxxxxxxxxx
Settlement Website: http://www.copyrightsettlements.com/
Case #: xxxxxx
Password: xxxxxx


If you fail to respond or settle within the prescribed time period, the claim(s) will be referred to our attorneys for legal action. At that point the original settlement offer will no longer be an option and the amount will increase as a result of us having to involve our attorneys.

Nothing contained or omitted from this correspondence is, or shall be deemed to be either a full statement of the facts or applicable law, an admission of any fact, or waiver or limitation of any of the Metro Media Entertainment's rights or remedies, all of which are specifically retained and reserved.

The information in this notice is accurate. We have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of herein is not authorized by the registered copyright owner, its agent, or by operation of law. We swear under penalty of perjury, that we are authorized to act on behalf of Metro Media Entertainment.

Sincerely,

Dale Spislander
Copyright Enforcement Agent

Copyright Enforcement Group, LLC
8484 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 220
Beverly Hills, CA 90211

Toll Free: 877-5-COPYRIGHT (877-526-7974)
Email: support@copyrightsettlements.com
Website: www.copyrightsettlements.com





This is an automated email. If you have questions or concerns, please visit us at http://www.copyrightsettlements.com/contact_us.html. Replies sent to dmca@copyrightsettlements.com are not read.


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First question, is there even a remote possibility this is all a fake/fraud?

Secondly, how could they even know my IP or what I was downloading or what files were contained unless they were actively sharing it with me? Some have suggested they may be framing people, by putting the content up for download themselves.

Third, the settlement they are asking for at copyrightsettlements.com is $200. Is this a trusted web site? Is this a legit website? Is there a remote possibility they could steal my bank account info if I pay them?

Lastly, if this is indeed all very real and legit, should I pay them? I absolutely do not want it getting out that I was downloading porn, and I'd much rather settle than go to court over the matter as that will certainly out me on this dilemma. I've heard other people got the same notice and have not paid and nothing happened. But I'm still very uneasy about the possibility. What should I do?

[Riply]

Google is your friend. It's a scam. Well, technically, it's a legal scam (sort of), but this company hasn't taken anybody to Court to date.

Of course, not everything that pops up on Google is reliable, but hey ............

Me ? I'd ignore them. It costs a hell of a lot more to pursue you for $200 than it would be worth to them.

Aside from that, the $200 (in most jurisdictions) falls below a felony level of whatever law might cover this, thereby, SO FAR, escaping prosecution. I'm just guessing, but eventually, I think we may be reading about this being pursued as a RICO case. That could take years, though.

You should in no way consider what I've posted here as legal advice. If you're really concerned about this, you should probably contact an attorney.

[absurdity]

So... my ISP really did suspend my web access due to being contacted? That wasn't somehow a fake made to look like that had happened?

Also, where it says cease and desist... it doesn't say OR be held liable for monetary damages. It just says "you may also be held liable". As in, if they feel like it? Or definitely I will? Why would they say may if they're directing me to an already made up settlement offer? Because they've apparently already figured up an amount for me to pay, and the threat is "if I don't", then the claim will be referred to their attorney.

[LawResearcherMissy]

Read this and this.

[absurdity]

I get that's it's completely my decision as to pay them or not. Another thought I had, is there any way I could pay them without giving them my info? Right away I'm thinking, pre-paid gift card, register it for web use under a phony name and address. I know that's shady, but their methods of entrapment are too. Anyone know if this could work?

[free9man]

They have your IP address. There is no way to conceal your identity as they can sue you and serve a subpoena on your ISP for your information. The only thing you could try if they do sue you is the "It wasn't me, it was someone else on my open Wifi" defense. This is not guaranteed to win. I believe it has gone both ways in different jurisdictions but don't have any data in front of me.

[absurdity]

They have your IP address. There is no way to conceal your identity as they can sue you and serve a subpoena on your ISP for your information. The only thing you could try if they do sue you is the "It wasn't me, it was someone else on my open Wifi" defense. This is not guaranteed to win. I believe it has gone both ways in different jurisdictions but don't have any data in front of me.

What I'm saying is if they're offering a settlement for release of liability, I'm thinking I should try and find a way to pay it with anonymity, as people have suggested such payment will provide them with all the information they need for future harassment or lawsuits against you. Sort of a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.

[anon14975]

Absurdity, I'm in a similar situation. I have read tons of articles to try and help educate me. Most say not to pay, some say to go ahead and settle early, almost all say that if you are real concerned, get a lawyer. I too want to keep my identity anonymous but I suspect you might have given some of that up if you clicked on their settlement offer and found out how much they wanted (in other words, how did they contact you to inform you of the $200 amount?). I did read on one site an interesting way to stay as anonymous as possible (I'd link it here but I can't remember where I found it). I can't take any credit for this but here is what he did. First, get a web based email account (you can use Hushmail for this). Only use that for any communication with the "troll". Go to a Post Office (pick something far enough away that no one knows you and definitely isn't located within your own town limits), open a PO Box with them (this is used to receive their release of liability which you definitely want). After you find out the amount of money they want (which it sounds like you've already done), get a Money Order from the Post Office and send that to them (I don't know a lot about MO's, not sure if they are traceable or not, also don't know what happens if they claim they never received it for proof you sent it). Hopefully they get the money order, send you the release of liability and you're done. You can then close out the PO box, cancel or close your web based email and (fingers crossed) you are done with them. Obviously, don't use anymore peer to peer for any sort of downloading. Also, I am not a lawyer, don't pretend to be a lawyer and don't expect you to use anything in this message to indicate that I'm somehow giving you any sort of legal advise. What you do is strictly up to you. Good luck. I'd be very interested in knowing how your situation turns out.

[free9man]

How exactly are they suppose to issue a release of liability if they don't know who to give it to? As I already stated, they have OP's IP address. That and a subpoena to OP's ISP and OP is toast. There is no way to pay it off without giving them some kind of identification/IP to track the pay off.

[anon14975]

I haven't done this so I'm not quite sure how this would work. I was just passing some info along that another person used to keep his anonimity. If I remember correctly, he said that his release of liability utilized his IP address. I suppose if you keep the letter they sent showing the IP address and then get a release of liability with that IP address listed, if they try to go after you, you can show that you were released. Again, not sure if that works or not but since absurdity was looking for some way to pay them and still stay anonymous, I was simply passing along a way that someone else used to do that. Everyone can make their own decision as to what they should (or shouldn't) do.