Comcast Subscriber Receives Warning -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse

Please read this entire message, review the required action(s) below,
and send a prompt
reply message to acknowledge receipt of this email.

Comcast has been made aware that you have violated the Comcast Service
Agreement and/or
Acceptable Usage Policy. These policies can be found at
http://www.comcast.net/terms. Failure to comply with these policies may
result in a permanent termination of your service. The account holder is
solely
responsible for any and all activities performed from the Comcast
service. Please read
the following information carefully to ensure that you understand the
violation, our
policies, and what you need to do to respond to this warning.

Acceptable Usage Policy:
Prohibited uses include, but are not limited to, using the Service,
Customer Equipment, or the Comcast Equipment to:

(i) undertake or accomplish any unlawful purpose. This includes, but is
not limited to, posting, storing, transmitting or disseminating
information, data or material which is libelous, obscene, unlawful,
threatening, defamatory, or which infringes the intellectual property
rights of any person or entity, or which in any way constitutes or
encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise
to civil liability, or otherwise violate any local, state, federal or
international law, order or regulation;

(v) upload, post, publish, transmit, reproduce, create derivative works
of, or distribute in any way information, software or other material
obtained through the Service or otherwise that is protected by copyright
or other proprietary right, without obtaining permission of the owner;

(xiv) run programs, equipment, or servers from the Premises that provide
network content or any other services to anyone outside of your Premises
LAN (Local Area Network), also commonly referred to as public services
or servers. Examples of prohibited services and servers include, but are
not limited to, e-mail, Web hosting, file sharing, and proxy services
and servers;

Explanation: Comcast has received notification of alleged copyright
infringement
originating from the Comcast account registered to you.

Action Required: We will require your timely assistance in blocking
accessibility to
the alleged infringed materials and then notifying us when the materials
are no longer
publicly available. By federal guidelines stated within the DMCA, this
matter needs to
be resolved quickly. We will therefore require your immediate
investigation into this
notification.

*NOTE*
Additionally, please be advised that should Comcast receive further
copyright
infringement complaints related to your Comcast Internet account,
Comcast may terminate
the account in accordance with the Comcast Acceptable Usage Policy
(AUP).

Information regarding the security of your Comcast connection can be
found on our web
page: http://www.comcast.net/terms. This web page also provides links to
our
Subscriber Agreement and Acceptable Use Policy (AUP), please review
these policies
should you have any questions or concerns.

Re: Unauthorized Use of Universal Motion Pictures
Notice ID: 904401
4 Aug 2003 20:16:47 GMT

Universal City Studios Productions LLLP and its affiliated companies
(collectively, "Universal") are the exclusive owners of copyrights in
many motion pictures, including the motion pictures listed below.

It has come to our attention that AT&T Broadband Northeast is the
service provider for the IP address listed below, from which
unauthorized copying and distribution (downloading, uploading, file
serving, file "swapping" or other similar activities) of Universals
motion picture(s) listed below is taking place. We believe that the
Internet access of the user engaging in this infringement is provided by
AT&T Broadband Northeast or a downstream service provider who purchases
this connectivity from AT&T Broadband Northeast.

This unauthorized copying and distribution constitutes copyright
infringement under Section 106 of the U.S. Copyright Act . Depending
upon the type of service AT&T Broadband Northeast is providing to this
IP address, it may have legal and/or equitable liability if it does not
expeditiously remove or disable access to the motion picture(s) listed
below, or if it fails to implement a policy that provides for
termination of subscribers who are repeat infringers (see, 17 U.S.C.
'512).

Despite the above, Universal believes that the entire Internet community
benefits when these matters are resolved cooperatively. We urge you to
take immediate action to stop this infringing activity and inform us of
the results of your actions. We appreciate your efforts toward this
common goal.

The undersigned has a good faith belief that use of the motion pictures
in the manner described herein is not authorized by Universal, its agent
or the law. The information contained in this notification is accurate.
Under penalty of perjury, the undersigned is authorized to act on behalf
of Universal with respect to this matter.

Please be advised that this letter is not and is not intended to be a
complete statement of the facts or law as they may pertain to this
matter or of Universals positions, rights or remedies, legal or
equitable, all of which are specifically reserved.

*pgp public key is available on the key server at
ldap://keyserver.pgp.com
** For any correspondence regarding this case, please send your emails
to antipiracy1@unistudios.com and refer to Notice ID: 904401. If you
need immediate assistance or if you have general questions please email
antipiracy@unistudios.com.

Title: Johnny English
Infringement Source: BitTorrent
Initial Infringement Timestamp: 1 Aug 2003 04:53:24 GMT
Recent Infringment Timestamp: 1 Aug 2003 06:15:27 GMT
Infringer Username: None
Infringing Filename: Johnny.English.PROPER.TS-VCDCentral
Infringing Filesize: 880943405
Infringers IP Address: x.x.x.x
Infringers DNS Name: x-x-x-x.client.attbi.com
Infringing URL: x.x.x.x:6882/Johnny.English.PROPER.TS-VCDCentral

iQA/AwUBPy7ODEAGe/JElwagEQJg/QCg2vJIxny9dk2D+zAGe6AxLWEy8RoAoIii
PNAh1fhJf07Uxbcp9QPiiE4R
=Sf6c
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Should you have any questions regarding this matter, please call me at
1-888-565-4329 ext 72656 (9am - 5pm MST mon - fri).

FAQ: Questions and Answers

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Question: ISP as Copyright Cop

Answer: Notice that this letter comes from an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and not from a copyright owner. The Digital Millenium Copyright Act both protects ISPs from copyright liability (leaving the end user with that liability) and requires ISPs to participiate in a "takedown" process when copyright owners claim infriging use. See the FAQs associated with this notice for more information.

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Question: What is the purpose of copyright law?

Answer: Copyright law provides an incentive to create software, music, literature and other works by ensuring that the creator will be able to reap the financial benefits of the work.

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Question: What is copyright infringement? Are there any defenses?

Answer: Infringement occurs whenever someone who is not the copyright holder (or a licensee of the copyright holder) exercises one of the exclusive rights listed above.

The most common defense to an infringement claim is "fair use," a doctrine that allows people to use copyrighted material without permission in certain situations, such as quotations in a book review. To evaluate fair use of copyrighted material, the courts consider four factors:

the purpose and character of the use
the nature of the copyrighted work
the amount and substantiality of copying, and
the market effect.

(17 U.S.C. 107)

The most significant factor in this analysis is the fourth, effect on the market. If a copier's use supplants demand for the original work, then it will be very difficult for him or her to claim fair use. On the other hand, if the use does not compete with the original, for example because it is a parody, criticism, or news report, it is more likely to be permitted as "fair use."

Trademarks are generally subject to fair use in two situations: First, advertisers and other speakers are allowed to use a competitor's trademark when referring to that competitor's product ("nominative use"). Second, the law protects "fair comment," for instance, in parody.

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Question: What constitutes copyright infringement?

Answer: Subject to certain defenses, it is copyright infringement for someone other than the author to do the following without the author's permission:

1. reproduce (copy) the work;

2. create a new work derived from the original work (for example, by translating the work into a new language, by copying and distorting the image, or by transferring the work into a new medium of expression);

3. sell or give away the work, or a copy of the work, for the first time (but once the author has done so, the right to sell or give away the item is transferred to the new owner. This is known as the "first sale" doctrine: once a copyright owner has sold or given away the work or a copy of it, the recipient or purchaser may do as she pleases with what she posesses.) 17 U.S.C. ?109(a);

4. perform or display the work in public without permission from the copyright owner. 17 U.S.C. ?106. It is also copyright infringement to violate the "moral rights" of an author as defined by 17 U.S.C. 106A. Moral rights are discussed here.

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Question: Does a cease and desist letter recipient have a duty to remove materials alleged to infringe copyright?

Answer: The cease and desist letter gives its recipient ("you") notice that someone is claiming something you've done or something on your site infringes a copyright. If the materials that are the subject of the notice are in fact infringing, then you do have a duty to remove them, although there may be statutory provisions (DMCA Safe Harbor) that protect you from a lawsuit if the materials were posted by someone else. You may have to give the poster notice of the complaint.

If you do not believe that the materials are infringing, or if you believe that you are making fair use of the materials, you may choose to take the risk of not removing the materials, but a lawsuit might follow in which the complainer tries to prove they they are right and you are wrong. If the accuser obtains a court order, then you must take down the materials.

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Question: What is the purpose of copyright law?

Answer: Copyright law provides an incentive to create software, music, literature and other works by ensuring that the creator will be able to reap the financial benefits of the work.

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Question: Where can I find the text of the U.S. Copyright Act?

Answer: The federal Copyright Act may be found at http://www.loc.gov/copyright/title17/.

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Question: What is vicarious liability?

Answer: Vicarious liability, a form of indirect copyright infringement, is found where an operator has (1) the right and ability to control users and (2) a direct financial benefit from allowing their acts of piracy. User agreements or Acceptable Use Policies may be evidence of an operator's authority over users. The financial benefit may include a subscription fee, advertising revenues, or even a bartered exchange for other copyrighted. Under the doctrine of vicarious liability, you may be found liable even if you do not have specific knowledge of infringing acts occurring on your site.

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Question: Does a cease and desist letter recipient have a duty to remove materials alleged to infringe copyright?

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Question: If I am accused of "piracy," what does this mean?

Answer: "Piracy" is slang for copyright infringment, usually used to describe the unlawful copying of software, videogames, movies or MP3s. Copyright law gives a creator of software, music, literature and other works a limited monopoly to reproduce or distribute in the created work. If you are accused of piracy, then someone is claiming that you have violated their copyright by copying part or all of their work without authorization, or have enabled other people to make such copies.

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Question: Why is "piracy" such a big issue now?

Answer: Digital technology allows perfect copies and easy distribution of some works. That makes it easier for people to make and get copies of songs or videogames, and more difficult for copyright holders (record companies, etc.) to control the works once they are released to the public. This new technology has changed the way content distributors relate with their customers, and law and business models are just trying to catch up.

Comcast Subscriber Receives Warning

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