Media Defender Struggles to Defend Leaked Emails

Peter Ostrovski, September 27, 2007

Abstract: During an embarrassing week of leaks, Media Defender has been trying to use takedown notices to prevent internal information from circulating around the Internet. So far, it has met with minimal success.

Media Defender is not making too many friends on the Internet. With many people already aware that the company inundated peer-to-peer sites with fake files, a leak of the company’s internal e-mails last week confirmed long-standing suspicions that the company created a program entitled MiiVi as a trap for those sharing copyrighted content. Just a few days later, the source code used to create their decoy files secret government project thing. (Apparently, MediaDefender was (still is?) in the process of negotiating a deal with the New York Attorney General’s Office that entailed providing information on users accessing porn.) So much for the company’s “practical, proven methods" .

Needless to say Media Defender wasn’t too happy with this information floating around. Their solution? Why, takedown notices, of course. The company, represented by Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, has sent a multitude of takedown notices to various peer-to-peer sites. The notices seem to cite the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and the California Computer Data Access and Fraud Act.

Sample responses have been nothing short of impudent. Since most are based outside the U.S., they claim there is no jurisdiction over them under the DMCA and are therefore unconcerned about their flippant replies.

IsoHunt takes the complaining lawyer to task for improperly composing a takedown notice by addressing it incorrectly and not linking to the (questionably) violating content. IsoHunt then states, "Despite us being located in Canada, if you do actually figure out how to compose a valid DMCA notice, we will honor it, just as soon as we're done laughing at you."

Meganova’s statement begins with "Dearest little asstunnels, let me start of by thanking you for your pitiful attempt to have your emails removed from the entire internet" and only gets more scathing from there. In between the profanity, Meganova reminds the lawyers, "In case you haven't noticed, this site is located in Europe (I hope you can point it out on a map) where your stupid copyright claims have no base."

Media Defender-Defender (the site responsible for the propagation of the leaked content and now hosting much of it) points out the fact that it is in Norway and describes a process of numerous site redirects that would help it avoid cease and desist notices if it so desired. The author of the e-mail also suggests,“You could also pay me a lot of money. That might help. That'd actually help immediately. But as it stands, it appears that your legal grounds for throwing letters at me claiming this-or-that is shaky enough that you might want to relocate." Ouch.