Cox customers get warnings for file sharing???

[JawZ]

MPAA Begins to Hunt
Cox customers get warnings

Written by Karl Bode
In accordance with the Film and Music Industy's new strategy of targeting individual users, it appears that Cox communications is sending out warnings to users trading files over Gnutella at the behest of the MPAA (Something Sony Music has been known to do). The warning lists which files the user has downloaded, as well as the date of the offense and the IP address of the offender. There is no indication as to whether or not Cox actually confirms the information before sending the letter. Originally spotted at the Politechbot mailing list, we reprint the letter below.

Dear Customer,

We are writing on behalf of Cox Communications to advise you that we have received a notification that you are using your Cox High Speed Internet service to post or transmit material that infringes the copyrights of a complainant's members. I have enclosed a copy of the complaint letter. Pursuant to the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), which is codified at 17 U.S.C. § 512, upon receiving such notification, Cox is required to "act expeditiously to remove, or disable access to" the infringing material in order to avoid liability for any alleged copyright infringement. Accordingly, Cox will suspend your account and disable your connection to the Internet within 24 hours of your receipt of this email if the offending material is not removed.

Please be aware that the DMCA also provides procedures by which a subscriber accused of copyright violation can respond to the allegations of infringement and, under certain circumstances, cause his or her account to be reinstated. To do so, however, the response must meet
certain criteria. Pursuant to section (g) of the DMCA (17 U.S.C. §512(g)), you have the right to submit to Cox a counter-notification which, to be effective, must include the following elements:

(a) a physical or electronic signature of the subscriber;
(b) identification of the material that has been removed or to whichaccess has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or disabled;
(c) a statement under penalty of perjury that the subscriber has a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled;
(d) the subscriber's name, address, and telephone number and a statement that the subscriber consents to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the judicial district in which the address is located.

In the event that you submit to Cox a counter-notification that includes these elements, Cox will forward your counter notification to the complainant and advise them that Cox will cease disabling access to the allegedly infringing material in ten (10) business days. Unless the
complainant notifies us that it has filed an action seeking a court order to restrain you from engaging in the allegedly infringing activity prior to the expiration of those ten (10) business days, Cox will reactivate your account.

Sincerely,

The Cox Abuse Team



MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, INC.
15503 VENTURA BOULEVARD
ENCINO, CALIFORNIA 91436

UNITED STATES
Anti-Piracy Operations
PHONE: (818) 728 - 8127
Email: MPAA@copyright.org

Monday, July 08, 2002

Name: abuse@cox.net
E-mail: abuse@cox.net
ISP: Cox Communications

Via Fax/Email

RE: Unauthorized Distribution of Copyrighted Motion Pictures
Site/URL: gnutella://xxxxx:6346/ [with IP address: xxxx]
Reference#: 517703

Date of Infringement: 7/2/2002 4:08:38 AM GMT


Dear abuse@cox.net:

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) represents the following motion picture production and distribution companies:

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.
Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
Paramount Pictures Corporation
TriStar Pictures, Inc.
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
United Artists Pictures, Inc.
United Artists Corporation
Universal City Studios, Inc.
Warner Bros., a Division of Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P.

We have received information that an individual has utilized the above referenced IP address at the noted date and time to offer downloads of copyrighted motion picture(s) through a peer-to-peer service, including such title(s) as:

Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone
Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back
Simpsons, The (TV)
Windtalkers

The distribution of unauthorized copies of copyrighted motion pictures constitutes copyright infringement under the Copyright Act, Title 17 United States Code Section 106(3). This conduct may also violate the laws of other countries, international law, and/or treaty obligations.

Since you own this IP address, we request that you immediately do the following:

1. Disable access to the individual who has engaged in the conduct described above, and;
2. Take appropriate action against the account holder under your Abuse Policy/Terms of Service Agreement.

On behalf of the respective owners of the exclusive rights to the copyrighted material at issue in this notice, we hereby state, pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Title 17 United States Code Section 512, that we have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owners, their respective agents, or the law.

Also pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we hereby state, under penalty of perjury, under the laws of the State of California and under the laws of the United States, that the information in this notification is accurate and that we are authorized to act on behalf of the owners of the exclusive rights being infringed as set forth in this notification.

Please contact us at the above listed address or by replying to this email should you have any questions. Kindly include the above noted Reference # in the subject line of all email correspondence.

We thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Your prompt response is requested.

Respectfully,

Ken Jacobsen
Senior Vice President and Director
Worldwide Anti-Piracy
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=============================================

If this is true do we have any Cox customers here on SG that can verify?

[Joint Chiefs of Staff]

The Cox Abuse Team

Next they'll be telling us what type of bread we can or can not buy.

[Indy]

You know, these abuse teams really make me laugh...they won't lift a finger to help you when you've got someone trying to hack on to your system, but when the RIAA or the MPAA twists their arm, they jump at the drop of a hat....

Last time I tried to go thru an abuse team to report a hacker, all I got was a bunch of crap about how they couldn't do anything and the onus was on me to prevent them from getting into my system...

[DG]

i have cox internet and i have yet to receive any warnings... ill be interested to see when i get it.

[blebs]

Originally posted by Indy
You know, these abuse teams really make me laugh...they won't lift a finger to help you when you've got someone trying to hack on to your system, but when the RIAA or the MPAA twists their arm, they jump at the drop of a hat....

Last time I tried to go thru an abuse team to report a hacker, all I got was a bunch of crap about how they couldn't do anything and the onus was on me to prevent them from getting into my system...

Same deal here Indy. Everytime I'd collect and send all requested information to them and all they'd do is find a way of not doing anything.

I really like this line:

Since you own this IP address, we request that you immediately do the following:

There, they said OWNED the IP. Well, if I owned the IP I wouldn't have need of their service now would I?

[Shagster]

Hmmm...somebody needs to get fired or somebody is going to go out of business

[Daedalus]

well, i got this message recently, and I was wondering how I should approach this question? cuz its not very clear to me:
[(c) a statement under penalty of perjury that the subscriber has a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled]

I am required to give that in my counter-notification letter, but I have no idea what its talking about. can anyone put this crap into plain english?

[RoundEye]

I’m on the cox network. My IP is dynamic, so what I do is set my router to a static IP. Cox does a scan periodically and I’m booted of the network. Then I set it to dynamic again and get a new IP.

So somewhere along the line somebody is going to get a letter for trading files that has no clue what the hell cox is talking about.

I probably get a new IP once a month or so.

[YARDofSTUF]

I’m on the cox network. My IP is dynamic, so what I do is set my router to a static IP. Cox does a scan periodically and I’m booted of the network. Then I set it to dynamic again and get a new IP.

So somewhere along the line somebody is going to get a letter for trading files that has no clue what the hell cox is talking about.

I probably get a new IP once a month or so.

They keep records that tells who had what IP at what time.

If its dynamic why do you set your router to a static IP? Either way you still end up gettign the new IP after the lease is up.

[Izzo]

All you gotta do is power down your modem for a l'ill bit and it'll give you a nwe IP ... not like it matters because, like YoS said, they keep logs.

[trogers]

No need to reply to Cox's letter. Who is MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, INC.? Are they a privy to Cox's service contract with you?

Just ask Cox if they intend of terminating the ISP service contract they have with you. If yes, get a new ISP and stop paying Cox.

[Kip Patterson]

1) Stop downloading and/or sharing other people's property.
2) Delete everything from yuor hard drive(s) that you do not own.
3) Uninstall any file sharing softare you are using.
4) Pray that it is not the RIAA and that they do not come after you.
5) Don't respond to the letter.

It is almost certain that you were caught for offering something for upload, not download. Changing the IP address will not help you in any way. If yoo do get sued, DO NOT delete anything from your hard drive, reformat, pitch the computer, etc. If you do that after you have been sued you are dead meat.

[morbidpete]

i have cox internet and i have yet to receive any warnings... ill be interested to see when i get it.

also run peer guardian, and am behind a firewall. i use private trackers. everything i download is usually rar files. never been caught or received a message. a few friends of mine have. i explained to them what i do and they have been safe since

[morbidpete]

All you gotta do is power down your modem for a l'ill bit and it'll give you a nwe IP ... not like it matters because, like YoS said, they keep logs.

not with cox. they give you a special ip. usually a 1XX.XXX.xxx.xxx ip. that redirects every site you try to go to to there system. no way around it

[Izzo]

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/12/03/mp ... y-wir.html

[Izzo]

1) Stop downloading and/or sharing other people's property.
2) Delete everything from yuor hard drive(s) that you do not own.
3) Uninstall any file sharing softare you are using.
4) Pray that it is not the RIAA and that they do not come after you.
5) Don't respond to the letter.

It is almost certain that you were caught for offering something for upload, not download. Changing the IP address will not help you in any way. If yoo do get sued, DO NOT delete anything from your hard drive, reformat, pitch the computer, etc. If you do that after you have been sued you are dead meat.

do delete ....then don't delete

[TonyT]

Yes, the big news today is that the MPAA's University wiretapping product was taken down for violating copyright, but that just means that the download was removed from the site. There are still many ISPs and Universities that are running the product, and ISPs have their own sniffing applications that can tell who is doing what when.

[Jim]

do delete ....then don't delete

I think his message was along the lines of "Delete it now before it's too late."

Erasing some of the data on your computer after being formally sued for copyright infringement is tantamount to destroying evidence. Call it a wild guess, but I'm fairly certain that most courts frown upon that.

[morbidpete]

also run peer guardian, and am behind a firewall. i use private trackers. everything i download is usually rar files. never been caught or received a message. a few friends of mine have. i explained to them what i do and they have been safe since

plus i cant be caught if i don't have an account free cable internet super secret

[Izzo]

I think his message was along the lines of "Delete it now before it's too late."

Erasing some of the data on your computer after being formally sued for copyright infringement is tantamount to destroying evidence. Call it a wild guess, but I'm fairly certain that most courts frown upon that.

Funny how that doesn't seem to apply to our government.

[trogers]

Funny how that doesn't seem to apply to our government.

Because "Some...are more equal than others!" - Orwell

[YARDofSTUF]

not with cox. they give you a special ip. usually a 1XX.XXX.xxx.xxx ip. that redirects every site you try to go to to there system. no way around it

Got a link to explain this redirecting some more?

[Izzo]

Got a link to explain this redirecting some more?

Sound similar to surfing at an airport.....I got nothin' for you though.

[frostybear]

Funny how that doesn't seem to apply to our government.

White House Emails anyone?

[morbidpete]

Got a link to explain this redirecting some more?

lol working on it. saw it at one of my buddies house's when he was caught. it said he had copyrighted files and to delete them and call customer support so they could fix his modem. no matter what page he went to he got the same page. his ip was his normal ip. but with a 1 in front of it. when all was said and done with the 1 was gone and he got his normal ip back. im searching for docs tho

[YARDofSTUF]

lol working on it. saw it at one of my buddies house's when he was caught. it said he had copyrighted files and to delete them and call customer support so they could fix his modem. no matter what page he went to he got the same page. his ip was his normal ip. but with a 1 in front of it. when all was said and done with the 1 was gone and he got his normal ip back. im searching for docs tho

Ah ok, now it makes sense.

[RoundEye]

They keep records that tells who had what IP at what time.

If its dynamic why do you set your router to a static IP? Either way you still end up gettign the new IP after the lease is up.

I don't know what Cox's lease time around here is, but I had the same IP for over a year once, unplugged my modem for a few days and still got the same IP, plus after the hurricane I didn't have cable for months, when I got it back, I had the same IP as before. But, set your router for static and I guess they think you are running a server or something and change the IP.

I use remote desktop quite a bit so I need to keep track of my IP.

[Kip Patterson]

I think his message was along the lines of "Delete it now before it's too late."

Erasing some of the data on your computer after being formally sued for copyright infringement is tantamount to destroying evidence. Call it a wild guess, but I'm fairly certain that most courts frown upon that.

perzackly. That's how the good folks at the CPA firm - Arthur Anderson, was it? - got in trouble.

If it's really blatant, the court can forbid you from putting on a defense.

If you get it out of there before being sued, you can say with all truthfulness that you learned your lesson and stopped the infringment.

[YeOldeStonecat]

lol working on it. saw it at one of my buddies house's when he was caught. it said he had copyrighted files and to delete them and call customer support so they could fix his modem. no matter what page he went to he got the same page. his ip was his normal ip. but with a 1 in front of it. when all was said and done with the 1 was gone and he got his normal ip back. im searching for docs tho

Heh..sounds like they implemented a NAC...once a "problem client" is found..they bind the MAC and the client is forced to a captive portal.

[TonyT]

Got a link to explain this redirecting some more?

Phillip posted an article of mine re COX redirecting address bar searches. The only way COX can redirect any request is if the request goes out via COX DNS.

[Sava700]

I format every few months.. so its a norm and if the norm for me would be a few days after getting a notification then there is nothing they could say as its a norm and I do write down the dates I format in a log.. habit of documenting stuff

I'd whip that drive with 0's several times and swap out your internal nic card along with sell the modem on ebay or something and get another one cause both have a hardcoded mac ID so remove all evidence against you and then tell them they are full of it. But as said here most likely you were seen as uploading not downloading which is what the RIAA has been going after here with students at the school I work for. One had to pay 4K to get them off their backs but IMO thats just BS and a way for the RIAA to regain some funds they think they lost from downloads when there isn't a thing they can do to stop it in the long run.

[YARDofSTUF]

Phillip posted an article of mine re COX redirecting address bar searches. The only way COX can redirect any request is if the request goes out via COX DNS.

Ya I know about that, it was just the way pete worded it at first that it threw me off, his next reply cleared it up.

COX DNS redirect is really a non issue.

[Kip Patterson]

I format every few months.. so its a norm and if the norm for me would be a few days after getting a notification then there is nothing they could say as its a norm and I do write down the dates I format in a log.. habit of documenting stuff

I'd whip that drive with 0's several times and swap out your internal nic card along with sell the modem on ebay or something and get another one cause both have a hardcoded mac ID so remove all evidence against you and then tell them they are full of it. But as said here most likely you were seen as uploading not downloading which is what the RIAA has been going after here with students at the school I work for. One had to pay 4K to get them off their backs but IMO thats just BS and a way for the RIAA to regain some funds they think they lost from downloads when there isn't a thing they can do to stop it in the long run.

It's been tried.

The judgement was $9,450 per song times 26.

[Sava700]

It's been tried.

The judgement was $9,450 per song times 26.

Your talking about that one woman that lost that case? Wasn't there a issue where they couldn't prove she was behind that very keyboard attached to the computer doing the uploading or downloading?

[Kip Patterson]

RIAA won. She lost.

Right or wrong? The RIAA is a nightmare of incompetence and abuse, but she did take their property and they got enormous punative damages.

[Comtrad]

hehe, cox abuse.

[Sava700]

RIAA won. She lost.

Right or wrong? The RIAA is a nightmare of incompetence and abuse, but she did take their property and they got enormous punative damages.

The never proved she took the property or used it...they couldn't prove she was behind the keyboard but yeah she lost..its sad though losing that when there wasn't proof of the keyboard/mouse usage or who used em.

[Comtrad]

The never proved she took the property or used it...they couldn't prove she was behind the keyboard but yeah she lost..its sad though losing that when there wasn't proof of the keyboard/mouse usage or who used em.

It all comes down to money. The RIAA knows most don't have the money to fight, so they settle. The ones who do fight, don't have enough money to do so, and they lose. However there have been a few that have had enough money and the RIAA backed off pretty quickly.

[morbidpete]

hehe, cox abuse.

lol

[Bound]

This thread is from 02 and still rings true today.