Illegal Downloading.

[ONeill]

I'm a savage downloader, unpaid. I met a film fanatic recently who debated I was depriving the very people who entertained me of dough. I showed him the breakdown of a typical CD income and how much the artist actually received. He then hit me.

I see his point and Dr Fergal Sharkey's - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2a5N03h8Y8&feature=related

Should we ease off?

On the other hand, an iniitial free download led me to buy one.

[gerry]

i got this a while back



Copyright infringement, Policy enforcement Ref:C1319542
...
Friday, 17 July, 2009 10:59:00
From:   
"copyright@bt.com" <copyright@bt.com>
...
Add
To:   ***********@btinternet.com   
Dear Mr ******



I have received the attached notice from Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, alleging that your internet account has been used to share copyrighted material owned by Twentieth Century Fox Film. Please note that BT has not disclosed identifying any personal details about your account to Fox Film.



Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require any further assistance in respect of this.



Thank you for your attention.



Yours faithfully,





BT Customer Security Team

http://www.bt.com/acceptableuse/

http://www.getsafeonline.org/ <http://www.getsafeonline.org/>  "



BT is a founding member of the Internet Watch Foundation, ISP Abuse Management Forum and the Internet Content Rating Association.



This electronic message contains information from the BT Customer Security Team, which may be privileged and confidential. The information is intended for use only by the individuals or entity named above. If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this information is prohibited. If you have received this message in error please notify BT by email immediately.



BT does not accept responsibility for the content of third party web sites.



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



RE: File-sharing of unauthorised audio-visual content owned by Twentieth Century Fox

Notice ID: 343-343-1080568

Notice Date: 16 Jul 2009 16:50:45 GMT





Dear BT Customer:

This notice is sent to you on behalf of Twentieth Century Fox

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, located in Los Angeles, and its affiliated companies (collectively, 'Fox') own intellectual property rights, including exclusive rights protected under copyright laws, in many motion pictures, television programs and other audio-visual works, including the motion picture STREET FIGHTER (collectively, the 'Fox Titles').

The copyright laws protecting the Fox Titles apply equally to online content as they do to physical DVDs. This means that you cannot upload or download video files containing Fox content without Fox's authorisation, otherwise you will be infringing Fox's copyright and breaking the law.

As you know, BT provides your internet service. Fox conducted an online check by scanning public networks and discovered that the IP address below was used to access and distribute an unauthorised copy of STREET FIGHTER. By distributing Fox content without Fox's permission, you infringed Fox's copyright.

Here is the information Fox obtained from the online check:

Timestamp of report: 14 Jul 2009 06:22:24 GMT Title details: Street Fighter DVD IP address: 81.856i2.44.5684 Protocol used: BitTorrent - L5

BayID: 35fdad246e0bcae8f1260f97d2975084464f317b|748928792



Such infringing activity also breaches BT's Abuse Policy / Terms of Service Agreement, and may give BT the right to terminate your internet access service.

Fox is committed to creating a positive online environment where consumers have many legal choices for enjoying movies and television shows over the internet, and it hopes that you will partake of this growing array of safe, legitimate options (you can find out more about these at www.findanyfilm.com <http://www.findanyfilm.com <http://www.findanyfilm.com/> >). However, unless you have Fox's specific permission, it is illegal to download the Fox Titles from peer-to-peer networks such as BitTorrent or to share them with other people. Although various legal and equitable remedies may be available to Fox where its rights have been infringed, Fox believes that the entire internet community benefits when these matters are resolved cooperatively.

Fox therefore urges you to:

- - Take steps to immediately and permanently stop any further illegal file-sharing involving your account.

- - Delete from your computer any unauthorised copies of the above Fox Title, and any other illegitimate Fox Titles on your computer which you have downloaded from or offered on any peer-to-peer or other internet service.

- - Talk to everyone in your household about this letter. You may be in a household where other people have access to a computer connected to your internet account. File-sharing is particularly common amongst teenagers who may not understand that it is illegal to upload and download ("file share") copyrighted works owned by third parties. You should therefore check that everyone in your household is aware of the difference between the legal and illegal use of internet services and sites.

- - Check your computer for file-sharing peer-to-peer software. If you are not sure as to what programs are on your computer, Digital File Check is a piece of free software that can help identify the software commonly used to unlawfully access and share video and music files. You can find this by entering 'Digital File Check' into your Internet search browser - many sites provide access to it.

- - Check your router. If you are certain that no one in your household has been illegally file-sharing, and there is no peer-to-peer software on any of the computers in your household but you have an unsecured wireless connection, it is possible that you have received this letter because someone outside your household has used this connection illegally. It is your responsibility as an account holder to ensure that your connection is secure, so this does not happen again. We recommend that you password-protect your connection.

Please respond to Fox and identify what steps you have taken to resolve this matter by contacting Fox at fox@copyright-compliance.com <mailto:fox@copyright-compliance.com <mailto:fox@copyright-compliance.com> > or on +1 408 341 2317. You must understand that if your account is used to infringe FoxâEUR(tm)s copyrights again, you could face further and more serious action. Please refer to Notice ID 343-1080568 in all your correspondence.

You can learn more about piracy and copyright by visiting:

<http://www.copyrightaware.co.uk/copyrightclinic/index.asp <http://www.copyrightaware.co.uk/copyrightclinic/index.asp> > <http://www.copyrightaware.co.uk/howtodownload/index.asp <http://www.copyrightaware.co.uk/howtodownload/index.asp> > and <http://www.findanyfilm.com/search <http://www.findanyfilm.com/search> >

Please note that Fox will retain any details you provide, and may share these with others within Fox and with its service providers for the purposes of assessing your conduct and deciding what follow-up steps will be taken.

As this letter is not a complete statement of Fox's position, it expressly reserves all of its rights. The undersigned is authorised to act on behalf of Fox with respect to this matter.

Yours truly,





Mark Ishikawa

BayTSP, Inc.

P.O. Box 1314 - Los Gatos, CA 95031

Fox Copyright Compliance #: +1-403-341-2317 Bay TSP Fax: +1-403-341-2399 fox@copyright-compliance.com [*pgp public key is available on the key server at <http://pgp.mit.edu <http://pgp.mit.edu/> >]

[JUst retired]

Do you think they really mean it?

[mylestheslasher]

Was talking to a Polish lad the other days and he told me his sister who lives in Germany got sent a bill for €5k for downloading music. He reckons it is genuine and that they have to pay it. Sounds like a scam to me, anyone else hear of this sort of thing?

[gerry]

Not sure. The email went to a yahoo email that i never use so i only read the email 5 months after it was sent. Used to download films daily from axxo but since he gone i rarely download films anymore. I just download the top 40 singles weekly now.

[pintsofguinness]

- - Talk to everyone in your household about this letter. You may be in a household where other people have access to a computer connected to your internet account. File-sharing is particularly common amongst teenagers who may not understand that it is illegal to upload and download ("file share") copyrighted works owned by third parties. You should therefore check that everyone in your household is aware of the difference between the legal and illegal use of internet services and sites.

There's your defence right there. 

Can't see the ISPs caring too much, the only reason I have the Xl account with virgin is that I want to download and I'm sure there's plenty like me and they know it. 

[Lawrence of Knockbride]

Illegalities aside I follow the policy of downloading a band and if I really really like them I'll buy the album so that they benefit. I will also attend their shows and buy the odd bit of additional merchandise. The only massive hole in my policy is that myspace and lastfm exist but I choose to ignore these points for my own selfish gain.

[sandwiches_in_the_boot]

Haven't heard of anyone on this side of the Atlantic having to pay a fine or face prosecution. From what I know you'd just get a letter from your ISP asking you to stop.

Anyway is nobody using PeerGuardian? You should be if you're downloading music and films. Never boot up without it sitting in the task bar.

[Bensars]

There has been a load of letters send out the last few weeks looking or people to pay a £500 fine. As yet noone has been taken to court. From what i have read it is being applied with the backing of the music industry. The consumer group "which" i have recieved many complaints from people who claim to have no knowledge of any downloading and it seems to mainly based to Bit Torrent downloading. ( rapidshare doesnt rely of a host computer sharing the information (seed) therefore much more difficult to identify suppliers of uploaded materiaL )

I could be wrong but i thought that BT came out about 6 months ago and said they wouldnt cooperate with any of these "watchdogs" in regard of supply of client details.

[Main Street]

Fergal says research indicates that 1/2 the music on an ipod is unpaid for.
Maybe a little further research might well say that
if they had to pay, they wouldn't bother with most of that unpaid half.
Fergal is quoting a meaningless statistic, bought and paid for no doubt.
There are many reasons contributing to excessive downloading for free, that if downloading was curtailed 
how much would translate to higher music sales? At a guess, I'd say it would not make much difference. Out would go the reasons which are ruled by curiosity/experimentation, the not really interested but may as well download it or the overkill  - I have 6 of their best recordings -  I might as well download the other 56, but if I had to pay I would not purchase it.

Another issue is that iTunes music at its highest quality is still compressed to 1/3 file size for $1.29 a track, basically you are buying 1/3 the size for top dollar.
You would think that if a recording company/label/band/music collective, made available their music on their own servers for downloading, that the band management would be more than satisfied with Eur 5 for 60mins recording.. Usually if I was at a gig I'd buy the cd from the band.

After the latest failure to prosecute (what was the World's best torrent site) OINK, the record industry is in a legal flux. It is astonishing that they got together a legal team who did not understand how a torrent site actually works before deciding to build their futile legal case.

Impossible to exercise control over, but if there was some agreement for some hiatus over new releases before they were allowed up on a torrent site, would go a long way to take the heat off.

[hairyhog]

What's the latest with using torrents?  I haven't had the need to use them for ages having switched to Kodi for all TV/movie content, however I need a piece of software and had real difficulty finding and accessing the usual sites like piratebay and kickass because of the new google restrictions and my internet provider blocking them.

Are they as good as finished or has something else replaced them? What have people switched to?

[Hereiam]

Yea there has been a massive crack down on them. Haven't used one a while now so would be interested to see what other people are using

[Tony Baloney]

What's the latest with using torrents?  I haven't had the need to use them for ages having switched to Kodi for all TV/movie content, however I need a piece of software and had real difficulty finding and accessing the usual sites like piratebay and kickass because of the new google restrictions and my internet provider blocking them.

Are they as good as finished or has something else replaced them? What have people switched to?

I was looking for an audiobook of Born To Run* on a Pirate Bay proxy the other day and there was bugger all on it.

*In my defence I have the hardback book your honour.

[stew]

I'm a savage downloader, unpaid. I met a film fanatic recently who debated I was depriving the very people who entertained me of dough. I showed him the breakdown of a typical CD income and how much the artist actually received. He then hit me.

I see his point and Dr Fergal Sharkey's - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2a5N03h8Y8&feature=related

Should we ease off?

On the other hand, an iniitial free download led me to buy one.

You would do well to quit downloading, these are real, they were going to prosecute a family member and he got off because he had ME, they basically told him,never agai, a,d that was several years ago.

[Syferus]

You've more chance of winning the lottery than being prosecuted for downloading, and that's before you think about using VPNs or Seedboxes that grant you total anonymity.