One of my friends might be in some pretty legit trouble here.

[Skorpionss]

huh so ppl do make a big deal out of piracy in other countries... well I gues living in a crappy, ex-communist country has it's benefits...

[Malagan]

This is my Download/upload history in the last 1.5 month.
Am I in trouble?

[biv1982]

Charter is actually like that, if you ask me, they should mind their own business and now spy on their customers. I've had something similar a few months ago. I don't even know what I've downloaded really, I usually don't download anything illegal. However, I've got an email from them saying either me or someone in my household did download something illegal ... blah, blah, blah ... I didn't even pay attention to their stupid threats.
Charter is one of The Worst internet providers, not only my internet goes on and off pretty much anytime it wants, they also overcharge you for EVERYTHING. The only reason I'm with them after a few years is 'cause there're no other high speed internet providers in my area and DSL sucks these days.

[Blackeyecycle]

Is she really in any type of trouble considering her age? Slap on the wrist perhaps, small fine? I can't imagine them going balls deep on her.

[Doylez]

This is my Download/upload history in the last 1.5 month.
Am I in trouble?

Again, depends on your country. Some countrys don't pursue it at all, in others it's very dangerous to download anything without protection.

[biv1982]

Here, I've found the actual email:

Dear Charter Internet Subscriber:

Charter Communications ("Charter") has been notified by a copyright owner, or its authorized agent, that your Internet account may have been involved in the exchange of unauthorized copies of copyrighted material (e.g., music, movies, or software). We are enclosing a copy of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice that Charter received from the copyright holder which includes the specific allegation.

Under the DMCA, copyright owners have the right to notify Charter’s register agent if they believe that a Charter customer has infringed on their work(s). When Charter receives a complaint notice from a copyright owner, Charter will notify the identifiable customer of the alleged infringement by providing them a copy of the submitted DMCA notice. As required by law, Charter may determine that the customer is a repeat copyright infringer and reserves the right to suspend or terminate the accounts of repeat copyright infringers.

It is possible that this activity has occurred without your permission or knowledge by an unauthorized user, a minor who may not fully understand the copyright laws, or even as a result of a computer virus. However, as the named subscriber on the account, you may be held responsible for any misuse of your account. Please be aware that using Charter’s service to engage in any form of copyright infringement is expressly prohibited by Charter's Acceptable Use Policy and that repeat copyright infringement, or violations of any other Charter policy, may result in the suspension or termination of your service. You may view Charter's rules and policies, including Charter’s Acceptable Use Policy, under the policies section of charter.com.

We ask that you take immediate action to stop the exchange of any infringing material. For additional information regarding copyright infringement and for a list of frequently asked questions, please visit charter.com/dmca.

If you have questions about this letter, you may contact us at 1-866-229-7286. Representatives will be available to take your call Monday through Friday 8am - 8pm, Saturday and Sunday 8am - 5pm (CST).


Sincerely,

After that there's also some kind of attachment from:
Entertainment Software Association
575 7th Street, NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20004 USA

staying that I've tried to download Civilization 5 illegally ... Which I know I didn't

It's all BS if you ask me, for them to actually prove you've downloaded anything illegally would be impossible, unless they break into your house and find illegal copy on your computer or something.

[Deleted]

What you could do are 2 things

1- buy the cd and try to get away with a warning.

2-buy the cd break it and say you downloaded it cuz yours broke and dident make a back up for self use
since making a back up of a cd issent illegal, and since you dident make one you can explain you tryd to resort to other options cuz you dident want to pay again for somthing you already bought the rights of

Hope this helps

Will only work if it are song from a cd and not random songs that ar from a home made playlist

ps: if they take measures its a good chance they can prove it, cuz they can ask for your data and trackings through your internet provider.
IF THEY HAVE A POLICE HOUSE (search) ACCES PAPER THINGIE (i forgot the actual word for it)

But to counter this do the above

[zordayn]

It's not case dismissed because you're internet service is what did it, so they don't care if you did it or your neighbor who is stealing your internet did. It's your responsibly to lock the wireless connection, as I have seen people fined because of someone else downloading stuff through their internet. The system knows people will use this excuse so it won't hold up in court. This is all of course saying it gets that far, but don't think for a second that "I didn't know" would do any good.

Look it up, there have been several cases where the case was dismissed because the courts can't prove they're responsible. Here's some proof to back up my claims:

RIAA dismissed the case of Virgin vs. Marson. According to Ray Beckerman, RIAA dropped the case as they were "Faced with evidence that numerous other people had access to the Internet connection and/or the computer and that any of those people could have engaged in the allegedly infringing conduct."

http://www.p2p-weblog.com/50226711/r..._vs_marson.php

By the way,

"According to Tech Genix, as of 2004, 60 to 70 percent of all wireless networks were insecure." - http://topics.info.com/Wireless-Network-Security_4870

So basically what you're saying is that the 60 to 70% of people who are using unsecured wireless connections should be held responsible for some random guy leeching their network and downloading copyrighted files. So apparently if someones computer illiterate grandma didn't know how to secure her wireless network she should be held criminally responsible in a court of law for file sharing someone else might have done on her connection... LMAO..seriously good luck trying to argue that in court.

IP addresses aren't people. Anti-p2p lawyers are well aware of this so they instead try to use bullying and fear mongering tactics to get their way. Here is a recent UK court decision that states clearly : IP addresses are not people.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/n...rs-know-it.ars

Here's some more legal insight, quoted from another judge in the USA.

"In order for 'personally identifiable information' to be personally identifiable, it must identify a person. But an IP address identifies a computer."

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/200...23075488.shtml


Of course this argument probably isn't even going to apply here, it's most likely a "slap on the wrist" notice. Again, just ignore the notice OP.

[eternalwhitemoon]

It is possible that this activity has occurred without your permission or knowledge by an unauthorized user, a minor who may not fully understand the copyright laws, or even as a result of a computer virus. However, as the named subscriber on the account, you may be held responsible for any misuse of your account. Please be aware that using Charter’s service to engage in any form of copyright infringement is expressly prohibited by Charter's Acceptable Use Policy and that repeat copyright infringement, or violations of any other Charter policy, may result in the suspension or termination of your service. You may view Charter's rules and policies, including Charter’s Acceptable Use Policy, under the policies section of charter.com.

All it's saying is "hey, if you keep doing this we have the right to shut off your interwebs".

No biggie, really.

[Deleted]

Downloading is not illegal, sharing is,.. at least in my country

[Shadowmelded]

I'm fairly sure it's illegal in pretty much all countries

Meh, not exactly. Like I said in an earlier post, in Holland it's legal to download anything that's not software, but if you upload music or whatever it's against the law. It's to do with their copyright law (Auteursrecht) which pretty much says, once it's been exposed to the public, it's fair game, but to actually expose it to the public (upload/distribute) is against the law. And in a lot of countries it's only illegal in name, different countries different rules etc...

[Deleted]

This is why I buy all my music.
It's not that expensive, and you won't get in such an awful position.
Edit: Not sure it works, but I actually think you HAVE to admit having downloaded the files, before they can judge you for doing it. If they find it on your computer and you deny it, they won't be able to do anything. (Not sure about this, but I heard it a couple of times)

[Joey Ray III]

for anyone to give a crap you'd have be to UPLOADING (distributing) gigabytes upon gigabytes of illegal shit. only then, maybe, someone might actually be assed to take some action.

if you're just an average joe like the rest of us, downloading mp3s/movies/whatever on your home PC, you got nothing to worry about. going for individual users is, at this point, a total and utter waste of time for everybody involved and would serve no purpose whatsoever.

[Skelington]

From what ive heard, if you are caught with illegally downloaded music, you get fined $1 per song. But pursuit of it is rare, lest you pirate it and sell it, for who really cares? It is also bad publicity for the band to pursue against you, and many keep that in mind before they go about hunting the thieves.

[Sprinky]

Didnt have time to read all the replies but just thought Id add that I also had a letter from some legal company threatening action unless I paid a fairly heft set fine. I tore up the letter and havent heard anymore, that was over a year ago. I think they are just preying on silly people who will pay the fine without thinking about it. The second they have to actually put any effort into proving it was you etc it becomes unviable for them.

[Xuany]

A first offense like this it should just be a warning. After they they'll stop giving you internet service period. If the company that made the CD want's to take action they will not the internet company. If it's just a measly CD just have her go out and buy it, if you own it you can download a backup and that's not illegal.