I've Received a Copyright Infringement Notice at my business..what do I do?

Me | 3/3/14 | Louiswu

[The Louiswu]

I received a notice of Copyright Infringement at my office today. It says someone downloaded a file called Let It Snow on 2/22/14 at 7:49GMT and the ip address listed is 173.23.1.91. I am really concerned and don't know what my first step should be in combating this problem. Does anyone have any advice about this, I would greatly appreciate any help with this matter.

[RoosterRedux]

I am not a lawyer, but I think you would only be liable for what your actions might have cost them (damages).

I would attach a picture of Putin giving them the middle finger and send it back.

Of course, I might be wrong.

[mrsmith]

At least it’s obviously much too verbose to be from a Kzin.

Glad you got some good info.

[Larry381]

I know two people who received letters from attorneys claiming they violated copyright-in both cases the amount of songs and movies was in the hundreds.

[cuban leaf]

This thing is tricky. Every single case I know of where someone was pursued legally they were sued not for downloading songs but for making them available for upload.

It goes something like this: you or one of your children use a p2p site to download a few hundred (or thousand) songs and leave them in the folder to which they were downloaded. The software, in turn, makes that folder available to anyone trying to upload with the same software. The RIAA attorneys use the software to uplaod, get the ip address of the site where it was available, and your legal troubles start.

It’s why, whenever I download stuff, I put it in a folder that is not accessable by the software and leave only public domain stuff in the primary sharing folder.

I don’t know of a single case where someone was sued for downloading. One reason is that it is legally foggy. It is akin to copying your friend’s CD, or recording off the radio, which is legal.

[jocon307]

Please, I’m sure many have said this, but let me say it too, CALL A LAWYER. If you do not know one with expertise in this area get a recommendation from a lawyer you do know or some other person whom you trust.

This can be a convoluted area of law and there are a lot of scammers out there, so find someone who knows what you are dealing with.

[dalereed]

Unless you got it certified mail/return receipt, ignor it.

If by chance it came regular mail and also certified and you refused the certified letter, YOU HAVE BEEN SERVED LEGALLY!

[smokingfrog]

I’m voting with the “sounds like a scam” crowd.

OrgName: Mediacom Communications Corp
OrgId: MCC-244
Address: 100 Crystal Run Rd.
City: Middletown
StateProv: NY
PostalCode: 10941
Country: US
RegDate: 2008-02-05
Updated: 2012-02-27
Comment: For abuse issues contact abuse@mediacomcc.com
Ref: http://whois.arin.net/rest/org/MCC-244

ReferralServer: rwhois://rwhois.mediacomcc.com:4321

OrgTechHandle: NAH5-ARIN
OrgTechName: Ahmad, Nisar
OrgTechPhone: +1-845-695-2698
OrgTechEmail: nahmad@mediacomcc.com
OrgTechRef: http://whois.arin.net/rest/poc/NAH5-ARIN

OrgTechHandle: HCD1-ARIN
OrgTechName: Dean, Henry Clay
OrgTechPhone: +1-515-559-0223
OrgTechEmail: hdean@mediacomcc.com
OrgTechRef: http://whois.arin.net/rest/poc/HCD1-ARIN

OrgAbuseHandle: MEDIA2-ARIN
OrgAbuseName: Mediacom Abuse
OrgAbusePhone: +1-845-695-2600
OrgAbuseEmail: abuse@mediacombb.net
OrgAbuseRef: http://whois.arin.net/rest/poc/MEDIA2-ARIN

#
# ARIN WHOIS data and services are subject to the Terms of Use
# available at: https://www.arin.net/whois_tou.html
#

Found a referral to rwhois.mediacomcc.com:4321.

%rwhois V-1.5:003fff:00 rwhois.mediacomcc.com (by Network Solutions, Inc. V-1.5.9.5)
network:Class-Name:network
network:ID:MEDIACOM-RESIDENTIAL-CUST-173.23.0.0/22
network:Auth-Area:173.23.0.0/22
network:Network-Name:MEDIACOMCC-173-23-0-0-Charleston-IL
network:IP-Network:173.23.0.0/22
network:IP-Network-Block:173.23.0.1 - 173.23.3.254
network:Organization;I:chuil002cm9
network:Tech-Contact;I:Dean, Henry Clay
network:Admin-Contact;I:Selvage, Joe
network:Created:20130726
network:Updated:20130726
network:Updated-By:noc_toolsdev@mediacomcc.com

[Will88]

Unless you got it certified mail/return receipt, ignor it.

Yes, I've wondered while scanning this thread if legitimate legal notices of this sort are ever served by email. There are so many email scams purporting to be official legal notices that I doubt many legitimate entities would use email.

[posterchild]

IP address maps to Chicago (not always accurate).

http://www.geobytes.com/IpLocator.htm?GetLocation&IpAddress=173.23.1.91

[dalereed]

i doubt e-mail would qualify but the court accepts that if certified mail is rejected that the regular mail that wasn't returned was assumed to be opened by the recipient and therefore legally served.

There would be no way to know if an e-mail was looked at.

[a fool in paradise]

D'oh! Damn YOUTUBE!

[The Louiswu]

Thanks!

[The Louiswu]

"At least it’s obviously much too verbose to be from a Kzin."

Indeed, a Kzin would just scream and leap. - Thanks

[jonrick46]

I would receive phone calls from a Indian accent caller claiming he was Microsoft. They would tell me that my computer has a virus that was sending unwanted data onto their mainframe. These calls would come at least five times a week with a caller ID: “####-0000.” For a fee they would fix the problem. All I had to do is give my credit card number and let them have full access to my computer. When I said I have more than one computer, they said they would have to charge me for the other computers and give them time to get full access of them.

It was a telephone Phishing scam. I am sure you are being scammed with a email Phishing spam. Report them to your state attorney general.

[enduserindy]

There are a lot of scammers that do this. Another popular one is to say you used a picture that they hold the copyright too. I always ignore them and have never been sued or paid them.

[enduserindy]

If you have a file sharing program on your work pc then shame on you (if your business) or fire you (if employee.) The letter if real is scary but your business network compromised can get really expensive for other reasons too.

[enduserindy]

If you have a file sharing program on your work pc then shame on you (if your business) or fire you (if employee.) The letter if real is scary but your business network compromised can get really expensive for other reasons too.

OOps.

[CharlesOConnell]

http://www.google.com/search?q=what+to+do+if+you%27re+accused+of+copyright+infringement

[Intolerant in NJ]

What does the notification say to do? - cease and desist? lawyer up? destroy the file? - send ‘em a hundred bucks and they’ll forget all about it? - I’m guessing like most everybody else it’s some sort of scam.......

[daniel1212]

I would receive phone calls from a Indian accent caller claiming he was Microsoft.

I was getting those also, but for some reason they hang up after i ask them for a number i can call them back on.