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RIAA AND INTERNET USERS Got this from a friend this morning and thought I'd share it with the .org, Informative information.
Kind of long but good info. In light of all that's happening concerning the RIAA cracking down on file-swapping, I e-mailed my ISP (Charter Communications) to ask them what their stand is on it. Here is the reply I got. Lots of useful info here, so you might wanna check it out. Original Message: As an internet user, I was wondering what Charter Communications' stand is on the RIAA sending out supoenas to get a person's personal information. Also, I'd like to know if Charter Communications has received any of these subpoenas and how they are responding. Although I do see the RIAA's point on some of the "music sharing" matters, I personally think that they are overstepping some boundaries & should not be able to bully ISP's as they have been. Thank you for contacting Charter Communications Technical Support. Charter Communications News Alert - Copyright Infringement As you may have heard in the news, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has recently started serving subpoenas on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to get the names of Internet users who are trading music without owning a legal copy. Charter wants to bring this to your attention so that you can protect yourself and your family from potential legal action from the copyright holders, such as recording companies and movie studios. Recent news stories related to RIAA subpoenas: Music industry wins approval of 871 subpoenas http://www.usatoday.com/t...uits_x.htm RIAA's Subpoena Onslaught Aimed at Illegal File Sharing http://www.washingtonpost...Jul18.html Jailing the Pirates http://www.washingtonpost...Jul17.html Record industry sends out subpoenas http://news.com.com/2100-...26676.html Can I get in trouble for downloading music or movies off the Internet? Sharing movies and music over the Internet is a popular, widespread practice. However, copyright holders for the movies and music believe that this violates their copyright. Recently, copyright holders have received some court decisions in their favor and have become more active in pursuing music and movie sharers, which is why Charter is bringing this to your attention. Who is at risk? Any Internet users who exchange music, movies or other copyrighted material over the Internet are at risk. KaZaA and Gnutella are the most common file-sharing programs. Anytime you or a family member downloads music from the Internet without paying for it, you are at risk of being accused of copyright infringement by a copyright holder. If your computer is not secure, you are also at risk that a stranger could "hack" into your computer and use it for copyright infringement. What might happen? The copyright holders have computer programs to help them identify the IP addresses (computer numbers) of Internet users who are exchanging music or movies. The copyright holder can then subpoena the user's ISP to request the name and address of the customer who was using that IP address at that time. Then the copyright holder may initiate legal action against the customer. How can I avoid being accused of copyright infringement? The safest way to avoid copyright infringement is to discontinue using free music and movie sharing over the Internet and to remove the programs from your computer. For help on how to remove them from your computer, please see our instruction sheets: Aimster: (also known as Madster) KaZaA: Bearshare: LimeWire: Gnutella: Mactella: Gnucleus: Morpheus: Grokster: SwapNut: IMesh: WinMX: You will also want to make sure you have a secure firewall and up-to-date anti-virus software on your computer. (A firewall is a software or hardware tool that protects your computer from intruders.) This will minimize the chance of someone "hacking" into your computer and using it for file sharing. You can find security tools at the Symantec Security Center http://nct.symantecstore....rter.html. Of course, you will want to make sure that every family member who uses the computer cooperates with your security plan. Often parents who have secured a computer are surprised to learn that their teenage son or daughter has opened it back up for file sharing. What gives copyright holders the right to come after me? The copyright holders are pursuing Internet users under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA). You may review a U.S. Copyright Office summary of the law at this web site: http://www.loc.gov/copyri.../dmca.pdf. Will Charter give out my personal information to the record companies? Charter Communications complies strictly with its Privacy Policy, http://charter.com/site/r...p#privacy. Charter will only disclose customer information when required to by law. Charter has filed objections with the court for all of the DMCA subpoenas it has received. If Charter must disclose a customer's identification to a copyright holder, we will attempt to notify our customer first. This will give the customer the opportunity to retain legal counsel and attempt to prevent the disclosure, if desired. Are there ways to download music and movies that won't get me in trouble? There are a number of Internet sites that offer you the opportunity to download entertainment for a fee. Some of this money pays the royalty fees, which takes care of the copyright obligations. You should make sure to use a reputable site to ensure that the money you are paying is actually being used to prevent copyright infringement. Here are links to some of the most popular sites: Music: http://charterzone.charte...lmusic.asp Movies: http://www.movielink.com/...Home.jhtml Why would I receive a DMCA warning letter from Charter Communications? In addition to subpoenas, the copyright holders also submit Copyright Infringement Notices to all ISPs, including Charter, under the DMCA. These DMCA notices advise Charter that a copyright holder believes one of our customers has been sharing or posting material without permission. Charter Communications will notify the customer if we receive this notice, but we are not obligated to disclose the customer's name to the copyright holder. If a customer has a history of repeat infringements, Charter may be obligated to discontinue Internet service. Charter never looks for copyright infringement; we respond to notices submitted by copyright holders, as the law requires. Is there anything that I can do to contest a DMCA notice? Yes, if you feel that the copyright holder has accused you in error, you may file a DMCA Counter-Claim. The DMCA http://www.loc.gov/copyri...n/dmca.pdf tells you what information you must include in your counterclaim. When Charter receives a Counter-Claim that meets the requirements of the DMCA, Charter will process it following DMCA guidelines. Where can I get more information? For more information about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, you may want to refer to the U.S. Copyright Office website: http://www.loc.gov/copyright/. How to Disable your File-sharing Software: Aimster: (also known as Madster) (Windows): 1. Click Settings. 2. Click the Transfers tab. 3. Set Max Aimster Uploads to 0. 4. Click OK. (Mac): 1. Select the Shared Folders tab 2. Select any items visible in the Folder Path area and click Remove 3. Exit Bearshare: 1. Choose Setup menu . 2. Click Sharing. 3. Click the Sharing Tab. 4. Choose all items below where it states Share the files in these directories and their sub-directories. 5. Click Remove. 6. Click OK. Gnutella: 1. Choose Setup. 2. Click on Shared Files. 3. Remove all folders from the Shared Files menu. 4. Uncheck Allow Incoming Connections. 5. Click OK. Gnucleus: 1. Select Preferences. under the Edit menu. 2. Click Share. 3. If any items exist under Shared Directories select them 4. Click Remove. 5. Click OK. Grokster: 1. Select Options. under the Tools menu 2. Click the Traffic tab. 3. Under Bandwidt, set the maximum number of simultaneous uploads to 0. 4. Select the Disable sharing of files with other Grokster members check box. 5. Click Ok. IMesh: 1. Select Options. under the Preferences menu. 2. Click Share under Category. 3. If checked, remove the check in the Allow other users to view my shared files check box. 4. Click OK. 5. Click the Media Manager tab in the iMesh main window. In the directory there will be gray boxes next to drives indicating that there is a shared subfolder within the drive or folder listed. 6. Expand each drive until you find subfolders that are checked. 7. Unselect all checks. KaZaA: 1. Select Options. under the Tools menu. 2. Click the Traffic tab. 3. Under Limits, set the maximum number of simultaneous uploads to 0. 4. Select the Disable sharing of files with other KaZaA members check box. 5. Click the Advanced tab. 6. Select Do not function as a SuperNode. 7. Click OK. LimeWire: 1. Select Options. under the Tools menu. 2. Click Sharing. 3. If any items exist under the Shared Directories select them 4. Click Remove. 5. Clear the Extensions box under Shared Extensions. 6. Click Uploads. 7. Set Max Upload Slots to 0. 8. Move the Upload Bandwidth slider to 0%. 9. Click OK. 10. The System Tray dialog box will appear. 11. Select No, close the program and abort file transfers. 12. Click OK. Mactella: 1. Clear the Enable sharing check box 2. Point to Preferences under the Edit menu, and then click Connection. 3. Under Bandwidth Use, move the Uploads slider all the way to the left. 4. Click the More settings 5. Under Push Packets, click Routed. 6. Click OK. 7. Point to Preferences under the Edit menu, and then click Transfer. 8. Select the Queue Downloads check box. 9. Click OK. Morpheus: 1. Select Options. under the Tools menu. 2. Click the Traffic tab. 3. Under Bandwidth, set the maximum number of simultaneous uploads to 0. 4. Select the Disable sharing of files with other Morpheus members check box. 5. Click the Advanced tab. 6. Select Do not function as a SuperNode. 7. Click OK. SwapNut: 1. Select Options. under the Tools menu. 2. Click the Sharing tab. 3. Clear the Extensions box under File Sharing. 4. Click the Shared tab. 5. If any items exist under Shared Folders select them. 6. Click Remove. 7. Click OK. WinMX: 1. Click Shared Files. 2. If any items exist under File Path select them. 3. Click Remove Path. 4. Select Share Settings under the Settings menu. 5. Clear the File Types To Share box. 6. Click OK. If you have any additional questions regarding your internet service or need further assistance with it, you may contact us by calling the telephone number listed on your bill or work order. Additionally, you can find your local contact information on the web at: http://www.charter.com/se...ontact.asp Thanks Again, Technical Support Team Charter Communications Original Message: As an internet user, I was wondering what Charter Communications' stand is on the RIAA sending out supoenas to get a person's personal information. Also, I'd like to know if Charter Communications has received any of these subpoenas and how they are responding. Although I do see the RIAA's point on some of the "music sharing" matters, I personally think that they are overstepping some boundaries & should not be able to bully ISP's as they have been. *********************************************
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