RIAA and File Shari...
 
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RIAA and File Sharing

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(@jjfossy)
Posts: 8
Active Member
Topic starter
 

It seems like the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is again handing out lawsuits like candy for illegal file sharing and downloading. I heard on the news today that 20+ college students are being sued by the RIAA for downloading music. It seems like every time I read stories like this, it's always college students who are getting nabbed. Is this because they are using the college computer network to access the Internet and are therefore easier to trace, because their IPs are most likely static? I've always been curious how the RIAA tracks down those who share & download files, because it seems like it would be an interesting job. Are most of the people who are caught using static IPs? What about users who have dynamic IP addresses? Are they immune?

One thing I am not totally clear about is if the RIAA makes a distinction between those who share files and those who download them. Is one worse than the other? Is it worse to simply download music files and not share files? Or is it worse to only share files?

Anyway, I thought I'd throw the topic out there, because it seems like it's starting to become a hot issue again.

 
Posted : 03/02/2006 9:21 am
(@digitalexodus)
Posts: 10
Active Member
 

I can agree, and you have a valid point concerning the logistics of the individuals having a static address and that being a reason behind them getting caught.

My two cents…. which isnt even mine, but adds value ) I read somewhere a while back that authorities are targeting the sources more than the users of piracy. In other words, they are targeting the individuals who are the "distributors" probably with massive amounts of digital files, into the TB's. That way people have less sources to download from. Makes sence to me, for the most part, but piracy will never end in my opinion, it will either become more or less of a problem, but never completely corrected.

As far as students doing these things behind a school network, thats their own dumb fault, they are at more risk being at a school, since they usually always are keeping an eye on bandwidth. Its not that hard to figure out when someone is up to something fishy.

 
Posted : 03/02/2006 10:15 am
(@jsawyer)
Posts: 35
Eminent Member
 

It seems like every time I read stories like this, it's always college students who are getting nabbed. Is this because they are using the college computer network to access the Internet and are therefore easier to trace, because their IPs are most likely static? I've always been curious how the RIAA tracks down those who share & download files, because it seems like it would be an interesting job. Are most of the people who are caught using static IPs? What about users who have dynamic IP addresses? Are they immune?

The IPs can be static or dynamic. Depending on the institution, getting info from logs showing who is on a particular IP at the time the infringing material was seen online is just as easy as identifying the static IP. Now, if the institution just lets people connect no matter who they are and don't require them to identify themselves, then dynamic IPs are definitely an issue.

Tracking the people down is as simple as logging into <P2P_app>, searching for infringing material, verifying it is the material, identify the IP (crucial) and username (if possible), then they send a complaint to the institution that owns that IP block. It is now the institution's responsibility to identify the person using that IP and verify if the complaint is legitimate. Of all the complaints I have had to deal with, they just require that the files be deleted immediately.

One thing I am not totally clear about is if the RIAA makes a distinction between those who share files and those who download them. Is one worse than the other? Is it worse to simply download music files and not share files? Or is it worse to only share files?

From the complaints we receive, it looks like they are only focused on those who are sharing. The complaints we receive list the files they were sharing and request that they be removed immediately.

We haven't had to deal with prosecution…thankfully.

-jhs

 
Posted : 03/02/2006 11:25 pm
(@jjfossy)
Posts: 8
Active Member
Topic starter
 

From reading the last two replies, it looks like it doesn't matter if a person has a dynamic or a static IP. It's still easy to trace and identify who the culprit is. It is interesting though that those who share the files and make them available for download are being targeted more than those who are downloading the files.

Another question I had was, is there a specific file sharing tool/software that investigators use that checks all the file shareing programs out there for violations? Or do they have to donwload, install, and run each file sharing program individually?

 
Posted : 07/02/2006 6:47 pm
(@jsawyer)
Posts: 35
Eminent Member
 

Maybe you can befriend someone in the RIAA and ask them what they use. Most likely, they use the same clients as the people they are busting. Below is an slightly obfuscated example of the details the RIAA provides to us in order to track down a person suspected of sharing copyrighted material.

Dear Sir or Madam

I am contacting you on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America, Inc. (RIAA) and its member record companies. The RIAA is a trade association whose member companies create, manufacture, and distribute approximately ninety (90) percent of all legitimate sound recordings sold in the United States. Under penalty of perjury, we submit that the RIAA is authorized to act on behalf of its member companies in matters involving the infringement of their sound recordings, including enforcing their copyrights and common law rights on the Internet.

We believe a user on your network is offering an infringing sound recording for download through a peer to peer application. We have attached below the details of the infringing activity.

We have a good faith belief that this activity is not authorized by copyright owners, their agent, or the law. We are asking for your immediate assistance in stopping this unauthorized activity. Specifically, we request that you remove or disable access to the infringing sound recording.

We believe it is in everyone's interest for music consumers to be better educated about the subject of copyright law and music. In addition to taking steps to notify this network user about the illegal nature of this activity, we encourage you to refer him/her to the MUSIC Coalition's website at www.musicunited.org. The site contains valuable information about what's legal and what's not when it comes to copying music.

You should understand that this letter constitutes notice to you that this network user may be liable for the infringing activity occurring on your network. In addition, under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, if you ignore this notice, your institution may also be liable for any resulting infringement. This letter does not constitute a waiver of any right to recover damages incurred by virtue of any such unauthorized activities, and such rights as well as claims for other relief are expressly retained. Moreover, this letter does not constitute a waiver of our members' right to sue the user at issue for copyright infringement.

Thank you in advance for your prompt assistance in this matter. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail at antipiracy2@riaa.com, via telephone at (202) 775-0101, or via mail at RIAA, 1330 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 300, Washington, D.C., 20036. Please reference Case ID &lt;removed&gt; in any response or communication regarding this infringement.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Landis
Online Copyright Protection
RIAA
Infringement details
———————————————-
First Found xx xxx xxxx xxxxxx EST (GMT -0500)
Last Found xx xxx xxxx xxxxxx EST (GMT -0500)
Network AresWarez
IP Address &lt;removed&gt;
IP Port 59049
Protocol AresWarez
Username &lt;removed&gt;

List of infringing content
———————————————-
&lt;Insert song &amp; artist&gt;

 
Posted : 07/02/2006 11:37 pm
(@jjfossy)
Posts: 8
Active Member
Topic starter
 

Wow! This was VERY interesting to read. Looks like those who distribute and share files are being nabbed by the RIAA. How about those users though who do not share files, but download them? I suspect that they are also fair game to the RIAA.

Another question I had was, if a user downloaded a file 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, etc., ago…can the RIAA later come back and sue them, or is there a time limitation to this? I suspect not, because RIAA investigators are only nailing those that they currently see online sharing/downloading files. I think the turnaround time for these lawsuits or notices of infringements are pretty quick. That is, the investigator observes someone sharing/downloading files, gets their IP address immediately, and then notifies the ISP of the infringement. Is this basically how it goes? In the sample letter, I didn't see any dates, so I assume that the turnaround time is quick.

 
Posted : 08/02/2006 7:34 pm
(@jsawyer)
Posts: 35
Eminent Member
 

Can't tell you what they think or what they do about people who download. The letter I posted is all I have seen from them. Never spoken to them. I'm the lucky security guy who has been told to process them and identify the user.

I found another example of the letter we receive posted by another university. There is quite a bit out there about the letters and how organizations respond to them based on their internal policies. I found several searching with Google. I can't say how private companies deal with these things.

I don't know anything about lawsuits, but we get these "cease and desist" letters usually within a few days of the incident but I can remember getting one that was slightly over 30 days which I grumbled about as I processed it. Typically, though, the turnaround is quick.

 
Posted : 08/02/2006 8:37 pm
(@jjfossy)
Posts: 8
Active Member
Topic starter
 

JSAWYER Your job sounds very interesting. You must enjoy what you are doing. It seems like you have some good insight into this whole file sharing business. Have you been doing this long. How did you get into it?

 
Posted : 11/02/2006 7:34 pm
(@jsawyer)
Posts: 35
Eminent Member
 

My job is great. I love it, but it really has nothing to do with filesharing. I am simply the go-to guy when we receive complaints. I don't know anything about how the RIAA finds the infringements or their lawsuits. I am simply a security guy with a passion for incident response and forensics…not filesharing. Wish I could provide more information.

 
Posted : 11/02/2006 9:04 pm
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