Q about DMCA takedown notice I received

September 5, 2007 6:41 AM

Here is my dilemma. Last week I received a DMCA takedown notice from my ISP regarding a TV show that I torrented (is that a word yet?). Do I ignore the message, or give them the information? I know this was wrong, but my thinking was that this was a TV show, and not music, HBO, movies, etc. I guess I was seriously wrong. I deleted the file and uninstalled uTorrent.

I guess uTorrent was also uploading, and herein lies the problem.

The note states that I need to send my ISP (quoted from email):
(a) a physical or electronic signature of the subscriber;

(b) identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or disabled;

(c) a statement under penalty of perjury that the subscriber has a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled;

(d) the subscriber’s name, address, and telephone number and a statement that the subscriber consents to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the judicial district in which the address is located.

[end quote]

My question is: what should I do? By filling out this information, aren't I admitting guilt? Wouldn't I be setting myself up to be included in a lawsuit in the future? I actually spoke with a lawyer who said just send them the information because there were no damages, but sending an email "under penalty of perjury" is kind of scary. Ignoring this might be a huge mistake too...

posted by anonymous to Law & Government (17 answers total)

(This question really needs to be made anonymous)

Don't send in anything. Contact the EFF. Don't talk about your case in public anymore.
posted by mkultra at 7:01 AM on September 5, 2007

Oh, the answers to your other 2 questions: Yes; and probably, depending on the wording of the document they expect you to sign, which I doubt indemnifies you.
posted by mkultra at 7:04 AM on September 5, 2007

This might help:

Know Your Rights: What to do when the RIAA comes calling
posted by AaRdVarK at 7:14 AM on September 5, 2007 [2 favorites]

There is more information about the type of letter that you received and what it means here.
posted by ND¢ at 7:24 AM on September 5, 2007

The letter should contain the consequences of your decision to ignore the request. For example, they may disable your connection.
posted by mmascolino at 7:45 AM on September 5, 2007

seconding mkultra, don't send in anything, call the eff. not impressed with the advice your lawyer gave you. there isn't enough information on your profile to id you, so i wouldn't be paranoid about a non-anonymous question, and yes, torrented is a word.
posted by bruce at 7:55 AM on September 5, 2007

Thinking about this a bit further, and through ND¢'s link, it seems to me that your ISP got the DMCA notice, and they're claiming Safe Harbor- effectively saying, "hey, it's not our fault, that guy is posting the illegal stuff". Provision (d) of the message you got appears to effectively give the complainant the right to sue you. IANAL, go talk to one.
posted by mkultra at 8:01 AM on September 5, 2007

Anonymous, if you need to provide more info, email a mod or a user you trust and have them post it for you so that you STAY anonymous.
posted by hermitosis at 8:05 AM on September 5, 2007

I don't see why you have any obligation to mail them anything.
posted by chunking express at 8:37 AM on September 5, 2007

If it didn't come as registered mail, there is no way to prove that you ever actually received this letter.
posted by ThFullEffect at 8:53 AM on September 5, 2007

You need to find a lawyer who understands these sort of things; I think you're not getting good advice from the one you talked to already. I agree with bruce, this looks like a pass-the-buck from your ISP to you. Basically, by signing this, you would be handing your own ass over to the complainant.

If I were you, I'd do nothing, lawyer up, and prepare to spend a lot of money.
posted by Kadin2048 at 9:18 AM on September 5, 2007

First rule, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT.

You don't need a lawyer, you don't need to do anything. Your ISP won't give them your personal info w/o a subpoena, and they really haven't started suing users for downloading movies/tv yet. It has happened, but to distributors supplying the content and not really users.

If your ISP demands that you tell them the file has been deleted, then tell them it has.

Next time, use PeerGuardian and a private torrent site.

Worst case scenario, they'll cancel your internet account, but they won't do that either.

Really, it's NOT a big deal.
posted by TomMelee at 9:45 AM on September 5, 2007

Really, it's NOT a big deal.

Best advice so far.
posted by chunking express at 10:00 AM on September 5, 2007

Not responding at all doesn't seem helpful. But admitting to anything at this stage will damage your position. You may want a lawyer to write a "I don't know what you're talking about" letter for you to send to your ISP.
posted by TeatimeGrommit at 11:06 AM on September 5, 2007

i got one of these once. i just unshared the file and ignored the email.
posted by rhizome at 11:45 AM on September 5, 2007

From your ISP? An e-mail from your ISP? They're just trying to scare you. If you have an actual lawsuit in your hands, you need to get a lawyer.
posted by geoff. at 11:46 AM on September 5, 2007

Everyone I know in Canada who has got one of these has simply took a break from using bit torrent and ignored the email. Canada isn't as crazy as the US, but I'm guessing you can do the same.
posted by chunking express at 11:53 AM on September 5, 2007