So, I got a letter from the ESA today...

[Odesseiron]

Long story short, I got a letter from the ESA today saying I downloaded a game, and that Cablevision ought to inform me, blah blah blah, you know the story. It was for Gears of War on PC. Should I worry about this? Respond/do anything? From what I've read, most times nothing happens, and you get a black mark on your ISP account. I'm curious as if Epic Games will pursue legal action or anything and I should just go about my business or what? The letter I got is spoilered for size below if you care to read it. I'm not freaking out or anything, I know a lot of people that this happened to and nothing ever came of it. I'm wondering if I should call the number on there and see what they have to say, or just leave it be. I don't want to get a $5000 fee in the mail. I know this will probably get a lot of smart ass replies, but if any actually HAS gotten one of these before, your input is much obliged.

Spoiler: show

Cable Modem Mac: xxxxxxxxx
REF ID: xxxxxxxxxxxx

Dear xxxxxxxxxxxx,

We are writing as a courtesy to let you know that we have received
notification from one or more owners of copyrights claiming that their work
has been transmitted over the Internet from your account without their
permission. Copyright owners may include motion picture studios, the
recording industry or others who produce or distribute legally protected
material. (Please see enclosed notice(s)). We are concerned that either
you or a person with access to your account may be unknowingly participating
in certain file sharing or server-related activities that led to this
complaint.

As you may recall, the Optimum Online Terms of Service posted at
Optimum Online require compliance with all applicable laws and
specifically prohibits the use of the Optimum Online system for copyright
infringement.

We consider you a valued customer, so we wanted to let you know that if the
copyright holder pursues this claim, or if there are additional claims, it
could lead to legal action against you. We may be required by law to
release private information about you and to suspend, or even terminate,
your service. We want to help you prevent this from happening.

In order to assist you in your future use of our service, we encourage you
to visit Optimum Online - Copyright for tips and guidelines that we hope
will give you all the information you need to avoid further action on this
matter or on other matters.

We regret having to send notices like this, and we do not wish to alarm you
unnecessarily, but we have a responsibility to advise you of any notices
concerning your account.

If you have any questions about our Optimum Online policies, please feel
free to contact us at the Customer Service Center, 631-846-5350. We
appreciate your business, and look forward to providing you with excellence
in broadband service for many years to come.


Regards,
Raymond J. Connolly
Registered Copyright Agent
Cablevision Systems Corporation


[-------Copy of Complaint------]
From: [email protected]

Received: 2009-07-01 01:54:57
Subject: Notice ID: xxxxxxESA USA Notice



-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash:

Entertainment Software Association
575 7th Street, NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20004 USA

Attention: Intellectual Property Enforcement
Telephone: 202-223-2400
E-mail:


1 Jul 2009 03:18:19 GMT

ISP: Optimum Online (Cablevision Systems) ESA Reference Number:


Dear Optimum Online (Cablevision Systems):

The Entertainment Software Association ("ESA") is a U.S. trade association
that represents the intellectual property interests of numerous companies
that publish interactive games for video game consoles, personal computers,
handheld devices and the Internet (hereinafter collectively referred to as
"ESA members"). ESA is authorized to act on behalf of ESA members whose
copyright and other intellectual property rights it believes to be infringed
as described herein.

ESA is providing this notice pursuant to the Section 512 of Title 17 of the
U.S. Code (as enacted by the 'Online Copyright Infringement Liability
Limitation Act') to make Optimum Online (Cablevision Systems) aware that the
IP Address identified below is using the services and systems of Optimum
Online (Cablevision Systems) to infringe the exclusive copyright
and other rights of one or more ESA members. This notice is addressed to
you as the agent designated by Optimum Online (Cablevision Systems) to
receive notifications of claimed infringement.

Based on the information at its disposal on 1 Jul 2009 03:14:55 GMT, ESA
has a good faith belief that the subscriber using the IP address
xxxxxx is infringing the copyright rights of one or more ESA members
by copying and distributing unauthorized copies of game products (through
peer-to-peer or similar software/services), in violation of applicable
copyright laws, through internet access that Optimum Online (Cablevision
Systems) provides directly to the xxxxx or through a downstream
provider that purchases this access for xxxxxxxx. The copyrighted works
that have been infringed include but are not limited to:

Title: Gears of War
Notice ID: xxxxxxxx
Infringement Source: BitTorrent


The unauthorized copies of game product are listed and/or identified
thereon by their titles or variations thereof, game-related
listings/references/descriptions, or depictions of game-related artwork.
Such copies, titles, game-related listings/references/descriptions,
depictions, and material that is the subject of infringing activities are
hereinafter referred to as "Infringing Material."

Given this infringing activity by xxxx.2, the ESA urges Optimum
Online (Cablevision Systems) to cooperate with its efforts to protect the
intellectual property rights of its members companies and immediately do the
following:

1. Notify the account holder of the Infringing Material.
2. Take steps to stop the infringing activity.
3. Take appropriate action against the account holder under your Abuse
Policy/Terms of Service Agreement, including termination of repeat offenders
under Section 512(i) of Title 17 of the U.S. Code.

ESA believes that the information in this notification is accurate.
Under penalty of perjury, I hereby affirm that ESA is authorized to act on
behalf of ESA members whose exclusive copyright rights we believe to be
infringed as described herein. Optimum Online (Cablevision Systems) or the
account holder may contact ESA at the above-listed contact details, with
email preferred. Please include the above-noted Reference Number in the
subject line of all email correspondence.

Thank you for your cooperation and prompt response in this matter.

Sincerely,

Intellectual Property Enforcement
Entertainment Software Association

[Qalbert]

you're fucked

[aurik]

Maybe you should stop torrenting copyrighted material.

[Blabj]

BG legal probably not the best place here... If you're really worried, contact a lawyer.

[Kiro]

Learn to use PeerGuardian.

Or if you wanna be safe, go out and buy the game so if it escalates you can say, "omfg I own the game already but the CD is all fucked up and I couldn't install it, so I downloaded it instead."

Doubt it'd save you but you never know.

[Headspace]

Just go for it man, bitches love confidence.

[jinkazama]

Not relevant to the thread: I miss you odess!

[test123]

change your ISP, where I come from the ISP say STFU YOU WON'T GET ANY IP INFO FROM US.

[Pikarya]

change your ISP, where I come from the ISP say STFU YOU WON'T GET ANY IP INFO FROM US.

You live in Nigeria?

[Infini]

Just ignore em. Most of this is just potshots in the dark they wont bother goin after ppl downloading it since theyre just small fry to them and it wouldnt be worth it for em only heavy seeders are worth goin after for them. Just put in peerguardian or swap ISP's if theyre giving ya this crap.

[Insanecyclone]

I was about to dl a torrent of gears last year but decided to buy it so this wouldn't happen pretty good port to pc

[aalryn]

stop being part of the problem and stop stealing shit? If you want something then fucking buy it.


It's bad to say, but I hope your fucked. This is the reason that software/games that I buy are filled with DRM.

[Stee]

This is why you get seedboxes.

[Pikarya]

Nothing is going to prevent this completely. But using constantly updated blocklist managers, along with sticking to good private torrent groups. You'll be fine for the most part.

Downloading anything from a open tracker without any protection is literally asking for aids.

[Cephius]

First of all, people in this thread need to get off their high horse. You've all stolen something. Get over it.

Secondly, to the OP, learn to use private sites. Downloading stuff from public trackers without Peerguardian is like fucking a hooker without a condom. Get on a private site, or learn to use PeerGuardian, or both.

Third, the first letter usually means nothing. It's a scare tactic to get you to stop downloading their shit. If you keep doing it though, they will get your info from the ISP, and they will sue you, so don't push it. If you want to be a good boy, respond to the letter and call your ISP, apologize, and say it won't happen again. Owning up to it can actually help you in the long term.

[kazi]

I got the exact same letter for downloading slumdog millionare, saying they can sue me for like 250k. Basically I'm scared shitless to torrent anything else. But it has been like 3 months and nothing happened, besides they told me they are watching for more pirated material.

[aalryn]

First of all, people in this thread need to get off their high horse. You've all stolen something. Get over it.

I've never stolen anything. If I want something, I buy it. If I can't afford it or don't think it's worth the money then I wait for the price to come down.


It's not a matter of being on my high horse. It's a matter of dishonest/cheap people making software more invasive, then whining like a little bitch when they get caught.

Have fun paying the fine. Was it worth stealing now?

[Cephius]

I've never stolen anything. If I want something, I buy it. If I can't afford it or don't think it's worth the money then I wait for the price to come down.


It's not a matter of being on my high horse. It's a matter of dishonest/cheap people making software more invasive, then whining like a little bitch when they get caught.

Have fun paying the fine. Was it worth stealing now?

I find the notion that you've never stolen anything incredibly hard to believe.

What exactly did the OP say that sounded like whining to you, anyway? I just see someone who screwed up and asked for advice. How do you know he didn't plan to buy the software after trying it? Many people, including myself, do this.

[Day]

Damn my angle was taken already.

[Stee]

I've never stolen anything.

You got a shovel for that bullshit?