Jason Striegel of p2p.weblogsinc.com says,
I recently was forwarded a message from a concerned reader who was just served a copyright infringement notice for downloading Star Wars – Revenge of the Sith. FOX is going after small-time downloaders. The letter was sent by BayTSP (on behalf of 20th Century FOX), who appear to be making good on their claim that they can effectively track BitTorrent users. I've posted the full contents of the notice (minus any identifying information) and included contact information for BayTSP in case readers have any questions or comments.
Reader comment: Neil Marshall says,
I noticed that you said that BayTSP was bothering people using bit torrent. If you want to stop them from looking at your machine then using this program called ProtoWall is helpful. Protowall blocks addresses from looking at the files in your shared folder. A secondary program on the same site called Blocklist Manager has a useful list of all those those companies that like to look at what you're downloading (BayTSP is on the list). Put the two together and you have an effective privacy tool.
Ernest Miller says,
If you're using BitTorrent, you're not just a DOWNloader, you are also an UPloader: Link.
Thep2pweblog reports that the 20th Century FOX film studio is issuing notice and takedown letters targeted at those using BitTorrent to acquire copies of Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (FOX Issuing Takedown Notices to Sith Downloaders). The notices aren't coming from FOX directly, but from the P2P monitoring company BayTSP, which is apparently authorized to send such notices on behalf of FOX.
Jason Striegel comments on BoingBoing (FOX Issuing Takedown Notices to Sith Downloaders):
I recently was forwarded a message from a concerned reader who was just served a copyright infringement notice for downloading Star Wars
– Revenge of the Sith. FOX is going after small-time downloaders.Well, if they're using BitTorrent, then they're not just downloaders are they? They are uploaders as well. That is how BitTorrent works and why it is so efficient. You might have had a centralized tracker, but even that isn't necessary anymore (Publication via BitTorrent Just Got Easier). How the heck is BayTSP supposed to figure out who is a small-time "downloader" and who isn't?
This may be essentially be for principle only (and the press it will get), but those who use BitTorrent to infringe copyright need to realize that they're not hard-to-track downloaders anymore.
Mike Schramm replies,
It's a good thing Fox and the MPAA are going after all those Revenge of the Sith downloaders. With the movie available for free on the internet, how will it ever make any money in theaters?!?!??!
