Ads by TechWords

See your link here
Receive the latest technology news and information.
Security
Computerworld Daily News (First Look and Wrap-Up)
Computerworld Blogs Newsletter
The Weekly Top 10
Cloud Computing
View all newsletters




Privacy Policy
 

Complaints filed in Michigan over RIAA's piracy investigators

MediaSentry's papers may not be in order

August 12, 2008 12:00 PM ET

Active Comments
Anonymous says: This whole “IP Address” evidence is failing apart. Even you know somebody “officially” owns gun there is still work required...
Anonymous says: It is interesting that a company going against illegal activity uses itself illegal activities. Anything that might come from that...


Computerworld - A company that is regularly used by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to gather evidence against individuals in copyright infringement cases is coming under increasing fire for operating without a private investigator's license as required by many states.

The latest trouble for MediaSentry Inc. comes in the form of two recent and nearly identical complaints filed against it with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth (DLEG).

One of the complaints was filed last week by Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant. The university is asking the state agency to compel MediaSentry to cease all copyright-related investigations of Michigan residents until it obtains a license to operate as a private investigator in the state. The other complaint, which asks for the same action, was filed in June by an unnamed student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

News of the complaints, along with links, was first published last week by Recording Industry vs. The People, a blog that specializes in covering the RIAA's crackdown against alleged copyright infringers. According to the blog, there are now at least three complaints filed on the same grounds against MediaSentry in Michigan alone. The first one was filed by a Michigan resident in February.

Both of the recent complaints against the Belcamp, Md.-based MediaSentry alleged the company was investigating Michigan individuals without being licensed to do so. MediaSentry, which bills itself as a provider of online content-protection services, is owned by SafeNet Inc., a company that claims to provide online content protection and distribution services for large media and entertainment companies.

In a letter accompanying last week's complaint, Central Michigan University's assistant general counsel said that the university has in the past been served subpoenas requesting the personal information of certain students who had been the subject of "potentially illegal" investigations by MediaSentry. According to that letter, MediaSentry's investigations had resulted in copyright infringement charges being leveled against the students by the RIAA.

The university's letter also noted that as far back as February, Michigan's DLEG had informed MediaSentry that its activities might be in violation of state laws and had instructed it to obtain a license if the company planned on continuing its investigative activities in the state. But so far, MediaSentry appears not to have obtained a private investigator's license in the state and has been continuing its "unlicensed and illegal" actions in Michigan, the letter noted.

Steve Smith, CMU's director of media relations said the complaint was prompted by the university's desire to ensure that the subpoenas being served on students was based on information that had been obtained by a legally licensed entity in the state. The hope in filing the complaint is that the RIAA will engage a licensed company to do its investigations so "we can be confident that the subpoena has been properly obtained," he said. All subpoenas that the university has received from the RIAA so far have been served, he added.



Jump to comments

Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)

Additional Resources

EFD vs. HDD - What You Need to Know
WHITE PAPER
Enterprise flash drives provide a new Tier 0 storage layer capable of delivering high I/O performance at a very low latency. Proper use of EFDs in an Oracle environment can deliver increased performance compared to fibre channel drives. Read the recommendations for identification of the best DB components for EFDs.
Gartner Research Report: Magic Quadrant for Application Delivery Controllers, 2009
WHITE PAPER
The market for products to improve the delivery of application software over networks remains dynamic and innovative. Vendors focused on solving enterprises' most-pressing application problems have become the top players.
Eight Criteria for Server Load Balancing
WHITE PAPER
Server load balancers are a simple yet highly effective means to scale an application environment while ensuring its availability. Today's solutions should also address application performance and security. Read about the top eight criteria you should consider when choosing a server load balancer and how Citrix NetScaler meets those requirements.

What People Are Saying

White Papers & Webcasts

e-Book: The Shortcut Guide to Business Security Measures Using SSL
This 45-page e-Book gives you the tools you need to detect security vulnerabilities, build an information security strategy, and plan your investment in...  

10 things you really wished you had known about PDF Security, but they didn't tell you!
Access this resource, compliments of LockLizard, for a limited time only!  

Information Leakage - the enemy is within
Access this white paper, courtesy of LockLizard, for a limited time only!  

The Workday User Experience Video
Watch Workday's Creative Director, Scott Lietzke, discuss the business-centered design philosophy at Workday.

Adobe Acrobat PDF Security - a brief history of development
Access this resource, compliments of LockLizard, for a limited time only!  

Business Process Framework Demo
Learn about Configurable Business Processes and Calculated Fields. Watch Now!

Manager Experience Demo
Go beyond self-service solutions to perform more effectively. Watch Now.


IT Jobs