Soooo I recieved this message from thehelpdesk@ncsu.edu stating

Quote :

"We received the following email from the Recording Industry regarding the IP address 152.7.50.226 on 2008-03-12 16:25:08 EDT. Our records indicate this IP was assigned to you at this time. Attached to this email is an "early settlement letter" from the RIAA's attorneys. This letter asks you to pay the RIAA to settle the infringement claim and indicates they will subpoena NC State for your contact info and file a lawsuit against you if you fail to settle. Please note that this is all we have received; the RIAA has not sent screen shots or any other evidence. The RIAA does not know who you are at this point and we will not provide information to them without a subpoena. This is a serious matter and I strongly advise you to obtain legal counsel as soon as possible. Student legal services are available on campus by calling 919-515-7091. Sincerely, Carrie Levow ResNet Coordinator Office of Information Technology NC State University "

They attached a pdf as well saying the RIAA may file a suit against me if I do not pay them $3000.00. The files that they mention I never listen to, one I've never heard of, and to say the least I was in class on the particular date and time that they say their was copyright infringement.

This is part of the letter


We have asked your Internet Service Provider to forward this letter to you in
advance of our filing a lawsuit against you in federal court for copyright
infringement. We represent a number of large record companies, including
EMI Recorded Music, SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT, Universal
Music Group and Warner Music Group, as well as all of their subsidiaries and
affiliates (“Record Companies”), in pursuing claims of copyright infringement
against individuals who have illegally uploaded and downloaded sound
recordings on peer-to-peer networks.


The reason we are sending this letter to you in advance of filing suit is to give
you the opportunity to settle these claims as early as possible. If you contact us
within the next thirty (30) calendar days, we will offer to settle the claims for a
significantly reduced amount compared to what we will offer to settle them for
after we file suit or compared to the judgment amount a court may enter against
you. If you are interested in resolving this matter now, please contact our
Settlement Information Line at 913-234-8181 or, alternatively, you may settle
this matter immediately online at http://www.p2plawsuits.com, using the CASE ID#
that appears at the top of this letter.

What the hell, any suggestions as to how to get the fuck out of this...I do not have that kind of cash...help me out

[Edited on June 22, 2008 at 8:18 PM. Reason : .]

6/22/2008 8:17:30 PM

talk to student legal

thats why they are available

you should be able to get out of this nonsense

6/22/2008 8:20:02 PM

^ yea but has anyone had this happen to them? Total bullshit, people download and upload all day, I hardly do and they nab my ass for shit I do not even listen to! what kind of crack are they smokin.

6/22/2008 8:23:18 PM

talk to pam @ student legal and tell her the truth

6/22/2008 8:29:51 PM

clevow

[Edited on June 22, 2008 at 8:31 PM. Reason : .]

6/22/2008 8:31:12 PM

man. i really can't believe that the riaa gets away with threatening people like this.

6/22/2008 11:57:13 PM

Don't pay them shit. Tell student legal the truth.

I've also heard that anybody who has fought those charges (as a student) pretty much got them dropped.

Don't talk to them until you get legal counsel.

The RIAA deserves a nitrate bomb for actions like this.

[Edited on June 23, 2008 at 12:06 AM. Reason : And stop using those shitty p2p programs that they track. Use something smarter like IRC or edonkey]

6/23/2008 12:05:36 AM

somebody needs to DoS that site. Anyone got a cluster handy?

6/23/2008 4:12:34 PM

Well I talked to legal council at NC State and they said that there is pretty much nothing I can do but to pay the fine...I could ignore the fine but then they will sue for a total of $4k instead of $3k. Total bullshit! I do not have that kind of money, and I have to pay it by Aug. 17...any advice???

6/23/2008 8:48:23 PM

I'm dealing with the same thing. I recognize the songs... but i can't honestly think of a time I used Limewire or anything ever to download them... so I have to go to legal services tomorrow.. to see what could be done... I have a computer genius friend that I talked to about this. and he gave me some input on what the RIAA can and can't actually prove... so we will see what happens..

6/23/2008 9:03:45 PM

Is it at all possible you guys had a double occupancy room and the other roomie was using the p2p stuff? I didn't think there's any way to for them to know which of the two of you were using which port, and they can't sue the both of you for the same particular 'crime' can they? If it's a single person room then I have no idea.

[Edited on June 23, 2008 at 10:46 PM. Reason : .]

6/23/2008 10:44:13 PM

Quote :

"This site will guide you through the settlement process for your case. You can pay the settlement by credit card, using either Mastercard, Visa or Discover. If you wish to pay the settlement by cashier's check, you will need to telephone one of our settlement representatives."

those fuckers won't even accept american express

6/23/2008 10:52:56 PM

Quote :

"Well I talked to legal council at NC State and they said that there is pretty much nothing I can do but to pay the fine...I could ignore the fine but then they will sue for a total of $4k instead of $3k. Total bullshit! I do not have that kind of money, and I have to pay it by Aug. 17...any advice???"

they really told you to pay the fine? is your first post less than truthful then? i can't imagine them telling you that if you didn't commit the crime - of course if you lied to tww then.....

Quote :

"he files that they mention I never listen to, one I've never heard of, and to say the least I was in class on the particular date and time that they say their was copyright infringement."

also

Quote :

"I have a computer genius friend that I talked to about this. and he gave me some input on what the RIAA can and can't actually prove..."

i would be hesitant to 100% trust some kid you consider to be a "computer genius"

6/23/2008 11:15:48 PM

paging clevow

6/23/2008 11:19:53 PM

Quote :

"I didn't think there's any way to for them to know which of the two of you were using which port"

yes there is - ever see the CCA page you get when you first connect to resnet? the one where you have to log in?

they can see which switch port each user is on as well as their MAC and the ip they got from dhcp. (i used to work for resnet)

the only way this would be a problem is if they were connecting through a router that NATted traffic that was plugged into the wall jack

6/23/2008 11:23:36 PM

IF you were truthful in the thread, don't pay, and go get a lawyer. tell your lawyer the truth, and go with the advice. if you can win, then fight back, if you're pwnt, then you're RIAA's bitch.

6/24/2008 12:14:37 AM

^^iirc, the hardwired ports in some of the dorms never required any login, though. I could take my laptop into my friend's rooms in my suite and plug it in the jack and get access to the intarweb with no problem.

6/24/2008 12:27:34 AM

post the music you paid 3 grand for

6/24/2008 12:39:09 AM

^^how long ago was that

if your cca session was still valid that would make sense

or if you had a static record in cca

to get on resnet, you have to auth with cca. end of story. whether that's through the interactive captive portal or through a static record, it doesn't matter.

6/24/2008 12:54:39 AM

Yup, I was truthful in the thread...fact was it was not me, but someone else who uploaded from my computer and the RIAA tracked it. For some reason I must have had limewire open, it used to be on of my startup applications because I was ignorant back in the day.

The songs they mention I downloaded, illegally, like 2 years ago or so, some of them I don't even remember downloading . I guess it's a small price to pay however...because I have probably downloaded about $6k worth of music and software.

Oh and come to find out that people who wish to fight end up paying over double what the fine is, so I guess I'll just have to suck it up and pay

6/24/2008 9:07:31 AM

Quote :

"yes there is - ever see the CCA page you get when you first connect to resnet? the one where you have to log in?"

that just started in 2006 though

before you just plugged in and you were good

i got an email because my roommate in 2003 downloaded something and they didnt know who had what ip address

6/24/2008 9:19:23 AM

Oh the days of running a dump at ncsu, having everything the second they came out.

6/24/2008 9:33:54 AM

^ the price u have to pay I guess...

worth it for some 3k dolla bucks

6/24/2008 9:37:59 AM

So even though this is a well-known bullying tactic with serious flaws in the methodology (someone correct me if I'm wrong, but don't they usually back off if you push back hard enough?) you're really considering paying even though it wasn't you, and they don't know who you are?


...Letting them get away with this only encourages them to do it to more people.

6/24/2008 9:42:07 AM

^ well it was me, who downloaded music...a few years ago, not on 3.12.08 though. I can choose to ignore this but then they will just sue me for 4k sometime next year, I would have to go to court and all that shit, that's what Pam Gerace told me with NCSU student legal services.

I could fight back for a while, but it will just cost me more money and more troubles. What should I just represent myself in court and bitch to them that I downloaded it years ago and now someone else downloaded it from me...not much of an arguement. I don't know, I could just ignore everything and eventually will they will drop it...or arrest my ass? makes me I don't really have 3k to fork over...

6/24/2008 9:59:37 AM

Buy the CD's you're accused of stealing, throw away the receipt and say it was a valid backup and you didn't know that folder was shared.

or something

6/24/2008 10:01:07 AM

they don't get you for DOWNLOADING the music

they get you for sharing it with other people (i.e. uploading)

6/24/2008 10:25:24 AM

^ exactly

6/24/2008 10:42:25 AM

^^^ that's always been a pretty good way of dealing with it, too

also, can't you just play stupid? say you have a wireless network open to everyone, and you know you didn't do it, so it had to be someone else? wipe your hd clean (save your info, hook it up externally, and DoD erase it...i don't know if they have your MAC on file or not, but you could always swap out NICs or sell that mobo and buy another

really, i don't see how they can prove any of it...sure, the university keeps records of your login information, but aside from that, how can they PROVE it was actually you?

6/24/2008 11:34:35 AM

http://digitalmusic.weblogsinc.com/2006/08/07/the-riaa-vs-john-doe-a-laypersons-guide-to-filesharing-lawsui/

Might as well just settle damn it

6/24/2008 1:09:22 PM

i wouldn't want to be in your position to test it out, but i'm not really sure why you should settle...i guess i don't quite understand how they can PROVE you've done anything

6/24/2008 1:19:20 PM

CHECH OUT ALL THE POSTS FOR LaFace vs Does 1-38:
http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/2007/01/index-of-litigation-documents.html#LaFace_v_Does1-38


NCSU Students Currently Being Sued Are Represented By:
Stephen E. Robertson
ROBERTSON, MEDLIN & BLOCKER, PLLC
Attorney for Defendant Does #1, #18, #19, #26, #31, #35, and #38
N.C. State Bar No. 27608
125 South Elm Street, Suite 100
Greensboro, NC 27401
Telephone: (336) 378-9881
Facsimile: (336) 378-9886
srobertson@robertsonmedlin.com

I would contact that lawyer ASAP! You have to move very quickly before the University turns over your personal information to the RIAA who WILL sue you. No matter what happens, you're already looking to lose $1000+ is basic legal expenses not matter what you do. Also, pay attention to that settlement letter. There isn't anything in there that says they won't sue you even if you pay them.

Treat this site as your new bible:
http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com

[Edited on June 24, 2008 at 1:37 PM. Reason : more info]

6/24/2008 1:35:18 PM