Cox Employs 'Three Strikes' DMCA Policy Falsely infers the DMCA requires they disable accounts... 11:51AM Wednesday Oct 01 2008 by Karl Bode tags: legal · business · bandwidth · cable · Cox HSI Like Comcast, Cox has used packet forgery to disrupt P2P communications, but unlike Comcast the company didn't get much attention for it -- largely because they didn't lie about it. Unlike Comcast however, Torrent Freak notes that the cable company has also been disconnecting users who receive three DMCA warnings, something Cox confirms. While that's one way to try and manage heavy bandwidth consumption -- the practice is controversial for several reasons. Cox users who violate this "three strikes" policy receive this notification: Under the DMCA, we have the responsibility to temporarily disable your Internet access, until such time as you take the necessary steps to remove the infringing files and to prevent further distribution of copyrighted material. Except that isn't true. The DMCA only requires that an ISP inform users of infringement if contacted by a copyright holder. It doesn't require they terminate or disable the user account. There's also the small problem that these DMCA letters are generated by companies who aren't particularly accurate and worse -- the letters can be falsely generated by some rudimentary hacking. Obviously, there's some potential for problems. The entertainment industry has been pressuring lawmakers to require ISPs adopt such "three strike" policies, but very few, if any, have adopted them voluntarily. Our question is whether this is really just a scare tactic. Have any Cox customers out there seen full disconnection upon their third DMCA offense? Related: Cox Responds to DMCA 'Three Strikes' Report Thursday Morning Links Thursday Evening Links Friday Evening Links Cox Launches Auto-Backup Service In Virginia Cox Raising TV, VoIP, Broadband Prices Cox: What Bandwidth Crunch? Martin, Comcast, Continue Lover's Feud

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Our Abuse policy sets ratings for the types of complaints. Copyright infringement is an automatic 24 hour suspension on the first offense, 14 days on the second offense, with termination of services occurring on the third offense.

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I can also ask my daughter to dig into my storage boxes, dig out my DVD's of "Adam-12" and have her upload them to me.

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(c) OTHER RIGHTS, ETC., NOT AFFECTED- (1) Nothing in this section shall affect rights, remedies, limitations, or defenses to copyright infringement, including fair use, under this title.

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"The plain language of the statute ... requires a plaintiff alleging circumvention (or trafficking) to prove that the defendant's access was unauthorized-a significant burden where, as here, the copyright laws authorize consumers to use the copy of Chamberlain's software embedded in the GDOs that they purchased."

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When you're uploading content from your P2P mode, it's ISP-hosted content, isn't it?

The particular facts and litigation posture of the defendants was pivotal in this case. The district court found that the "primary purpose" of the defendants' actions was to promote redistribution of DVDs in violation of copyright laws, because the defendants admitted as much. See Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Reimerdes, 111 F. Supp. 2d 346 (S.D.N.Y. 2000). The finding was upheld by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on the specific facts of the case, but the appellate court left open the possibility that different facts could change the result. See Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Corley, 273 F.3d 429 (2d Cir. 2001), at footnotes 5 and 16.

(c) Information Residing on Systems or Networks At Direction of Users.—
(1) In general.— A service provider shall not be liable for monetary relief, or, except as provided in subsection (j), for injunctive or other equitable relief, for infringement of copyright by reason of the storage at the direction of a user of material that resides on a system or network controlled or operated by or for the service provider, if the service provider—
(A)
(i) does not have actual knowledge that the material or an activity using the material on the system or network is infringing;
(ii) in the absence of such actual knowledge, is not aware of facts or circumstances from which infringing activity is apparent; or
(iii) upon obtaining such knowledge or awareness, acts expeditiously to remove, or disable access to, the material;
(B) does not receive a financial benefit directly attributable to the infringing activity, in a case in which the service provider has the right and ability to control such activity; and
(C) upon notification of claimed infringement as described in paragraph (3), responds expeditiously to remove, or disable access to, the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity.