UPDATE: Read my note at the bottom of this article for comments about IP tracing issues when you visit CEG-TEK’s settlement website.
A troubling number of people write me who receive “DMCA scare letters” (usually in the form of an e-mail from Copyright Enforcement Group (CEG-TEK) signed by Ira Siegel), and this blog generally neglects these victims because there is no lawsuit filed against anyone — just a “we might sue you if you don’t settle” e-mail which arrives from the ISP. In the past few days, I have found that the inquiries have spiked and I am writing the same letter to a number of people. To save time, I am posting my e-mail response online.
The letters generally ask for $200 per infringement, and there is usually only one or two alleged instances of infringement. The problem that appeared most recently is that now Copyright Enforcement Group is sending letters for movies which appear not to have copyright protection.
Thank you for contacting me about your DMCA issue. I’m answering you honestly because you are correct that this DMCA letter scam appears to be just that — one more way of extorting money without having to file lawsuits against anyone.
I suspect that you are correct that there is a possibility that the films are not copyrighted, but you must take into consideration that since you are referring to a film which is decades old, there is not one copyright law to watch out for, but there were multiple versions of the Copyright Act which were in effect as the statutes transitioned into its current form. So while under the current copyright statute there might be copyright protection for a particular kind of film or video, past statutes might give different protections for it (and note that at one time, pornography was not even copyrightable). You also need to take into consideration that U.S. Copyright Law gives copyright protection to foreign-made films, and this might be one.
As you no doubt know, with some obvious exceptions, I charge a flat rate to handle copyright matters. For your “DMCA scare letter” issue, included in that flat fee would be to research whether there is a copyright or not, and what their legal rights are. But to keep this simple, we both know their extortion strategy, and we both know that their online form [@copyrightsettlements.com] provides a release from claims for $200 each. While I have never seen anyone sued as a result of ignoring their letters, $200 x 3 is still less than having me research and argue your issue (especially where there is no lawsuit and there may never be one). That being said, if you didn’t want to deal with their website (because of the games they play where I have heard of people being sued who went online and the site failed [whether by design or by bad luck] or they missed their deadline and they could no longer settle) or you wanted me to handle the transaction, I’m happy to handle all three transactions for one small fee.
Long story short, you have some quick decisions to make before your November 4th date. If you want me to handle this for you, let me know and I’ll e-mail you a contract for you to sign and get back to me, and I’ll e-mail you a link that you can click on to process your payment. I’ll also need you to e-mail me copies of each of the DMCA scare letters, and I’ll take care of the rest. Once again, I am not advocating settling this — I think this is one more extortion tool [of many] up their sleeve — but if you wanted to dispose of it quickly, this is the cheapest and most effective way to do so. Unlike the bittorrent lawsuits, I don’t think you need to pay me to research and fight this because you have no lawsuit yet against you.
NOTE: One more note for those who are security-minded on the topic of IP tracing and CEG’s website “which sometimes fails.” I understand that CEG-TEK tracks IP addresses who visit their website. As a lawyer, I think it would be a bad idea for someone facing a copyright infringement lawsuit to sign onto a website possibly with the same IP address as the person who allegedly downloaded the copyrighted materials. I would suspect that CEG-TEK is not so evil that they have an app running that if there is an IP address match, the site fails [when you try to process your payment] and they automatically send a second scare letter for $3,500. At the very least, however, you want a lawyer to make sure that the contract they give you will protect your interests because by logging into their website and using their “secret code” to access your “secret” settlement amount, and then by entering your full name, address, phone number, and credit card information [which means that you just identified yourself as being that downloader, and so they need no ISP subpoena to identify you], that contract better release you from liability.
Its like a limbo contest… how low will they go.
For anyone who has ever question the wisdom of why it is always a bad idea to contact the troll themselves, this should be a wake up call.
Some people still seem to think that if they just tell them there has been a mistake they will say, “Oh alrighty, no harm no foul.”. They assume that the trolls have the interests of actual justice rather than actual payments.
The trolls have decided your guilty, and even if you could prove beyond a shadow of a doubt you couldn’t possibly have done it, they do not care. They will pursue you for money no matter what.
This is yet another underhanded tactic they use to lessen how much they have to pay to pursue these, often merit-less, claims to reap rewards. They work to refine the process to save them money so they can make more.
It would be nice if a DMCA notice required a valid copyright registration number be disclosed before it will be considered valid. Having seen multiple mass Doe suits filed for content lacking and/or ineligible for copyright and/or damages beyond actual but claiming the $150,000 statutory damages are possible, the courts really need to examine these claims and accept that some lawyers are playing fast and loose with the truth and that does not meet the standard required to file these cases.
With the sheer numbers of these cases out there, it is also disturbing that no Judge has asked for review of the “expert” statements and software just accepting the word of people with financial incentives to have these cases move forward.
@TAC is correct that trolls often claim that they only sue guilty people, but he is correct that they only want the money. Sad and true, but I do have a strategy that I have used with my clients.
Obviously using discretion and acting in the best interests of each client, it is generally my strategy NOT to give the copyright trolls my client’s evidence of innocence (and neither should you). So even if my client has plane tickets or evidence that they weren’t even home during the time of the download, I have no reason share this with the trolls.
Let them come name an innocent client. The evidence will come out during discovery, and then they’ll have an “oh shoot!” moment when we move for summary judgement and get a dismissal on the merits (and on that note, I’ve been working on a solution to plaintiffs dismissing a case without prejudice when they realize they have a losing case).
I forget where I saw it, hey I am merely moral, but I was reading a troll filing where they claimed being away form home wasn’t going to cut it as the computer just keeps running if your there or not. Of course the problem is and remains, they can’t say what comptuer was connected.
Its almost funny to watch how these shakedowns are having to evolve to have actual evidence involved in them.
They still seem mostly to rest on the idea of we said they did it, it must be true. Hopefully more Judges will look at the complete failures in these cases to even meet the basic legal requirements, and ponder why they are trusting someone with a history of distortion and flat out lies.
I totally agree with Rob, and the following real story explains why.
I cheated a bit when I recently tweeted that I’ve never been in a courtroom. I forgot that I was a witness 10+ years ago. My friends’s car was unjustly towed from a grocery store parking lot while he was shopping in that store. It was an obvious mix-up, and my friend sued the store (pro se). When their lawyer called him, my friend explained that he was shopping at that time and even had a time-stamped receipt to prove it. Defendant’s lawyers asked my friend to send him a copy promising to reimburse the towing fee and repair (to add insult to injury, his new car was badly scratched) , and my not-litigation-savvy friend thought it was not a big deal to open his cards, truth was on his side, right?
Wrong.
The crook lawyer found a “witness,” who “saw” my friend not heading to the store after he parked (it was a patron-only lot): the reason why they called the towing company. Then they found another witness to estimate the time a shopper needs to make purchases listed on he receipt, and — boom — came up with 30 extra minutes. Case dismissed. My friend declared a liar.
It was a very good lesson. If not for that experience I may have revealed unwanted information to my troll in an attempt to prove my innocence, but I kept my mouth shut. And everyone should do the same.
Never offer a proof of your innocence, a weasel such as Lipscomb will have no difficulty to pervert your story and use it against you in a way even you will doubt your own innocence.
[...] in case you did not read my first article on Ira Siegel’s / CEG-TEK’s DMCA Scare Letters, I’m including this paragraph to bring you up to speed. Instead of their failed methods of [...]
[...] CEG stands for Copyright Enforcement Group – I don’t know what TEK means. They will often send letters, along with the ISP’s letter, which ask for a $200 settlement per alleged infringement. [...]
I have received 24 e-mails regarding 13 individual titles from Ira Siegel. I won’t profess my innocence (nor will I willfully admit guilt). They are the pre-litigation threat letters from my ISP on behalf of CEG-TEK/ Ira… I’m wondering if I should wait for them to file a suit, and hope that a lawyer could still negotiate a low settlement early on in the proceedings (I believe $200 per title), or if I should have a lawyer try to negotiate a consolidated settlement amount (less than $200 X 13 Titles = $2600) pre-litigation. I am in St. Clair County IL and I just want some advice. How serious is CEG-TEK, do they often pursue through legal action or are they all bark?
I have sent you an e-mail responding to your inquiry.
Would you mind sending me your thoughts/response to this question? I have similar situation regarding a scare letter received from CEG for 1 image that was used on a blog.
I replied to your inquiry offline. One thing to note, however, is that in the past it was unusual for CEG-TEK to send “scare” letters for the use of copyrighted images (pictures). I’d be interested in seeing any documentation received by individuals regarding the infringement of copyrighted images, whether or not our firm ends up representing you in your matter.
Would you mind sending me your thoughts on the question above?
Once again, done. Sorry for all the crypto-talk here. There is really nothing secret about what they are doing. The problem is that I am a lawyer and I have nothing wrong with posting my opinions on various topics. But, as soon as it comes down to “legal advice” as to one particular person, that is something I need to judge and answer on a person-to-person basis so as not to lead a person down the wrong path.
I’d love to see your response to this as well.
Deadline is today on mine – I’m in a similar situation. Received 5 emails for 5 alleged infringements from one holding company repped by CEG. It just all seems like a scam and a new way for these companies to make money off their titles. Any info on how to proceed would be appreciated. I know you’re familiar with CEG’s letters by now.. and the temptation to make it go away.
I do not recall getting back to you via e-mail. You can e-mail me at rzcashman@cashmanlawfirm.com and I would be happy to answer your questions. In short, getting this close to a deadline is obviously not a good idea (hence your “Oops” tag), but it is not a dead end situation. I have been able in the past to call them up and say “fix it,” and shortly afterwards, they reactivate the ability to settle.
[PERSONAL INFORMATION REDACTED FROM COMMENT] I have an identical question to anon above. I have one email which contained a single accusation. My deadline to respond to the accusation re: a copyrighted movie was on Saturday. I reviewed the cases from the accused IP– I know, bad. I forgot about the deadline and logged in today from a completely different IP to check on it, and now there are 6 more copy-written titles listed going back to April of last year. I cannot find consistent information as to whether or not CEG is serious and how much threat there is here.
I would appreciate any timely information you have on the matter.
Anon2, I have responded to your inquiry via e-mail. However, two points I would like to mention are when CEG-TEK’s deadline passes, their website often stops you from being able to settle. This is a *RED FLAG* to watch out and be cautious, as it is AT THIS POINT where people make a mistake and do something which causes them to get in trouble. The deadline can be reversed by an attorney in settlement negotiations, if that is the direction you would like to go. As far as the other titles and why they added these on (and how to handle them), I would want to make sure they weren’t playing games with you — I suspect your ISP didn’t forward all of the DMCA letters, but I would need more information to understand what they are doing.
[...] Just in case you did not read my first article on Ira Siegel’s / CEG-TEK’s DMCA Scare Letters, I’m including these next two paragraphs to bring you up to [...]
[...] Just in case you did not read my first article on Ira Siegel’s / CEG-TEK’s DMCA Scare Letters, I’m including these next two paragraphs to bring you up to [...]
please help! my isp forwarded the same letter re: porn
if i pay – will they come back with more?
if i ignore – will they escalate?
I have responded to your inquiry via e-mail.
I got their scam via ISP yesterday, and I just clicked https://www.copyrightsettlements.com/, but didn’t log into it. Today they forward a DUPLICATE scam with different time and case account. Did they sense that I am watching on them and they prompt me to contact them?
Could you also copy your reply for [PRIVATE] to me? Thanks!
o.k. I’ll send it over in a sec.
I am in the same boat. I am worried that it’s a scare tactic that borders on a scam. I have the same question as [PRIVATE], if I pay will they continue to come after me and if I ignore it will the situation escalate? I’ve read the blogs and your article and I’m still torn on what to really do.
I received my noticed this morning. It is accusing me of one violation. I discovered the email early this morning around 3:00 AM. In a panic, I logged into their site with my case number and password, (I now know that was not a good idea) and it is giving me an option of settling for $200 by the 13th of Feb. What should I do?
I’m replying to inquiries via e-mail, so please check your spam filter (or, just e-mail me).
hostonlawy3r I am in the same boat , with the ira m segal letter being sent to my isp provider yesterday. if i pay the fee will they come back for more, or will it escalate if i ignore. advice through my email would greatlly be appreciated.. also i am in [REDACTED].
Hey I actually have a similar question as well. I was sent two letters for the same movie from CEG TKE International. And it is also stating I have to pay 200 per each(even though they are the exact same title) and I have until tomorrow to pay or I will be closed out of settling. It was also sent by the Ira Seigel guy. I just have a question I wasn’t even at my place of residency when the alleged downloading occurred. So is it better to just go ahead and settle even though I never downloaded the file in question.
I’ve received the CEG TEK email from my ISP. Considering the dollar amount to settle, $200, I’m considering paying it to make it go away. I’m so conflicted with everything I’ve read since I received the email, I’m not sure if this is the right thing to do. I went to the website as embedded in the email, but I don’t think that’s an admission of guilt. I do think $200 is not bad to avoid having my name slung in the mud. I’m asking if by accepting the settlement, if that actually removes any additional liability, including any law suit. Thank you.
I am in the same situation and am wondering the same thing. If I ignore it, will they escalate it into an actual lawsuit, or are they just trolling for people who will panic and pay the $200? If I pay the $200, is it an admission of guilt that will be admissible in court, and would they go after me for more? Unfortunately I did log into their site with the case id and password as I wanted to see what additional information there was on their site. Seems to me like these people are the ones posting the torrent files and are just baiting people. The one I downloaded only had a few seeders.
I just looked up the title on http://cocatalog.loc.gov and it was never registered. If the file in question wasn’t copyrighted when it was downloaded, legally they can’t do anything, right?
This is a common question I get. While many times we’ll discover in the lawsuit that the accused title was not copyrighted at the time of the alleged infringement, with CEG-TEK, you need to watch out for U.S. treaties and conventions, as the titles are sometimes copyrighted in countries outside of the U.S. There is more to this, but just do a quick look-up, and you’ll see what I am referring to.
Hello,
Do you mind if I ask what you ended up doing? I am in the same situation, my $200 payment “deadline” is rapidly approaching. Thanks for sharing any experience with this matter.
I have not recieved a copy of the notice yet from my ISP and didn’t save a copy when I was temporarily redirected by my ISP. My provider will be sending me a copy soon. Have you heard any bad stories from people just settling with CEG TEK? It is mentioned a contract to release you from liability is presented. Could this be a trap or have you heard anything regarding CEG TEK? Again, according to provider, I will be receiving a copy of the notice. Thanks
A few days ago I received an email from my ISP with a DMCA notice, as well as an embedded link containing a settlement offer for $200. I’ve read up on this issue as much as possible, but like others here, I’m still quite confused on the best course of action. Having heard the horror stories from people who attempted to pay the settlement, I opted to seek out further advice. [EDITED FOR PRIVACY]. I really just want to make this go away, and settling looks like the quickest way to peace of mind considering the cost is not outrageous. How can I make this happen without fear of some disastrous outcome?
I have replied to your inquiry via e-mail. In short, I will tell you whether it is a good idea or not to settle, and what your options are based on your plaintiffs’ capabilities. The good news is that I do have all the answers for you since I’ve looked at this from all viewpoints (as much as this is possible), so what I know, I am happy to impart to you. When we speak, please be sure to remind me about the portion of your comment that I edited out.
I received a notification last night and I am loath to pay $200 to anyone for anything. I did log into thier site to look at the inforamtion there. Now I know, not such a good idea.
I would like some advice on how to handle this. Is it a scam that will go away if ignored or should I just pay and be done with it?
I have my own opinions on whether this is a scam, and I’m happy to share with you my opinion offline (I lean towards “yes, this is a scam, and even though it is legal, I’m of the opinion that this is a misapplication of the law which both CEG-TEK, Siegel, and the ISPs (specifically Charter) are violating). There are some factors to balance, and it will help you figure out whether to pay or ignore.
I don’t want to reprimand you for going on their website, but that was not the best thing to do. If anything, DO NOT contact them or talk to them, and especially DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION (because 1) they don’t get back to you, and 2) you just identified yourself whereas when they sent you the letter, the ISP sent it — they didn’t know who you were). There are hundreds of people getting the same letter as you did (for their own specific downloaded file), and there is no reason for you to single yourself out from all the rest.
If you do end up settling, pay a few extra bucks for an attorney (myself or anyone else) to take care of it for you, because IT IS NOT THE FACT THAT YOU PAID THEM which prevents them from coming after you in the future. It is the SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND ITS TERMS which settle their claims against you. Plus, I don’t need to once again go into the point that if something went wrong on the website, an attorney can call them up to tell them to fix the problem [e.g., failed website transaction] whereas if you were doing it yourself, you’d hesitate calling them yourself.
I also recieved an email from my isp and a link to settle for $250. It’s only one notice so far. Should I settle or not? Please email me with further advice.
I have responded to your inquiry offline. Please see my comments to other inquiries as I may have already answered your question. Also, if anyone wants to speak to me, you can e-mail me directly at rzcashman@cashmanlawfirm.com and I’ll reply with instructions on how to get a hold of me without getting stuck in some queue.
Hi!
I recently paid $600.00 to be released from CEG-TEK.
One film from 11-’12 and two early in January ’13.
My question; how far back can these folks go?
Is it only from using the new technology that’s available which just started being used?
I guess I’m concerned about looking over my shoulder forever.
Thanks!
Obviously I cannot tell you with certainty what someone else will do, but they do have three years from the date of infringement to come after you. That’s a VERY long time, but it should make you feel better that ISPs do not keep records that long. Rather, according to each ISP’s “IP retention policy,” they keep records for only a number of months — it used to be 6 months, but these days I’m seeing larger numbers because Congress is attempting to give copyright holders more leeway to discover the identity of accused infringers.
As far as what CEG-TEK will do, we simply do not know. For now, they appear to be happy collecting settlements and the lawsuits are rare these days. I’ve seen a “Third Degree Films” suit here and here, but nothing substantial. As far as CEG-TEK digging into the past, well, they do have the capabilities and the records, but the data is a bit stale. I have seen a few instances where they tried to add in extra “cases” to raise the settlement price, but in more than one occasion, the dates in question pre-dated when my clients even had internet service. So you see there are issues with that approach, and I suspect they will cut it out or people will start questioning the validity of their settlement demands in the first place.
Hi!
Wow thanks for your reply!
The reason I’m very curious is I hear there is a huge case in St. Claire County, Illinois-very close to me.
My Isp is Charter, do you happen to know the retention policy there?
Also, I think it might be prudent to not even reply to the threat letters.
With the costs involved to them and court appearances it might be just a ploy to extract cash.
Any thoughts?
Thanks again.
The St. Clair County, IL cases have nothing to do with CEG-TEK, but rather, John Steele (Prenda Law Inc. / Anti-Piracy Law Group) is behind them. You can read more about the Illinois state-based cases here. Back to CEG-TEK and IP retention policies, this can be found by searching Google for their page. Since you mentioned both the Prenda cases and CEG-TEK DMCA letters, since CEG-TEK also sues defendant (e.g., Mike Meier, Marvin Cable, etc.), I will refrain from answering your question so as not to cause confusion with the other readers. CEG-TEK and Prenda are very different animals.
so what happened once you paid, did they go away?
Hi, I’m wondering if you’ve had any cases of anyone receiving a “scare” email with dates for settlement deadlines that have already passed. Is it possible for them to notify you of the deadline well after it’s passed?
It is my experience that CEG-TEK deactivates the ability to settle once their deadlines have passed. For this reason, I usually recommend that clients get me their information before this happens. I have helped clients who’s cases have expired, and sometimes it is simply a matter of having me call them and ask them to reactivate that particular case number. Sometimes it can be more complicated but bottom line, it’s completely doable.
I received a email from charter. It included a email from CEG TEK (ira m. siegel). like everyone else it requested $200 for downloading a porn movie owned by third degree. Their supposed deadline to settle is at the end of the week. I decided to wait it out, but now I’m worried. They don’t have my info. How often do they actually subpeana isp to get personal information? What does it mean if they do? Will it be to late to settle if i wait to see if they subpeanae my information?
I’m actually about to draft a quick follow-up post on your topic.
I’d like to read your answers to choices’ questions, as I too am wondering with a deadline looming over my head from the same folks. By-the-way, great job! I love this blog! You do amazing stuff on here, and you help so many people. Thank you.
I’d love to read your thoughts on choices’ questions, as I have them too.
It’s been a over a month since my alleged 2 downloads. Two and a half months for the other. (I paid both without admitting guilt)
Do you think I’m safe?
Have you heard of them coming back for more?
Or are they hit and run artists?
Any horror stories?
Please anyone feel free to respond.
You’re probably in the clear, with 2 months. You’d know by now if they wanted to hit you again.
Ever see the kids book “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie?”
I got hit with one of these from a Copyright troll that is no longer around. This was 2009 or 2010, it was all new to me, and I paid a $70 (seventy) settlement. I actually did do it, and felt the settlement was justified. I got a release. The end….?
Except, it wasn’t the end. The release was only for that one downloading instance. I got a second email from them 10 days after I paid the first settlement. I called, they explained that the Torrent was, according to their software, uploaded a second time. Two complete uploads, they said. The second settlement offer was $140. I was panicked this was going to go on and on, but I paid, and it ended. Torrentlawyer’s power lies in being able to ensure the release covers what it needs to cover. I guarantee a pro se litigant won’t have the savvy to craft a release that one of these trolls will willingly sign on to.
In this case I came to find out that “my” guy never litigated, he only threatened. This was a couple years ago when there weren’t blogs full of advice on the subject. I see now it’s a cottage industry, and settlement is up to $500, did I see? The difference is that now it seems the trolls try to proceed to court no matter what.
I found this blog as I got a notice today from Ira but the difference is, I stopped torrenting ages ago in 2009 or 2010 with the first time I got hit and I didn’t do this. The title they allege is NOT on cocatalog Copyright Registration System, but I doubt it matters. I also am in a jurisdiction that is the second federal circuit and Ira is in California but these guys have other firms do their dirty work in EVERY jurisdiction now, so now it’s the waiting game and then filing motions to quash, etc.
Much as I love what Torrentlawyer is doing for us all the sad truth is that no judge is going to throw these guys out of court IMMEDIATELY, they will always let things proceed, because litigation keeps money flowing through the system. Blackmail ensures that BOTH plaintiffs’ and defendants’ attorneys get paid nicely. There is no reason for this abuse to come to an end via the heavy hand of a judge using his or her power to dismiss with prejudice.
Just curious, what do you mean when you say you paid without admitting guilt? I am currently approaching my “deadline” but I am not sure whether or not I should pay… Did you just pay with your credit card? I really could care less about the $200, just don’t want to be admitting guilt of course.
I am in the same situation. I received an email from my ISP (Charter) about an illegal download and the letter from CEG TEK and Ira Siegel (sp). My deadline is Feb 24 for $200. I am just looking for this to go away and I don’t have to lose sleep or anything else over something stupid that I did. My question is do I pay and cross my fingers OR ignore and cross everything?
I have replied to your comment offline via e-mail. -Rob
I am on the same boat, just recently got a email from Charter, below attached letter from CEG TEK and Ira Siegel, my deadline is March 6 for $200. I am very worry about this, Part of me want to pay it and make it go away, but I am afraid that once I paid up they will keep hitting me with more follow up from the past download once they had my information. I can also ignore it, but I may lose too much sleep over this.
Any help or advice will be appreciated.
Hi, I got an email from Ira Siegel from CEG via my ISP provider. At first when I checked it was only 1 item for $200 but an hour later another showed up so now it’s 2 item for $400 total. I would like this to be gone once and for all (I don’t any more extra movie to “settle” after I pay them once, if I have to). What should I do?
John, I’ve replied to your message via e-mail. If you didn’t get it, just shoot me an e-mail at rzcashman@cashmanlawfirm.com.
Hi!
Would the latest bloggers share the dates of the alleged time period?
Hi, i am sitting in it seems, the same boat as everyone else. My friend received 5 notices all for the same 200$ some may have even been duplicates.. I went on and looked at the accusation on their site from my phone, which im not sure is bad or good. But i had to see what the total dmg report is. Since none of his computers were invloved in the dl of copyright materials, and that it was a seperate computer not matching the ip of the accused statement, how can they prove that HE downloaded anything?? I would love to discuss this further with you if you have a chance. Ive read through your blogs and almost every comment here and i feel like professional advice is the wisest thing to do.
Funny enough, I’ve learned that much of their system is not based on IP addresses as I originally thought, but GEOLOCATION. So if different IP addresses are running the same torrent program having the same port and downloading the same content, their assumption is that it is the same person. I’m not so sure I agree with this logic, as 1) I don’t think geolocation is that precise, and 2) unsophisticated torrent users who just install software using the same ports can end up linked together. Either way, the point is that they are tracking by geolocation, not IP address. Scary world we live in.
I received an email from my ISP (Charter) about an illegal download and the letter from CEG TEK and Ira Siegel (sp). My deadline is March 15 for $200. I am not looking for, nor can I afford, any trouble. It seems like a lot of people are in the same boat as I am. Is this a legitimate threat? Should I pay? If I let the deadline pass, is there a realistic chance that action will be taken against me? I just want this to go away and to live my life like normal. An email response would be helpful if possible.
Last night when logging into the Internet, century link had a notice about copy right infringement and advised it was against their terms and that the IP we use was identified. It advised our personal information was not given out and wouldn’t be unless they were subpoenaed. It then asked if the user was 18 yrs of age and the authorized account holder for century link to which both were answered “no”. Later in the evening century link sent an email at 11pm similar to all the emails currently posted with multiple film titles listed.
The email stated a deadline to settle of Monday, February 11th yet the email from century link was sent on February 20th. It appears the original email from dmca@copyrightsettlements.com was sent to century link on January 14th, at which point only one title was listed but the email from century link had multiple titles listed. The settlement link was clicked on from a different IP but no more action was taken than that, it asked to login and already had the information prefilled with the ID and password but the login button was never clicked. So at this point a settlement offer has not been viewed.
What is the best course of action to take at this point…I have no idea how much it would be to settle since the settlement website was not logged into. If ignored, what’s the best case scenario and what is the worst case scenario? What about the fact the Internet provider sent the email 5 1/2 weeks after they were notified and the deadline provided in the email has already passed? What are your recommendations?
I recommend that you speak to me about your matter. There are too many details here to give you blanket advice without knowing more details about your particular case. Deadline passed or not, this is likely a manageable situation. Whether you end up ignoring or settling (fighting is a silly option at this point because there is no lawsuit against you), either route I am good with. I’d be happy to walk you down the various paths of each option, what the considerations are, and what the risks are of each.
[...] The trouble with Copyright Enforcement Group (CEG-TEK)’s DMCA scare letters. [...]
[...] The trouble with Copyright Enforcement Group (CEG-TEK)’s DMCA scare letters. [...]
[...] The trouble with Copyright Enforcement Group (CEG-TEK)’s DMCA scare letters. [...]
Hi!
My isp isn’t participating in the six strike deal. What does it mean for me?
I also received an email from my ISP (Charter) about an illegal download and the letter from CEG TEK and Ira Siegel. My deadline is also March 15 for $200. Should I just pay the $200 and make it go away? and will it go away after I pay? I have since secured my connection so hopefully no one can hi-jack it. I wasn’t at home when this allegedly happened. I don’t have the funds to fight this, but I am a worrier non the less. What do you charge to pay this $200 and make it go away? Thanks for reading.
I just received a letter forwarded to me by my ISP from CEG TEK. The IP address specified is incorrect.
My deadline is March 27th. If I were to pay the $200 fine CEG wants me to pay, would that prevent them from further legal action and make me immune? If I were to ignore the settlement offer, would they subpoena my ISP? I can’t afford to go to court for this.
Same person as anonymous here, I found out the company they are representing has an actual claim to the content (but not necessarily a copyright).
Same person as before. One final thing I forgot to mention. To reinstate my internet access with my ISP they required me to send an email to them stating that I had deleted the file in question and uninstalled the file sharing program (I have already sent this email).
Has CEG ever moved forward in a case like this or do they only threaten?
And one final message (sorry). I checked the http://cocatalog.loc.gov/ for a copyright on the work specified and it didn’t show up.
Anonymous, I will be sending you an e-mail momentarily asking you to set up an appointment with me via http://torrentlawyer.genbook.com to answer your questions. In short, I think you have taken some good steps to educate yourself. I think you probably also have some intervention by your ISP as being part of the Six Steps Program (or their version of taking steps to stop copyright infringement) which will likely not get back to Ira Siegel or CEG-TEK.
Hi
I got a similar letter/email forwarded by my ISP(charter) with march 25th deadline for settlement. Will there be any chance to settle when I get a notice from ISP about a subpoena against me? or will it be too late then?.
Please let me know.
I also received an email from Charter with a letter from CEG TEK, during a period when our internet was cutting in and out and we believe someone was hi-jacking our wireless. In our panic, we paid the stupid thing off to avoid legal problems since we figured it would be the cheaper route. Now that I am reading all the warning about CEG TEK, am an worried we made a big mistake. Do you have any advice you can email me regarding what I can do at this point to protect us against any future actions CEG TEK might take now that they have our contact information? We just wanted to pay it off and deal with the internet problems, and figured it would only get more expensive if we let it wait
Rarius, I replied to your inquiry by e-mail. I have never seen CEG-TEK sue a defendant who ended up settling. What I detailed in the e-mail, however, was that if their clients end up asking them to sue for other things they find after you settle (e.g., downloads that take place after a settlement), well then yes, you could be at risk for being sued if you haven’t locked down your router with WPA2 encryption and a good password (not your child’s birthday) and your neighbor continues to use your account to download his videos.
I just received an email from my ISP Charter with a letter from CEG TEK. After reading various posts, I have avoided in clicking the link at this time and would like to remain anonymous if possible. What is my best course of action at this time? My deadline is at Mar 27th so I have a while to proceed in any direction.
Remaining anonymous is something I have been able to do for our clients. CEG-TEK and Ira Siegel do not yet know who you are — they sent their settlement demand letter to your Charter ISP along with a note that “so-and-so IP Address downloaded my client’s copyrighted files,” paid them their fee, and Charter forwarded to you their e-mail.
In sum, yes, we can keep you anonymous. I’ll explain how on our call.
HI!
I read today that the big five have 85% of the market.
Any thoughts on how the 15% are affected?
Also, any idea how far back these folks are looking?
Any updates on charters policy?
I received emails forwarded from Charter and paid 2 of the 3 I got. The 3rd one I received is due tomorrow and when I went to the settlement site 38 other cases had been added to the settlement, totaling $7800. I sent them an email regarding the added cases, was this the wrong move on my part?
Yep, bad move. I already sent you an e-mail to get in touch with me via http://torrentlawyer.genbook.com. Obviously no charge to talk.
I just got a reply from them saying “Please provide a telephone number and we will have someone reach out to you directly about this matter.” I’m guessing I should ignore that, right?
We should probably speak first. I see you already booked an appointment, so we can talk then, no problem.
So, same boat for me. Received a single notice this evening from my ISP. I mistakenly logged into the CEG-TEK site to view the settlement information, but have not contacted them, nor will I. I have locked down my router to further protect my account. I fear what will happen next, and would love to hear your advice for next steps.
So they know you logged in to their website. Whether you log in or not has ABSOLUTELY ZERO to do with whether you are the one who did the download. All it does is correlate one IP address to the accused IP address for their geolocation purposes.
Hi
I got a similar letter/email forwarded by my ISP(charter) with march 25th deadline for settlement. Will there be any chance to settle when I get a notice from ISP about a subpoena against me? or will it be too late then?.
Please let me know.
The settlement amounts CEG-TEK have been asking for in their lawsuits for one file are $2,500-$3,500 (+/-). Here they are asking for $200 for that same title. I have sent you an e-mail and I would be happy to discuss with you the particulars of their accusation against you.
Hey, I got another similar notice from Charter. CEG-TEK is asking for $200 for a settlement by April 3rd. It seems that it is a bad idea to pay … so is this something I should just ignore?
I think you’ll find the following “What are the chances of being sued if I ignore” article of interest: https://torrentlawyer.wordpress.com/2013/02/22/ceg-tek-dmca-ira-siegel-chances-of-being-sued/
Otherwise, I’ve replied to your comment via e-mail.
Hello. I’m also in the same boat. I received an email from my isp about a copyright infringement case from CEG TEK. I did not log in with the provided username and password so I am not aware of how much the settlement offer is. I do know that my deadline is on the 24th of April. I have read through your comments in this thread and I would like to personally hear from you to resolve this problem. Please send me an email on how we can go about this. Thank you in advance.
Done. I look forward to answering your questions. -Rob
[...] in November 2012, I wrote an article about CEG-TEK’s CopyrightSettlements.com web site “crashes” where following a [...]
[...] in November 2012, I wrote an article about CEG-TEK’s CopyrightSettlements.com web site “crashes” where following a [...]
[...] in November 2012, I wrote an article about CEG-TEK’s CopyrightSettlements.com web site “crashes” where following a [...]
I am in the same boat as many other people. I got the notice through my ISP having restricted my internet access until I agreed to Terms of Service. I also clicked on the link so as to view the settlement amount ($200) but did not enter any other information or call them. I am very worried about this. Can someone please tell me what to do? I would probably pay the money, but only if I could get a blanket release so that they could not come after me for anything else (up to this date of course) and they had to maintain my confidentiality. It seems people on this site have some experience. Could someone please advise me?
Thank you very much.
I’ve sent you an e-mail with instructions on how to schedule an appointment to chat about your case. The call will be over the phone, and the appointment can be set up via http://torrentlawyer.genbook.com.
I know about the process for scheduling an appointment, but the soonest available appointment is on the same day as the online settlement is due. The post says something about paying you a small fee, and you handling the payment on our behalf? That is something that is my #1 choice right now. Is there any way that more information can be obtained before April 11?
My apologies that you ran into a time crunch on your case. Sometimes we get booked out quite far into the future — this is why it is so important to book your http://torrentlawyer.genbook.com appointment as soon as possible. Here, the wait time was almost two weeks out. As of today, we’re only booked out 2-3 days.
OK, I’m in need of the same advice…sorry I didn’t read the last half of this entire page (it’s very long!). If you could e-mail me, I’d appreciate it. I got one letter with about 10 items, many were duplicates. Maybe 6 different files altogether. Should I just ignore it at this point? The letter I got was a “warning” letter from my ISP, but the ISP forwarded the “case numbers” of the various downloads. Thanks for your help!
Let’s chat about it over the phone.
Hello,
I am in a similar situation as pretty much everyone else commenting here. I have received one of these scare letters forwarded by my ISP from CEG-TEK, signed by Ira Siegel, asking that I pay a $200 pre settlement fee or get sued. I also made the mistake of entering my “case id” and password they emailed to me from the accused IP address. In my case, there was only one title that was infringed upon, and they are only asking $200 for it. Can I set up some sort of consultation?
Thank you for your help.
Done. I sent you an e-mail with a link to set up a meeting via our http://torrentlawyer.genbook.com appointment page. I look forward to chatting.
Curious if anyone that has experienced the ceg website “crashes” recognized if there might be a “yeah, that doesn’t surprise me” epiphany.
Such as…putting in anon info, a nonexistent address, a name that a behind the scenes checker does a deed search for that address, etc.
Also, if the “crashes” were apparent or if all seemed fine then…..bam….surprise letter in the mail
Hi,
I’ve gotten the same $200 notice as above and would like to know what your experience has been for people who have either ignored or payed the settlement. Does CEG escalate these notices to legal action in every case where the settlement is not paid?
I’m sure the answer here is NO. The issue is, however, that CEG-TEK shares the information of settling and non-settling parties (IP addresses, whatever people post into their web form, and anything they could scrape up (e.g., the geolocation data of the router)) and shares it [along with their own forensics data tracking the downloads] with their clients (the production studios). Now whether you think Ira Siegel is ethical or not, he is not your problem — the problem are the production studios and the copyright troll attorneys they hire. Remember, a number of CEG-TEK’s clients were Lipscomb & Eisenberg’s clients first (e.g., Patrick Collins, etc.), so I assume his gang is who they will return to.
I’ve made a mistake of thinking of settling and the transaction failed when I tried to settle. I’m worried that now they have information and will go after me. What should I do now?
Let’s talk about it. -Rob
Hi,
I also am in the same situation and have received one of these scare letters forwarded by my ISP from CEG-TEK, signed by Ira Siegel, asking that I pay a $200 pre-settlement fee. I also made the mistake of entering my case ID and pw. I also not well aware of the situation called them and only gave my name and phone number with the case number but did not give any further information. I would like to set up a consultation. Thank you for your help.
I rcvd 3 emails in quick succession for a total of $600. I have read many of the posts here and need some guidance on how to proceed. I did enter their website. I will pay it if I can be certain it will ‘go away’, but, like many others here, I worry that this will not be the end of it.
I sent you an email. Of course I got one of these letters. Went to the site to see the settlement……they want 200 for one title. I sent Ira an email stating I had no knowledge, etc. (exact wording was sent to your email address). They contacted me back asking for my number. I have not given out any personal info at this point and told them I was advised not to give out my number. There is a chance they may have my name…but I am not sure. Advice? Thank you in advance.