Monday, November 5, 2012
Copyright Alert System
Controversial "Copyright
Alert System" will hit the U.S. within weeks. A blog post
by Jill Lesser, executive director of the Center for Copyright Information,
revealed the long-awaited Copyright Alert System (CAS) will begin "in the
coming weeks" and provided some details about the partnership with ISPs to
deter subscribers from infringement over peer-to-peer networks.
However, offenders can request a
review of their network activity by paying a $35 billing fee. If the offender
is found not guilty, the $35 will be refunded. The Copyright Alert System
is able to detect illegally downloaded material through MarkMonitor,
which is a brand protection company. Neither the Center for Copyright
Information nor MarkMonitor are able to obtain personal customer information.
The organization said it is “designed
to make consumers aware of activity that has occurred using their Internet
accounts, educate them on how they can prevent such activity from happening
again, and provide information about the growing number of ways to access
digital content legally.”
“Contrary to many erroneous
reports, this is not a ‘six-strikes-and-you’re-out’ system that would result in
termination,” the group said in a press release. “There's no
‘strikeout’ in this program.” Still, neither the Center for neither
Copyright Infringement nor ISPs have spelled out what happens if people
continue to download or share pirated files, even after six warnings.
