How the RIAA targets schools and ISPs

And now a source has provided us with a standard memo the RIAA sends before it sends the lawyers in.

The source said that not only does the RIAA send out the messages, but if it's discovered that movies are being shared as well, the movie industry sends out its similar messages too.

The IP numbers and several other minor details have been amended to protect the identity of the source.

Re: Copyright infringement at IP address xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
Dear Sir or Madam:

I am contacting you on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America, Inc. (RIAA) and its member record companies. The RIAA is a trade association whose member companies create, manufacture, and distribute approximately ninety (90) percent of all legitimate sound recordings sold in the United States. Under penalty of perjury, we submit that the RIAA is authorized to act on behalf of its member companies in matters involving the infringement of their sound recordings, including enforcing their copyrights and common law rights on the Internet.

We believe a user on your network, using the above referenced IP address, is offering 353 files for download through a peer to peer application. Many of these files contain copyrighted sound recordings including recordings by such artists as Metallica, Guns 'N Roses, Weezer, U2, and Michael Jackson that are owned by our member companies. For your reference we have included a representative list of some of the infringing sound recordings being offered at the above IP address.

We have a good faith belief that the above-described activity is not authorized by the copyright owners, their agent, or the law. We are asking for your immediate assistance in stopping this unauthorized activity. Specifically, we request that you remove or disable access to the infringing sound files via your system.

In addition, we believe it is in everyone's interest for music consumers to be better educated about the subject of copyright law and music. In addition to taking steps to notify this network user about the illegal nature of this activity, we encourage you to refer him/her to the MUSIC Coalition's new website at www.musicunited.org. The site contains valuable information about what's legal and what's not when it comes to copying music.

You should understand that this letter constitutes notice to you that this network user may be liable for the infringing activity occurring on your network. In addition, under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, if you ignore this notice, your institution may also be liable for any resulting infringement. This letter does not constitute a waiver of any right to recover damages incurred by virtue of any such unauthorized activities, and such rights as well as claims for other relief are expressly retained.

Thank you in advance for your prompt assistance in this matter. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail at antipiracy2@riaa.com, via telephone at (202) 775-0101, or via mail at RIAA, 1330 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 300, Washington, D.C., 20036. Please reference Case ID xxxxx in any response or communication regarding this infringement.

Sincerely,

Anti-Piracy Unit
RIAA

[A list of music titles allegedly illegally copied always follows this message]