I believe it is the duty of the copyright holders to “police their own copyrights,” meaning, if a company sees a file sharing tracker or website hosting an unlicensed copy of their copyrighted work, BY ALL MEANS, issue a DMCA takedown notice to the website or to the file sharing tracker, and that torrent will be GONE AND UNAVAILABLE for downloaders to take the content.
[2017 UPDATE: Carl Crowell has created a new entity called RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT which has reverse-engineered CEG-TEK’s proprietary DMCA copyright infringement notice system. Many of you have visited CEG-TEK links thinking that RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT was CEG-TEK, but really they are an ‘evil twin’ competitor. Since the two entities operate almost the same way, and since Crowell has solicited (and likely taken) most of the clients on this list, this article is relevant.]2016 UPDATE: I wrote this article in June, 2014. Immediately afterwards, a number of the companies changed their names which confused the issue of who was a copyright troll suing defendants, and who was not a copyright troll. It is now almost two years later, and while I usually do not update older posts, since this article does still come up from time to time, I am updated a few of the copyright holders’ names. -RZC
Rather than doing this, copyright holders hire CEG-TEK to target EVERY SINGLE DOWNLOADER with a letter forwarded by various ISPs, privacy providers, or university IT departments who are cooperating with CEG-TEK (sometimes for profit).
Account holders receive “notice of infringement” letters sent directly to them either via an e-mail, FedEx, or a screen pop-up link along with a notification that they have violated the ISP’s terms of service. CEG-TEK’s letters now ask for $250-$300 per download, and they direct the accused downloaders to the “Copyright Settlements” website (http://www.copyrightsettlements.com) with a link which pre-populates the assigned Case Number and Password into the website.
With the cooperation of the ISPs in forwarding CEG-TEK’s letters to accused downloaders, there is no longer an anonymity barrier between the accused downloaders and the copyright holders as there once was when CEG-TEK would need a court order to access the identities of the accused downloaders.
Now, since various ISPs and universities (e.g., Charter, Suddenlink, CenturyLink, Giganews, etc.; NOTE: Comcast, Verizon, and the other big ISPs appear NOT to be working with CEG-TEK for the moment) have been useless in stopping the copyright holders from contacting the account holders, other than hiring a lawyer such as myself to create a buffer between the copyright holders and the accused account holders, internet users should probably be aware of which companies are using this extortion tactic of “we will sue you unless you pay us money for the video you have downloaded.”
Here is a list I compiled from my own records as to which copyright holders are [at the moment] using Ira Siegel and CEG-TEK to “monetize” their “most pirated” copyrights. I want to point out that I am conflicted as to whether to post this list because the list itself can be deceiving — a title “not” on this list can still be monitored, and by no means am I suggesting that someone avoid these titles and download others.
Axel Braun Productions
Celestial Inc., DBA Lethal Hardcore
Cinderella Distributors Inc.
Coast to Coast Video
Daring Media Group
Diabolic
Echo Alpha, Inc. DBA Evil Angel (Not Angel Has Fallen)
Fallout Films
Froytal Services Limited DBA Babes (now known as “MG Premium Ltd.”)
Froytal Services Limited DBA Brazzers (now known as “MG Premium Ltd.”)
Froytal Services Limited DBA Mofos (now known as “MG Premium Ltd.”)
GGW Direct, LLC DBA “Girls Gone Wild”
Froytal Services Limited DBA Twistys (now known as “MG Premium Ltd.”)
Giant Media Group, Inc. DBA Devil’s Film (they have changed this name more than once, but have kept the “Devil’s Film” trade name.)
Girlfriends Films Inc.
Intense Industries
JM Productions Inc.
JW Releasing Ltd
Kick … Pictures Inc.
LFP Internet Group, LLC DBA Hustler
Manwin Content RK Limited DBA Reality Kings (now known as “MG Content RK Limited”)
Manwin DP Corp. DBA Digital Playground
Marc Dorcel
Marc Dorcel DBA SBO Pictures, Inc.
SBO Pictures DBA Vouyer Media
SBO Pictures DBA Wicked Pictures
Metro Media Entertainment
Millennium TGA, DBA Grooby Productions
Patrick Collins Inc., DBA Elegant Angel
Pleasure Productions Inc.
RLD Distribution LLC
Second Phase Distribution Inc.
Third Degree Films, Inc.
Vivid Entertainment LLC
White Ghetto Films Inc.
Zero Tolerance Entertainment
Perhaps by listing which companies are enforcing their copyrights using this extortion-type of “settle or else we’ll sue” method, it might shame the companies into doing something a bit more ethical (e.g., by policing their own copyrights and issuing DMCA takedown letters rather than attacking the downloaders as a means for financial revenue):
Whoa, so are some ISPs just giving away user contact info now?!
Giving away user contact info? No, AND I do not know exactly what they provide or to whom [and for what price]. Remember, ISPs appear to be bound by the laws prohibiting them from disclosing your identity. See my article on “How to sue your ISP for disclosing your contact information” here: http://torrentlawyer.wordpress.com/2011/05/05/how-to-stop-isp-from-disclosing-information/
What we understand is that for various ISPs, Ira Siegel appears to be given access to the GEOLOCATION DATA of the ROUTER (not of the city). On a number of occasions, I have asked CEG-TEK about a particular anonymous client, and CEG-TEK had the name of the accused downloader without my mentioning their name. In other cases, they offered as proof the coordinates of my client’s house so that I can type it into Google Maps and pull up a top-down picture of it on my screen. I do not know what other capabilities they have.
From other discussions, I understand that they can also deductively determine whether infringement happened in close proximity to the router, or via a neighbor based on measuring the comparative speeds of the connection versus the speed of the download. This is often the explanation for slow downloads (resulting in duplicate Case Nos.) on a heavily-seeded swarm on a fast connection.
EDIT: Remember, the purpose of the article was to discuss CEG-TEK’s client list, not my understanding of their forensic tracking capabilities.
I got 2 letters within a week of each other from these people. Im worried because I’m home for the summer and my parents are not able to handle a lawsuit. I idiodically went to their site and punched in my case no. and password. I’m tempted to pay just so I dont have to worry about my parents anymore, but I dont really want to feed these guys my money. Advice?
I just received an email from Ira Segal/CEG TEK. I have seen a few similar posts below…in which you responded via email. I do not know if I should pay or wait…appreciate recommendation.
I received one (1) of these notices through my ISP and was considering paying the settlement through copyrightsettlements.com, as the letter from IRA SIEGEL / CEG TEK suggests. Financially, I’m scared that they will proceed with a suit. I’m in Minnesota. I’ve called a few lawyers in my area, and they were between “we don’t handle that” and “probably just pay it to make it go away”. Do you advise paying the settlement? ($250)? Thanks!
I have replied to your message privately.
Hi, I have a similar question posted by “torrentquestions” above. My brother is living in another country and he got the same notice through his Vpn provider in US which he uses to access websites he can’t access in his country. He used the case number and password to login their website and to see whether this is a scam he tried the case number of someone else who posted it to internet with a similar situation. Now the cases of this person were also added to him and can’t be changed back and they ask for more money. He didn’t proceed to payment, but sent them a message to correct it. Do you know if they contact people back? And what happens if the person is in another country. Unfortunately, he has also written his name and phone number to the form in their website, but logged in from a different IP which he uses in his country.what would be the best strategy for him not to have any legal issues? Thanks for your time.
I, too received one notice, for the same amount ($250). Unfortunately, I just moved to Alabama. I thought the “six-strikes” ISP protection scheme was universal, but Charter apparently has not done so. This is something I was peripherally aware of before reading your articles.
I can’t imagine the cost of suing someone on dubious grounds to be low enough that it would be a “safe bet.” They very well could lose their investment if they pursue me, not to mention time which could be spent extorting other individuals successfully and staying out of the legal limelight.
I’m not sure about the legality of privately-owned honeypots. Can I author a work and then infringe it myself (fraud, clearly) at public locations and sue those account holders?
In any case, ironically, I did not infringe on this occasion. In fact even more ironically, this last week was the first time I ever paid for pornography.
Even if it’s a huge pain in the ass and goes to court, I would rather defend myself on principle than fold to extortion. I have a personal ethical responsibility to expose their actions regardless of the outcome of that case. Google gladly and swiftly removes entries from their search results, and I can see that Digital Sin (or their counsel) has not filed a DMCA removal with Google for the file I allegedly downloaded. As such, I can only assume those parties would rather people be able to find the infringing files in their locations which do not cooperate with DMCA requests.
This has wasted critical business time I would have otherwise used to study software development framework, and caused a non-trivial amount of mental distress which has aggravated my untreated hypertension. I believe these letters amount to harassment. Although harassment and legal threats are not inherently illegal; I suspect an engineered scheme to automate the systemic harassment of many individuals through clever software engineering could be found illegal as a form of fraud.
I have received one of these this morning as well, from Ira. Mine is for 250, due in one month, I saw that there is an agreement with it saying there will be no further prosecution if I pay. I was wondering if it would be wise to just pay it, or should I argue and try to pay less.
These copyright issues are especially wrong/funny to me when the person owns an original copy of the media. For example, a Red Skeleton VHS or NIN CD. Sure, allowing hundreds of other people to have copies of what you own is different from making a VHS copy for your neighbor, but a lot of people only download what they have on broken media and then delete the torrent program, rather than seed.
Restrictions based on copyright lead to stupid things like having to buy a special product to allow you to play old SNES games on your PC using the original cartridge. If your game media is too damaged/scratched to be played – you’re out of luck.
Stupid.
I recently received a copyright infringement notice from Vivid entertainment. The email was forwarded to me through my university’s security center. I visited the settlement site to find out the amount of the settlement and it turned out to be $300. So now I am debating whether to pay the amount or just ignore the notice.
I too have received one of these scare letters from CEG TEK from my ISP demanding payment for damages. The file in question was not downloaded by myself, and roommates deny any downloads of torrents. The time stamp information provided makes it very unlikey that any torrent file was actually downloaded at all. The message from my ISP states no personal information is disclosed and that the attached message is only being forwarded to me. I am concerned about the authenticity of this notice as it is only an e-mail demanding money, as anyone can make a e-mail with such demands. No part of the message addresses me directly. I feel that the situation is simply a scam to extort money from the ignorant. My concern is how am I able to validate this claim. Your thoughts?
I also received a letter not too long ago. Was wondering if you could answer my question in private as to what my options are.
I just received some as well, from brazzers. I didn’t even know what the website was. They hit me with 4 in rapid succession saying i downloaded their titles and I couldnt help but laugh yet at the same time worried after reading about all these copyright trolls. I honestly dont know what to do other than maybe just ignore it. I have charter and dont even use bittorent. Maybe i should just switch service providers seeing how they get the info so easily from my isp.
Hey man so I just received a settlement email as well from CEG for 250. Do you think I should pay? Or should I try to dispute it?
I’m in a similar position. I’ve gotten the letter from MetroMedia. Do you suggest I pay $200 to have it go away or ignore it completely?
I have the same scenario and question as “torrentquestions” above. If I’ve received one of these from CEG-TEK, is it advisable to just pay it to go away?
I have also received an email from CEG forwarded by my ISP saying I have copyright infringement. Personally, I am okay with settling with them for $250 and make this go away. However, what is stopping me right now is that paying them via credit card or check meaning revealing my identity. Could this potentially lead me to more trouble?
Also, I am afraid that they have more than one record of me downloading stuff and they are using the first one as bait. If I pay up, they will know I am a soft target and send me dozens of similar notices waiting for me to pay up. Do they have a history of doing what I have described?
I am really scared right now, fearing that they would subpoena my ISP for my identity.
I have also received one of these emails from CEG TEK, I would also like to know if you advise payment of this through there website?
My biggest concern is i just want to make sure if i pay…it is really done and over with
Am I understanding this correctly, that CEG TEK’s payment system fails and folks are left wondering if their payment succeeded? I received a notice from these people and contacted them about it. I’m willing to pay them *IF* they are legit.
I have just received one of these notices through my ISP and was considering paying the settlement through copyrightsettlements.com, as the letter from IRA SIEGEL / CEG TEK suggests. Financially, I’m scared that they will proceed with a suit. I’m in Alabama. The people here say to pay it and it should go away. Do you advise paying the settlement? ($250)? Thanks!
I have just replied to your message via e-mail. In short, there are things to be aware of when deciding whether to pay or whether to ignore, most importantly — who is your copyright holder –> are they a “copyright troll”? Have they sued before, and do they have plans to sue again?
For example, if you downloaded The Expendables 3 or Hercules, both Millennium Films movies, I might suggest that you do settle, as the copyright holders have made their intentions that they want to sue VERY CLEAR. http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/expendables-3-producer-we-want-to-go-after-10-million-who-illegally-downloaded-movie-1201308942/
However, if your copyright holders are not copyright trolls, I might suggest that you ignore depending on your particular circumstances. Let’s chat about this over the phone, and we’ll figure out who your copyright holder is, and what to do from here.
I have just received one of these notices through my ISP and was considering paying the settlement through copyrightsettlements.com, as the letter from IRA SIEGEL / CEG TEK suggests. Financially, I’m scared that they will proceed with a suit. I’m in los angeles. I am new in USA. Do you advise paying the settlement? I got email for 3 downloads ($1500)? Thanks!
My college-age son and his roommates received 4 of these letters and didn’t open them because they thought they were bills, which we autopay each month out of our acct. Because they didn’t open them there is a total of $1200 they are wanting as a settlement of they will take them to court. Unfortunately if they had opened the first one, they would have changed their password and the other three wouldn’t exist 🙁 But they didn’t. They are pretty frustrated because the IP address doesn’t match any of their computers and at least two of the times this was done, there was no one at the house as it was over their Christmas break. Of course, they are asking me for advise and I don’t know what to tell them. Do you have any advice for me????
I got the notice and im in Ontario Canada, for a Diabolic Soa Parody…that’s sells for 20 bucks I deleted it after 5 mins im not sure what to do
I’ve received a DMCA through my ISP from CEG TEK International. I was hoping to contact you to find some advice on this. Notably, I’m not from the United States, and though linking to their settlement website, they are not currently asking for a settlement.
Hi Houstonlawy3r, I recently got into trouble at my university for accidentally leaving a torrent open (I came back torrenting from a nearby Cafe) and subsequently, got in trouble at my university for it. I’m not bothered by the disciplinary actions by the university (it’s not severe at all) but I received two letters from the CEG-TEK claiming they want $300 for each download paid to them (even though it’s one file continuously downloading, apparently there were two separate incidences at different times). What should I do? The client company is in that list you provided.
Please let me know as I’m desperate!
I removed identifying information from your post for your privacy. If the company is listed as a copyright troll, then they have sued in the past. This may be concerning for you, since your concern is that they might sue again in the future (we should talk privately about who it is, so I could tell you what I think about that particular copyright holder). The duplicate instances of infringement are not a problem — it is more a question of who the copyright holder is, and what their plans are moving forward. Speaking to you, if I learn that the copyright holder is NOT a copyright troll, then I might have an easier and less costly solution.
Hi Houstonlawy3r,
Thanks for your prompt reply. I’ll go ahead and copy and paste what part of my letter says:
CEG TEK International (“CEG”) represents EA Distribution Inc DBA Elegant Angel, who owns all right,
title and interest, including copyrights, in and to the work listed below (hereinafter the “Work”). (Some
individuals may find certain words in titles of works to be offensive. CEG apologizes in advance if this is
the case.)
Hi, houstonlawy3r, I could you send me an email? I have a question about a specific copyright holder and would like your opinion. I very much appreciate any help.
Done.
I recently got a letter from ceg for Manwin Content RK Limited DBA Reality Kings, for 2 videos at 300 per. I was wondering whether or not it would be better to ignore or settle. My worry is that I would be giving my contact details to them and am worried they will just come with another claim if they get my info. I don’t think either of those companys have a history of filing suit, but am not sure. Any advice would be appreciated.
I would be happy to discuss both the “ignore” option and the “settlement” option. Given your particular circumstances (I see more on the WordPress backend than is shown here), for you a settlement would be fully anonymous and untraceable to you. I also know your copyright holders, so we can discuss them over the phone.
i received an email from CEG TEK here in Canada, it was forwarded by my ISP, I have not given any of my information away, or even clicked on any of the links they sent, is it safe to ignore it?
Thank you.
Hi Houstonlawy3r,
I got an email sent to me from ceg-tek for a settlement of $300 per title. I would like to get your advice on what to do here on forward if i should just ignore this or settle. It is a case with Ira Siegel.
If you can send me an email. I would greatly appreciate to discuss my opinions
Thanks
I have just received one of these notices through my ISP and was considering paying the settlement through copyrightsettlements.com, as the letter from IRA SIEGEL / CEG TEK suggests. Financially, I’m scared that they will proceed with a suit. i am located in Canada, have there been many lawsuits brought against people that have had downloaded adult material in canada. sometimes drunken friends should stay away from other peoples computers. the company in question is a five letter word starting with v and ending with d
I checked the settlement site to see what it was all about, but did not enter any information.
any help is greatly appreciated
I received an Ira Siegel letter saying I downloaded a video property of Paperstreet Media LLC. I don’t see this company in the list of CEG-TEK clients. Should I settle or not?
Hi, I have just received couple of these notice from my ISP. There are multiple claims and they are asking for $225 for each claim. I heard people said that even you paid for the settlement, they will keep sending you these kind of emails asking for more “settlement”. Can you give some advice?
Thanks !
Sorry for the delay in responding. I have done a number of these settlements, and in my experience, CEG-TEK likes to “front load” everything. This means that before you even log in, their computer does a search to see whether there are any extra titles that were downloaded in your particular home or apartment, and whether any old IP addresses which they now know to belong to you were used to download any of their clients’ copyrighted titles. They do this all before you log in so that they can increase the settlement amount. I have never heard them say, “hey sucker, thanks for your $225 CAD. Here are three more we were hiding from you, pay these too.”
houstonlawyer3 would you mind talking to me about a DCMA notice I received?
Found hundreds of these emails on my families comcast account. 40+ infringements total, and am having some anxiety attacks over this >.<. I work part time and could never afford the 10,000+ settlement I assume there would be if I logged into their site. Is there anyway I could negotiate a settlement with them that I could actually afford? I got the notifications from Comcast, and these didn't forward the demand letters with the notifications
I have just received one of these notices through my ISP and was considering paying the settlement through copyrightsettlements.com, as the letter from IRA SIEGEL / CEG TEK suggests. Do you advise paying the settlement? The copyright holder is LFP Internet Group, LLC DBA Hustler. I have not been able to find an instance where they sued individuals on http://www.rfcexpress.com. Also, I am in Canada, and there seems to be a lot of confusion when these notices cross borders. should I settle or ignore?
I have received the notice from CEG TEk International for the same as you mentioned in your article. I have been offered CAD 300. I am student and was not aware of these things. i don’t want to involve in any legal issue.Can you advice me regarding this? Should I pay?
An email was received from CEG-TEK, in relation to new sensations, asking for settlement, should this be payed or ignored? I’m not looking for a suit.
I recently got this message, but I am in another country downloading through vyper (which I know realize was a terrible mistake) I want to know if I should ignore this or if they are willing to sue over seas
I left a message a couple days ago and I haven’t seen a reply (although i may have missed it) so I will restate my question. I am in another country across the world and I have downloaded something through Vyper Vpn. My account has been locked and Golden Frog has forwarded a message from the Copyright trolls. They are asking for a total sum of $1500 and I was wondering if they would pursue this abroad or should I just ignore it and try to refrain from doing it again. Your reply doesn’t necessarily have to be private I just need an answer quickly. Thanks very much
The way your question reads, it sounds as if I paid you to write what you wrote. Being outside of the U.S. as far as I am concerned makes it difficult and unlikely for a U.S. based copyright holder to go after your assets in the other country. Obviously they could still try to sue you in the U.S., and since Golden Frog / VyprVPN / Giganews has not been friendly to their subscribers when it comes to responding to CEG-TEK complaint e-mails, I would review the “CEG-TEK: Canada” article I wrote just a few hours ago and then go from there. I have already responded to you privately.
Hello Houstonlawy3r, how are you? I’ve received one of those ceg-tek emails, about one illegal download. The Company behind it is one of those you present on your list (the first one). I’ve accessed the website and checked the case, just to notice that they are asking for two notices, one I have nothing to do with. I’ve emailed ceg-tek and told the situation. They replied asking for a phone number that they could contact me. I’ve read online that I should have ignored it, but I was kind of scared and acted nervously. So, now they know my email address and that I have downloaded one movie. What should I do? Ignore them? Call them?
Thank you very much.
Good morning. I have already replied to your comment personally via e-mail, so this response is more or less for others to see. It is understandable and common that some people panic and contact them directly (ultimately giving away their identity and sometimes admitting guilt to one case while disputing another case). This is possibly one of the tactics of CEG-TEK, and for this reason, it is best to have an attorney discuss the claim against you on your behalf.
So between now and the time we speak, CEG-TEK may be ringing your phone ready to ask you questions about your bittorrent use, your downloading habits, and your network setup. While this is not legal advice, it is a good idea to let those calls go to voicemail so that you can contact me (or anyone else) in order to contact them on your behalf and resolve the claims against you. If after speaking to me you will be settling at all (some will decide to ignore the claims against them based on their circumstances and who the copyright holders are), there is NO REASON for you to pay for cases which you should not be responsible for.