Re: DMCA Settlement letter from Video Protection Alliance Services, LLC

[Guy Pace <gpace () SBCTC EDU>]

We got a couple settlement letters earlier this year from this outfit. It was odd that we never got a "DMCA take down"  
notice prior to the settlement letters. I passed the information on to our local campus and got back that the IP was a 
public access wireless network (log long ago rotated and user no longer identifiable). So, I responded appropriately 
and didn't hear back. Got a "second notice" from them. I spent a little more time checking things out. Turns out the 
material they are alleging was illegally shared is being hosted on a Spanish language Torrents site outside the US. 
Someone evidently linked to that site while connected to our public access network.

The letter has a link that goes straight to a payment site that wants $40 per item, and offers to take payment via 
credit card. There is no other option on the site but to pay the settlement. The alleged infringement is for a porn 
movie. The address at the bottom (Cream Ridge, NJ, and ZIP, actually resolves to the Cream Ridge Golf Club). I did call 
the phone number and it does ring into New Jersey. But all I get is a voice message. I suspect that this is just some 
porn producer scam to get money for his junk. It looks too much like a front for identity fraud, and I just wouldn't 
feel right telling a student to respond to this.

A few more minutes on the web and I found a couple references to legal filings against RLD DISTRIBUTION, LLC. There is 
more if you have the time and inclination.

I pulled together all the legal references I could get on state and federal laws regarding this and our status as an 
educational institution and sent a note back to them. I also copied our people at the state capitol and am prepared to 
forward all of this to the state attorney general if these guys don't cease and desist.

Guy L. Pace, CISSP 
Security Administrator
Information Technology Division
WA State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) 
3101 Northup Way, Suite 100 
Bellevue, WA 98004 
425-803-9724 
gpace () sbctc edu 


-----Original Message-----
From: The EDUCAUSE Security Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU] On Behalf Of Mayne, 
Jim
Sent: Monday, September 21, 2009 2:35 PM
To: SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU
Subject: [SECURITY] DMCA Settlement letter from Video Protection Alliance Services, LLC

We recently received a DMCA settlement letter from 


Video Protection Alliance Services, LLC
PO Box 322
Cream Ridge, NJ 08514-0322
United States
+1-866-251-2631

Has anyone else received something from this group? We actually received letters with two different from addresses, one 
'copyright () videoprotectionalliance com' and one 'copyright () getamnesty com'. 

They have a professional web site with a ssl certificate issued by Verisign but how can one really tell a legitimate 
letter from a scam? How do you know they are really acting on behalf of a legitimate copyright holder? 

Jim