Look out, Comcast and Cox Subscribers!

  We were all amazed when the RIAA said they would not be filing suit against copyright violators.  That appears to be coming back to bite Comcast and Cox subscribers.  What most of us did NOT know at that time is that the RIAA is now teamed up with Comcast and Cox, among unannounced others to deter copyright infringement.

Comcast announced it has issued 2 million notices on behalf of copyright owners, according to multiple people who were in attendance of the Leadership Music Digital Summit in Nashville.

In addition, sources confirmed that Cox Communications is also assisting the RIAA in the group’s new campaign to use ISPs to help discourage consumers from pirating songs.

RIAA’s new, “better” plan invloves include punitive action for repeat offenders, which could include suspension or even termination of service.  An AT&T spokeswoman said that the ISP has not threatened anyone with the disabling of service but acknowledged that warning letters sent to customers, the company says it reserves the right to terminate service.

     She said the company sends a letter from the RIAA and adds its own cover letter, saying the culprit could be a teenager in your house or an Unsecured wireless connection. 

Here is quote form a Cox spokesperson:

When we receive notifications from RIAA or other copyright holders stating that their copyrighted material is being infringed by a customer, we pass that information along to the customer so they can correct the problem, or dispute the notice directly with the copyright holder if they feel the notice was sent in error. This notification is the most helpful thing we can do for the customer and is expected of us, as an ISP, under the DMCA. We attach a copy of the notice from the copyright holder with our message to the customer.