Activision Hunts Down Modern Warfare 3 Leaks

[Baresark]

...2. They literally have no way of knowing who downloads it...

1. Join bittorrent swarm

2. ????????

3. IP Address JACKPOT!

LoL, I stand corrected.

 

[duchaked]

Activision is watching you...always and forever

 

[Giest4life]

A better question - could you pirate TF2 before it went F2P?

It's pretty much impossible to play MP with pirated copies on the PC. Cracks can only do so much.

False. Yes, it is hard to play multi-player on pirated copies, but is not impossible and many pirated games do have unofficial servers and matchmaking services. I will not go into more detail lest I be accused of promoting piracy.

 

[Dutch 924]

Ok, credit where it's due.

When it comes to removing pirated stuff, Activision doesn't take any prisoners

 

[Angelous Wang]

...2. They literally have no way of knowing who downloads it...

1. Join bittorrent swarm

2. ????????

3. IP Address JACKPOT!

IP addresses can be changed, all you need to do is go into cmd and release/renew IP a few time and you'll have new one.

There is no way to prove who someone is from an IP address in court of law.

Also It's not illegal to download pirated material.

It's illegal to upload pirated material.
It's illegal to make money off of pirated material.
It's illegal to share (like having friend over to play with you) pirated material.

It's mostly not illegal to use pirated material for private use (but that can be disputed).

So just having proof someone downloaded something is not enough, you need physical evidence they have done more with than just download it.

 

[Jevgenij Stepanov]

Sounds likew a load of crap, like Dante's Inferno protesting, to me really.

 

[Atomic Skull]

IP addresses can be changed, all you need to do is go into cmd and release/renew IP a few time and you'll have new one.

They're not talking about your PC's network adapter's IP, they mean the IP used by your DSL or cable modem. Your internet provider keeps a record of which modem was using what IP addresses at what time and they can cross reference that with which modem belongs to which customer (they have to in order to be able to bill you) Most DSL modems use a dynamic IP and you can change this whenever you want (just cycle the power), but that will also show in their logs.

There is no way to prove who someone is from an IP address in court of law.

They can subpoena your provider's logs, see above.

Also It's not illegal to download pirated material

It actually is, or at least it is in the US.

 

[Blind Sight]

Thus, hundreds of pirates woke up to this this morning:


"DOES ACTIVISION LOOK LIKE A *****?"
"NO!!!!"
"THEN WHY YOU TRYIN' TO FUCK'EM LIKE ONE?"

 

[Asehujiko]

On a positive note, the real uploader of the file is probably going to see what a real breach and clear looks like. Pity it will be in his house.

Or it happens to the first guy they think they can get away with doing it against because they have absolutely nothing to gain by getting the correct person since the scapegoat is never going to be able to prove his innocence in court anyway.

Something bad like, say, a $5000 fine, according to one Craigslist poster who warned people meddling with the pirated version of the game that "they will come get you." The poster claimed that Activision is leveling the fine as well as a permanent ban from online playing, adding, "I already went through it."

Do they have any legal right to do that? Even assuming they can get F.A.S.T. involved, the very worst they can do is unlimited fines and ten years in prison... [http://www.fastiis.org/our_services/enforcement/anti_piracy_faq/]

WAITAMINUTE?

What's the maximum charge for manslaughter? 4 - 9 Years, do you say?

Attempted murder? 15 years?

Do we think that we're giving people just a LITTLE too much power here?

Manslaughter
Your monies: $
The monies that the state is willing to spend on you: $$$
so 4 years in prison

Perceived copyright violation
Your monies: $
Megacorp monies: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
so 10 years prison and an insurmountable debt

easy

also lol @ them banning people, taking away any incentive they could have for buying their product.