AT&T Copyright
Alert Program

The DMCA was passed in 1998 by the U.S. Congress to protect copyrighted works in the digital age while providing important protections for online service providers to ensure the free flow of information. Additional information about the DMCA is available at the U. S. Copyright Office's website at http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf.

This is real. AT&T has been notified of copyright infringements on our network. In turn, we notify our customers about possible copyright infringement on their Business internet account so they can take steps to prevent future infringements.

Personal use – using peer-to-peer (P2P) or torrent networks, streaming, downloading, and/or sharing of audio books, computer programs, literary works, movies, music, television, games, etc. to avoid purchasing or renting

Image and text copying – using copyrighted works as your own

Piracy – using copyrighted work to make copies and sell

Each situation is unique, but these types of infringements may occur if end users are observed using peer-to-peer (P2P) networks or torrent sites to stream, download, and/or share copyrighted content (i.e., games, movies, tv shows, music, etc.) without authorization from the content owner. The infringer can be anyone (employee, customer, or anyone else) who accessed your internet.

P2P networks link devices to exchange data. Torrents are a kind of P2P network. Both allow users to connect to their network to host, share, and download files. Often times pirated copies of copyrighted works are shared without the content owner’s permission which leads to copyright infringements

Blocking P2P and Torrent sites has proven successful to significantly reduce or stop copyright infringement claims

DMCA copyright violation which may include civil or criminal liability

Peer-to-peer/sharing file sites may include trojan horses that download unwanted files to computers such as:

• Viruses
• Malware
• Ransomware
• Unsuitable images
• Other potential dangers that can impact your:
  • Network
  • Passwords
  • Proprietary or sensitive business or customer information

Not on the first notification. Our goal is to help you continue to use AT&T internet in a lawful way and avoid future copyright infringements.

If future violations occur, you will be asked to acknowledge that you received and read the notification along with each alleged infringement.

If multiple violations continue to occur, AT&T will be forced to take action which may include terminating your internet service.

Copyright infringement can subject infringers to potential civil and criminal liability. Additional information about copyright infringement is available at the U.S. Copyright Office's website at http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html.

AT&T is not in a position to investigate these allegations. We are simply passing along a copyright owner's allegation that the Internet account was used for copyright infringement.

If you believe that the copyright notice was sent in error, it is your responsibility to reach out to the copyright owner and resolve the issue. The copyright owner’s contact information is provided in the copyright notice summary at the end of the copyright infringement notification email you received from AT&T.

AT&T does not provide identifying information about a customer or subscriber to copyright owners unless required to do so by lawful request.

When files are distributed on the Internet over peer-to-peer (P2P) or torrent networks, the IP address associated with a customer or subscriber's account is visible by design to other users on the network. Content owners and their agents have developed state-of-the-art software that participates in these peer-to-peer (P2P) or torrent networks to identify pirated film, TV, and music content that they own, and the IP addresses associated with the distribution of that content. Content owners provide these IP addresses to AT&T along with additional information about the content that was allegedly shared by that IP address. AT&T matches the IP address sent by the content owner to the specific customer to whom that IP address was assigned at that time, and then passes on the information provided by the content owner to that customer. As noted above, AT&T does not provide identifying information about the customer to the content owner(s) unless ordered to do so by a court.

Contact your IT department or provider to determine the best steps to protect your business against potential liability

Contact your IT department or provider to block known peer-to-peer (P2P) or torrent sites

Contact your IT department or provider to implement advanced security settings on your router

Disable/uninstall peer-to-peer (P2P) and/or torrent software on all company devices

Use URL Filtering services to block peer-to-peer (P2P) and/or torrent sites

Scan your entire Wi-Fi networks regularly for security purposes

Reset your router and/or change login & password if you feel it is not secure

Require password for guest Wi-Fi and update password regularly

Discuss infringements with employees and customers to set expectations of lawful behavior

Contact AT&T’s Peer-to-Peer Software Support at 844-217-1458 to help search for and remove peer-to-peer (P2P) software on your computers

To learn more about ways to prevent copyright infringements over your network, contact AT&T using this Contact Us form

If your business does not have an IT department or provider, AT&T may be able to provide technical assistance with removing peer-to-peer (P2P) software from your computer, please call AT&T’s Peer-to-Peer Software Support at 844-217-1458

Yes. If multiple violations occur, AT&T will take action, which may include terminating your internet service

Fair use is a legal doctrine that permits, in certain limited circumstances, the use of portions of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holder. For more information about fair use, please visit the U.S. Copyright Office's website at http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

Copyright owners or their authorized representatives can submit their allegations of peer-to-peer (P2P) or torrent copyright infringement at att.com/p2pnotices