Imagine getting this letter from your ISP
We now present the entire letter Virgin ISP user’s in the UK have been receiving when illegal downloads have been detected.
“Dear Virgin Media Customer
Enjoying Music On The Internet & Illegal Filesharing
We're writing to you about enjoying music on the internet and about illegal downloading and filesharing. It's an issue which affects you, so it's very important that you read this letter carefully.
We're exceptionally lucky in Britain to have a world-beating music-making community, with a strong and sophisticated fan base. But we can only keep it that way if we all work together to ensure that the musicians who create this great music are rewarded for doing so.
That's where copyright comes in — copyright applies just as much to online music as it does to physical CDs. That means that you can't upload or download files on your computer without the authorisation of the copyright owner. Legal download services such as iTunes and 7digital authorise you to download music and make a few copies for your own personal use. But it's illegal to download from unauthorised peer-to-peer/P2P networks such as BitTorrent. It's also illegal to share music files with other people, unless you have specific permission from the copyright owner.
Otherwise musicians won't be paid and record labels won't be able to invest in the kind of new music that you might want to enjoy in the future.
That's why the BPI team carries out regular checks online. We have information that someone — and it may not be you — is using your Virgin Media internet account to access music illegally.
However it happened, it is illegal. We therefore need you to take steps to stop it from happening again. The steps you can take are set out in the enclosed "What To Do Next" section. You should know that if you don't do this and the problem happens again, then you could face legal action.
We don't want you to face legal action or risk losing your internet service — we want you to enjoy music legally. The good news is that there is plenty of online music for you to download legally. Take a look at pro-music.org for a list — there are millions of tracks available of all types and genres.
If you'd like to discuss any concerns you have in relation to this letter, then please don't hesitate to get in touch. Our contact details are set out in the "What To Do Next" section. We're ready to help.
Thanks for your time.
Yours sincerely
Geoff Taylor
Chief Executive, BPI”
Brett Venter
