Comcast Subscriber Receives DMCA Notice for Downloading Ubuntu
canopic jug writes:
TorrentFreak, is reporting on a thread at the orange site discussing Comcast allegedly having invoked the DMCA against a customer for having downloaded Ubuntu, a very popular GNU/Linux distro made by Canonical, Ltd. Just to be clear, the license for Ubuntu and its components allow not just downloading, but also even redistribution, modification, and redistribution of the modifications. The DMCA complaint was filed by a German company named OpSec Security. No comment was provided to TorrentFreak by either Canonical or OpSec.
Detail of the Allegedly-Infringing Content and DMCA Notice
The allegedly infringing content is the 64-bit Ubuntu 20.04.2.0 LTS release but the first big question is whether the file is actually the official release from Canonical. Given that the listed hash value is 4ba4fbf7231a3a660e86892707d25c135533a16a and that matches the hash of the official release, mislabeled or misidentified content (wrong hash, mislabeled file etc) appears to be ruled out.
Indeed, the same hash value is listed on Ubuntu's very own BitTorrent tracker and according to NateNate60, this is where he downloaded the torrent that led to the DMCA notice. It doesn't get much more official than that.
According to the DMCA notice sent by Comcast, the complainant wasn't Ubuntu/Canonical but an anti-piracy company called OpSec Security, which according to its imprint is based in Germany. TorrentFreak has contacted OpSec for a comment on the DMCA notice but at the time of writing the company is yet to respond.
Because the customer in question will probably not contest the false accusations there will be serious legal repercussions since guilt is assumed unless successfully contested. For that matter, the DMCA from 1998 is the law which also makes watching DVDs on GNU/Linux illegal in the US.
Previously:
A great many stories on either Ubuntu or the DMCA.
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