Litigation blog Recording Industry vs. the People caught wind of an unlicensed
investigator complaint Tuesday, filed against the RIAA’s favored P2P
investigator MediaSentry. Filed by attorneys at Central Michigan University,
the complaint alleges that MediaSentry both advertises and conducts
investigation services for the RIAA and its lawsuit campaign, without
appropriate licensing.
The
complaint (PDF), originally filed on July 11, is only the latest turn of
events for a company constantly defending itself against unlicensed investigator
claims. Early last July the MediaSentry attempted to
justify its work – which seems to consist mainly of recording usernames and
IP addresses of copyright infringers on P2P networks – by claiming that it
draws from publicly available sources, and is therefore exempt to the
regulation requirements found in its home state of Michigan.
CMU seems to see things differently though, and its complaint points cites
both MediaSentry’s advertising literature and the RIAA’s legal briefings as
indicative of the company’s licensing requirement.
“Media Sentry, Inc, which promotes and advertises its expertise and
qualifications as an investigative agency, was specifically hired by the [RIAA]
to investigate suspected instances of copyright violations taking place within
the state of Michigan and including CMU,” wrote the anonymous CMU attorney.
The complaint goes on to point out declarations used in RIAA lawsuits in
Michigan courts, all of which consisted of “John Doe” lawsuits designed to
subpoena ISPs for a suspected infringer’s identity.
Additionally, MediaSentry’s woes stretch beyond the state Michigan. The
company was ordered earlier this year to cease and desist by Massachusetts
State Police after Boston University students decided to fight their subpoenas.
CMU’s complaint notes that MediaSentry’s actions sparked regulatory inquiries
in Florida, Texas, Oregon, Michigan, Massachusetts, Maine, North Carolina, and
Arizona – and that it has ignored “cease and desist” orders from both
Massachusetts and Maine police.
While neither MediaSentry’s nor SafeNet’s websites
describe its services as investigatory, advertising copy on the SafeNet
websites lists a number of “intelligence services,” including “notification
services” that assist business owners with anti-piracy initiatives. Copies of
the website furnished by CMU attorneys, however, show that the company previously
advertised its knack for “Investigating Piracy of Intellectual Property,”
promising clients that its “investigation service” offers the “most advanced
scanning techniques available.”
Michigan law defines a number of protected activities that require an
investigation license. These requirements include any business or individual,
who for a “fee, reward, or other consideration,” conducts an investigation for
the purposes of obtaining a person’s identity or activities, or for securing
evidence to be used before a court, among other things.