Comcast Is Developing a New Way to Fight Content Piracy

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By Fran Berkman2013-08-07 17:20:37 UTC

Comcast is working on a new anti-piracy measure that would send pop-up notifications to users who are illegally downloading content.

Under the new measure, content producers such as movie, television and music studios would monitor their titles and upon detecting an illegal download, they would notify participating Internet service providers (ISPs). The ISP would then automatically send a pop-up notification to the illegal downloader's IP address, simply notifying the consumer of the possible legal sources of the particular piece of content — Amazon, iTunes, Netflix, etc.

See also: How U.S. Copyright Law Holds Back Tech Researchers

Though Comcast declined to comment, a source with knowledge of the project, who asked to remain anonymous, confirmed the program and described it to Mashable.

The purpose of the program would be to educate consumers, not necessarily to drive content sales. In addition, there are no punishments or penalties involved. It is based on unspecified consumer research said to have found that customers would be interested in finding legitimate sources from which to download content, the source said.

Comcast provides Internet to nearly 20 million people in the U.S., according to its report for the second quarter of 2013. In addition, it is the largest cable provider in the nation with more than 21 million customers. As owner of NBCUniversal, Comcast also owns two movie studios — Universal Pictures and Focus Features — and multiple broadcast and cable TV networks.

The new pop-up notification project is intended to be a complement to the Copyright Alert System (CAS), which Comcast currently supports, rather than a replacement.

The CAS is also known as the "Six Strikes" program because it doles out increasingly severe punishments to repeat illegal downloaders, culminating in temporary reduction in Internet speed and forced viewing of instructional videos.

Though Comcast would not comment, a statement emailed to Mashable by the Center for Copyright Information (CCI), which oversees the CAS, seems to confirm that a project is in the works.

"The new Comcast anti-piracy program is not something that was developed through the CCI but we support efforts that further CCI's mission and are consistent with the important principles of transparency and protection of customer privacy on which the CCI was founded," said Jill Lesser, executive director of CCI, in response to a Variety article published Monday which first reported the new project.

Apparently, a Comcast executive also replied by posting in the comment section of the Variety piece.

"We are committed to the Copyright Alert System and believe it is an effective umbrella approach to address piracy, but we’re open to looking at a variety of ways to address piracy. So far, customers seem to be receptive to this approach. As a member of the board of CCI, we continue to support the mission of CCI. Should we decide to go forward with this program, we view it as complementary," said the comment signed Susan Jin Davis, SVP Comcast and CCI Board Member.

Caroline Langdale, a CCI spokeswoman, told Mashable that Davis' comment reply is authentic.

The source could not provide information on whether other organizations are involved in the development process and said that it is ultimately intended to be a voluntary industry initiative to oppose content piracy and protect copyrights.

The program is still in its very early phases and there is currently no time frame for its implementation.

Do you think this pop-up program would effectively help prevent content piracy? Give us your view in the comment section.

Image: Flickr, Mr. T in DC and iStockphoto, jlvphoto

Topics: comcast, copyright, internet, piracy, U.S., U.S., US & World