p2pnet - rss feed: MediaSentry: have you checked your state?
p2pnet news | RIAA News:- Is Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG ‘investigator’ MediaSentry operating illegally in your state?” - p2pnet asked by way of a follow-up to MediaSentry: RIAA can of worms.
The Massachusetts State police have banned the company, it’s been accused of operating without a licence in Oregon, Florida, Texas and New York, and similar charges have been levelled at it in Michigan, we said in Is RIAA’s MediaSentry illegal in YOUR state?, going on >>>
A complaint was filed by a Recording Industry vs The People reader with the state’s Department of Labor and Economic Growth resulting in confirmation that MediaSentry has no official authorisation to carry out so-called ‘investigations’ there.
“We encourage parties to pursue complaints against unlicensed parties and the local prosecutor,” says the response.
“The prosecutor can prosecute these cases as felonies, with a maximum penalty of a $5,000 fine and/or up to four years in prison.”
The Big 4 and their RIAA are already on very shaky ground with MediaSentry.
You can help by making enquiries to find out if it’s licensed to act as a Big 4 ‘investigator’ where you live —- even if you’re in Canada, Europe, or anywhere else the company is ‘working’.
If you come up with anything interesting, email us at p2pnet @ shaw dot ca, or Ray Beckerman at rbeckerman @ vanfeliu dot com.
Here’s the score so far:
Arkansas
MediaSentry and/or SafeNet are not licensed to operate within the State of Arkansas,” says Derek,
Arizona
“They may not be licensed in Arizona either,” says a Recording Industry vs The People post, pointing out, “No variation of ‘Media Sentry’ or ‘SafeNet’ [its parent] gets any hit of an active license via Arizona Department of Public Safety web site. note: try “media” or “safe” for examples of active licenses. more AZ info here.”
California
Said Drew, I found a business listing for MediaSentry in California. You should check it out here: http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/corpdata/ShowAllList?QueryCorpNumber=C2749889 It is an interesting listing in that they were listed but current status is forfeited …
Connecticut
“Add Connecticut to the list - see Public Act 04-192,” says another post on Beckerman’s site. ‘ … no record I can find …’
North Carolina
According to the North Carolina Secretary of State’s office, MediaSentry isn’t licensed to investigate in that state, Cecil told us.
Ohio
“Looking at the Ohio Homeland Security webpage, the Private Investigation and Security Services Commission has an online searchable database for licensed private investigators,” said Bill, continuing, “The page is http://www.dps.state.oh.us/ALRS/alrshomepage.aspx, while the PISSC page is : http://www.homelandsecurity.ohio.gov/pissc.htm. I plugged in MediaSentry, SafeNet, inserting spaces, dashes, etc, etc. and there is no record I can find. This doesn’t mean they haven’t secured licensure under another name or a misspelling or something of that sort, but it’s certainly a data point.”
Tennessee
“They may not be legally operating in Tennessee, either,” says Alex, wondering, “Do they have to be licensed as private investigators? If so, they are not listed with our Department of Commerce and Insurance, who has a complete list of licensed private investigators in our state. http://licsrch.state.tn.us/default.aspx”
Utah
“I checked with the UCC in Utah and this is the reply I received,” says Tanna:
I’m not sure if I understand your question… But there is no entity with the name MediaSentry in our database as a registered business in Utah. I hope that helps!”
So, “Looks like you might as well add Utah to the list of states they are not supposed to be operating in.”
Virginia
“In Virginia, it appears that the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) is responsible for licensing private investigators,” posts by davide marney on Slashdot going on:
“They provide a Private Security Services Business Directory Search form at http://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/ps/directory/businessSearch.cfm [virginia.gov]. In my search, I could not find ‘Media Sentry’ anywhere in their database.
“According to the Private Investigators Association of Virginia (http://www.piava.org/directory_info.shtml [piava.org] ), Consumers should always:
1. Ask for the company’s DCJS license number or request a copy of the DCJS license.
2. Verify the validity of a DCJS license for their own protection.
3. Be provided with a written agreement that includes scope and cost of services.
4. Report possible unlicensed activity to DCJS. Anonymous complaints are accepted.
5. Contact the DCJS to obtain complaint information @ http://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/privatesecurity [virginia.gov]
“However, I do not know if Media Sentry has operated in Virginia. If someone can show me that they have done so, I will be more than happy to issue a complaint.”
Pat confirmed the Virginia government site.
So —- have you checked your state yet?
Meanwhile Ray Beckerman has a few ideas for other lawyers whose clients have similarly been accused of illegal distribution with MediaSentry evidence cited.
Every lawyer representing victims of RIAA lawsuits should:
- Thoroughly challenge the veracity of MediaSentry’s doctored, flawed evidence
- Take the deposition of MediaSentry and of the RIAA’s expert
- Have a technical consultant review and analyze the material
- Thoroughly explore the illegality of MediaSentry’s business
- Thoroughly research all possible defenses and counterclaims arising from it.
Good points of departure would be the papers in UMG v Lindor, where these issues are being explored, he adds.
Stay tuned.
Jon Newton - p2pnet
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March 25th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Checked Washington State’s website, could not find any licenses for ‘MediaSentry’, either business or PI.
March 25th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
this is the problem.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:10 am
I was under the impression that the information these investigators were finding was PUBLIC. If you are sharing using a p2p network, you’re opening ur shared folder up to the entire world, including an investigator that may download songs from you, record your IP address, etc. Again, ALL information you are choosing to share as a music pirate. Seems like yet another excuse to legalize music theft.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Add Pennsylvania to the list. According to the Pennsylvania Private Detective Act of 1953 (http://www.pali.org/papdact.htm) investigators need to have an office in-state to be licensed, which Safenet does not. The penalty for unlawful investigation is a third degree misdemeanor.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Huh?
You aren’t allowed to be an investigator without a license in most places, because any work connected with the legal system tends to have some kind of regulation, you know, just so it’s nice and official and stuff and there is some accountability.
I don’t think any sensible judge would be a happy chap accepting investigatory information gathered by an unlicensed investigator. You know, the legal system rakes in these investigator license fees to help pay for, umm, the legal system (hint: the judges wages)
If you think MediaSentry ‘investigations’ stop at reading the easily gathered IP’s of filesharers, you are wrong. The leaked emails prove they do far more dirty, seedy stuff, pun intended.
The work they carry out is not only an affront to the legal system where an investigatory license is not optional, it is also entrapment of YOU and basic hacking of YOUR computer that no doubt stretches further than just checking your shared folder because, hey, they aren’t regulated and can get away with things even the police would require a warrant to execute.
March 26th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
MediaSentry is not licenced in Missouri for “private investigation”.
Here’s an interesting page which lists all the motions files by the RIAA and what states they’re in:
http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/2007/01/index-of-litigation-documents.html
March 26th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
From Ray Beckerman’s Recording Industry vs The People >
“I am a resident of Washington state, and we happen to be blessed with a very useful state website. I have done some very extensive searches for PI licenses and any general business licenses in the name of “MediaSentry” and several variants. I found lots of business with either ‘Media’ or ‘Sentry’ in their names, but no entries at all for MediaSentry. They appear to not even be licensed to conduct business here in Washington (not like we are their home state anyway), much less private investigating.”
Thanks and cheers!
March 28th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
according to https://www.idfpr.com/dpr/licenselookup/default.asp which is supposed to be the site for all accreditations(sp) of the state of Illinois, I don’t see anything under any of the detective categories for media sentry.
March 30th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Not licensed in Minnesota either. Looks like Jammie Thomas may have a better shot at her appeal :).