p2pnet news | RIAA News:- Massachusetts state police have ordered MediaSentry, the unlicensed ‘investigator’ for Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG’s RIAA, to cease and desist, according to court papers filed by a Boston University student who’s asking the court to to quash an RIAA subpoena, p2pnet posted in February, continuing >>>

MediaSentry perpetrates ’spoofing,’ a seedy practice used to try to trick people into downloading fake files, or to get information they later hope to use in P2P filesharing lawsuits,.as one of its special activities on behalf of the RIAA.

One of the first, if not the first, people to show MediaSentry in its true light was disabled Oregon mother Tanya Andersen who, with her lawyer, Lory Lybeck, sent RIAA attorneys scuttling off, their tails between their legs.

Now, below, thanks to Recording Industry vs The People, is a transcript of the official Massachusetts state police document sent to Chris Steven Fedde by sergeant Chester Bishop of the force’s certification unit >>>

An investigation by this office has revealed that you advertising and operating a Private Detective company under the title of “SafeNet, Inc.” and “MediaSentry”. A review of our records, indicates that you are not licensed to conduct investigations in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under this business name.

This is an official cease and desist order. your company is not licensed to advertise or perform the business of Private Investigations in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. you are in violation of MGL Chapter 147, Sections 22 and 23. If further enquiries proved that you are currently operating advertising without a licence complaints were violations of this statute would be forthcoming.

Specifically, MGL Chapter 147, Section 23 states that “No persons shall engage in, advertise or hold himself out as being engaged in, nor solicit private detective business or the business of watch, guard or control agency, notwithstanding the name or title used in describing such business, unless licensed for such purpose as provided in section twenty five”. Section 23 Also states, ” whoever violate any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than two hundred for more than one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

Has MediaSentry Ceased and Desisted in Massachusetts?

“As far as I know, they have,” a state certification officer told p2pnet.

It’d be equally interesting to know if other states, in which MediaSentry and its owner, SafeNet, are also operating illegally, have similarly forced MediaSentry to shut down their ‘investigation’ activities.

Is the company running an illegal PI operation in your state?

Below is an incomplete list:

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.

[NOTE: A couple of readers sent me details  about their states, unfortunately, the problem with my email application (now fixed) meant the data were irretrievably lost. If  you were one of the people who contacted me, please resend to p2pnet @ shaw dot ca and I’ll make sure your information is included in the next appropriate post. Same with new info.]

Cheers! And thanks, and definitely stay tuned.

Jon Newton - p2pnet

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 at 12:12 pm and is filed under RIAA News, P2P. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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