What does Comcast do about Copyright Infringement?

[Vitality]

I've looked all over the internet and I couldn't find a solid answer.

Over the past few months, I've received 4 emails from Comcast telling me that I've been violating copyright by torrenting things. I use BitTorrent and I don't have a VPN so I can understand how I was caught. I also understand that it wasn't Comcast who caught me, but the third-party company.

What I don't understand is what Comcast actually does about this. I know they probably don't care, but will they take action besides sending me warnings? Will they throttle my connection? Should I buy a VPN just to be safe?

[bcnu]

Under the CAS agreements, they can and will "throttle" your connection. If you're in an area that is not under PUC regulation (i.e., you have competitive internet providers), they can legally "shut you off", if your use violates their "terms of service". If you're in a monopoly area, different rules may apply, such as not being able to shut you off as long as you pay the bills.

As you note, they aren't the copyright owners and really have no business reason to stop paying customers from doing anything they want.

That would be like someone in a remote city asking your phone company to curtail your service because you call too many of their customers. They probably couldn't care less.

[Bill C]

Typically it is the owner of the copyright (or the owner's agent) who has detected your wrong-doing. They don't know who you are, but they can tell you are coming from a Comcast network and send notice to Comcast, along with your IP, to have them issue you a cease order. If you continue and the owner decides to pursue the matter, they will most likely subpoena your identity from Comcast and then sue you in court. It happened with music.

Since Comcast is a huge holder of copyrighted material (they own NBC, Universal Studios, etc), it may be them. In any case, since it is in their best interests, Comcast will will cooperate when it comes to stopping piracy.