How To Frame a Printer For Copyright Infringement

An anonymous reader writes "Have you ever wondered what it takes to get 'caught' for copyright infringement on the Internet? Surprisingly, actual infringement is not required. The New York Times reports that researchers from the computer science department at the University of Washington have just released a study that examines how enforcement agencies monitor P2P networks and what it takes to receive a complaint today. Without downloading or sharing a single file, their study attracted more than 400 copyright infringement complaints. Even more disturbing is their discovery that illegal P2P participation can be easily spoofed; the researchers managed to frame innocent desktop machines and even several university printers, all of which received bogus complaints."

Comments

Re:Simply send this message to the printer:

[Hairy Heron]

And in walks Buzz Killington.

Re:Simply send this message to the printer:

[whoever57]

Paper Cartridge empty, Load Letter Sized Paper.

I believe it is: "Paper Cartridge, Load Letter Sized Paper". It does not necessarily mean that the paper cartridge is empty, since one gets this message if the paper cartridge is loaded with A4 sized paper and one sends a command to print on US-Letter sized paper.