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Content [STC] <content@surfthechannel.com> 03 December 2010 10:43 Rosenthal, Steven (HBO) (Steven.Rosenthal@hbo.com) Nick Brett (nick@brettwilsonllp.co.uk) SurfTheChannel Campaign

DearMrRosenthal, WerefertoyourcurrenttakedowncampaignthatyouragentBayTSPisconductingonyourbehalf. Asyouknowsince30August2008youhavebeensigning,onpenaltyofperjury,noticesthatrequestremovalof sometimeshundredsoflinksfromtheSTCwebsiteatatime.Thesenoticeswereoriginallydripfedbyyouragent sothatratherthanamasterlistoflinksbeingremovedinonegoyouragentsentseveralnoticeseachday,everyday oftheweek.Thispracticehascontinueduptoandincludingtoday.Therehas,however,beenmoreofaneffortby youragenttoconsolidatenoticesafterwerepeatedlyrequesteddisclosureofthemasterlistoflinksthatwewere sureexistedbutthatyoudeniedanyexistenceof. WehavebeenalarmedatthewayinwhichlinksthatwereremovedforcertainTVepisodeshavebeenreplacedso quicklywithnewlinksforthesameepisodes.Soalarmedinfactthatweknewthatthiswasnotatruereflectionof thewayourwebsitewasusuallyusedbyourusers.Wedecidedtosetupmonitoringofyournoticesandrecord variousinformationaboutthepatternsofyourrequestsandtheuserspostingthenewfreshlinksthatyouwould thensendarequestforadayortwolater.Wehaverecordedeverybitofinformationthereistogatheraboutthe usersresponsibleforpostingtheselinksandwearetrulyshockedatwhatwehavediscovered. ItisouropinionthatHBO,BayTSPand/oritsagentshavebeenconductingacampaignagainsttheSTCwebsitewhich involvesthepostingofbothfakeandinfringinglinksintoitsdatabaseinanattempttogivethefalseimpression thatlinksthatareremovedfromthedatabasearealmostimmediatelyreplaced.Wehavealsodiscoveredthatlarge amountsofthelinksthatarebeingpostedbytheseusers,andsubsequentlybeingrequestedforremovalbyHBO throughBayTSP,leadtopagesonMegavideowhereavideohasneverexisted,thisisdenotedbyamessagethat statesThisvideoisunavailable.ItshouldbenotedthatifthevideoonMegavideohadbeenpublishedandthen removedastheresultofatakedownrequestthemessagewouldreadThisvideohasbeenremovedfor infringement.Thisbegsthequestionwhyyouareswearingonpenaltyofperjurythatyouhavegoodfaiththatthe linksyouarerequestingforremovalfromSTCareinfringingwhentheyareclearly,atleastinsomepart,nothingof thesort. TherelativelysmallamountofuserswhoareresponsibleforattackingtheSTCwebsiteinthiswayareclearly automatedprogramsandscriptscontrolledbyanentitywhohasspecificallyprogrammedthesoftwaretoactinthis way.ThistechnologyandcapabilityissomethingthatBayTSP,AiplexSoftware,PeerMediaTechnologiesandother AntiPiracycompanieswhoworkonbehalfoftheMPAAandotherRightsHoldersarewellknownfor.Armedwith thisinformationwehavecrossreferencedvariousintelligence,investigatedtactics,addressesandpersonnelused bythesecompaniesandarenowconfidentinourposition. Werecentlyrespondedtoyourtakedownemailsbyrequestingthatyouswear,onpenaltyofperjury,inanyfurther notices,thatthelinksyouhaverequestedforremovalhavenotbeenplacedtherebyHBOoritsagentssuchas BayTSP,AiplexSoftware,PeerMediaTechnologiesorotherentitiesactingonitsbehalf.Whileyourespondedwith modifiednotices(eventually)youomittedandcontinuetoomitthewordsorotherentitiesactingonitsbehalf. WealsonotethatyoucontinuetousethephraseIcanconfirmthatIamunawareasopposedtoIcanconfirm thatHBOisunawareaswehaverequested.Weareassumingfromnowonthatwheneveryouusethisphraseyou areactuallysayingthatHBOisunawareoflinksbeingpostedonSTCbyitselforitsagents.Pleasecorrectusifweare mistaken.

Ifitisyourpositionthatyoudonothaveanyknowledgeofwhatweallegethenweurgeyoutoconductatopdown investigationofyouragentsandassociates.Wereservetherighttousetheconsiderableinformationwehave discoveredinanycivilorcriminalproceedings. Asafinalnotewewishtoemphasisethatwewillstillactontakedownnoticesthatyouoryouragentssend.We havecopiedourlegaladvisorsintothiscorrespondence. Sincerely, SurfTheChannelLinkRemovalTeam