The notice clearly states that Comcast has been asked by the copyright owner to tell the individual of their actions and demand that the downloaded file(s) be immediately removed. In addition, the individual must write a return letter, which consists of an explanation and/or an apology.

Well, this guy misread the letter, then some other moron submitted it to Slashdot without reading it and, as often happens, the person who actually took the time to read the letter and pointed out the mistake didn’t get their post in until way down in the comments.

Of course, I made the same mistake when I first got a similar letter (s/Comcast/Cox/g; s/MGM/Warner/g; s/Walking Tall/Matchstick Men/g) a couple months ago. No, you’re not forced to write an apology. The confusing section about writing a response only applies if they made a mistake and the file that you are sharing isn’t really the movie they think it is. You can write them and let them know that they made a mistake so that you can continue sharing the file.

I just modded down the moron who said “I don’t remember anything about being guilty until proven innocent.” Someone did point out the fallacy in this guy’s claim, but this troll still got modded +5 Insightful. Comcast != US court they can terminate your service if they feel like it. If Comcast had actually forced a written apology, or tried to impose a fine or something this might be a reasonable response.

Now, some may claim that Comcast/Cox/etc. shouldn’t just go along with the MPAA like this. Of course if they didn’t, then the MPAA would be forced to file lawsuits and subpoena the ISP for the information anyways. As it is, you get off with a warning and they don’t piss off everyone like the RIAA did. I guess the ISPs don’t have to go through the legal hassle either. So, it’s not such a bad idea if you ask me.