ZomCoder wrote:
... or maybe they even lurk on this site! YIKES!...jk )
They don't, at least from any IP address that I'm aware of as being that within NoA or NCoLtd's netblocks. On the other hand, there are anti-piracy/monitoring firms hired by top dogs such as Nintendo who often visit sites hosted here. I only review logs when I have reason to.
To date (1992-2009), we've only had 1 incident and it happened a few years ago (when we were with another co-location provider). Story time... again.
The company Ranger Online contacted our co-location provider (rather than us directly -- I'm still disappointed about that, since our contact details for our netblock were available via WHOIS) with a takedown notice for a very specific file on one of our sites, citing copyright violation. Our provider immediately sent the mail to me and required that it be addressed within 48 hours else risk having our network port shut off (justified, and also within contractual obligations).
The file in question was a 100% homebrewn ROM image. I can't remember what console it was for, but I'm fairly certain either the 2600 or the NES.
I personally responded to Ranger stating that we'd remove the file once we were told what the violation was. The purported violation was a image/graphic/logo used within the file (a ZIP that contained a ROM image). We complied, naturally, and I personally let the site owner know as well. He didn't have any problems with it, but was equally surprised. We both spent some time digging around the ROM image to see if we could figure out what the violation was. We never got confirmation of it, but based on deductive reasoning, the violation was probably an in-ROM animation of Pac-Man... that means Namco. :-)
Owners/maintainers of numerous hosted sites here have contacted me over the years about the legality of their content, specifically with regards to romhacks (usually Japanese-English translations). The rule of thumb is that the safest method is to put up IPS patches, and
never the full ROM image. To date we've never had a single takedown notice for any IPS patches, including those within the vast database which The Whirlpool/Donut hosted for many years.
It's possible a company could cite copyright infringement even off of an IPS (particularly if the patch is very large and contains a very long, linear sequence of bytes that match that of the original ROM) but it's unlikely. And if someone did go that far, we'd comply with what they ask as long as a justified reason was provided -- I have no interest in going to court (I have done so, and it is incredibly stressful no matter if you're the plaintiff or defendant -- that's stress which I don't need, not to mention would probably give me another nervous breakdown...)