AMC Puts ‘Fear The Walking Dead’ Pirates On Notice

AMC has put pirates of Fear The Walking Dead on notice as they send out DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) notices to those who have illegally downloaded episodes of their latest zombie apocalypse series. These notices are asking users to “remove or delete all unauthorized copies” from their possession in a bid to curb illegal distribution.

According to Torrent Freak, these notices have been sent out via AMC’s anti-piracy partner MarkMonitor and are targeting ISP addresses who have downloaded copies of Fear The Walking Dead. So far these DMCA notices have only been sent to U.S. ISPs, but, considering how many people overseas also illegally download content, it seems likely AMC will try to target this audience as well. Although, it is unclear just how much access AMC has to overseas ISPs.

Torrent Freak has pointed out that the DMCA notices from AMC are actually just a warning so far since the license holder does not actually know the identity of the users, so it is not expected charges will be laid against people illegally downloading Fear The Walking Dead — yet. AMC issued the following statement in the DMCA notices in regards to why they are issuing the warnings.

“AMC believes that subscribers have a right to know when their Internet accounts are being used for content theft, or if they are otherwise unwittingly downloading or distributing files that are subject to copyright protection.”

AMC has also pointed out the dangers of downloading illegal content from users and sites you don’t know on the internet, citing a consumer alert by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as to the dangers of downloading illegal content. You can view the consumer alert here. “Online content theft can expose a family’s home network and the computers connected to it to dangerous viruses, spyware and identity theft,” it points out.

While the warning notices from AMC so not yet carry a legal weight, it is known to be a deterrent to some people who illegally download content. others, on the other hand, will simply opt to hide their ISP IP-address and carry on downloading episodes of TV shows such as Fear The Walking Dead.

Fear The Walking Dead premiered to record audiences on August 23, 2015. More than 10 million people watched Episode 1 of Fear The Walking Dead, making it the most watched pilot episode of a series on cable so far.

Fear The Walking Dead returns to AMC on Sunday September 13, 2015.

[Image credit: AMC]