The Copyright Alert System (CAS), designed to provide notices to consumers if their ISP suspects any illegal downloading, will start rolling out "in the coming weeks."

Originally announced last year, the CAS will be used to deliver infringement notices from content owners to ISP users that attempt to illegally download copyrighted material. Initial notices are designed to be purely informational, however Internet service providers will take additional action on repeated offenders.

The punishment for those who ignore the initial notices and refuse to change their behavior will vary based on individual ISPs. Measures will range from requiring the subscriber to review "educational material" to meddling with data speeds. The CAS does not include service cancellations, but ISPs can decide to terminate subscriptions on their own terms.

"Contrary to many erroneous reports, this is not a 'six-strikes-and-you're-out' system that would result in termination. There's no 'strikeout' in this program," said the Center for Copyright Information (CCI).

Each participating ISP should start rolling out its version of the CAS within the next two months, announced the organization. An exact launch date will be up to the ISPs involved. Customers who want to request an independent review of their network behavior can do so for a $35 billing fee.

Many ISPs already deliver warnings to users if they detect any suspect behavior, but the CAS aims to provide a standardized approach that all ISPs will use.

"We understand that it is not always clear on the Web what is legal and what is not," CCI explained, noting that it plans to update its Web site soon with information about "legitimate services to access the content they want."

The CCI also noted that it hired tech expert Stroz Friedberg to review the MarkMonitor system used to detect illegal downloading. According to the organization, Friedberg has completed the initial review of the system's methodologies and found that MarkMonitor is accurate and works properly.

Friedberg will also review how ISPs match the IP addresses flagged with illegal downloads to its subscriber accounts. Those reviews will reportedly be completed before each ISP starts sending alerts under the CAS.

ISPs will be notified of the illegal downloading via a notice from a copyright holder or its representative. To effectively deploy the alert system, the CCI has teamed up with major ISPs including AT&T, Comcast, Cablevision, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon.

"We've been working hard behind the scenes to make sure that the system is thorough and consumer friendly," said the CCI. "We think we've achieved that goal, and we're ready to begin the next phase."