What is
illegal file sharing?
In recent years there has been
quite a bit about illegal downloading or sharing of music and
videos. If you are using software like Limewire, KaZaA, or
BitTorrent you are most likely downloading copyrighted material
illegally. This is both a violation of university copyright
policy, the university computer acceptable use policy and it
could leave you open to prosecution or a lawsuit. SU makes has
technology in place to make P2P file sharing difficult,
but not impossible. Some file sharing, like information in the
public domain, most podcasts, personally developed MP3 or video
files.
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) software is not
illegal. Using the products to download any copyrighted material
without the expressed permission of the owner is illegal.
How can
I get caught?
The Recording Industry Association (RIAA)
of America and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
began scanning for audio and video traffic on the internet in
2003. If your computer is detected "serving" illegal audio or
video the RIAA and MPAA can request that the university assist
them in identifying the computer used to download or upload the
questionable content. The university is obligated to do so.
How does
SU get notified and what happens?
SU receives two
different types of notices, "take down" and
"preservation". In an average month,
SU receives about
5-10 notices
a month. A take down notice is a
communication that asks the
university to notify an individual to
stop sharing copyrighted materials.
Information Technology
forwards these notices to the individuals whose
computers are involved and asks them to
discontinue the infringing activity. Most people
comply promptly. A preservation notice alerts
the university to a
forthcoming subpoena that may be served. The
subpoena asks the university
to provide identifying information about a user
of our network who has infringed copyrighted
materials. Sometimes, following the preservation
notice and prior to the subpoena, an early
settlement letter is sent to the
university from the
copyright holder asking that it be forwarded to
the individual infringing on the copyright. This
allows the individual to work with the copyright
holder to resolve the dispute before going
through the legal system. In
some cases settlements have been as much as
$3000.
Downloading music or video
illegally can carry fines from $750 to $150,000
per song or film. In one recent
case, a student was fine over $650,000 for
downloading 30 songs.
Will the
university do anything if I am caught?
Possibly.
Violating copyright law is a serious offense. If
you use a university computer, or even
your own computer on campus, you have violated
the university computer acceptable use policy.
This will be referred to the Vice President of
student affairs.
How can I
obtain digital music and movie
files legally?
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