Many
students engage in file sharing on Willamette's
campus network, either by using peer-to-peer file
sharing utilities (such as Kazaa, Morpheus, iMesh,
etc, etc.), or by storing files in a "shared
folder" on a computer hard drive, making
them available for download by other users on
the campus network. A majority of the files being
shared (software, music, and movies) contain copyrighted
material which was used without the permission
of the copyright holder. Downloading, possessing,
using, or sharing (distributing) any copyrighted
material, electronic or otherwise, without the
prior written consent of the copyright holder
is against federal law (title 17, U.S. Code).
A
lot of students are already aware that when they
share files that contain copyrighted material,
they are engaging in a criminal activity. Yet
most students continue to do it anyway. Afterall,
there's no real consequences for sharing copyrighted
material, right?
Wrong.
Violators of copyright law could be subject to
felony charges in state or federal court, and
may also be sued by the copyright holder in civil
court. Such civil suits could subject the violator
to liability for infringement with damages up
to $100,000 per work.
But
who cares about the consequences... no one ever
gets caught for illegal file sharing, right?
Wrong
again. Law enforcement agencies, the Recording
Industry Association of America (RIAA), and other
copyright holders of digital media are actively
monitoring the Internet for users who are actively
distributing copyrighted material. The recording,
film and software industries have recently become
very aggressive in their active pursuit of copyright
infringement. They have spent millions of dollars,
and they have hired hi-tech firms to develop and
maintain software which is able to search the
Internet and identify unauthorized distribution
of their protected titles. This active monitoring
is specifically designed to search for distribution
of materials using the most commonly used software
packages including KaZaA, Gnutella (Morpheus,
LimeWire, Gnucleus, Bearshare), Aimster, iMesh,
as well as many others.
During
the last academic year, Willamette
University received in excess of 15 formal complaints
from legal authorities representing copyright
holders stating that computers on Willamette's
campus network were involved in the unlawful downloading
or distribution of copyrighted materials. WITS
was able to confirm these reports, and each case
was easily traced back to a student computer connected
to the campus network, running one of the common
peer-to-peer file sharing programs. It is clearly
not safe to assume that even the most casual copyright
policy violation will go undetected.
Everyone
at Willamette University must abide by copyright
laws and university policies. By installing and
running peer-to-peer file sharing applications
you are putting yourself at great risk, and unless
you are technically sure your use of such programs
is not a violation of university policy or the
law, it is strongly encouraged that you avoid
their use entirely.
