File sharers beware.
That is the new warning that is being sent
across the Internet to everyone that uses peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing programs to swap
or share copyrighted media.
March 05, 2005 (PC Pro News) "The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has launched another barrage of lawsuits against alleged illegal file sharers. The 753 new suits bring the total number of individuals sued in the US to more than 6,500." The announcement stated that the RIAA targeted
users that upload/share copyrighted music files. The RIAA has also
stated that it "chose who to sue by using software that scans users'
publicly available P2P directories and then identified the ISP [Internet service
provider] of each user." The average out of court settlement is said to be $3,000 per defendant. Texas A&M University has been served a total of 16 subpoenas since 2004.
The distribution or file-sharing of copyrighted materials over the internet for which the distributor (any server - including your personal computer) does not have permission may be a violation of a federal copyright law , a law called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 ("DMCA"). Most of the software, games, songs or videos downloaded through file-sharing programs like Morpheus or KaZaa lack
permission of the copyright owner. The programs that are used for downloading files automatically open file-sharing services from your computer. Thus, without your explicit knowledge, by downloading a file-sharing program and subsequent files from the internet, your computer is programmed to share files with the internet community. You may then be in violation of DMCA, even if all you did was download a single song. Violation of the DMCA (the online infringement of copyrighted material -
upload/sharing), can be punished by up to 3 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Repeat offenders can be
imprisoned up to 6 years. Individuals also may be held civilly liable (regardless of whether the activity is for profit) for actual damages or lost profits, or for statutory damages up to $150,000 per infringed copyright.
Even for the average student who is only downloading and sharing a small number of copyrighted files on the Internet without permission of the owner, the odds have increased that they will be identified and legal action will be taken against them by the copyright holder. The unauthorized downloading and sharing of copyrighted materials indeed has its consequences and may be in
violation of both federal law (DMCA ) and TAMU Student Rule 22.2.3. New internet businesses have been formed whose sole function is to search out ISP addresses that appear to be sharing unauthorized copyrighted materials - yes,
they are out to get you, it's their business.
In compliance with DMCA requirements, Texas A&M University must respond to Notices of alleged copyright infringement expeditiously. A student usually finds out about a Notice when they receive an email letter from the Information Technology Issues Management (ITIM) group of Computing and Information
Services. This Notice informs them that a copyright holder has sent TAMU a Notice of alleged infringement identifying the student's IP address (often ResNet). The student is requested to confirm receipt of the Notice and implement all actions specified in the Notice and take all appropriate actions. If the student ignores the request, then other actions may ensue.
These actions may include disabling the network connection and a required
hearing before Student Judicial Services (SJS). SJS may impose sanctions on the student that may range from a letter of reprimand to expulsion from the University.
What can you do about it? Simple, don't download copyrighted material for which
you do not have the owner's permission. Again, the unauthorized downloading and
sharing of copyrighted material is a violation of both federal law (DMCA ) and TAMU Student Rule 22.2.3
. Moreover, if you have loaded file-sharing programs on your computer, configure the program(s) so that files are not shared over the internet without your knowledge (instructions on how to DISABLE
the file-sharing ability of your client can be found at the following URL - http://infosec.tamu.edu/disable_filesharing.html).
A practical reason to curtail file-sharing is that it consumes a lot of bandwidth. It can slow campus network response time, especially in the residence halls.
For additional information on this subject, visit the following links:
http://www.chillingeffects.org/johndoe/faq.cgi?print=yes
http://www.muddlawoffices.com/laws/RIAA/RIAA.htm
If there are any questions or concerns, please contact
ITIM at itim@tamu.edu or 845-9254.