The University of Delaware has informed the campus community that it intends to comply with any subpoena requests it might receive from the Motion Picture Association of America, which announced recently that it will seek out and prosecute individuals who illegally download and share copyright materials over the Internet.

The Motion Picture Association of America is following the lead of the Recording Industry Association of America, which in 2003 actively went after copyright violators found to be illegally downloading and sharing digital music files.

Under United States copyright law, lawyers representing the motion picture and recording industries are issuing subpoenas to Internet service providers, including universities, seeking the names and addresses of those suspected of violating federal copyright law.

UD sent an e-mail message to students, putting them on notice that the institution intends to comply with legal requirements to disclose information to industry representatives.

Those found guilty of copyright violations face penalties ranging from $750 to $150,000 per downloaded file, as well as sanctions by the University’s Office of Judicial Affairs.

For more information, see UD’s web site [http://www.udel.edu/security]. u