Violating copyright carries penalties at UD

10 a.m., Oct. 28, 2005--The University’s Code of the Web spells out for students the meaning of copyright and lets them know that there are consequences for downloading or distributing copyrighted music, movies and software.

In September, 30 student computers were disconnected from the campus network for copyright violations, and the students were referred to the Office of Judicial Affairs.

According to Karl Hassler, associate director of IT/Network and Systems Services, “Information Technologies does not tolerate P2P (peer-to-peer) file swapping of copyrighted works. We've always treated the matter seriously and worked hard to ensure that our students know that it is illegal.”

”There are no more excuses,” Hassler said. “In August, IT sent an e-mail to every student and put a flyer in each residence hall room to let them know that copyright infringement cases would be referred to the University's student judicial system."

If the University receives a “Notice of Claimed Infringement” from a copyright owner or agent about a student’s internet activity, here’s what happens:

The University immediately disables the residence hall port, wireless access, or dial-up capability, depending upon how the student connects to the Internet. This means that the student cannot use his or her own computer on the University’s network to reach any web site--internal or external. The student can, however, still reach the network from a public computing site or a friend’s computer;
A “Copyright Violation Notice,” including a copy of the infringement complaint, is sent to the student’s University e-mail account. The notice says that access has been turned off and will remain so until the matter is resolved;
The student must remove all illegally obtained copyrighted materials (movies, music and software) from the computer;
He or she must schedule an appointment to have the computer examined by IT/User Services at a cost of $70 for first-time service and $100 for any subsequent service;
If the student does not schedule an appointment, network access remains off indefinitely;
The case is referred to the Office of Judicial Affairs. The student has five days to appear for a pre-hearing. If the student does not appear, he or she is considered to have pleaded guilty. Sanctions start at disciplinary probation and a minimum 30-day suspension of computers the student owns from the University network; and
At the end of the sanction period, the student’s network access will be re-enabled.

Those who violate copyright laws also need to be aware that lawsuits can be brought against them by the copyright owners and that they can be liable for damages up to $30,000 per item (song, movie, etc.) and up to $150,000 plus imprisonment if the infringement is willful.

There are sites where people can legally download music and movies. A list can be found at [www.udel.edu/codeoftheweb/resources/freemusic.html].

Additional web resources:

Code of the Web [www.udel.edu/codeoftheweb];
Violating Copyright is Illegal--Period [www.udel.edu/security/copyright_abuse.htm]; and
Copyright Resource Links [www.udel.edu/codeoftheweb/resources/copyright.html].

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