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Don't risk a copyright violation
2:30 p.m., April 18, 2006--With copyright violations on the rise again at the University, Information Technologies reminds the UD community that downloading copies of copyrighted songs, movies, software or other protected works without permission from the copyright owner or agent is illegal and is a violation of the University's Policy for Responsible Computing. Beyond this, students should be aware of the stiff penalties for violating copyright law by downloading illegal copies of songs, movies, or software. The University does offer students legal ways to obtain music and movies through the RUCKUS and iTunes web sites. Details can be found on the “Legal Options for Downloading Music and Movies at the University of Delaware” web page [www.udel.edu/legaltunes]. Despite these services, some students continue to download illegally. “So many students think their illegal online file sharing is undetectable to the copyright owners, but it's not,” Karl Hassler, associate director of IT/Network and Systems Services, said. “Also, many mistakenly think their P2P (peer-to-peer) applications are configured not to share with others. In either case, users are responsible for what their systems do, and the consequences can be tough.” “Last fall, a Delaware family had a $9,000 judgment entered against them for illegal file swapping,” Hassler said. “I would advise all students to take the time to make sure they know what's going on with their systems and stay away from illegal file sharing. It's just not worth the risk, and it hurts the entertainment industry.” At the University, students who are found to be in violation of copyright laws have their residence hall ports disabled, pay a fee to have their computers examined, receive a minimum sanction of disciplinary probation from the Office of Judicial Affairs and have their computers suspended from the network for a minimum of 30 days. Copyright violations at the University had dropped in November, December and January. However, with the beginning of the spring semester, infringements began to rise with 19 students cited in February and 20 in March. This brings the total number of citations for the academic year to 127. See the “Copyright Infringement Statistics” web page [http://www.udel.edu/security/copyrightstats.html] for updated numbers throughout the year. Information Technologies provides extensive information on protecting computers and avoiding illegal practices on its “Computer Security” site at [http://www.udel.edu/security/]. Pages for Windows and Macintosh computers offer step-by-step guidance for making sure computers are secure. Students need to remember that they are responsible for the security of their computers. They will be held accountable for what their systems do on the network whether they have knowledge of it or not. IT recommends that all users educate themselves about the basic steps to secure their computers. Additional web resources Code of the Web [www.udel.edu/codeoftheweb] Violating Copyright is Illegal--Period [www.udel.edu/security/copyright_abuse.htm] Copyright Resource Links [www.udel.edu/codeoftheweb/resources/copyright.html] |
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