A very interesting read for you ZPer’s. Some excerpts:
“The distribution of copyrighted materials over the Internet for which the distributor (any server — including your computer) does not have permission can be violation of federal criminal law, a law called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (“DMCA”). Most of the music, games or videos downloaded through file-sharing programs like Morpheus or KaZaa lack permission of the copyright owner. Moreover, those very programs that enable you or that you use to download programs automatically open file-sharing services from your computer. Thus, without your knowing it explicitly, by downloading the program and the files, your computer is programmed to share it back out into the international Internet community. You are then therefore liable to be in violation of the DMCA, even if all you did was download a single song. Each criminal offense carries with it a minimum fine of $30,000 and a potential jail sentence.”
“For the average student who is downloading and serving copyrighted files without permission of the owner on the Internet the odds that they will be identified, arrested and sent to federal prison are probably quite small. The individual mentioned above had focused tremendous resources in a coordinated effort to serve copyrighted materials. The recreational downloading of copyrighted materials is not without its consequences, however. It is a violation of both federal law and university policy. And it is a law enforced not only by federal investigators, but also by the owners of copyrighted materials. Moreover, there is some smaller number of students who do intentionally engage in this volume of activity on the Cornell network; they should know that they are at a greater risk for federal prosecution of copyright violations.”
What can you do about it? Simple, don’t download copyrighted material for which you do not have the owner’s permission. Moreover, if you have file-sharing programs on your computer, set the program such that it no longer serves materials out from your computer. It is a good idea to curtail serving files out for another reason as well. File serving consumes a lot of bandwidth. Network operators with responsibilities to maintain a safe and functional network will check and regulate for excessive volumes (they do not monitor content), and there are protocols for excessive use as well. Finally, if you don’t like or disagree with the law, learn more about and take a stand on it in the arena of national politics. With implications for free speech and academic inquiry, it might just become the political issue of your generation.”
OK -
Using P2P to recieve files = bad
Using P2P to share with others = bad
WHY DON’T THEY JUST BAN P2P!!! COMMUNISTS!!!
And to think that significant advances in internet technology were made by college students in the pursuit of free information and knowledge….
Read the DMCA policy given to students directly from Cornell University’s website
Related
- Penn State Students Lose Internet Access Due to Filesharing
- File-Sharing Students Say The Ads Made Them Do It
- File-swapping among college students
- College Allows File-Sharing for Students Who Ace Copyright Law Test
- Penn students find expectations of legal downloading unrealistic
