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Additional
Information
PLANNING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY |
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Warning to University Computer Users Concerning
Downloading and Broadcasting of Music and Video Files
All individuals using Morgan State University computing resources are subject to its Computer Use Policy (posted on the MSU website) as well as to any pertinent government laws. While the sharing of personal files among computer users is acceptable and legal, this is not the case when such materials are protected by copyright and permission has not been received for them to be shared. Unauthorized downloading or broadcasting of copyrighted material, including music and video files, are prohibited by University policy as well by federal law.
Individuals who violate the University's policy on the sharing of copyrighted materials are subject to the loss of their computing and networking privileges. University employees involved in such activities are subject to employment sanctions as well.
The motion picture and music recording industries are becoming increasingly aggressive in identifying violators. The technology they employ allows them to be quite specific about the copyrighted work that is being sent or received and the identity of violators. The University has received a number of notices concerning alleged violations. Typically, these notices include the name of the video or music file in question, the exact time and date that the file transfer occurred, the file size, the network and the protocol used, and the IP address, port, and user name of the violator. With this type of information, these groups have been able to take legal action against quite a number of individuals, including a significant number of college students in the Baltimore-Washington area. University computer users are referred to industry association sites to learn about copyright infringement issues and the actions that are being taken by these associations to enforce copyright protections (http://www.riaa.com/issues/piracy/default.asp and/or http://www.mpaa.org/anti-piracy ).
In addition to the potential disciplinary and legal consequences of illegal file sharing, such practices also can have other effects. For example, some of the file-sharing software adds spy-ware or other information-gathering software to the systems of users without their knowledge. Such software may record your computer use, allow others to access your computer and its files, and/or deliver unsolicited files to your computer. The widespread use of file-sharing software also can slow data transmission on the campus computing network and interfere with legitimate operations.
If you have peer-to-peer software on your computer, you should immediately disable it. The University of Chicago has developed a web site that provides links to sites to assist individuals in disabling such software ( http://security.uchicago.edu/peer-to-peer/no_fileshare.shtml ).
If you wish to report a copyright violation, please contact the office of the Vice President for Planning and Information Technology (443.885.3372). E-mail is the preferred method for reporting violations ( violations@moac.morgan.edu ). This office is the agent designated under the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act (PL 105-304).