Copyright
VIOLATIONS OF COPYRIGHT LAW On a daily basis, UWSP receives notices that computers on our network are sharing movies and music without the permission of the copyright holder. These notices come to our network manager from organizations that represent the artists and copyright holders. When UWSP receives such a notice, staff in Information Technology look up the network address and disconnect the computer from the network. Once the identity of the individual is known, they are notified that they must remove the infringing material from their computer and inform Information Technology of its removal before network access will be reinstated. We take these actions because:
When we notify faculty, staff or students that they must stop sharing copyrighted music, movies, games or software, we often hear that they do not know that they are engaging in an illegal activity or that their computer has been configured to share files with other computers. Ignorance of the law or the manner in which your computer is configured will not, however, be a defense if you are caught by the authorities. For that reason, it is very important that everyone in our campus community read and understand the information contained in this notice. When people engage in the illegal sharing of music, movie, software or games they can be charged under federal law. Each criminal offense has a minimum fine of $30,000 per file and a potential jail sentence. We know of instances where students at other institutions who engaged in an illegal distribution piracy ring received multiyear prison sentences or fines from $12,000 to $30,000. It is important that all members of our campus community be aware that we are receiving considerably more notices than we have in the past. Copyright owners have stated that they are targeting university and college networks since this is where the highest amount of this type of activity is taking place. Faculty, staff and students who engage in massive file sharing are at the highest risk of being identified by both federal investigators and copyright owners. It is true that some copyright holders give official permission to download MP3 files. It is also true that some MP3 files are copyright free, and some MP3 files can be legally obtained through subscription services. However, most MP3 files and video files that are shared do not fall into any of these categories. Just because a song is listed as available on sites like KaZaA, does not mean the copyright holder has given KaZaA permission to distribute this song. In fact, applications like KaZaA were developed specifically to make it difficult for copyright owners to pursue their rights; that is why copyright holders target the individuals who are sharing the music, rather than KaZaA, itself. US Copyright Law allows you to create MP3s only for the songs to which you already have rights or if you have acquired the right to do so from the copyright holder. This usually means you purchased the CD or tape or you acquired the right through a download permitted by the copyright holder. US Copyright Law allows you to make a copy of this purchased file only for your personal use. Personal use does not mean that you can give a copy to other people, or sell a copy of it. These same guidelines apply to movie/video sharing. Many faculty, staff and students also do not know that when you use popular Peer-to-Peer file sharing applications, such as KaZaA, that you have opened up your computer to worldwide users of the Internet. Not only does this allow your computer to share your music and video files, it also makes your computer more susceptible to worms and viruses. For additional information about copyright law, see UWSP’s Copyright Guide INTERNET BANDWIDTH USE & COST UWSP is billed annually by WiscNet, our Internet Service Provider (ISP). Our WiscNet bandwidth usage and bill have increased significantly due to the downloading of music, video and software files. To control costs, we will be implementing methods to control the amount of bandwidth used on-campus. Our goal is to manage the cost of our Internet service as well as make necessary bandwidth available for the core mission of UWSP – teaching and learning. NETWORK POLICY Our campus Network Policy governs your use of UWSP network services. Our current policy expressly prohibits the excessive use of bandwidth by any single network user and the violation of copyright law. You can be view our Network Policy on this web page:
It is your responsibility to know this policy and abide by it. QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS Any UWSP community member with questions about the University's policies and procedures on these matters should feel free to contact:
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