UCLA Memorandum

Date:

November 18, 2004

 

 

To:

Members of the Campus Community

 

 

From:

Daniel Neuman, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost
Janina Montero, Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs
Joseph Mandel, Vice Chancellor, Legal Affairs
Jim Davis, Associate Vice Chancellor, Information Technology
Christopher Foote, Chair, Information Technology Planning Board

 

 

Re:

File-sharing and copyright infringement

 

We are writing to remind the campus community – students, faculty and staff – of the personal risks involved with illegal file-sharing. It is important that you understand these risks, not only because of the possibility of disciplinary action, but also to protect yourself against criminal prosecution and the initiation of civil litigation by copyright holders. You should know that initiation of legal action by copyright holders is a reality and is becoming more prevalent every day.

Though trading of copyrighted music, movies, games and software over the Internet has become commonplace using file-sharing programs such as eDonkey or BitTorrent, it is often not legal to do so. Most material is copyrighted and obtaining or offering such material in violation of the US copyright law may be punishable with civil and criminal penalties including prison time and monetary damages. (Importantly, there is much legislative activity related to file-sharing at both the state and federal levels. One new law, taking effect in California on January 1, 2005, is a requirement for file-sharers to supply a valid email address to assist copyright holders in identifying alleged infringers.) When copyright holders pursue legal proceedings, there is little the University can to do to protect the alleged copyright infringers.

While some may still believe that “recreational file-sharing” is likely to go unnoticed, this is not the case. Copyright holders are significantly intensifying enforcement using automated scanning software to identify infringements, no matter how small. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) continues to file suits against hundreds of people every month for copyright infringement; settlements paid by university students last year ranged from $3,000 to $17,000. Less than two weeks ago, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) announced it will expand its antipiracy campaign by filing lawsuits in a similar manner, against people who have traded digital copies of movies illegally over the Internet.

UCLA does receive infringement claims about illegal file-sharing. In compliance with the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act and UCLA Policy 964, Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation, UCLA expeditiously takes action when notified of alleged infringing sites located on the campus network. Each incident is referred to the appropriate campus official and, where indicated, disciplinary actions are levied against those who are downloading or offering copyrighted materials without appropriate permission. The Quarantine Approach, sent to all on-campus housing residents, details how this process works in the residence halls and can be found at http://www.resnet.ucla.edu/DMCApolicies.html .

Of course, there are legitimate applications of file-sharing software and networks, and research on such peer-to-peer applications is expanding rapidly in the academic community. We will continue to take appropriate steps to ensure that such legitimate applications remain unimpeded and balance all needs fundamental to our institution.

If you have any questions about these issues, please contact Kent Wada, Director, IT Policy at kent@ucla.edu or 6-3874.

Further information is also available at http://www.ucop.edu/irc/policy/copyright.html.