Reporting Alleged Copyright Infringement: http://www.purdue.edu/securepurdue/DMCAAgent.cfm
Purdue University respects the intellectual property rights of others seriously and expects students, faculty, and staff to do so as well. Anyone using Purdue computing and network resources consents to the University's IT Resource Acceptable Use Policy (V.4.1). The policy outlines the responsible use of all Purdue computing and network resources. It states users are expected to abide by guidelines, including: "Respect the intellectual property rights of others. Making unauthorized copies of licensed software or copyrighted material is prohibited. Persons who violate the IT Acceptable Resource Policy, as well as other policies regarding the use of copyrighted materials, may be subject to revocation or limitation of their computer and network privileges, other disciplinary actions, or may be referred to appropriate external authorities.
The Internet hosts a wealth of information and computer users can find virtually anything from term papers to entertainment on the Web. While many files, including music, movie, and software files, are freely available on the Internet, the unauthorized downloading of copyrighted material may well constitute copyright infringement if done without the permission of the copyright holder. Improperly sharing these types of files can subject a user to discipline under Purdue policy and could constitute a violation of federal copyright law. Under federal law, a person found to have infringed upon a copyrighted work may be liable for actual damages and lost profits attributable to the infringement, and statutory damages from $200 up to $150,000. The copyright owner also has the right to permanently enjoin an infringer from further infringing activities, and the infringing copies and equipment used in the infringement can be impounded and destroyed. If a copyright owner hired an attorney to enforce his or her rights, the infringer of a work may also be liable for the attorney's fees as well as court costs. Finally, criminal penalties may also be assessed against the infringer and could include jail time depending upon the nature of the violation.
Although the vast majority of file sharing occurs with peer-to-peer (P2P) applications across Internet-based connections, new utilities allow widespread file sharing within local computer networks, such as Purdue’s ResNet and Air Link systems. While P2P file-sharing software and other similar applications are not unlawful, using those types of applications to make copyrighted materials available to others for downloading is a copyright violation. Even if a user has legally obtained copies of copyrighted materials and stored them on their computer, they must take care to protect those copies from unauthorized copying by others. As such, file sharing technologies should be used responsibly to ensure that copyrighted materials are not being made available for copying by people not legally entitled to do so. Students who have installed peer-to-peer file sharing programs on their computers and wish to disable such services can visit the University of Chicago’s webpage to learn how to disable file sharing on a number of common programs ( ttp://security.uchicago.edu/guidelines/peer-to-peer/ ).
In March 2007, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) increased its efforts to curtail unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing of music over the Internet, and on college campuses in particular. As part of their new increased effort, the RIAA is sending campus Internet Service Providers (ISP) “settlement letters” with Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of alleged offenders requesting that the ISP forward the letters to users whom the RIAA alleges has infringed upon RIAA copyrights. When the University receives such a “settlement notice” from RIAA or other copyright owners, the University will identify and forward the notice to the individual whose computers are on record as being assigned to the IP address identified in the settlement notice. However, the University is not responsible for the accuracy of the identification or addresses to which such settlement notices are sent or for how individual users elect to respond to such notices. All users of University IT resources are ultimately responsible for their own conduct and for responding to any notification received from a copyright owner that is passed on to the user by the University. Users who have questions regarding the settlement notice should contact legal counsel of their own choosing for advice.
Users of University IT Resources should note that Purdue University will at all times comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and valid subpoenas requesting information.
March 22, 2007 letter sent to all students
Watch Purdue Student Story About Illegal Downloading
Additional Resources:
US Copyright Office: www.copyright.gov
EDUCAUSE has compiled a web site that includes pointers to sources of legal alternatives for downloading media content: http://www.educause.edu/Resources/Browse/LegalDownloading/33381
The recording industry publishes a web site which includes pointers to sources of legal music on the Internet: www.musicunited.org
The Motion Picture Association of America also has an educational web site regarding copyright: www.respectcopyrights.org
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA): www.riaa.com
The Motion Picture Association of America: www.mpaa.org
University Chicago Guidelines on How to Disable Peer-to-Peer Services: http://security.uchicago.edu/guidelines/peer-to-peer/
Purdue University Resources:
Purdue University IT Resource Acceptable Use Policy: http://www.purdue.edu/policies/pages/information_technology/v_4_1.html
Purdue Executive Memorandum B-53, Use of Copyrighted Materials for Educational and Research Purposes: http://www.purdue.edu/policies/pages/teach_res_outreach/b_53.html
Purdue University IT Incident Response Policy: http://www.purdue.edu/policies/pages/information_technology/v_1_4.html
ResNet Acceptable Use Policy: http://www.itap.purdue.edu/security/files/documents/ResNetAUP2006.pdf
Purdue University Copyright Office: http://www.lib.purdue.edu/uco/
Reporting Alleged Copyright Infringement: http://www.purdue.edu/securepurdue/DMCAAgent.cfm