File-Sharing and Copyright Infringement

To: Members of the Campus Community

File-Sharing and Copyright Infringement

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

We are writing to alert the campus community – students, faculty and staff – to 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. We would like you to be very aware that initiation of legal action by copyright holders is becoming more of a reality every day.

Though trading of copyrighted music, movies, games and software over the Internet has become commonplace using file-sharing programs such as KaZaa or Morpheus, 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. When copyright holders resort to legal actions, there is little the University will be able to do to protect copyright infringers.

Some 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. Last April, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed suit against four students at three universities for copyright infringement; settlements ranged from $12,000 to $17,000. More recently, the RIAA served over 1,100 subpoenas to collect user identity information of alleged infringers from Internet Service Providers and then filed over 200 lawsuits using this information.

Every month UCLA receives dozens of 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 infringing sites located on the campus network. Each incident is referred to the appropriate campus official and proper disciplinary actions are levied against those who are downloading or offering copyrighted materials without appropriate permission.

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 ensure that such inquiry remains 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 on copyright is also available.