From vpiet-info@ucdavis.edu Tue Jun 05 17:55:15 2007 Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2007 16:36:03 -0700 (PDT) From: Provost Virginia Hinshaw To: "UC Davis students, faculty and staff": ; Subject: File-Sharing: Alert to All UC Davis Community Members [This communication is also available on the Web at: http://provost.ucdavis.edu/commun/2007/060107_File-Sharing_Alert.pdf ] June 5, 2007 To: All Students, Staff and Academic Senate Members and Academic Federation Members Subject: File-Sharing: Alert to All UC Davis Community Members This academic year, the number of complaints that we have received concerning the unauthorized sharing of electronic copyrighted material has risen to an unprecedented level. By the end of this year the campus will likely have received 700 such complaints - double what we saw in 2005-06. While many of these complaints are the result of a new aggressive Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) campaign that may be focused on higher education institutions, there are a number of personal risks involved with illegal file sharing that all members of our community must be aware of. If you use a peer-to-peer software program to transfer files, it is important that you understand the risks associated with illegal file-sharing and that you take appropriate action to remove the software, not only because of the possibility of disciplinary action, but also to protect against possible criminal prosecution and civil litigation against you as an individual. The music industry copyright holders are actively seeking financial settlements in the thousands of dollars from individuals who are obtaining or offering copyrighted material without the author's permission. What is Illegal File Sharing? Swapping electronic files with music, movies, games, programs, television show content with other users, and without the permission of the license holder, constitutes illegal file sharing. Examples of peer-to-peer programs that often facilitate such sharing include BitTorrent and LimeWire. We recognize that there is a broad range of academic and administrative content that is legal to share, and we encourage the legal use of file-sharing programs to support the UC Davis mission of research, teaching and public service. Understand Your Responsibilities Though trading of copyrighted music, movies, games and software over the Internet has become commonplace using file-sharing programs, such trading without the copyright holder's approval violates federal law and university policy. All members of the university community must respect copyrights, whether the content is in electronic or in other format. Recent Music Industry Campaign The RIAA has implemented a new program to aggressively detect when copyrighted audio material is being shared. As part of this campaign, the RIAA submits preservation notices to the university requesting that records relating to an alleged copyright violation be preserved for the purpose of a lawsuit against a copyright violator. UC Davis has received 21 preservation notices since March 2007. Those that refrain from illegal file-sharing will avoid being the recipients of such notices. As part of this industry campaign, alleged copyright infringers may receive pre-lawsuit settlement notices. These notices are designed to alert their recipients of planned copyright infringement litigation, and they invite the recipient to settle in advance with the copyright holder. Though the amount of those settlements will vary on a case-by-case basis, some have been reported to be about $5,000. If the university receives a legal subpoena ordering the release of a community member's name to the copyright holder, we must comply with the court order. When copyright holders resort to legal actions against individuals, the university is unable to protect copyright infringers. If you receive a pre-lawsuit settlement letter, it may be in your best interest to consult an attorney. Undergraduate students may contact ASUCD legal services for a consultation with an attorney. Action You Should Take There are a few simple steps we recommend you take if you share electronic files with others. - First, familiarize yourself with the legalities of file-sharing (see resources below). - Review electronic files on your computer(s) and remove content for which you do not have sharing permission from the copyright owner. - Review the file-sharing program's settings, and adjust them so the computer is set to download and share only material you have permission to access and distribute. Note also that electronic content you legitimately own may be inadvertently shared. If you do not know how to adjust these settings, we recommend avoiding the use of file-sharing programs. Questions and Assistance If you have questions regarding copyrights or file sharing or need assistance, please consult the following references: Students: - IT Express computing help desk: ithelp@ucdavis.edu; (530) 754-HELP. - Student Housing Office, for on-campus student residents http://www.housing.ucdavis.edu - ASUCD legal services: http://asucd.ucdavis.edu/services/legal/legal-services.html; (530) 752-1990 Staff and faculty: - Departmental technology support coordinators see online directory at https://tsp.ucdavis.edu/?f=search. - IT Express computing help desk: ithelp@ucdavis.edu; (530) 754-HELP. Reference materials: - File Sharing: What You Need to Know, http://scg.ucdavis.edu/filesharing.cfm - File Sharing Cyber-Safety Basics, http://security.ucdavis.edu/csb_filesharing.cfm - Intellectual Property Policy - Digital Millennium Copyright Act, UC Davis PPM 250-05, http://manuals.ucdavis.edu/PPM/250/250-05.htm - UC Copyright, http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/copyright/campgroup.html - Send questions to dmca@ucdavis.edu Sincerely, Virginia Hinshaw Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Janet Gong Interim Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs Cc: Stan Nosek, Vice Chancellor, Administration Barbara Horwitz, Vice Provost, Academic Personnel Peter M. Siegel, Vice Provost, IET, and Chief Information Officer From rogaway@cs.ucdavis.edu Tue Jun 05 21:28:26 2007 Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2007 21:29:14 -0700 (Pacific Daylight Time) From: Phillip Rogaway To: csugafac@cs.ucdavis.edu, Prem Devanbu , Matt Bishop Subject: [csugafac] Annoying letter from the provost The provost has sent out an email threatening university students with disciplinary action for using peer-to-peer software. That's kind of crazy, patronizing, and inappropriate, no? VH> If you use a peer-to-peer software program to transfer files, it is VH> important that you ... remove the software ... because of the VH> possibility of disciplinary action ... VH> trading of copyrighted music, movies, games and software over the VH> Internet violates ... university policy. All members of the VH> university community must respect copyrights ... She goes on to say: VH> the RIAA submits preservation notices to the university requesting that VH> records relating to an alleged copyright violation be preserved for the VH> purpose of a lawsuit against a copyright violator. UC Davis has VH> received 21 preservation notices since March 2007. I somehow missed when a group of companies, the RIAA, took over this formerly-Judicial function in the USA; I had assumed that it was Courts, and not companies, that were empowered to order a university to obtain or retain confidential documentation on the behavior of particular individuals. In fact, shouldn't the university simply _ignore_ requests from the RIAA in the absence of a properly executed court order? Later the provost adds in: VH> Those that refrain from illegal file-sharing will avoid being the VH> recipients of such notices. A striking assumption about the RIAA's investigative abilities (apparently they're less fallable than FBI) and about a group of people that have not even been accused (let alone convicted) of any crime. VH> Note also that electronic content you legitimately own may be VH> inadvertently shared. Is the provost now suggesting that even the above is criminal and so students need to concern themselves about what they _inadvertently_ might share? Is there _any_ legal basis to support such a position? * * * This sort of threatening / one-sided / anti-student / pro-industry email, from someone in power who is supposed to represent a scholarly and student-friendly viewpoint, ought not to go "answered", no? _______________________________________________ csugafac mailing list csugafac@baton.cs.ucdavis.edu http://baton.cs.ucdavis.edu/mailman/listinfo/csugafac