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from Dateline (August 28, 2003)
Information Technology Eyes Issue
of Illegal File Sharings
by Pamela Mclaren
This summer the Recording Industry Association
of America made a move against individuals and Internet service
providers that “share” copyrighted music over peer-to-
peer networks. By the middle of July, the association had been granted
reportedly nearly 900 subpoenas against Internet users suspected
of copyright violations. The subpoenas, which seek the identities
of individual Internet users, have been submitted to not only services
such as AOL, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Verizon but to several
universities under the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright
Act. And it’s not just music: the Digital Millennium Copyright
Act deals with photos, videos and other copyrighted material, such
as books and articles.
Dateline sought out Dick Bednar, senior director
of information technology, to find out what effect these recent
actions may have on Cal State Fullerton.
| Q: |
Is there a reason for the
campus and members of the campus community to be concerned? |
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| A: |
We in Information Technology
believe that, unfortunately, there is.
It’s only a matter of time before Cal State Fullerton
gets a subpoena involving one of our faculty, staff or students.
The potential penalties are enormous, especially in terms
of negative publicity and the time and energy required to
deal with the situation. |
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| Q: |
What are we talking about
in the way of penalties? |
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| A:
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For one thing, the association
asserts that the law allows a maximum penalty of three years
in prison and a fine of $250,000 for online copyright violations.
Civil liability can be actual damages or a statutory $150,000
per song that has been shared illegally.
We don’t know of many people who could absorb that
kind of financial loss. We don’t have any idea how much
it would cost to hire a lawyer to fight a claim by the RIAA,
but we expect it would be a lot of money and an experience
that most of us would not enjoy. |
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| Q: |
How can they find an individual
who may be downloading and sharing files? |
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| A: |
The same technology that makes
peer-to-peer file sharing so convenient also makes it easy
to locate the computer that is sharing the files. Every computer
has a specific Internet Protocol (IP) address, which can be
traced. Does your computer have a program named: AudioGnome,
Bearshare, Blubster, Buddyshare, CuteMX, eDonkey, Gnucleus,
Gnutella, Grokster, iMesh, KaZaA, Konspire, Limewire, Morpheus,
Napshare, Napster, Qtella, SongSpy, Swapnut, TodeNode, WinMX,
Yoink or XoloX? If it does, chances are that you’re
“sharing,” even if you don’t mean to. This
isn’t a complete list – there are lots more. |
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| Q: |
How does this affect
the university? |
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| A: |
If the subpoena comes for a
state-owned computer, the university might be asked to turn
over the computer as evidence. Already universities are receiving
subpoenas and being named in the news. Imagine the image that
gives a university.
For the affected individual, they would have to explain to
their supervisor, dean, vice president and others why they
were using state property for an illegal activity. They would
be without a computer for at least a certain time and perhaps
not allowed to use a state computer. Addition- ally, strangers
will have the legal right to delve into all files on the computer.
Then there are those nasty penalties....
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