MWSU computing facilities are provided in order to promote and support academic pursuits. Academic computer facilities are therefore to be used only for instruction and research activities. Listed here are certain responsibilities and the ethical behavior expected of you as a computer user. The guidelines presented here reflect U.S. Copyright Law, the Law of the State of 大象传媒, and additional specific rules relative to the MWSU campus. It is the intent of 大象传媒 to adhere to the provisions of copyright laws relative to software and to comply with licensing agreements and/or policy statements contained in the software packages used on campus. If you need further clarification regarding these guidelines, please contact Information Technology Services.

Top Three Ways to Ensure Compliance with the Law

Do not install P2P file-sharing software on your computer

  • By default, P2P applications will search for and share content on your computer with others. P2P applications usually run as soon as you turn on your computer and continue to run in the background. Even if you disable uploading, copyrighted content in a 鈥渟hared鈥� folder can be seen by others using the same P2P network and many P2P programs may reset preferences to resume uploading.
  • The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and other content owners use the same P2P software that file sharers do! Their aim is to catch file sharers sharing their protected content with others. If you鈥檙e running a P2P program, chances are that the RIAA is running the same software. In fact, the person downloading a song from you may be working for the RIAA and may be compiling evidence against you. It has happened to thousands of P2P users, and it can happen to you.

Do not use a University network for file sharing

  • Content owners specifically target illegal file sharing on university networks. The RIAA has employed aggressive legal strategies, such as forwarding the University legal documents for alleged infringers and filing infringement lawsuits.

Always be sure to secure your wireless router in your residence hall or home

  • If you鈥檝e registered your wireless router using your NetID, any activity that occurs on the router can be tracked back to you. This means that if your roommate is sharing copyrighted works using the wireless connection that you set up in your residence hall, you can be held personally responsible, and be sued by the RIAA.
  • If you use VPN connections from home, your home network becomes visible as part of the MWSU network.

Takedown or DMCA Notices are the most common type of copyright infringement notices that the University receives. Content owners such as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) send these notices to the ISP provider (MWSU) from which the file was made available.

When 大象传媒, as an ISP provider, receives a takedown DMCA notice regarding a particular user, the notice provides the user鈥檚 external IP address, infringement details, the date and time of the infringement. The user鈥檚 external IP is then traced to the internal IP, the MAC address, and finally to the user鈥檚 ID.

The user is then notified by email that their personal computer was used to reproduce and/or distribute unauthorized copies of one or more copyrighted recordings. The Director of IT Services and the System Administrator are also notified of the infringement.

The email states that this is a violation of federal copyright laws and the MWSU Computing Guidelines.

The email includes instructions for obtaining assistance in properly removing any illegal file(s) and the elimination of the file sharing capability within the file sharing application (e.g. Limewire, Gnutella, Frostwire, Napster, BitTorrent, etc.) used to distribute the file(s) from your computer.

The user is required to provide written confirmation of compliance, by emailing the ITS System Administrator by the date indicated in the original email.

A second violation results in the offender鈥檚 access to the campus network being deactivated. The offender must contact the ITS department and arrange to meet with an ITS staff member to discuss the reason for a second violation and to educate the offender regarding their illegal activities. The violation may be forwarded to the Computer Usage Hearing Panel. A third violation results in the offender鈥檚 access being deactivated and a hearing is scheduled with the Computer Usage Hearing Panel to determine disciplinary measures. The violation may be forwarded to the Dean of Students.

If the user does not comply by the date indicated in the original email (usually five business days), the user鈥檚 access to the MWSU computer resources and MWSU network is terminated.

Should the user violate any MWSU Computing Guideline or the MWSU Acceptable Use Policy during the remainder of the current semester, the user鈥檚 access to the MWSU computer resources and MWSU network is suspended.

As a matter of University policy, you must comply with the procedures. It is important to understand that even if you comply fully with the University鈥檚 takedown procedure, you are not shielded from potential liability from third parties like the RIAA, who retain the right to sue you for the underlying infringing activity.

The RIAA sometimes sends preservation notices to MWSU requesting that MWSU preserve contact information of the persons associated with IP addresses alleged to have infringed their copyrighted works. MWSU will generally comply with such notices; however, MWSU will not release the contact information based on the preservation letter alone. Preservation notices are sometimes followed by early settlement letters.

The RIAA sends campus ISPs, such as MWSU, 鈥淓arly Settlement Letters鈥� to be forwarded to the persons associated with IP addresses alleged to have infringed their copyrighted works. The early settlement letter advises the user that he or she may soon be subject to a lawsuit in connection with the allegedly infringing activity, provides a sample of the recordings that the user allegedly infringed, and suggests that user consider settling the claim to avoid the RIAA filing their claims in court (the 鈥淓arly Settlement Letter鈥� includes a link to a settlement website where a credit card payment can be made ).

Since December 2008, the RIAA has stated publicly that it has suspended its early settlement process, but there is no guarantee that it will not sue students again.

If at some point, Early Settlement Letters are reintroduced and you receive one, you may wish to seek the advice of an attorney. The University鈥檚 Office of the General Counsel does not represent students, so you would need to seek independent legal representation.

Past letter recipients who did not want to settle with the RIAA were frequently sued. As part of this process, the RIAA would issue a subpoena to MWSU requesting the disclosure of your name and identifying information.

If served with a valid subpoena from the RIAA, the University will comply with the subpoena, providing the requested information.

You are responsible for any violation that occurs using your registered network addresses. This includes any downloading that occurs on a wireless router that you have registered on the University network or activity using a VPN connection to the MWSU network.

Even if you have legally purchased a copyrighted work, it is still a violation of copyright law to distribute it to others without the content owner鈥檚 permission. If you are making the works available for downloading (whether knowingly or not), you may receive an infringement notice or be subject to other legal action based on the copyright holder claims that you are allowing other people to download their material.

By default, P2P file-sharing applications enable uploading of files from your computer to others. To stop uploading, you either have to remove the P2P application from your computer, locate and change the options that control uploading in the application, or disconnect the computer from the network. Even after you have disabled uploading on a P2P application, a software update or other resetting mechanism may reset your preferences to resume uploading. You can reduce this risk by monitoring your use of the software, learning about the underlying technology, and familiarizing yourself with the laws that govern your use of these applications. If you want to be certain that you are not distributing copyright files over the Internet and campus network contact ITS Help Desk for assistance in removing the P2P software application.