New copyright warning for network users
BY RAY DELGADO
That special song you just had to have—but didn't want to pay for—may end up costing you thousands of dollars in legal bills if you illegally download it while using a computer on the university's network.
That was the warning that went out last week from Debra Zumwalt, university vice president and general counsel, who e-mailed a reminder about the applicability of copyright law to students, staff and faculty.
The reminder echoed past warnings about illegal file-sharing that the university has given to anyone who uses its network, but it specifically mentioned the heightened attention and legal actions that have been taken against those who engage in the illegal file-sharing of copyrighted materials such as music, movies, television shows, games, software and images.
Zumwalt's letter referenced two Stanford network users (one a student and the other a staff member) who were named in separate lawsuits filed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) alleging copyright infringement. Zumwalt said in an interview with the Stanford Report that both users had to hire lawyers and pay thousands of dollars to settle their cases and that she didn't want to see any other network users have to go through that process. Her letter also mentioned that the two people who were sued were accused of a relatively low number of violations, involving eight and 11 songs, respectively, which indicates the recording industry's zeal in going after any offenders, not just those with the highest number of violations.
"No one is immune from this," Zumwalt said, referring to the spate of lawsuits filed across the country by the RIAA and other industry groups. "All of these settlements have been in the thousands of dollars. I don't want to see members of our community be held liable for copyright violations. The university has an interest in ensuring that its network is not used for inappropriate purposes."
Although Stanford and many other universities place no restrictions on access to peer-to-peer file-sharing sites (because many are perfectly legal), the university has been taking a proactive approach over the past couple of years in response to the recording industry's complaints. The university regularly reminds its new and existing network users about copyright laws and investigates complaints it receives from the recording industry for possible disciplinary action.
The university received 610 complaints from the recording industry in the 2002-03 school year. University officials declined to release the number of complaints that were filed against users of its network last year, but David Hoffman, an associate security officer in the Information Security Office, said illegal file-sharing remains a significant problem. Many of the complaints the university receives involve repeat offenders or more complex violations, he said.
"It's sucking up more and more of our staff time, certainly," Hoffman said. "The cases are getting less routine. More and more of the complaints seem to be repeat offenders."
Zumwalt said she is hopeful that the messages against illegal file-sharing will result in fewer complaints against university network users.
"You can disagree with the laws, but they are out there and should be followed," Zumwalt said. "I do think we're making progress in terms of awareness of the laws, and I hope that translates into fewer complaints."
