File-Sharing Facts

Every UAA student should know the following facts regarding the legal issues and university polices surrounding P2P file sharing.

What is peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing? P2P technology enables millions of computer users around the world to find and trade digital files with each other. By using a P2P computer program, a user can scan the hard drives of millions of people and instantly acquire (download) content with the click of a mouse. At the same time, that user can enable the millions of people on the P2P network to copy the contents of his or her hard drive. Unlike email or instant messaging, P2P enables the transfer of billions of files among millions of people without knowledge of identity or even location. It is, essentially, a massive listing and public warehouse of digital content.
Who monitors P2P file sharing? Most complaints come from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and their member companies. They monitor file sharing networks like Kazaa, Limewire, BitTorrent, to identify the network addresses of computers that send or receive copyrighted files. They are filing lawsuits against the users of those computers.
What is the Responsibility of UAA? Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), university administrators are obligated to provide copyright holders with information about users of the university network who have violated the law. In other words if you are caught, the university, by law, must report you. Also keep in mind that working together to address this problem is actually mutually beneficial: illegal file sharing drains bandwidth, costing schools money and slowing computer connections for students trying to use the network for legitimate academic purposes.
UAA Policies governing P2P The University of Alaska Anchorage abides strictly by Federal laws overseeing illegal file sharing Federal law (Title 17, United States Code, Sections 501 & 506) provides severe civil and criminal penalties for unauthorized reproduction, distribution, rental or digital transmission of copyrighted sound recordings. Essentially, the law says that you cannot have any files on your computer that you have not legally acquired. More importantly, you cannot share a file with others without authorization from the file’s copyright owner. While it may appear that digital information is freely available on the Internet, the truth is that it’s not free unless the copyright owner says so.
Federal Violator Consequences The RIAA and MPAA as well as other similar organizations are becoming more and more aggressive in fi nding and prosecuting alleged off enders in criminal court. Penalties for fi rst time off enders could result in fi nes up to $250,000 plus 5 years in jail. There may also be civil damages up to $150, 000 for each illegally downloaded or shared song or movie.
Downloading music legally The music industry has advanced with the technology and has made it legal to download copyrighted music as long as the music is paid for. For a list of sites where you may legally download files, visit http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/illegaldownload/legalsites.cfm.