IP: USC to Students: No Sharing Files

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: John Wittig <wittigjr () mailsnare net>
Reply-To: john.wittig () proloquor com
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2002 01:18:50 -0500
To: dave () farber net
Subject: USC to Students: No Sharing Files

http://www.wired.com/news/mp3/0,1285,55159,00.html

By Brad King

3:25 p.m. Sep. 13, 2002 PDT
Students at the University of Southern California could face a school year
without computer access if they are busted swapping movies and music online.

In an e-mail message to all students, school officials warned that using
peer-to-peer file-trading services could force the university to kick
students off the network.

"We want to alert you to the fact that many of you are risking complete loss
of access to the USC computer system and both disciplinary and legal
action," wrote USC dean of libraries Jerry Campbell and vice president of
student affairs Michael Jackson in the e-mail.

The e-mail outlines the definition of copyright violations, particularly
with respect to making copies of movies and music, as well as sharing those
files. It warns that the entertainment industry has been "obtaining
snapshots" of Internet IP addresses and a list of files being traded by
people across the country. They have then been asking ISPs to cut off access
to those suspected of piracy.

The USC warning is the latest in a long line of wrangling between schools
and the entertainment industry over copyright violation.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has targeted schools
for several years as part of its ongoing Soundbyting campaign to stamp out
file trading.

It has had some success. Jeffery Levy was convicted of copyright
infringement in 1999 for distributing thousands of files using the
University of Oregon's network. Just two months later, 71 Carnegie Mellon
University students were reprimanded for making the MP3 files available to
anyone on the school's network.

At the height of the Napster craze, 17 U.S. colleges banned the
song-swapping service completely.

However, the last two years have seen a change in the winds. Schools have
been loath to restrict what its students can do.

MIT has taken a hands-off approach to its students' activities over the
years, allowing students to use as much bandwidth as they want. The
University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University have placed
limits on how much bandwidth students can use.




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