Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 14:19:19 -0700 (PDT)
From: Provost Hinshaw <vshinshaw@ucdavis.edu
To: "UC Davis Staff and Students":;
Subject: File-Sharing and Copyright Infringement
X-Approved-BY: Jack Farrell <jfarrell@ucdavis.edu
X-Approved-BY: Stan Nosek <senosek@ucdavis.edu

UC DAVIS: OFFICE OF THE CHANCELLOR
OFFICE OF THE PROVOST

May 20, 2003


File-Sharing and Copyright Infringement
A Communication to the Campus Community


We are alerting the campus community -- students, faculty and staff -- to
the personal risks involved with illegal file-sharing. It is important that
you understand these risks not only because of the possibility of
disciplinary action, but also to protect against criminal prosecution and
the initiation of civil litigation by copyright holders. We would like you
to be very aware that initiation of legal action by copyright holders is
becoming more of a reality every day.

Though trading of copyrighted music, movies, games and software over the
Internet has become commonplace using file-sharing programs such as KaZaa
or Morpheus, it is often not legal to do so. Most material is copyrighted,
and obtaining or offering such material without appropriate permission is a
violation of US copyright law and may be punishable with civil and criminal
penalties including prison time and money damages. When copyright holders
resort to legal actions, there is little the University will be able to do
to protect copyright infringers.

Some believe that "recreational file-sharing" is unlikely to be noticed.
This is not the case. The reality is that copyright holders are
significantly intensifying enforcement using automated scanning software to
identify infringements, no matter how small. The Recording Industry of
America Association on April 4, 2003 filed suit against four students at
three universities for copyright infringement. Settlements ranged from
$12,000 to $17,000.

As the Internet Service Provider to the campus community, UC Davis receives
dozens of infringement claims every month. In compliance with the 1998
Digital Millennium Copyright Act and University of California Guidelines
for Compliance with Online Service Provider Provisions of the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (http://www.ucop.edu/irc/policy/dmcaguide.html),
UC Davis expeditiously takes action when notified of infringing sites
located on the campus network. All of these incidents are referred to the
appropriate campus officials and appropriate disciplinary actions are
levied against those who are downloading or serving copyrighted materials
without appropriate permission.

Of course, there are legitimate applications of file-sharing software and
networks, and research on such peer-to-peer applications is expanding
rapidly in the academic community. We will ensure that such inquiry remains
unimpeded and balance all needs fundamental to our institution.

To assist in this awareness effort, the University of California is
developing a Web site featuring a wide range of information related to the
use of copyrighted and public domain materials by individuals and
educational institutions. That site will be linked from the UC Davis main
page (http://www.ucdavis.edu/) in the next few weeks. In the meantime,
please submit any questions you might have to copyright@ucdavis.edu.


Virginia Hinshaw
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor

Stan Nosek
Vice Chancellor, Administration

John Bruno
Vice Provost, Information and Educational Technology