What You Need to Know about DMCA, RIAA & Illegal File Sharing Monitoring & Settlement Activities

Like several other campuses across the nation, San Francisco State University has felt the impact of increased activity by the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA's) new campaign for addressing copyright violations. RIAA (and other similar legal entities representing the interest of copyright holders such as MPAA ) have sent campuses as Internet Service Providers (ISPs) "settlement letters" specifying Internet Protocol (IP) addresses which they allege have been involved in copyright infringements. Often this also comes with the request that the ISP forward the letters to users associated with those IP addresses. These are currently known as "Settlement Letters" or "Pre-Settlement" letters. (A sample RIAA settlement letter can be viewed here.) The history and range of trade groups pursing copyright interests via lawsuits is discussed in this Wikipedia entry on legal efforts against filesharing.

Important Information for Students, Faculty & Staff:

• The use of SF State computing, network and other resources to override copyright protections intended by the owner is a violation of SF State's Acceptable Use Policy. See also Housing's ResNet Acceptable Use Guidance. If you are unsure of what intellectual property rights apply in the online and Internet realm, Chilling Effects provides an excellent background as well as examples to help you understand the intellectual property law and its application to the Internet. Illegal file-sharing and other copyright infringements also violate Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations and Federal copyright law. It is the responsibility of users who are downloading, uploading and accessing files to make certain they have the necessary permission of the copyright holder. These laws apply to all forms of information, including music, videos, written works and software.

• Students who do infringe copyright may want to reconsider such activity in light of the pervasive monitoring of file sharing that content owners now do on the Internet. Some disturbing and cautionary tales of former California-based students who are being tracked and pursued in litigation long after their illegal file sharing activity is over are detailed in this CityLife article.

• SF State University does not currently have a policy of monitoring the network or hard drives of computers connected to it for content and does not generate DMCA Notices. The technology deployed by RIAA and MPAA however may be able to trace illegal file sharing activity to a device you place on the SF State network and legal mechanisms under DMCA allow for subpoenas to SF State which may reveal your identity and activity on the network. You therefore should avoid allowing others to use your computer devices or campus credentials (email address, SF State id, etc) for access to any campus network for activities you are not aware of and which may ultimately be illegal.

Image courtesy of jistark, via Creative Commons & Flikr