File Sharing Copyrighted material is More Than Just Free Music, Games and Movies… It’s a CRIME!
It is against United States law to reproduce and distribute any copyrighted material unless you have authorization from the copyright owner. This is specifically a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which is a copyright law passed in 1998 by the United States Congress. Colorado State University prohibits the use of its networks and systems for the purpose of committing violations of United States law. The software, music, and motion picture industries CAN and DO track copyrighted files on the Internet. A first time violation of the DMCA law commonly results in a notification to remove the offending computing device from the university’s network, but can be punishable by up to 3 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. CSU is required by law to respond to legal notices to remove offending systems from the CSU network (while keeping the individual user information private), or to respond to a legal court issued subpoena to provide the identify of the individual associated with the offense. Students who share copyrighted files will have their network privileges revoked and may be subject to both lawsuit and university disciplinary action.