Avoiding
Copyright Infringement
Have you received a notice from our Security
Office concerning alleged copyright infringement? If you have, you are required
to read the following information.
If you have not received a notice, we strongly recommend that you
read this information to ensure you understand how to avoid violating copyright
law. Violations could result in you losing your campus wireless access.
§ Why did I
receive a copyright infringement notice?
§ You
received a notice because our logs indicated that your username was logged on
when the alleged infringement occurred.
§ Who is
monitoring my internet activity?
§ Copyright
infringement agencies track infringement by looking at network traffic to find
violators. Fresno State does not monitor your network activity.
§ Why does
Fresno State send students notices?
§ Fresno
State is required by law to send students notices informing them that they have
been identified as allegedly being involved in copyright infringement.
§ What is
Copyright Infringement?
§ Copyright infringement
is downloading or sharing songs, movies, software and games without the
permission from the owner. If you are not sure you have the
right to access or download a particular title, don't do it.
§ As a
general matter, copyright infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is
reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed, or made into a
derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner.
§ It is
against the law
§ It is
against Fresno State's policy
§ It is an
inappropriate use of our network resources
§ How can
copyright infringement occur?
§ Example 1 -
Unintentional
(Against our
policy and illegal)
o You are
sitting in the student union and decide to connect to our network. While you
are checking your email, someone is downloading a file from your laptop - which
is in a folder that is associated with the installed peer-to-peer application.
A copyright enforcement agency records the IP address and notifies Fresno
State. We look in our logs and identify the student. We send you a notice. The
fact that you are on a wireless network gives you no protection from these
agencies.
§ Example 2 -
Intentional or willful
(Against our
policy and illegal)
o You hear
about a new movie that came out. You get on the wireless network .You open your
peer-to-peer client and search for the movie. You find the movie. You assume
you can download it because "everyone else is". You think you will
not get caught because you are on a wireless network. One week later we receive
a notice about the infringement. We send you a notice.
§ Example 3 -
Someone using your username and password
Do not share
your password with anyone
o If you have
given your password to someone, please reset it immediately at
https://password.csufresno.edu/
(Against our policy and illegal)
When you enrolled at Fresno State, you created a username and password. You
shared these credentials with your friend. Now your friend logs into the
wireless network using your username and password. He/she starts downloading
movies. A few days later we receive a copyright notice associated with your
account. Even though you did not do this yourself, you will still be
responsible because it is your username that will be identified in our logs.
§ Who is
responsible for the infringement?
§ You are
responsible for all notices we receive concerning your account - even if it is
unintentional. This is why it is so important to remove the peer-to-peer
software from your laptop.
§ What are
the consequences?
§ You risk
being sued by the copyright enforcement agency and it puts Fresno State at risk
also. Some students at other universities have paid as much as $3,000 per
title. (As a settlement before court)
§ Students
can be sued for each violation from $750 - $150,000 depending on the
copyrighted material and whether the violation was willful or not.
§ You may lose
your wireless access.
o Wireless
connectivity allows students to connect anywhere on campus. If you lose your
wireless access because of copyright infringement, it will be more difficult to
get your school work done. If your wireless access is
disabled, you may lose it for the remainder of the semester.
§ Definitions
§ Copyright
Enforcement Agency
o Organization
that is hired by a copyright owner to find users on the network illegally
sharing copyrighted material.
§ Peer-to-Peer
Software
o Peer-to-peer
software is what is used to share files. Here are some examples;
Bittorrent, Limeware, Shareaza, Kazaa, iMesh, Bearshare
Lite, eMule, KCeasy, Soulseek, WinMX, Piolet, Gnutella, Overnet, Azureus
now called as Vuze, FrostWire, uTorrent, Morpheus, ANts, Acquisition
All of these programs may have the ability to automatically allow files to be
shared when you turn on your computer - whether you are aware of it or not. It
is strongly recommended that you remove these programs to avoid unintentional
file sharing.
§ Actively
downloading
o Intentionally
downloading unauthorized copyrighted material
§ Passively
allowing downloading
o Allowing a
remote user to download unauthorized copyrighted material from your computer
because your peer-to-peer program starts automatically without your knowledge
If you were directed by our Security Office to go to this website
due to receiving a second copyright infringement notice, please send email
to igetitcopyright@csufresno.edu to
confirm that you now understand our copyright policy and the consequences for
non-compliance. If you do not respond, your wireless access will not be
re-enabled.
This page is based on the campus' Acceptable Use Policy.