Information Technology Services
Student & Administrative Services Center, Rm. 2072 · (570) 320-7329
Peer-to-Peer File Sharing
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998 addresses copyright liability as it pertains to electronic forms of original works. With the law behind them, movie, music, and software companies are taking aggressive action. Organizations representing these industries, such as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), are actively monitoring the Internet for illegal distribution of copyrighted material.
File Sharing Software Implies Trouble
Although the peer-to-peer applications such as KaZaA, Morpheus, iMesh, and Gnutella are not illegal, the files shared with them are usually protected by copyright. Therefore, using these file-sharing programs places you at great risk. Violations of copyright law can be prosecuted at the state or federal level, and can be tried separately in civil court.
Penn College: Action and Reaction
ITS does not specifically monitor the network for copyright violation; however, we may uncover violations while troubleshooting technical problems or performing routine scans of network activity. Additionally, our designated DMCA Agent receives reports of copyright infringement directly from the copyright holders or their authorized representatives. We take these reports very seriously.
Penn College complies with all provisions of the DMCA. If ITS receives a report of suspected copyright infringement, our staff will immediately investigate the claim. Violations will result in the temporary or permanent loss of network access, College disciplinary action, and possible legal action, as stated in the Penn College IT Resources Acceptable Use Policy.