Downloading free music and movies
According to the U.S. Copyright Office, the copyright law forbids, among other things, the unauthorized copying, distribution, public display, or performance of copyrighted works, and the creation of derivative works based on a copyrighted work. It is important to recognize that materials available on the Internet may be copyright protected. Most commercial materials, such as musical works, television shows, and motion pictures are copyrighted. These peer-to-peer file sharing programs enable individual computers to act as servers and configuring an individual computer to act as a server or setting up a server at ASU. University Village is not only against university policy, but is considered an abuse of network privileges and tracked by the university. Augusta State offers computing systems and services to provide support for the teaching and research mission of the university, not for peer-to-peer file sharing. Applications create excess network traffic, which can slow down network traffic. ASU is taking measures to ensure that the entire ASU community has a reliable network for academic use. Information Technology Services has already begun to issue warnings to network abusers. The university is tracking repeat offenders and users who continue to abuse the network and will be removed from the network. The unauthorized distribution, redistribution, or transmission of a copyrighted work is prohibited. The practice of file sharing has sent a shockwave of lawsuits through the entertainment industry. With the click of the mouse, you can download a movie, television show, or songs from almost any recording artist. This includes distribution using music or movie sharing services such as KaZaA and Morpheus. This includes downloading and maintaining these materials on university computers and servers or on personal computers through the ASU network. ASU can face liability for any copyright violations by faculty, staff, or students. As a result, online access may be disabled if an individual is engaged in unauthorized copying, distribution, or other unlawful activity involving the Internet. Faculty and staff could also face disciplinary action as well.
April 2006 |
Many music lovers have turned to the Internet for music—finding, downloading, and sharing songs by using file-sharing applications such as KaZaA, Gnotella, or Morpheus. Sharing files also leaves your computer open to Trojans, viruses, worms, and spyware, while allowing other users access to your unused CPU and disk space. File sharing also poses danger and vulnerability to the ASU network and can result in congestion and slowed Internet connections. File sharing, in many cases, also violates existing U.S. copyright laws.
