What is copyright?

File-sharing applications such as Limewire and Ares make it easy to download or upload (serve) music, movies and video in digital format (MP3, AVI, etc.). Their use raises an important issue regarding copyright law.

Most musicians, film and/or record companies own the copyright to their material. Sharing copyrighted material (music, movies, videos, text, etc.) is illegal unless you own the copyright. A file of a copyrighted work becomes illegal when it is freely distributed (or sold) without the permission of the copyright owner. There are some film companies and musicians who give away their material and some allow their material to be distributed freely, but this is not the case for the majority of items that are currently distributed on the Internet.

Providing or obtaining copyrighted files (music, movies, videos, text, etc.) without permission violates the U.S. Copyright Act. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act requires UMM to take action against anyone illegally distributing copyrighted materials.

Actions taken if you violate copyright law

The University of Minnesota Morris will respond to copyright infringement notices from copyright owners who do actively search for such materials on the network.

If an individual is found to be distributing copyrighted material using any university computing resources the individual will have their ethernet jack disabled.

By taking these actions we are complying with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Individuals who violate copyright laws also risk having lawsuits brought against them. Copyright infringement can result in piracy convictions, fines, or prison sentences.