From: announcements@northwestern.edu
To: <
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:11:14 am CDT
Subject: Illegal File Sharing
An important message to all Northwestern University students:
The Recording Industry Association of America (the "RIAA") continues its efforts to curtail
unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing of music over the Internet. Earlier this year, approximately 16
Northwestern students were contacted by the RIAA and requested to resolve claims of copyright
violations through out-of-court settlements. According to the RIAA, the vast majority agreed to
settle. Based on information received from those individuals who agreed to settle, the average
settlement amount has been approximately $3,000.
Using its own process of monitoring peer-to-peer traffic, the RIAA identified IP addresses for
members of the Northwestern University student body alleged to have violated copyright laws. The
RIAA then notifies the University that it intends to issue pre-litigation settlement letters for
these students, outlining the details of the settlement process and threatening to initiate legal
proceedings against these students, should they elect not to participate in the settlement process.
Upon receiving such settlement letters, the University promptly takes steps to identify and notify
the students at issue. The University does not share information about the identities of
individuals with the RIAA unless required to do so by law (e.g., in response to a lawful subpoena).
Northwestern University does not condone unlawful downloading and unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing of copyright-protected works. Individuals who engage in these practices are in violation of University policy (see "Rights and Responsibilities for the Use of Central Network and Computing Resources at Northwestern University", at http://www.it.northwestern.edu/policies/responsibilities.html) and may be subject to University disciplinary action as well as civil and criminal penalties.
Northwestern requires the members of its community to respect the intellectual property of others
and abide by all applicable laws. If you have engaged in file-sharing activity (e.g., downloading
of movies, music, TV shows or software) in violation of copyright laws, you should immediately
cease any such illegal file-sharing activity and the use or distribution of any illegally obtained
material. (Unless you are the target of an enforcement action and subject to related evidence
preservation requirements, you may also wish to remove such materials and the program you used to
obtain them from your computer.) Lawful downloading of music is possible through Apple iTunes, MSN
music, Rhapsody, Ruckus, and other web-based providers. Further information concerning these
services may be found at the following sites, among others:
http://mp3.about.com/od/wheretobuymusic/a/all_profile.htm and
http://mp3.about.com/od/freemusicdownloads/tp/freeandlegalmp3.htm.
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