Illegal File Sharing Is More Than Just Child's Play

Access to very high-speed Internet connectivity is just one of the many advantages available to many of the university’s employees. It allows researchers to collaborate with their colleagues at other institutions, provides quick access to resources from our vendors, and rapidly delivers a world of reference materials to our desks.

Some employees have discovered that this resource can also be used to quickly obtain and share copyrighted material such as songs, movies, and television programs without the permission of the copyright holder. Such activity is illegal and a violation of the university’s “Policy on the Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources” (better known as the AUP and available at www.umd.edu/aup). Employees using programs such as BitTorrent and Morpheus for illegal downloading are not only putting their employment at risk, but also are at risk of becoming a party in a lawsuit. (Learn more about these lawsuits in the Message from the CIO.) While thus far not resorting to lawsuits, the television and movie industries regularly report members of the university community under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If an employee is the subject of such a notice, their illegal use of the network will be brought to the attention of their department.

While the university’s Policy on the Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources recommends using university IT resources only for university business, individual units may also have their own more specific policies. Be familiar with the rules governing your use of the university’s computers and data network. Don’t risk employment penalties in addition to possible legal trouble—always download legally.