What happens if the IT department receives a copyright complaint about my computer?

As an internet service provider, Augsburg University is subject to the DMCA and is required to take certain steps to protect itself when we are made aware of a copyright violation on our network.

If we receive a complaint about the IP address assigned to your computer we take the following action:

First Offense

• We will block your computer's internet connection.
• We will send you an e-mail to let you know we've received a complaint and instruct you on what to do next.
• You will need to remove the offending file and change the settings in your file-sharing program so that others can no longer download files from your computer.
• You will have to make an appointment to meet with a member of IT staff. He or she will inspect your computer to verify that the infringing file has been removed and the settings have been changed before we restore your network connection.

Second Offense

• We will block your computer's internet connection.
• We will send you an e-mail to let you know we've received a complaint and instruct you on what to do next.
• You will need to remove the offending file and change the settings in your file-sharing program so that others can no longer download files from your computer.
• You will have to make an appointment to meet with a member of IT staff. He or she will inspect your computer to verify that the infringing file has been removed and the settings have been changed before we restore your network connection.
• We will also strongly recommend that you consider removing the filesharing program from your computer to protect yourself from future violations.

Third Offense

• You will be referred to the Vice President for Student Affairs for disciplinary action.

Has anyone at Augsburg been sued for sharing copyrighted files?

Yes. This is confirmed in a news article dated 11/22/2004.

What are the consequences if the entertainment industry sues me?

Many people who have been sued have settled with the industries to avoid going to court. While statistics on the amounts of these settlements are difficult to find, the average settlement seems to be in the range of $3000.

The law provides for a minimum payment of $750 per infringing item if a case is tried in civil court. If a case is tried in civil court and you are found to have been infringing – even unwittingly – you can be subject to civil damages of between $750 and $150,000 per infringement and even criminal jail time.

On October 4, 2007, a Duluth woman (sued by the RIAA) was found guilty of violating copyright law for sharing 24 songs from her computer. The jury ordered her to pay over $9000 for each song, for a total of $222,000!  When she appealed the verdict in 2009 the case was retried and the jury awarded record companies $1.92 million dollars or $80,000 per song!

Whether you choose to settle or go to court, you will probably have lawyers' fees to pay (in addition to any settlement or fines), along with the hassle of dealing with the entire process.

For more information on filesharing, the law and Augsburg's network please go to http://go.augsburg.edu/filesharing.

 

 

(keywords: filesharing, illegal, procedure, DMCA)

http://go.augsburg.edu/illegalshare

Last Modified: 2018/2/15