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One Step Ahead
October 21, 2008, Volume 55, No. 9

One Step Ahead

Another tip in a series provided by the Offices of Information Systems & Computing and Audit, Compliance & Privacy.

Filesharing Lawsuits: Not Just for Students Anymore

Much has been reported in the media about the ongoing campaigns by entertainment trade organizations such as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to seek out infringement via illegal filesharing of their copyrighted materials on college campus networks and, in some cases, institute lawsuits in order to recover damages from the responsible parties.

As reported in the Daily Pennsylvanian in recent months, numerous Penn students have been targeted by RIAA lawsuits, but what you might not know is this: many other Penn network users who engage in illegal filesharing—employees, consultants, contractors, guests and more—have also found themselves the subjects of legal proceedings that have cost them thousands of dollars in settlement fees when they could have purchased the same songs for 99 cents each from iTunes. And if that weren’t enough, Penn employees found to be engaging in copyright violation are subject to disciplinary proceedings up to and including termination.

In the next couple of weeks you’ll start seeing signs around campus promoting Penn’s “Know The Facts” campaign to inform students—and parents—of the consequences of illegal filesharing, but it’s important for all Penn network users to know and understand that it’s not just a “student thing.”

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For additional tips, see the One Step Ahead link on the Information Security website: www.upenn.edu/computing/security/.

Almanac - October 21, 2008, Volume 55, No. 9