IT Handbook - Directories - University of Cincinnati

Who Can Help?
You can get help from one of these offices or departments if you become a victim through affiliation with a
social web site.
Counseling Center.................................................... 513-556-0648
Office of Student Life............................................... 513-556-5250
Resident Education and Development.............. 513-556-6476
UC 24-Hour Sexual Violence Crisis Line............. 513-218-9531
UC Ombuds Office..................................................... 513-556-5956
UC Police Department............................................. 513-556-1111 or 911 (Emergencies)
UC Women’s Center................................................... 513-556-4401
UCit Information Security........................................ 513-558-4732
University Judicial Affairs........................................ 513-556-6814
Peer-To-Peer (P2P) File Sharing
Unauthorized peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing on college and university campuses is receiving increasing
attention from the entertainment industry, the media, and the United States Congress. Although P2P file
sharing on university networks is not unlawful, such activity could be harmful especially as it can lead to
a violation of the federal copyright law. Indeed, many students using popular software such as Limewire,
Frostwire, uTorrent, and Gnutella, intentionally or advertently infringe on copyrighted works relating to
music, movies, computer software, video games, and photographs. Lawsuit filings indicate copyright
owners are taking the offensive against infringements on their protected works. Students need to know
their rights and responsibilities, and their potential liability for unlawful P2P activities.
The basis for copyright law is found in Article 1 of the United States Constitution and codified in Title
17 (the “Copyright Act”) of the United States Code. The Copyright Act lists exclusive rights of copyright
holders, including reproduction and distribution of the copyrighted work, both of which are implicated in
P2P file sharing. There are three types of infringement: direct, contributory, and vicarious. Under direct
infringement, a person is liable for his or her own infringing conduct; under contributory infringement,
a person may be liable if he or she knows of the infringing activity, and induces, causes, or materially
contributes to the infringing conduct of another; under vicarious infringement, a person may be liable if he
or she has the right and ability to supervise the infringing activity and also has a direct financial interest in
the activity. Most users of P2P networks fall under the direct infringement category. However, even without
directly infringing conduct, students who operate or encourage the use of such networks may be open to
contributory or vicarious claims.
Downloading, possessing or distributing copyrighted material without the owners’ permission is also a
violation of the University’s General Policy on the Use of Information Technology (http://www.uc.edu/ucit/).
The University of Cincinnati does not actively monitor illicit or inappropriate activities, nor is it under any
obligation to defend or accept responsibility for its students’ illegal actions in the P2P context.
The University of Cincinnati expects our user community to act in a proper and responsible computing
manner. If illegal or inappropriate activities are brought to our attention, the University will take all
reasonable and appropriate actions. Copyright violations will generate a report to the office of Student Life-
University Judicial Affairs as part of the University’s disciplinary action process. This can result in a variety of
actions including removal of computer privileges and probation. Additionally, the copyright holder of the
material found on your system may take legal action against violators.
What can you do to be part of the solution? Avoid downloading, distributing, or possessing copyrighted
material over the Internet and the UC internal network unless you have received explicit permission from
the owner, their official representative, or have paid an access or license fee to obtain the material. If you
are using a peer-to-peer application you should consider removing it from your system prior to connecting
to the University’s network. If you do not remove the application, you should ensure your system is set to
prevent the application from acting as a provider of unlicensed materials to other users. Failure to restrict
the application, whether you are aware of the violation or not, will result in the University’s Information
Technology department (UCIT) removing your machine from the network until the copyright violation is
rectified.
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