UD joins movie anti-piracy campaign

5:54 p.m., April 6, 2005--The University of Delaware has adopted a Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) campaign to deal with digital movie piracy. The effort includes “You Can Click But You Can’t Hide” posters in residence halls and student centers, as well as direct e-mail to every registered student highlighting the problem and consequences of illegally downloading movies and other copyrighted material.

Karl Hassler, UD associate director for Information Technologies-Network and Systems Services, said students are of particular concern to the film and entertainment industries because of their value as future customers who respect creative works.

“College students generally have access to robust networks, which makes it easy to share the large amounts of data required to download films,” Hassler said. “When peer-to-peer technology is finally harnessed by the film industry in a profitable, legitimate distribution model, college students will likely be the first adopters.

“They have grown up with, and have ready access to technology and are important consumers now and in the future,” he said. “MPAA wants to ensure that they will pay for legal content rather than choose free, illegal downloads and run the risks.”

The UD campaign includes showing a video on the IT channel and during weekend movie showings on campus, a copyright web site at [www.it.udel.edu/copyright/copyright_abuse.htm] and useful links on the Office of Information Technologies computer security web site [www.udel.edu/security].

Hassler said the University intends to comply with any subpoena requests it might receive from MPAA, which announced in November that it will take an active role in seeking out and prosecuting individuals who illegally download and share copyrighted materials over the Internet.

Anti-piracy messages are posted in residence halls and student centers at UD.

Hassler said most students know that downloading copyrighted materials is illegal, but they often have misconceptions about why they are cited or rationalize that their behavior is harmless. He added that many students often don't fully understand that their computer system is being cited as a supplier, or how their system is distributing copyrighted works.

Those found guilty of copyright violations face penalties ranging from $750 to $150,000 per downloaded file, as well as sanctions by the University's Office of Judicial Affairs, Hassler said.

Last month, Parvin Dhaliwal, an 18-year-old student at the University of Arizona, was fined $5,400 and sentenced to three months in jail, three years’ probation and 200 hours of community service after he pleaded guilty to possessing illegally copied movies and music. Dhaliwal also was ordered to take a copyright class at the University of Arizona and to avoid future file-sharing.

“MPAA is very serious about preserving this important industry,” Hassler said. “Piracy is like habitually speeding or aggressive driving: You can get away with it once, twice, but keep it up, and you'll get caught. If you don't stop, it will catch up with you.”

Article by Martin Mbugua
Photo by Kevin Quinlan

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