The Peer-to-Peer (P2P) applications used to commit these violations include BitTorrent, Gnutella, Limewire, and Ares.  If you have any of these applications or similar ones on your computer, we recommend that you remove them immediately.

If you choose to keep P2P software on your computer and are detected using it to distribute copyright-protected material, please be aware of the consequences.  You will first be notified that you are in violation of federal copyright law and the college’s policy on the acceptable use of computer resources.  If you do not remove the software at that time, your network access will be disabled and you will be required to meet with the Dean of Students.  If the problem persists, the matter will be referred to the Judicial Board.

Please take the appropriate steps to avoid disciplinary actions and potential legal problems for yourself.

Personal wireless routers are not permitted because they interfere with regular network access for other students located near them. 

If you have a wireless router connected to the network, please disconnect it immediately. Otherwise, your access to the network will be disabled until the router is removed.

Please note that this requirement is clearly stated in the college’s Policy on Acceptable Use of Computer Resources and Wireless Network Policy. 

Thank you for your help in ensuring that the Smith network is available to all students.

If Smith receives a DMCA notice that identifies your computer as an offender, you will receive an email notice from Herb Nickles, Executive Director of ITS.

PLEASE NOTE: If you receive a copyright infringement notice from Herb Nickles, you MUST respond IMMEDIATELY and remove all peer-to-peer (P2P) software from your computer.

If you do not respond, you will no longer be able to use the Smith College Residence Network until all P2P file-sharing software is removed from your computer, regardless of your academic responsibilities.

Students who violate the Smith College Acceptable Use Policy on copyright infringement may also face the Dean of Students and the Smith College Judicial Board.

For instructions on removing and disabling P2P applications on your computer, click here.

To read Smith’s formal copyright-infringement notification policy, click here.

For more information on copyright infringement and the RIAA, read these previous TechNotes posts:

• Downloads & Slow Network Speed
• Link Round-up: (Free) Alternatives to Illegal File Sharing
• Link Round-Up: Copyright & File Sharing
• Answers: Copyright Infringement Reminder
• Update: The RIAA & You & Smith
• The RIAA & You & Smith

If you receive a notice indicating that the RIAA has detected illegal file sharing from your computer, it is important that you respond to the notice from ITS immediately and remove all peer-to-peer (P2P) software from your computer.

If you do not respond, you will no longer be able to use the Smith College Network until all P2P file-sharing software is removed from your computer, regardless of academic responsibilities. Students who violate the Smith College Acceptable Use Policy on copyright infringement may also face the Smith College honor board.

So, with classes about to end and exams just around the corner, please be extra vigilant about your network use!

For instructions on removing and disabling P2P applications from your computer, visit TARA.

For more information on copyright infringement & the RIAA, read these previous TechNotes posts:

• Downloads & Slow Network Speed
• Link Round-up: (Free) Alternatives to Illegal File Sharing
• Link Round-Up: Copyright & File Sharing
• Answers: Copyright Infringement Reminder
• Update: The RIAA & You & Smith
• The RIAA & You & Smith

Since the beginning of the spring semester, ITS has been receiving increasing reports from students of network slow-downs and “sluggishness.” Our network usage statistics show this is primarily due to an increase in the overall volume of peer-to-peer traffic on the campus network.

We have also noted an increase in the number of RIAA violations and abuses of Smith’s policy on the acceptable use of computer resources.

As you know, the use of peer-to-peer clients for the distribution of copyrighted material is prohibited on campus. ITS supports downloading copyrighted music, movies, or television from legal sources, such as iTunes and Amazon.com MP3.

To minimize the impact on the Smith residential network, we strongly recommend that you always download this type of file over an Ethernet connection, rather than a wireless connection, and strongly recommend downloading full-length movies and TV-series files overnight, rather than during peak usage hours.

Thank you for your help in keeping the Smith residence network running smoothly for all students.

Regards, Kate Etzel

For more information, please take a look at previous TechNotes articles on copyright and the RIAA.

If you maintain a web site on a Smith web server, you will need to switch from non-secure file transfer (FTP) to secure file transfer (SFTP) to continue transferring files to and from the web server successfully.

For more information and instructions on how to switch, see the TARA page, Using Secure File Transfer to Transfer Your Files.

Smith servers currently support both secure (SSH and SFTP) and non-secure (FTP) connections, but beginning January 2008, Smith servers will accept only secure connections.

If you use Dreamweaver, Contribute, or Fetch, you may need to change your settings. If you have been using WS_FTP LE, you will need to switch to a program that supports SFTP. For more information and instructions on changing your settings or switching to a secure client, read the TARA page, Using Secure File Transfer to Transfer Your Files.

In the news
A Controversial Antipiracy Measure Re-emerges
“Even after they fended off a Senate proposal that would have forced some colleges to buy antipiracy tools, many campus officials were in no mood to celebrate: It was only a matter of time, they said, before the House of Representatives brought up a similar measure. They were right. …” [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

Labels Win Suit Against Song Sharer
“In a crucial legal victory for record labels and other copyright owners, a federal jury yesterday found a Minnesota woman liable for copyright infringement for sharing music online and imposed a penalty of $222,000 in damages.” [NYTimes.com]

Downloading on trial
In-depth story of a University of Wisconsin student’s recent settlement with the RIAA. [Badger Herald via The Chronicle of Higher Education: “Pre-Litigation Letters Put Colleges Between a Rock and a Hard Place”]

For more information
Tales From the Public Domain: Bound by Law?
Free-for-download comic book explains United States copyright law and fair use. [Duke Center for the Study of the Public Domain via The Chronicle of Higher Education: “Bam! Pow! Footnote!”]

A User’s Guide to DRM in Online Music [Electronic Frontier Foundation]

How-to: Disable P2P File Sharing [TARA]

Smith College Acceptable Use Policy

Previous Posts: The RIAA & You (& Smith), Update: The RIAA & You & Smith, Answers: Copyright Infringement Reminder

>> I know sharing copyrighted music is illegal, but what about movies?

Distributing (sharing) copyrighted content without the owner’s permission is illegal regardless of the media. This means that downloading and sharing copyrighted movies and tv shows can also put you at risk for a lawsuit from the copyright holders.

Similar to the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) has filed suits against copyright infringers based on the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act)

>> I’ve heard conflicting things about movie-downloading sites. Is Veoh safe?

Veoh.com is complicated — it is a website based on posts by users. Copyright law requires VeOH to remove copyright-infringing videos after they are notified by the copyright holder, but the company does not have to screen material posted to the site. Veoh was recently sued by Universal, similar to the recent Viacom suit against YouTube. This means that copyright-infringing material may be on the site, and it is important that you do not re-distribute this copyrighted material (even inadvertently). You can read VeOH’s copyright policy here: http://www.veoh.com/corporate/copyright.html

In a nut-shell: Do not download copyright-infringing material to your personal computer and never share, distribute, or post copyright-infringing material online (videos, music, etc).

>> What about Ruckus?

Ruckus.com is a website that allows students to download DRM (Digital Rights Management) tracks to a personal computer. These tracks are not your property and can only be played using the Ruckus Player. The player currently only supports Windows XP and Windows 2000. Mac and Windows Vista users are out of luck. DRM tracks can only be played on DRM mp3 players (iPods are not in this category) if you purchase a Ruckus to Go Subscription.

• A User’s Guide to DRM in Online Music [Electronic Frontier Foundation]
• Cornell University’s FAQ on Ruckus
• Ruckus Networks’ free, ad-supported college music service goes nationwide [Ars Technica]

>> And if I use too much bandwidth?

ITS looks at the “top talker” (highest bandwidth user list) and will restrict users that have exceeded their quota. If this happens to you, you will be receive a letter from Kate Etzel, Director of User Support at ITS. Students get three warnings before their network access is disabled and the matter is brought before the honor board. Using an excessive amount of bandwidth is considered a violation of the Smith Acceptable Use Policy:

Use of computer resources in such a manner that might cause congestion of the network or that incapacitates, compromises, or damages college resources.

… Violations of college policies are adjudicated according to procedures outlined in the Student Handbook, the Faculty Code, and the Staff Handbook, and may result in the removal of computer access privileges and/or more serious sanctions. Some offenses are punishable under state and federal laws. A repeat copyright violation will result in the immediate removal of computer access privileges. The college reserves the right to access the contents of electronic files during the course of an investigation and to disclose the contents during judicial proceedings.

More Questions? Email technotes@smith.edu or post a comment.

Protect yourself from a similar lawsuit by:
• Understanding the RIAA enforcement strategy and Smith’s position.
• Removing all illegal peer-to-peer file-sharing programs from your computer.
• Knowing that illegal sharing of copyrighted files is also a violation of Smith’s Acceptable Use Policy.

For more information, read the previous TechNotes post: The RIAA & You (& Smith)