University of Maryland College Park will not be on your side

I have been a student for the most of my life. This is the first time I get an email as interesting as this from a university addressed to all its population. It says "if anyone gives us an IP address related to you in any way, we'll screw you" and "remove any installed P2P software you have". Here it is:

To All Students, Faculty, and Staff:

We are writing to emphasize to you the increasing personal risks to individuals who engage in illegal file sharing. These personal risks involve not only the possibility of campus disciplinary or personnel action, but also the possibility of criminal prosecution and the
initiation of civil litigation by copyright holders. Pursuit of legal actions by copyright holders continues to be an everyday reality: The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which represents the recording industry, has filed thousands of civil actions since 2003
against individuals using peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing applications, including nearly 20 University of Maryland students in the past several months. The cost of settling those actions is $3,000 or more per case. The university will not be able to protect or assist individual members
of the university community if they are sued for illegal uses of P2P technology. If subpoenaed, the university will provide the identity of the person in conformance with the law.

Although downloading and trading copyrighted music, movies, games, and software over the Internet has become commonplace with file sharing programs such as BitTorrent, KaZaa, and Direct Connect or DC++, those activities are frequently illegal. U.S. copyright law makes it illegal to reproduce and distribute copyrighted material without permission of the copyright owner except in limited circumstances. Violations may be punishable with civil and criminal penalties, including prison time andmonetary damages. Copyright infringement via P2P file sharing networks,e-mail, instant messaging, and other methods also violates the university's "Policy on the Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources" (www.umd.edu/aup) as well as federal law.

It would be unwise to rely on the myth that sharing of copyrighted materials is unlikely to be noticed. Copyright holders and theiragents, including the RIAA, use automated methods to identify infringements. Even modest sharing may be detected. As a legal alternative, undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged to subscribe to the free Ruckus music subscription service. Faculty and staff may subscribeto the service on a semester-long basis for $8.99 per month. The
service provides unlimited tethered downloading on two computers. More information about the program, including instructions on how to signup, is available at www.oit.umd.edu/musicservice. Legal downloads are available from many other sources, including the popular iTunes Music Store.

In compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the University of Maryland expeditiously responds to complaints it receivesof copyright infringement on the campus network by deleting ordisabling access to materials or directing individual users to do so. In appropriate circumstances, incidents may be referred for disciplinary review and additional actions may be taken such as blocking Internet connectivity and terminating computer accounts.

It is important to emphasize that copyright-infringing activity not only violates federal law and university policy but also undermines the creation of intellectual property and the rights of persons who create original works. In a university environment where the fundamental purpose is the pursuit of and respect for the creation of knowledge, we expect community members to act in congruence with the mission. In keeping with the academic mission, legitimate uses of P2P file sharing software and networks will be preserved.

We also encourage you to consider the information security risk associated with the use of P2P file sharing applications. It is not uncommon for file sharing users to accidentally share documents from their computer that they would have preferred to have kept private (e.g., financial information, personal photographs, etc.). There is also the risk of importing files that might contain a computer virus. We advise that you remove from your computer any P2P file sharing applications or materials associated with them that you do not have permission to possess or distribute. Contact your departmental computer support professionals or the Office of Information Technology Help Desk for faculty/staff, 301.405.1500, or the Office of Information
Technology Student Help Desk, 301.405.1400, if you require assistance with the removal; no penalties will be imposed.

Thank you for your consideration of this information.

Sincerely,
Nariman Farvardin
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost

Jeffrey C. Huskamp
Vice President and Chief Information Officer


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This note was authorized for distribution to
University of Maryland Community by:
Jeffrey C. Huskamp, Vice President and CIO

And here is the full headers (less my information):

X-Apparently-To: ...
X-Originating-IP: ...
Return-Path:
Authentication-Results: ...
Received: ...
Received: from localhost (IDENT:sendmail@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by listserv.umd.edu (8.12.11.20060308/8.12.11) with ESMTP id l86F6C1i022458; Thu, 6 Sep 2007 11:06:12 -0400 (EDT)
Message-Id: ...
Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2007 11:06:12 -0400 (EDT)
Sender: "Office of Information Technology"
From: "Office of Information Technology"
Reply-to: oit@umd.edu
Errors-to: UMMailer@megamail.umd.edu
To:
Subject: Risks of Illegal File Sharing
Content-Length: 4974