From: Graves, Diane J.
Sent: Monday, November 24, 2008 4:13 PM
To: Trinity Students
Cc: White, Charles B.; Zapata, Fred; Tuttle, David; Bueche, Jacqueline
Subject: DMCA warning
Importance: High

As the Thanksgiving break arrives, I’m writing to remind you about the risks associated with using P2P sites for downloading music while you are at home.

Each year, I see a spike in take-down notices (also known as DMCA notices) right after a break. What I hear from those who got caught is that students go home with their laptops and download music, films and games on their home internet connections.  When they bring their computers back to campus and connect to the Trinity network, files are quickly identified by the entertainment industry, and the take-down notices start to flow in.

Please think carefully about your use of Gnutella-based programs (including, but not limited to LimeWire, BearShare, and others) or the Torrent programs (like BitTorrent). The entertainment industry uses the same programs to identify files.  For whatever reason, higher-education networks get a lot of scrutiny from the entertainment business—much more than commercial networks providing internet access to the home market.  

Last spring, we were hit with a huge increase in take-down notices just as the semester ended and finals began.  Trinity’s policy is that more than one infraction can result in a temporary loss of network access. Late in the term is a terrible time for students to lose their network connections.

(Trinity’s Appropriate Use Policy can be viewed here: http://iraa.trinity.edu/iraa/x118.xml )

Please let me know if you have questions or need more information. 

Diane Graves

Copyright officer

Diane J. Graves

University Librarian and Professor

Coates Library

Trinity University

One Trinity Place

San Antonio, TX 78212

ph: 210-999-8166

fax: 210-999-8182

mobile: 210-528-0442