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Be cautious when using file-sharing software
As users of the Internet, we need to be aware that distributing or
downloading, through file sharing programs, copyrighted material for
which we do not possess the permission of the owner is illegal, and may
be
liable to infringement lawsuits. A man was arrested by the Customs
Department recently for making movies available on the Internet by "Bit
Torrent", a peer to peer (P2P) file sharing technology.
Some P2P file sharing programs, like "Bit Torrent", will distribute the
material while you are downloading. Others file sharing programs will
even automatically take music from your legally purchased CD stored on
CDROM drive and distribute it anytime your computer is on - without
your notice or permission.
It is always our university's policy that we have to respect
intellectual property rights, and not to violate copyright laws. We may
expose ourself to the possibility of a claim for infringement, which
has potentially criminal sanctions, if we distribute or obtain music,
videos, games, or software for which we do not have permission or a
legal defense for its distribution.
So how can we protect ourselves from this kind of legal action?
The simplest way is
- NOT to distribute music, videos, games, or software for which you
do not own the copyright or have permission to do so, at all.
Please also follow the general guidelines below
- Don't donwload illegal/unlicensed software
- Don't donwload copyrighted works such as music, songs, movies,
games, etc. without permission from the copyright owner
- Don't distribute copyrighted materials on the Internet using FTP
server, P2P network, ICQ/e-mail, etc. without proper authorization
- Be cautious when using file-sharing software. Study the
functionality of them when needed
- Educate yourself on the law of
intellectual property