P2P and Copyright
About the DMCA
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) 
was signed into law by President Clinton on October 28, 1998. The legislation implements two 1996 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaties: the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. The DMCA also addresses a number of other significant copyright-related issues.
Drexel's DMCA Policy
Drexel IRT's Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) includes a statement about copyrighted material
Users may not engage in the unauthorized copying, distributing, altering or translating of copyrighted materials, software, music or other media without the express permissions of the copyright holder
DMCA FAQ
Q: What is Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networking?
A: P2P is a decentralized type of computer networking where files reside on individual client computers rather than on centralized servers. P2P programs include Kazaa, Bearshare, ArezWarez, Bittorrent, Gnutella, DirectConnect and Azureus.
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Q: Is P2P illegal?
A: No, P2P is not inherently illegal. Using P2P technologies for the purpose of downloading and sharing copyrighted files is illegal under the terms of the DMCA.
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Q: What are some common P2P applications?
A: Common P2P applications include ArezWarez, Azureus, Bearshare, Bitcomet, BitTornado, Bittorrent, Gnutella, Direct Connect, eMule, eDonkey, iMesh, Kazaa, Limewire, Shareaza, rTorrent, uTorrent, Thunder, Transmission, and WarezP2P.
Please see Wikipedia for a comprensive list of P2P protocols and client applications.
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Q: Am I at risk if I never share files when I run P2P programs?
A: Yes! Many P2P programs, like Bittorrent, share downloaded files by default. You may be sharing files even though you never explicitly configured specific files or directories to be shared!
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Q: How do I uninstall P2P software
A: Windows users can install P2P software by using the "Add/Remove Programs" function of their Windows XP or Windows Vista operating system.
The University of Chicago provides an excellent resource with instructions for disabling various P2P applications. Click here for Disabling Peer-to-Peer File Sharing
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Q: May I share music or videos which I have purchased?
A: No!
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Q: What is the DMCA?
A: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a United States copyright law. You can find the U.S. Copyright Office's summary of the DMCA here.
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Q: What are the legal consequences of violating the DMCA?
A: DMCA violators can expect to face harsh civil and criminal penalties including fines of up to $250,000 per file and 5 years in prison.
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Q: What are the consequences of violating the DMCA at Drexel?
A: DMCA violators are subject to immediate revocation of network access privileges and monetary fines commensurate with primary, secondary and tertiary offenses. Drexel students receiving notification of a second DMCA violation are subject to action by The Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards.
DMCA Violations
| Violation | Consequence | Reconnection Fee |
|---|
| First |
Disconnection & IRT Notification |
$0 |
| Second |
Disconnection & OJA Warning |
$100 |
| Third |
Disconnection & OJA Hearing |
$500 |
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Q: How does Drexel respond to DMCA Violation notices?
A: Drexel IRT, as an Internet Service Provider, is legally required to comply with the provisions of the DMCA.
- The copyright holder sends Drexel's Designated DMCA Agent a notice of infringement. The notice identifies the IP Address, Date, Time, Filename(s) and P2P protocol. [SAMPLE]
- IRT begins an investigation, attempting to match the identified IP Address on the network at the stated time of infringement.
- IRT identifies the MAC address of the alleged infringing network device.
- IRT attempts to identify the Drexel user id to which the MAC is registered.
- If no registered user is found, IRT places the associated network port(s) into the Isolated Network. Isolated network users will see the following web page when attempting to connect to the Internet. [SCREENSHOT]
- If a registered user is found, an email containing the original DMCA notification is sent to the registered user.
- The registered user has 3 days to respond to the notification by deleting the copyrighted files and clicking a hyperlink.
- IRT places the associated network port into the Isolated Network if no user response is received by the end of the 3day notification window.
- Users associated with secondary offenses are forwarded to The Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards for potential disciplinary action.
- Residential users who have acknowledged notice of a DMCA Violation will be required to re-register their network jack.
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Q: I would like to contest the violation, what should I do?
A: If you think that you have been incorrectly identified by the copyright owner or Drexel, an investigation by IRT and Student Judicial will take place.
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Q: Am I at risk of being prosecuted under the DMCA if I only download a single song?
A: Yes. The recording and motion picture industries will take action against users responsible for downloading a single copyrighted file.
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Q: To whom at Drexel University can I direct my questions and concerns about filesharing and the DMCA?
A: The IRT Security Group can answer questions related to the DMCA and filesharing.
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Q: To whom at Drexel University should copyright holders direct DMCA Violation notifications?
A: The agent designated to receive and act on copyright violations under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is
Timothy Raynor
Drexel University
Office of the General Counsel
3201 Arch Street, Suite 310
Philadelphia, PA 19104
dmca@drexel.edu
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