Law requires colleges to fight piracy

The University does not anticipate having to overhaul its policy on internet piracy in light of new rules published in the Federal Register on Oct. 22, University spokeswoman Emily Aronson said. The new rules, which will take effect in July, require universities receiving federal financial aid to develop written plans to fight illegal file sharing, to educate their network users about laws regarding copyright material and to offer legal alternatives to downloading protected content.

Aronson said she thinks the University’s existing policy and rules already satisfy many of the new federal requirements.

“We will need some time to take a closer look at the federal regulations over the coming months but we believe that much of the guidelines represent efforts that we are already doing,” Aronson said in an e-mail.

The University has already developed a comprehensive policy concerning legal network use, she said. Much of this policy is included in “Rights, Rules, Responsibilities,” and the University also includes the pamphlet “Copyright Law and Princeton University Policy” in its annual summer mailings to incoming freshman classes.

To satisfy the federal requirement of offering legal alternatives to illegal downloading, for example, a university must arrange a list of websites where the protected material could be legally purchased. Princeton’s effort to encourage legal downloading includes pre-installing iTunes on all computers purchased through the Student Computer Initiative program, Aronson said. There is a strong support system within the residential colleges, she added, for answering any student questions about legal internet use.

“OIT employees in the residential colleges, or RCCs [residential computing consultants], have received training at the beginning of the school year about copyright issues and how to help educate students about internet policy and safe networking,” Aronson explained. “The deans in the residential colleges also talk about these issues with their residential advisers, so residential advisers are able to assist their advisees with questions about these issues.”

Student response to the University’s policies have been mixed. Alex Cooksey ’12 commended the University for its efforts in distributing its network use policy, but he said that many students do not spend a large amount of time reading the extensive rules.

“Princeton has done a lot to distribute materials, but they have not done too much to directly outline the rules, which is more effective,” Cooksey explained. “By the same token, it’s just more a question of the students being lazy and getting in trouble, but the material is always there if you wish to find it.”

Kevin Mu ’13 said he thinks copyright laws are common knowledge and the University plays a minimal role in controlling whether students download illegally.

“I didn’t learn that much from the University about copyright laws, but I think most people come here with prior knowledge about it,” Mu explained. “Everyone knows that if you are downloading music for free, it’s probably illegal.”