What's the big deal about sharing and downloading music, movies, or other files?
 |
It is imperative to understand the difference between legal and illegal downloads and file sharing. Unauthorized sharing or downloading of copyrighted material is stealing, plain and simple--just as illegal as shoplifting a CD--and so is subject to legal and disciplinary action. Students across the country, including several at Boston College, have already been served with lawsuits by copyright holders, paid thousands of dollars in fines and legal costs, and in some cases faced criminal charges. Don't be one of them. Remember: ignorance of the law is not a legitimate defense. For any computer on the BC network, a specific IP address is assigned. The music and film industries monitor activity on file-sharing networks, and they contact Boston College with the IP addresses that are found to be illegally sharing files. BC, by law, is bound to release the identities of the individuals tied to those IP addresses. |