UC Davis Information & Educational Technology

File-Sharing

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File-Sharing Basics

What is it?
File-sharing is the act of obtaining or sharing a copy of a copyright-protected file such as music, TV, movies, games, or business software. Using peer-to-peer (p2p) software is a common way to file-share. Examples of p2p programs include: BitTorrent, LimeWire and eDonkey (part of the Gnutella protocol), KaZaA, Morpheus, and Grokster (the last three examples were sued by the music industry and were shut down by the US Supreme Court in 2007.)

Once installed, most p2p software runs in the background any time your computer is connected to the Internet. Other computers running the same p2p software can search and scan your system for files. Upon request, your computer can make a copy of the file and upload it to the requesting computer. Unless you have a license to make and distribute copies (and it’s highly unlikely that you do), you’ve just violated copyright law, even if you own the file legally.

P2p software can be very useful for legally moving around large data files for research projects. But p2p software cannot tell the difference between files that are legal to share and files that aren’t. If you choose to have p2p on your computer for such legal uses, you must be meticulous about keeping other files out of your shared folders where p2p software can find them.

What risks are involved?
You may inadvertently download spyware which is software that gathers personal information about you without your knowledge, allows hackers to access your personal files and programs, and could put you at risk for identity theft.

You can also increase your risk for downloading viruses. Certain viruses can turn your computer into a spam machine. This would result in a loss of access to the UC Davis network until your computer is cleaned, which can cost you money as well as time. 

In addition to downloading spyware and viruses, you could be violating federal copyright laws which carry both civil and criminal penalties -- ones which some copyright owners are quite willing to pursue. (It is estimated that 90% of all illegal file-sharing happens through p2p software.)

When you applied for UC Davis network use privileges you agreed to respect copyright law under the Acceptable Use Policy. UC Davis cannot protect you from being sued. The minimum settlement amount is running at about $3,000 as of 2008. If a copyright owner issues a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notification instead of suing, you will lose access to the UC Davis network for at least two weeks for the first offense and permanently thereafter.

Remember, an infringement is an infringement, whether or not you were aware of the activity or thought it was legal.

What is UC Davis doing to protect me?
Many UC Davis students and staff members have been sued or threatened with a file-sharing lawsuit. If a copyright owner sues you for copyright infringement, UC Davis cannot protect you. Although the campus will not disclose your identity without a valid subpoena, if presented with one, it will comply.

If you are a member of ASUCD and you are being threatened with a lawsuit, you are entitled to a brief consultation with an attorney. Visit the ASUCD Legal Services page to schedule an appointment.

Also, the campus offers free anti-virus software for faculty, staff, and students via the campus Software Web site.

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