July 2005 IT News
copyrighted file sharing ruled illegal
The U.S. Supreme Court handed down a ruling on June 27, 2005, that companies such as Grokster, Kazaa, LimeWire, and others who provide peer-to-peer software can be held liable for copyright violations that occur through the use of their products. While the ruling targets companies that provide file sharing software and services, it makes reference to their customers’ illegal actions and does not release individuals who share copyrighted materials from legal liability. The ruling also underscores to campus members that using the campus network to “ transfer software, files, text or pictures in violation of copyright laws” (PPM 1-15) is still a violation of the University’s Information Resources Policy which “may result in the withdrawal of access and in addition may subject the User to disciplinary action or academic sanctions consistent with University policies and procedures.” (PPM 1-15). Media watchgroups, such as the RIAA and MPAA continue scanning the Internet, including the University’s network, looking for instances of illegal file sharing. If found on our network, the Office of Information Technology (OIT) is notified of the date and time the transfer occurred and the IP address associated with the file transfer. As the Internet service provider for the campus, OIT must, by law, shut off the network connection of that computer so that the file in question is not shared further. The campus member using the computer/IP address is contacted and required to sign documentation with the Information Security Office stating they understand that a copyright violation was committed and that they will not continue this behavior on the campus network. The media watchgroup retains the right to pursue legal action against the individual. The Supreme Court decision comes as a surprisingly strong victory for copyright companies and stands to reshape an Internet landscape in which the presence of widespread file swapping has become commonplace. For more information, please contact the Information Security Office at or the Office of IT at copyright@utah.edu.
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LEGAL FILE SHARING! OPENSOURCE SITES MIRRORED AT SCHOOL OF COMPUTING SITE
The School of Computing (SoC) provides a mirror service for many opensource software sites. A mirror is a web site or set of files on a server that has been copied to another computer server so that the site or files are available from more than one location. For files that are popular for downloading, a mirror helps reduce network traffic, ensures better availability of the Web site or files, or enables the site or downloaded files to arrive more quickly for users close to the mirror site. Mirroring is the practice of creating and maintaining mirror sites. Software sites mirrored by the School of Computing include:
The School of Computing began providing this service last fall and it has already become the busiest server on campus in transfered data. The SoC is currently seeking funding to upgrade their storage so that other important sites may also be mirrored. Pending funding, they will work to determine what future mirrored sites would best serve campus and the rest of Utah. All mirrored sites are listed at http://mirror.cs.utah.edu, and are available via HTTP, FTP and RSYNC. If you have questions or would like to suggest sites to be mirrored, please contact SoC Facility staff at support@cs.utah.edu.
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IMS Satellite Downlink services
The Instructional Media Services (IMS) department provides satellite broadcast downlinks through its KU/C Band Satellite Dish at our Milton Bennion Hall Offices. Satellite programs can be viewed in one of the three IMS studio classrooms, the Union Building, the Marriott Library, Skaggs Hall Auditorium, School of Medicine classrooms, or the Eccles Health Science Library. With sufficient notice, IMS can also use IP based equipment to connect satellite programming to nearly any classroom, lecture hall, or office on campus. All programs can be recorded to video tape, DVD, or CD media for future presentation or for delayed broadcast options. For additional satellite programming and downlink information, please contact the IMS Campus Video Services Supervisor, Stan Clawson at 581-6112.
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FInd IT Events on the University Event Calendar
The University Events calendar now displays information on Information Technology-related meetings and events on campus. Go to the Calendar at www.events.utah.edu and click on "Browse by Organization". Choose from several Information Technology categories such as the IT Managers Forum, IT Council and IT Campus Events to see any scheduled events for the current day, week or month. You can also view all scheduled IT calendar events in a given time period by choosing the main "Information Technology" calendar. Regularly scheduled meeting information, and regular and special IT events will be posted here. Let us know if you want to see other IT information posted on the Events Calendar. You can also get to the Information Technology calendar via the OIT website by clicking on the IT Calendar link on the left of any of our News and Information web pages. |
