Email to Students - File Sharing
March 7, 2007

For your own benefit and edification, please take a moment to read this message.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has recently increased its efforts to curtail unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing of music over the Internet. As part of this increased effort, the RIAA has begun to target college students specifically, which means that students who engage in unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing are more likely than ever to be identified and sued by the RIAA. Most students have settled these lawsuits out-of-court, typically for $4,000-$4,500.

This past Friday and Saturday, the University received notification that the RIAA intends to sue or receive settlement from more than a dozen members of the U-M community, whom the RIAA designated through IP addresses. The University is in the process of identifying and notifying these individuals.

The University of Michigan does not condone unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing. Students who engage in it are violating a variety of University policies including the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities; the Proper Use of Information Resources; and the ResComp Conditions of Use.

Students who have installed peer-to-peer file sharing programs on their computers and are concerned that they might be unwittingly sharing files should visit the University of Chicago's useful webpage that describes how to disable file sharing on a variety of programs (http://security.uchicago.edu/guidelines/peer-to-peer/).

The U niversity of Michigan maintains a web page (http://www.copyright.umich.edu) that describes the U-M's position on illegal sharing of copyrighted materials and also includes a growing list of FAQs. All members of the University community are encouraged to study the materials on this page.

Lawful downloading of music is possible through sites such as Apple iTunes, MSN Music, Rhapsody, Ruckus, etc. Details about a number of these sites are available at: http://mp3.about.com/od/wheretobuymusic/a/all_profile.htm and http://mp3.about.com/od/freemusicdownloads/tp/freeandlegalmp3.htm.

Teresa A. Sullivan
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

E. Royster Harper
Vice President for Student Affairs

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