75 Oxford students caught downloading illegally
More than 75 Oxford students were detected illegally downloading copyright material in the past two years. Alan Gay, deputy director of Oxford University Computing Services (OUCS), told The Oxford Student media corporations have already notified the university on 16 occasions this academic year that students have been illegally sharing files such as MP3s and videos. Sixty were detected in the previous year.
These ‘cease and desist’ requests are legal notices designed to force the university to stop its members using file sharing software to exchange copyright material. Mr Gay said: “You get the impression that there’s a big searchlight going round, and sometimes it focuses on us, and sometimes we go for a while without anything happening.
“The number of orders served does seem to have increased in recent years… but the level of monitoring and action by film and music companies has increased.” The university has an official ban on the use of peer-to-peer software, and charges colleges around £60 each time a complaint is received. Colleges pass this fine onto the student in question, often imposing an additional charge.
The Oxford Student reported last term how Christ Church became the first college officially to warn students of the consequences of file sharing. Last week Teddy Hall circulated an email to students warning them they would face “a further penalty of £50,” if caught illicitly downloading copyright material. “The illegal downloading of music, films, etc. via file-sharing software is strictly prohibited by the University and College,” read the email, which claimed the dean, Dr Alistair Borthwick, “believes that it is only a matter of time before the copyright infringements result in a court case”. Christ Church has announced that it will actively scan all internet traffic within the college.
Students have been told that if the college detects any use of file-sharing software, other than Apple’s iTunes, offenders will have internet access revoked. Magdalen, while also following basic OUCS rules, apparently takes a more relaxed approach to file sharing. The Junior Censor said that “we do not issue fines, but we expect undergraduates to carry the costs which OUCS charge (£50 plus VAT) if a copyright infringement is incurred.
Keble’s IT department said students would face fines of £100 to cover administration costs. Matt Phillips, Communications Manager of the British Phonographic Industry, said he was surprised at the number of notices Oxford received. “We know the majority of file sharing within institutions like universities occurs across networks rather than through peer-to-peer... so we tend to limit our monitoring to communicating with heads of IT, and alerting them to the dangers of illegal downloads,” he said.
19th Jan 2006