Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2004 12:05:41 -0500
From: John Axcelson 
Reply-To: John Axcelson 
Subject: Subject:  Intellectual Honesty:  Plagiarism, Copyright, and File-sharing
To: GSASALL@CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU

GSAS Students:

Intellectual honesty is the foundation of our academic lives. Original
thought and proper credit for others' work is central to learning and
teaching.  Like plagiarism, violation of copyright is a serious breach
of the commitment to intellectual integrity that you made when you came
to Columbia.

You each should have received a letter over the summer from the Provost
and General Counsel alerting you to your responsibilities under
copyright law when using Columbia's computer systems and network. As
indicated in that letter, the use of peer-to-peer file-sharing programs
such as Kazaa and Morpheus to make and share copies of copyrighted music
and movies is a violation of copyright law and University policy.

Such violations are a matter of student conduct and will be dealt with
by my office as a disciplinary matter.

Over the past academic year the University has received hundreds of
verified allegations of the illegal possession and distribution of
copyrighted materials over the Columbia network.

Each student involved has received a letter from his or her Dean, a
letter that is placed in the student's file until graduation. Students
committing a repeat violation will be subjected to a disciplinary
hearing, where the recommended penalty is probation.

Before you install Kazaa or any other file-sharing software, here are
some facts from the University's lawyers and from Academic Information
Systems about copyright law in general and peer-to-peer file-sharing in
particular:

Copyright Law
.Copyright protection covers any original work of authorship that is
fixed in some tangible medium of expression
.A work is protected from the moment it is created,
.A work does not have to contain a copyright notice to qualify for
protection.
.Virtually any work you find whether software, music, videos, or
email; whether on the Internet, a CD, DVD, or tape, is almost certainly
protected by copyright.
.While there are exceptions under the law that allow copying or
distribution of copyrighted work, the use of file-sharing software to
share copyrighted music and movies, without permission, would virtually
never qualify for an exception.

Peer-to-peer file-sharing
.Copyright owners scan our network every day for unlawful use of
their works.
.The University must take action upon receiving a complaint.
.You can be held legally liable if you have downloaded music, movies or
other files without permission from the copyright owner.
.Students here and at other universities have been sued and forced to 
pay damages.

The Recording Industry Association of America has filed hundreds of
lawsuits against individual college students based on its scans of
university networks, and promises to increase its enforcement actions.
The Motion Picture Association of America has announced that it will
follow suit with its own lawsuits against students.

Please see http://www.columbia.edu/cu/policy/copyright-info.html for
more on copyright and the University's compliance with the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act.

See http://www.columbia.edu/cu/policy for complete information on the
University's Computer and Network Use Policy

Whether a citizen, resident, or visitor in the United States, you are
personally responsible for abiding by the law.  As a member of the
University community, you are equally responsible for adhering to the
University's policies for the network and the use of other online and
computing resources, including respect for copyright.

John Axcelson
Assistant Dean for Student Affairs
Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
107 Low Library
(212) 854-3923
jwa2@columbia.edu