[July 05, 2010] At UW-Madison, campaign warns free songs, movies come at a price Tweet Jul 05, 2010 (The Wisconsin State Journal - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The posters in UW-Madison dorms send a foreboding message: "Think it couldn't happen to you? Think again." The signs, as well as warnings at freshman orientation and e-mail messages, are meant to warn students and their parents about the possible consequences of illegally distributing songs and movies. UW-Madison must be vigilant, for it, too, now faces potential penalties. Beginning this month, if colleges don't combat the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material in their computer networks, they could lose federal funding. Brian Rust, communications director for the division of information technology, said UW-Madison has engaged in an aggressive public relations campaign to help students understand the risks of illegal file sharing. In 2007, the Recording Industry Association of America subpoenaed UW-Madison for the names associated with 53 IP (Internet protocol) addresses. Rust said he has heard anecdotally many of those students settled out of court, often costing about $3,000. Even now, the university gets about a dozen "cease and desist" notices a week from the recording industry, directed at IP addresses on campus believed to be involved in sharing illegally downloaded material, Rust said. UW-Madison contacts the person associated with the address, asking him or her to delete the file and promise not to do it again. Then the university passes that response on to the agency, Rust said. The university wants to tamp down on the illegal network activity, but it has to walk a fine line. Some point-to-point file sharing is both permitted and necessary for the educational goals of the college, Rust said. Rust said the university doesn't limit bandwidth or use a commercial product to filter content because it could hamper legitimate sharing between researchers, students and faculty. To see more of The Wisconsin State Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.wisconsinstatejournal.com. Copyright (c) 2010, The Wisconsin State Journal Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544). [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]