Stanford's Copyright Reminder
by Debra Zumwalt, Vice President and General Counsel, Stanford University
Dear Students, Faculty & Staff,
I am providing a link to Stanford University's Copyright Reminder for 2004 (PDF). These informational sheets are intended to update and remind the University community of the applicability of copyright law at an academic institution like Stanford.
Since this Reminder was last distributed in Fall 2003, file-sharing has been the focus of much attention, from Congress to college campuses. In January 2004 and again in September 2004, users of the Stanford network were named in "John Doe" lawsuits, which alleged the Stanford network users had unlawfully downloaded and/or shared 11 and 8 songs respectively. This Copyright Reminder includes an expanded section on file-sharing, which describes the penalties that may result from illegally downloading or sharing copyrighted works. This section also discusses the new California law that makes it a misdemeanor to anonymously file-share a "commercial recording" to more than 10 people. (See also File-Sharing Beware of the Consequences, an article by Lauren Schoenthaler, Senior University Counsel at Stanford, which appeared in the Fall 2004 issue of this newsletter.)
While Stanford supports and encourages the fair use of copyrighted materials, file-sharing entire works without permission from the copyright owner, such as music, movies, TV shows, games, software and images, for personal enjoyment is not a fair-use and will not be tolerated at Stanford.
Copyright questions arising from this Reminder may be addressed to the Fair Use Panel at 723-5553 or to Lauren Schoenthaler in the Office of the General Counsel.
Thank you in advance to your attention to this important information.
