MP3 Policy Statement for
Sam Houston State University
SHSU Campus Policy on MP3's
Sam Houston State policy prohibits the distribution
of unauthorized MP3's. SHSU is subject to legislation,
and inspection of its servers and sites by such
groups as the RIAA (Recording Industry Association
of America). These groups are authorized to act
on behalf of their member companies in matters
involving the infringement of their sound recordings,
including enforcing their copyrights and common
law right on the Internet.
Users found distributing or storing MP3’s
on university servers and shares may be subject
to disciplinary action as stated in the University
Computer Use Policy. The person could also face
criminal charges, state or federal, due to infringing
activity on state-owned servers and workstations.
If someone is found liable to copyright infringement,
federal law provides for civil remedies that
may include substantial monetary payment, injunctive
relief and liability for attorney’s fee
incurred in bringing an action. Criminal penalties
may be imposed if someone willfully infringes
a copyrighted work, even if no profit is derived
from the activity. This type of crime is punishable
by up to five years imprisonment, up to $250,000
in fines, or both.
General Information
What is MP3?
The MP3 Problem
What is a copyright?
The Main Rules
The RIAA and the Recording Industry
For More Information
What
is MP3?
The MPEG Layer-3 Audio format, commonly known
as MP3 is a file format used for storing sound
digitally. These MP3’s can be stored on
computer hard drives, ZIP disks, some floppy
disks, and other storage mediums. The MP3 format
is so popular because of its ability to store
large sound recordings extremely small. Because
of their manageable size, MP3’s are easily
distributed over the Internet.
The MP3 Problem
Unless a individual is the owner of the copyright
to the words, the music and the actual performance
that is on tape or CD (or any other format),
he/she will not be able to distribute the product
for free, for fun, or for profit. This means
loading a music collection onto a computer, and
letting others have access to it, is probably
illegal.
Music web sites are the latest rage among college
students across the country. Many of these music
sites have been created by students and made
available to the public through their universities’ access
to the Internet. Most of these sites are also
illegal, because they violate federal and/or
state copyright laws. The consequences for administering
or interacting with these sites can be severe.
On the Internet copyright laws remain the same.
Reproductions or distributions of sound recordings,
which have not been authorized by the copyright
owner, violate federal and, possibly state law.
While there is an exception for copying for personal
use onto cassette tapes and some digital media,
that exception does not apply to the Internet.
This means that, as a general rule, downloading,
uploading or otherwise distributing MP3’s
without authorization is illegal. This law applies
even if no profit is derived from the activity.
What
is a copyright?
A Copyright is the means for artists, writers,
and musicians to protect their work and the profits
that might be generated from their work. Copyright
laws control the reproduction, distribution,
adaptation, and, in some cases, the public display
and performance of creative works. These laws
are the basis for protecting the ownership of
creative works of music, art, and literacy or
scholarly work. In other words, copyright law
says that the owner of the copyright controls
these uses of the work.
In recorded music, copyrights protect songwriters,
composers and performers. For any given recording
there are at least TWO copyrighted works involved.
First, there's the copyright in the musical work
(the lyrics and musical notes as they are written
on paper). The songwriter or music publisher
normally owns this copyright. The second is the
copyright in the sound recording (a recording
of a performer singing or playing their particular
song). This copyright is usually owned by the
record company.
The only LEGAL way to reproduce a piece of recorded
music -- uploading, downloading, copying from
a CD, etc. - is to get permission from the owners
of these different copyrights. This is called
obtaining a "license".
The
Main Rules
- Creating unauthorized MP3 sites by copying
sound recordings to a server and/or offering
such recordings for download is a violation of
copyright law
- Creating tapes or CDs of recordings downloaded
from the Internet is a violation of copyright
law
- Offering interactive digital transmissions
(such as web pages, FTP sites, etc.) of sound
recordings, and in some cases, webcasts requires
licensing, but is otherwise illegal
The
RIAA and the Recording Industry
The Recording Industry Association of America,
or RIAA, is the trade group that represents the
companies and people in the recording industry.
The RIAA works to protect the intellectual property
rights and the First Amendment rights of artists;
conduct consumer, industry and technician research;
and monitor, review and influence state and federal
laws, regulations and policies. The RIAA has
been very active in instructing schools and universities
in such policy creation. The purpose of the RIAA
is to raise awareness that reproducing and distributing
music illegally is akin to stealing, and has
serious ethical and legal consequences.
The RIAA is committed to getting music to fans
while protecting the democratic principles in
the new world of changing technology. This is
being done through the SOUNDBYTING Campaign,
in the education of universities and students
about respecting the rights of musicians on the
Internet.
For
More Information
The proceeding information was provided by the
RIAA and the SOUNDBYTING Campaign, and can be
found at the following Web sites:
http://www.riaa.com (RIAA
Home Page)
RIAA Liaison ~ contact information:
JONATHAN WHITEHEAD
Assistant Anti-Piracy Counsel
Recording Industry Association
of America
1330 Connecticut Ave, NW
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036
PHONE: 202.775.0101
EMAIL: jwhitehead@riaa.com
Contacting the Web Site
If you have any questions about this policy statement,
the practices of this site, or your dealings with
this Web site, you can contact
Computer Services
Sam Houston State University
PO Box 2449
Huntsville, TX 77341
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