More than 100 students faced copyright complaints over two-month period late last year

Dorm-dwelling students who continually share music files downloaded off the Internet could have their Internet access permanently cut off, a UA official said.

Steve Gilmore, assistant director of Residence Life, said 100 complaints were filed in November and December against University of Arizona students who violated copyright by improperly downloading MP3 files.

Those students could face permanent disconnection from the UA network if they continue violating the law after undergoing training and writing a paper to demonstrate they understand the nature of the violation.

Gilmore said that students in dorms are not prohibited from using any specific software but the possession and sharing of media that is in violation of copyright laws is illegal.

However, he said many students are unaware they are even sharing their files.

"Some software turns students' machines into servers without their knowledge because it is automatically set to share files," he said

Gilmore said that Internet access was installed in residence halls to support students' academics but understands that the network can be used for many purposes.

He said that although he has no exact figures on how many people use the network to download music, he suspects that nearly everybody connected in the dorms uses it for that purpose.

"We consider students to consume information through use of the network," he said. "But we know you can use the network for more than academics."

Ted Frohling, network systems analyst for CCIT, said the center receives letters from several music and motion picture industry groups notifying the university that they are looking out for file sharing in all campus computers.

Gilmore said those industries use the same tools and software involved in sharing files to identify copyright violators.

"That information is reported to administrators because we are responsible to respond in ways to prevent the university of being held liable," he said.

Frohling said that the university does not monitor the network for the downloading of music or movies.

"(Downloading music) is done, but there is nothing in the network to monitor that traffic and block it," he said.

Frohling said there is technology to legally obtain music on the Internet but once that file is shared that it is a violation of copyright laws.

Gilmore said once a file sharing complaint is made against a student living in a dorm, the university identifies the computer and disables its access to the network.

The department of Residence Life informs those students that they can disable the file-sharing feature in the software but reminds them that they are not banned from using any certain software.

"Our efforts are geared at education on a first violation," he said. "We know most students are not familiar with copyright laws and how these programs work, so we want to keep them out of court."

The student must then write a three-page research report about copyright laws and submit it to Residence Life before they are again granted Internet access.

"They write the paper to show they understand the policies. Otherwise, they wouldn't read them," he said.

However, on a second violation of the department's policy and copyright laws the student will permanently lose all access to the network from their dorm room.

"We would not like to see that happen to any student because it could be academically disabling," he said.

For more information on Internet use and policies within residence halls go to www.rescomp.arizona.edu.