Loyola College has received several requests from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Universal City Studios, and various Record recording labels requesting our assistance in ceasing the distribution, sale, and/or offering for sale of any copyrighted materials on any site(s) for which we act as an Internet Service Provider.

Because Internet Service Providers can be held liable if they do not respond to claims of infringement pursuant to the requirements of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Title 17 United States Code Section 512, (the "DMCA"), any student found in violation of such policies may be subject to disciplinary action that could include loss of all internet privileges.

The MPAA, other entertainment industry organizations, as well as software companies focus their Internet scans on university and college networks for specific games, programs, songs, or videos.  Colleges are hotbeds of file sharing so these organizations have entire units dedicated to watching what goes on and tracking it to the source.  They search for computers with copyrighted material available to download, which they use to gather evidence, which could be used in legal proceedings against the person in possession of copyrighted material.  It is illegal for anyone to download copyrighted material and/or to share those files with others.  Federal copyright law provides up to a 3-year imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine per incident (each copyrighted file is considered an incident) plus any state penalties that may apply.

The Guide to the Loyola Galaxy at Loyola College specifies it is unethical to willfully violate federal copyright laws by distributing or making available for access any copyrighted work or image without the consent of the owner, unless the action qualifies for exception under the fair usage guidelines.  At Loyola, if your use of the network is determined to be related to illegal activity such as downloading copyrighted movies, music or software, your network access will be revoked and you may face a $500.00 fine, even if you are not cited for a legal violation.  If the offense is serious in nature or a repeated offense, the case will be referred to the discipline system, which may revoke access for an extended period; in severe cases, including but not limited to, those involving pornography or malicious intent, students can be suspended from the College.

The complete "Technology at Loyola" (guide) is available in the materials students received at check in.  All users are responsible for knowing the rules and the limits that apply to their use of the campus network. 

Copies of the Community Standards handbook can be picked up in the Office of Student Life.

Any questions or suggestions regarding this memorandum may be referred to Dr. Susan Donovan, Vice President for Student Development and Dean of Students, (410) 617-2842, or Mr. John McFadden, Assistant Vice President of Technology Services (410) 617-2727.