Digital Millennium Copyright Act Procedures & Information

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") allows the Recording Industry Association of America ("RIAA") to target individuals who are illegally downloading copyrighted material, such as music, movies, and games (see Appendix).

• DMCA-related actions are subject to SUNY Plattsburgh's Responsible Use of Technology Policy (see Appendix).

The RIAA also can force Internet Service Providers to reveal the identities of these illegal file traders. Individual violators and their Internet Service Providers can be held liable and hit with heavy fines. SUNY Plattsburgh and its students have become targets of the RIAA. Civil suits have been filed seeking compensation for damages. Fines of up to $150,000 per offense are possible.

Act Responsibly. Be Safe.

Illegal file-sharing places both the college and its students at risk. Students can't afford fines and colleges can't afford to have their networks compromised or threatened by legal actions.

The bottom line is that Plattsburgh students are expected to abide by the law and not engage in illegal file trading.

Make no mistake: major copyright holders, including software companies, video distributors, game producers, and the RIAA, have the resources, the technology, and the legal authority to find and prosecute anyone who shares copyrighted materials over campus network connections.

It's a situation in which you don't want to find yourself.

Legal Music Sharing 

There are more than 13 million legal tracks online today.  The RIAA website provides a partial list of services licensed by the major record companies (see Appendix).