Copyright complaints against OU as a result of illegal downloading dropped 85 percent between fall 2009 and fall 2010, likely due to OU Information Technology’s copyright education efforts and blocking of file-sharing traffic.

Illegal downloading can influence tuition increases because the university foots the cost of investigating complaints filed by the Recording Industry Association of America and other watchdog organizations, said OU Information Technologies spokesman Nicholas Key.

“Each copyright complaint costs OU legal fees and the risk of lawsuits, which can really add up and ultimately cause a rise in tuition,” Key said.

OU IT officers began implementing measures to deter illegal downloading after the Higher Education Opportunity and Affordability Act was passed in 2008, which required universities to implement network filtering to stop peer-to-peer file sharing to help prevent tuition increases.

The university received 552 copyright complaints from the Recording Industry Association of America and other watchdog organizations in fall 2009.

The combination of this and the Higher Education Act pushed the university into action because there was too much financial and legal risk to OU and its students, Key said.

“Last fall, about 5 percent of the student body was illegally downloading,” Key said. “This fall we only had 82 complaints. We’re definitely happy with the results.”

In fall 2009, OU IT began copyright-education campaigns, and by spring 2010, users of OU’s wireless network, OUWIFI, were required to register their computers and take a copyright education quiz. OUWIFI also blocked peer-to-peer access that corresponds with illegal downloading, Key said.

“We don’t block websites, just peer-to-peer traffic,” Key said. “It’s not our job to get anyone in trouble or manage the content of the Internet. We just want to limit students’ liability.”

Key warned that students who illegally download files outside OU may still be caught.

“If a student does access illegal files off campus, their computer leaves traces that the watchdog organizations can find,” Key said. “They then turn the complaint over to OU, and we are legally obligated to research the complaint.”

If a student illegally downloads a file on his or her computer, the Recording Industry Association of America can get the information and the computer’s Internet Protocol address — a numeric address assigned to a computer connected to the Internet — and send a copyright complaint to OU.

The university finds the address owner, informs them of the complaint and investigates. Students are cut off from the wireless networks until they complete a series of steps to clear their name, said Andrea Kulsrud, Student Conduct Office director.

“The [Recording Industry Association of America] is generally satisfied with OU’s response to the copyright complaints,” Key said. “However, the agency can still decide to take further action on individual cases.”

OU computer engineering sophomore Jason Mead said he doesn’t think OU’s policy is too invasive or uncalled for.

“Well, it’s clear that their attempts to stop illegal file sharing have been successful,” Mead said. “And as far as I know, most students haven’t felt restrained by these Internet policies.”

Key said OU made sure to not impact students’ ability to collaborate and share academically and it allows the usage of bit torrents when connected to an Ethernet cord.

“Bit torrents are blocked on OU’s wireless networks for bandwidth purposes only,” Key said.

Key said OU IT is pleased with the success of the efforts to reduce copyright complaints.

Violation punishments

» First violation: Offender’s computer is blocked from OU’s network and they must complete a copyright quiz before Internet access is restored.

» Second violation: Offender must visit the Office of Student Conduct for a consultation and possible fee, in addition to retaking the copyright quiz..

» Third violation: Offender must pay a minimum $200 fee in addition to the previous steps.