The full implications and possible consequences of copyright infringement are not always fully understood by those involved. Some do not realize that downloading or sharing copyrighted materials is illegal, or just don’t think of it as such. Some people realize this and shrug it off as “not that illegal.” But the consequences are very real.
- If you are infringing—even unwittingly—you can be subject to civil damages of between $750 and $150,000 per infringement and even criminal jail time.
- In response to a qualified DMCA notification of claimed infringement, Carleton may temporarily suspended your network access until such time as the issue is resolved. In the case of repeat offenses, your case may be referred to the Dean of Students office for appropriate disciplinary action.
Remember that file sharing is not anonymous. Your Carleton IP address is visible within the file sharing software to those agents monitoring the file sharing networks on behalf of the copyright holders.