The College reserves the right to remove Peer-to-Peer software from its network
To help prevent copyright violations, use of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) protocols, often called file sharing software, is prohibited on college PCs and the college network. The use of P2P programs to download, listen to, share and/or create music files that are copyrighted is in violation of the DMCA, which is a felony offense under New York State and Federal Law. This Policy also minimizes the risk to college PCs and the network from unwanted software and excessive bandwidth use. Any legitimate use of P2P protocols should be requested via the OCC Help Desk
These peer-to-peer software applications make it possible for individual computer users to connect directly to other computer users without needing a user ID and password, and then share files between the computers. On many occasions users do not even realize they are sharing the files stored on their computers across the internet.
If you installed any type of peer-to-peer technology software and then downloaded songs or movies from the internet without paying for them, you are likely participating in illegal file sharing. This activity is in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Please be aware that violating these policies could result in one or more of the following:
- Loss of your network login ID and password. i.e.: You will not have use of any OCC computer resources.
- Expulsion from OCC.
- You may be sited in a lawsuit initiated by the copyright owners, the Motion Picture Association of America, or by the Record Industry Association of America.
The OCC IT Department reserves the right to delete any instances of peer-to-peer software applications that are residing on College owned servers and storage media.
The OCC IT Department also reserves the right to delete any movie and music files that are located on College owned computer servers and storage media.
College owned servers and storage media are to be used for academic purposes only. Please see Acceptable Use Policy.