By Laura Pelner
Summer Reporter

As more people use the Internet to download music files, the University hopes those people realize the repercussions of their actions.

Many students do not realize they can be caught downloading MP3s, and that disciplinary action will be taken if they are. Kellie Cox, assistant dean of students, said students receive disciplinary action, like probation, if they are caught.

MP3s are high quality audio pieces that are condensed and read by a computer. An MP3 is a form of a specific type of computer file, and while in itself it is not illegal, downloading copyrighted information is.

Cox said the Recording Industry Association of America has contacted Purdue. She urges students not to use MP3s unless they have the money to defend themselves in court, because, quite possibly, they'll have to.

"Everyone knows they shouldn't have them, but they think that because everyone else does, it's OK. Students shouldn't think like that; they are setting themselves up for failure. We will take disciplinary action and it can go beyond Purdue to a higher court," said Cox.

John Steele, director of Purdue's computing center, said a large number of students use Purdue's facilities to download music, specifically MP3s.

MP3s are copyrighted by the performers or their record labels. Purdue's policy specifically states that it is illegal to use copyrighted material.

The University regulation states, "Copyrighted material should not be distributed without the permission of the copyright owner. Posting material in any publicly accessible location is considered 'intent to distribute.' It is illegal to post or make available any program, image, or audio or video files containing copyrighted material without the permission of the copyright owner. This includes, but is not limited to, copies of commercial software tools, games and MP3 files."

Steele emphasized that copyrighted materials should not be distributed without the OK of the owner and should be dealt with carefully because they belong to someone else and it is illegal to use them without the owners permission.

Joseph Bennett, vice president for university regulations, reiterated that MP3 use on Purdue's facilities is wrong. "It's considered inappropriate to use Purdue computer systems to download them — it's not the purpose of the system," he said.

Bennett added that the recording industry is more aggressive about pursuing copyright violations now. He said it's important for students to understand that they could be subject to legal action by the recording industry.

Bennett said this has happened to Purdue students before. "We've had two subpoenas issued on behalf of the recording industry. Those students could be looking at some serious legal expenses."

Napster, an Internet site that allows users to share MP3s for free, has also contacted Purdue students. In regards to Napster's lawsuit with the band Metallica, the site banned certain users for what Metallica called music piracy.

Dwayne Marshall, a junior in the School of Liberal Arts, was one of those users. He said he tried to log on one day and got a message that said his user domain was banned.

Marshall said after receiving the information he chose not to lie about sharing songs and just quit using the program instead.

"I thought I could get around it, like get a new account. Basically my computer is marked and I'd have to get a new computer and address to use Napster," he explained.

Marshall added, though, that there are other options after being banned from Napster because other sites offer MP3 sharing as well. "Scour.net copied Napster, so I use that one," he said.

Other schools in the nation have had serious trouble regarding MP3 use and Napster.

The band Metallica sued Napster and three universities: Indiana University, Yale and the University of Southern California. The band accused Napster of allowing illegal trading of MP3s, which it called theft.

Beth Cate, associate university council from Indiana University, said that after the University shut down Napster from it's servers, the lawsuit was dropped.

Cate said the students supported the University's decision for the most part. "There has been discussion among the student body regarding whether the copyright aspect is good or bad. We're watching that discussion and looking over our own policies. But students have supported the decision to block Napster."

She added that one of the University's goals in blocking Napster was to protect students from getting in trouble. "We thought it was prudent, at least, to perhaps be a little protective," she said.

To date, Purdue has no intentions of following Indiana and blocking Napster because it would be impractical, said Bennett.

"What they did was block Napster from their servers, the reason we haven't done it is because that is just one of the programs that allows you to do this kind of thing, and there are new ones coming all the time," he said.