Sharing copyrighted material on the Internet without 
appropriate permissions is
illegal.  When you use UNM resources, like the campus data 
network,
to illegally share copyrighted material, it is also a 
violation of
UNM policy.  Many of you  know that the Recording
> Industry Association of America (RIAA) has been aggressively suing  
> students at many universities for copyright infringement.  UNM is  
> among the universities that have been targeted by the RIAA.
>
> The RIAA and other owners of copyrighted works, such as movies,  
> continuously monitor UNM's network to detect illegal file sharing.   
> UNM has received hundreds of notices of illegal file sharing from  
> these companies in the last year.  When such notices are received, UNM 
typically disconnects the Internet Protocol address from the network.  
This spring the RIAA began  
> sending notices to UNM indicating that it intended to sue certain  
> students at UNM and identified them by their Internet Protocol  
> address.  Lawsuits were filed by the RIAA in federal district court  
> in Albuquerque and UNM has received subpoenas seeking  
> information on the identify of the alleged file sharers on the UNM  
> network.  UNM must comply with a valid subpoena issued by a federal  
> court.
>
>  Recently the RIAA indicated that more lawsuits would soon be filed 
naming additional UNM students, unless those students agree to pay many 
thousands of dollars each to settle RIAA claims against them.  Illegal 
file sharing has become  
> a risky undertaking at UNM, carrying with it a chance of becoming a  
> defendant in a federal lawsuit.  A student who is sued by the RIAA  
> or other copyright content owner will be responsible for all costs,  
> judgments and settlements of such a lawsuit.  UNM will not become  
> involved in the lawsuit on behalf of students.
>
> UNM strongly recommends that students should cease illegal file  
> sharing of music, movies, software and computer games in order to  
> avoid this legal liability.

Dr. Eliseo Torres
Vice President for Student Affairs