Actions You Can Take to Avoid Copyright Infringement
- Be aware and proactive
- Ensure that your file sharing program is not set to share the files you have on your computer.
- If the program is set to share files, ensure that you have explicit permission from the copyright holders for sharing all of the files accessible to this application.
- Confirm that the distributor of a file you are interested in downloading has permission from the copyright holder to distribute it.
- For your own protection, you should assume that you do not have permission to download or distribute a file unless you have proof to the contrary. Check the Web sites of the musicians, record company, or movie studio involved to see if they allow distribution of their materials in this manner. When you purchase music, movies, games, etc., read the license carefully to learn if you have permission to convert the material to other formats for your own use, and whether or not you can share the material with others.
- Scan your computer with Spybot or another spyware removal tool. When you install file sharing applications, many times you will inadvertently install spyware and/or adware, which can cause access problems to many Mississippi State University services.
