Do the Right Thing
» Know What's Illegal and What the Risks Are
Why you should care:
Because you're a responsible adult who respects others and their possessions, PLUS, copyright holders are now taking legal action against copyright infringers.
What you can do:
- Don't take what isn't yours
If it belongs to someone else and you take it - whether it's words, software, music or video - it's illegal as well as unethical. It's also against policy (see Brown's Copyright Infringement Policy).
- Stay legal, and out of court
Major copyright-holders from the recording and movie industries are aggressively monitoring the Internet for infringing activity and taking legal action (including lawsuits) against those who iolate copyright law. A significant percentage of those being sued are college students (including Brown students being sued by the RIAA), and the consequences are significant (see RIAA Anti-Piracy Enforcement Efforts at Brown).
- Use legal media sources such as iTunes or Ruckus.
- Don't borrow someone's passwords
Passwords are like toothbrushes. You wouldn't share them, would you? And as toothbrushes help to protect your teeth, passwords protect access to important, often personal, information about you.
To learn how to create a good, strong password, please review the Computing Passwords Policy (which also states that sharing is a violation of Brown policy).
