Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. has a bone to pick with Pueblo School District 70.
On Friday, January 15th, the District received an email from their internet service provider concerning illegal file sharing activity on the district’s network. The notification was prompted by an email that the ISP received from Media Sentry, a firm that tracks and handles copyright infringement cases for Warner Bros.
An email was sent to District 70 principals on January 18th that outlined the incident and contained a copy of a cease and desist letter from Media Sentry. Media Sentry identified the copyright infringement issue dealt specifically with the summer blockbuster movie The Hangover, and demanded that Southeast Colorado Power Association, the district’s ISP,
“1) Disable access to the individual who has engaged in the conduct described above; and
2) Take appropriate action against the account holder under your Abuse Policy/Terms of Service Agreement.”
Tim Yates, Direct of Information Technology for District 70, requests that administration “Work with [their] ER staff to get daily or weekly reports of those students in violation and discipline them appropriately.” Since then, the email has been released to teachers and students.
Pueblo West High School principal Martha Nogare has confirmed that since the email was received, at least one student has been disciplined for having a copy of the movie The Hangover on their computer. “We did have a student that had that movie on his lap top. My guess is that that student has sent it to others.” The student in question was levied with a twenty-five dollar reimaging fee. Compared to the possibility of a $500,000 fine for unlawful distribution of copyrighted material or five years in a federal prison, it would seem that the student got off easy.
Mrs. Nogare confirmed that the Pueblo West High ER is actively pursuing copyright infringement among the student body. “We have a way of looking at all activity on your computer,” she said. “Our IT department now knows that on a weekly basis they are going to give to our APs a list of sites that… kids have been going to.” The principal indicated that she thought litigation filed against the school district from Warner Bros. was a possibility. “Because these are our computers, if the district does not attempt to have this stopped, the district could be sued.”
Nogare also worries that students do not take copyright infringement seriously. “Copyright laws [are] something that students, adults need to be aware of… I wish every student would go home and talk to their parents about this.”
Parents and students wishing to find out more about copyright infringement can consult the Pueblo West High School office or visit the U.S. Copyright Office website at http://www.copyright.gov/.