[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 44 (Friday, April 7, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3394-S3395]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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     SENATE RESOLUTION 438--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT 
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION SHOULD ADOPT POLICIES AND EDUCATIONAL 
    PROGRAMS ON THEIR CAMPUSES TO HELP DETER AND ELIMINATE ILLICIT 
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT OCCURRING ON, AND ENCOURAGE EDUCATIONAL USES OF, 
                  THEIR COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND NETWORKS

  Mr. ALEXANDER (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Hatch, and Mr. Nelson of 
Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 438

       Whereas the colleges and universities of the United States 
     play a critically important role in educating young people;
       Whereas the colleges and universities of the United States 
     are responsible for helping to build and shape the 
     educational foundation of their students, as well as the 
     values of their students;
       Whereas the colleges and universities of the United States 
     play an integral role in the development of a civil and 
     ordered society founded on the rule of law;
       Whereas the colleges and universities of the United States 
     have been the origin of much of the creativity and innovation 
     throughout the history of the United States;
       Whereas much of the most valued intellectual property of 
     the United States has been developed as a result of the 
     colleges and universities of the United States;
       Whereas the United States has, since its inception, 
     realized the value and importance of intellectual property 
     protection in encouraging creativity and innovation;
       Whereas intellectual property is among the most valuable 
     assets of the United States;
       Whereas the importance of music, motion picture, software, 
     and other intellectual property-based industries to the 
     overall health of the economy of the United States is 
     significant and well documented;
       Whereas the colleges and universities of the United States 
     are uniquely situated to advance the importance and need for 
     strong intellectual property protection;
       Whereas intellectual property-based industries are under 
     increasing threat from all forms of global piracy, including 
     hard goods and digital piracy;
       Whereas the pervasive use of so-called peer-to-peer (P2P) 
     file sharing networks has led to rampant illegal distribution 
     and reproduction of copyrighted works;
       Whereas the Supreme Court, in MGM Studios Inc. v. Grokster, 
     Ltd., reviewed evidence of users' conduct on just two peer-
     to-peer networks and noted that, ``the probable scope of 
     copyright infringement is staggering'' (125 S. Ct. 2764, 2772 
     (2005));
       Whereas Justice Breyer, in his opinion in MGM Studios Inc. 
     v. Grokster, Ltd., wrote that ``deliberate unlawful copying 
     is no less an unlawful taking of property than garden-variety 
     theft'' (125 S. Ct. 2764, 2793 (2005));
       Whereas many computer systems of the colleges and 
     universities of the United States are illicitly utilized by 
     students and employees to further unlawful copying;
       Whereas throughout the course of the past few years, 
     Federal law enforcement has repeatedly executed search 
     warrants against computers and computer systems located at 
     colleges and universities, and has convicted students and 
     employees of colleges and universities for their role in 
     criminal intellectual property crimes;
       Whereas in addition to illicit activity, unauthorized peer-
     to-peer use has multiple negative impacts on college computer 
     systems;
       Whereas individuals engaged in illegal downloading on 
     college computer systems use significant amounts of system 
     bandwidth which exist for the use of the general student 
     population in the pursuit of legitimate educational purposes;
       Whereas peer-to-peer use on college computer systems 
     potentially exposes those systems to a myriad of security 
     concerns, including spyware, viruses, worms or other 
     malicious code which can be easily transmitted throughout the 
     system by peer-to-peer networks;
       Whereas peer-to-peer use on college computer systems also 
     exposes those systems to increased volumes of pornographic or 
     obscene material, including child pornography, which are 
     readily available on peer-to-peer systems;
       Whereas peer-to-peer systems have also been used to gain 
     unauthorized access to personal and sensitive information, 
     such as social security account numbers, medical information, 
     tax returns, and bank statements;
       Whereas colleges and universities must use valuable and 
     finite resources in responding to requests from victims and 
     law enforcement seeking to stop illegal downloading on 
     college computer systems;
       Whereas computer systems at colleges and universities exist 
     for the use of all students and should be kept free of 
     illicit activity;
       Whereas college and university systems should continue to 
     develop and to encourage respect for the importance of 
     protecting intellectual property; the illegality and 
     potential legal consequences of unauthorized downloading of 
     copyrighted works; and the additional security risks 
     associated with unauthorized peer-to-peer use; and
       Whereas it should be clearly established that unauthorized 
     peer-to-peer use is prohibited and violations punished 
     consistent with upholding the rule of law: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) colleges and universities should continue to take a 
     leadership role in educating students regarding the 
     detrimental consequences of online infringement of 
     intellectual property rights; and
       (2) colleges and universities should continue to take all 
     practicable steps to deter and eliminate unauthorized peer-
     to-peer use on their computer systems by adopting or 
     continuing policies to educate and warn students about the 
     risks of unauthorized use, and educate students about the 
     intrinsic value of and need to protect intellectual property.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, today I am submitting a resolution that 
expresses the Sense of Congress that colleges and universities should 
continue to educate their students about the importance of intellectual 
property and the harm caused by copyright infringement. I am joined in 
introducing this resolution by Senators Leahy, Hatch, and Nelson of 
Florida, and I thank them for their support.
  The intent of this resolution is to help draw attention to the 
problem of digital piracy on campus through the use of university 
computer networks to illegally share copyrighted materials. Efforts to 
combat digital piracy were bolstered last year when the U.S. Supreme 
Court handed down its decision in MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd. 
That ruling has allowed the movie and recording industries to take 
additional steps to protect intellectual property and prevent what 
Justice Breyer described in the Grokster decision as ``no less an 
unlawful taking of property than garden-variety theft.''
  However, truly stamping out digital piracy requires that we challenge 
the widespread belief that there is nothing wrong with illegally 
downloading music and other copyrighted material, and that it doesn't 
hurt anybody except for rich performers and corporate executives who 
have plenty of money. I can tell you that's not true because I have 
personally met with songwriters from Nashville who have explained how 
illegal downloading has hurt their livelihoods. There are many other 
Americans without million-dollar bank accounts who have been hurt by 
copyright infringement as well.
  The place to start turning that belief around is at our institutions 
of higher learning. For many students, a college campus is the first 
place where they have high-speed Internet access and are exposed to 
technology that allows them to trade copyrighted files with other 
computer users. At the same time, college campuses are the source of 
some of our Nation's most valuable intellectual property. The 
combination of these two factors makes our colleges and universities 
the ideal place for students to develop a respect for intellectual 
property and to understand the harm caused by copyright infringement.
  The resolution that my colleagues and I are introducing today 
encourages colleges and universities to take a leadership role in 
educating students regarding the importance of protecting intellectual 
property, and to take steps to prevent unauthorized downloading on 
their computer systems. Throughout the country, many schools are 
already meeting this challenge. In my own State, Vanderbilt University 
has taken steps to instill respect for intellectual property in its 
students, while taking action to prevent its computer system from being 
misused. For example, Vanderbilt has created VUmix, a music downloading 
service, to help its students understand the digital piracy issue and 
provide them with a legal alternative. The VUmix service is part of

[[Page S3395]]

the university's Digital Life Initiative, a comprehensive approach to 
offering music, film, and other forms of digital media to the 
Vanderbilt community. Other schools are doing similar things to combat 
copyright infringement, and this resolution encourages such efforts.
  I encourage my colleagues to support this resolution and promote 
respect for one of America's most valuable assets: its intellectual 
property.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased today to stand with my 
colleagues, Senator Alexander, Senator Hatch, and Senator Nelson of 
Florida, to express the sense of this Congress that institutions of 
higher education should act diligently to help eliminate the harms from 
the illicit copyright infringement that plagues many campus computer 
systems.
  Online piracy, especially illegal file-sharing of copyrighted works 
such as music, movies and software, is a growing problem. While I 
always encourage technological innovation, I am also acutely aware of 
the need to respect the intellectual property rights and talent of 
those who create the works that are made available online. Some peer-
to-peer software applications allow individuals, without authorization, 
to copy and distribute--for free--unlimited numbers of these valuable 
works. The speed and convenience of our universities' networks, which 
were built for academic pursuits, have unfortunately also proved to be 
a lure for students seeking to engage in this illegal and detrimental 
behavior.
  When music and movie industry representatives speak with me about 
this problem, they describe a disturbing level of online piracy. In 
addition to exposing students to legal liability, illegal file-sharing 
on school networks may compromise the integrity of those systems by 
using up expensive bandwidth, introducing spyware, and hosting 
destructive viruses.
  I am pleased that colleges and universities in my home state have 
been working for nearly two years to combat these problems. In July 
2004, Middlebury College, located in Middlebury VT, announced a deal 
with Napster to provide legitimate file sharing services that offer 
online music to students. It is my hope that more institutions will 
follow in step, and work to provide students with the tools needed to 
lawfully access the wealth of information available on the web.
  As technology continues to advance, the issues that surround 
legitimately accessing online content will become increasingly 
important. I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the isle for 
working with me to convey this important message.

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