[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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