[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 64 (Monday, May 22, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S4897]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     SENATE RESOLUTION 488--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, Mr. Nelson of 
Florida, and Mr. Frist) submitted the following resolution; which was 
considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 488

       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, including local area 
     networks under the control of such colleges and universities, 
     may be 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, illegal 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, according to a recent study released by the Motion 
     Picture Association of America, students at colleges and 
     universities in the United States accounted for $579,000,000 
     in losses to the motion picture industry of the United States 
     in 2005, which represents 44 percent of that industry's 
     annual losses due to piracy;
       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 potential legal 
     consequences of illegally downloading copyrighted works, and 
     the additional security risks associated with unauthorized 
     peer-to-peer use; and
       Whereas it should be clearly established that illegal 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 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.

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