Do not indulge in copyright abuse
In fact, you may not be aware that you are involved in illegal practices, so please read the rest of this message carefully.
"Distributing copyrighted material through the Internet is prohibited by Dutch and international laws, and offenders are liable to punishment." The authorities have advised ISS of these incidents and requested us to take measures to prevent these practices. This general message represents our initial response to the request.
Here is an example of a recent warning received from our internet provider, pointing out that a student in Seinpost hostel is sharing an illegal copy of the movie called The Kite Runner:
Hereby we report that you are spreading copyrighted material via the Internet. Through this message we want to ask you to take measures to prevent recurrence. Because we like to help you, you will find the necessary information in this message. We received a complaint about distribution of copyrighted material, namely: FILE NAME: xxxxxxxxxxx.avi This is IP address assigned to you by InterNLnet at the aforementioned moment. We would like to point out that this distribution of such material is prohibited on the basis of our General Conditions and also punishable under Dutch law. |
The (possible) cause
Presumably someone's private computer has been used for “filesharing”. Filesharing is the sharing of files on your computer with those of other users connected to the Internet. Usually these are music files, movies or software. Many Internet users are very enthusiastic about such filesharing applications as Kazaa, eDonkey, BitTorrent, Soul Seek, but may not be completely aware of the legal issues currently surrounding the technology.
What should you do?
First you must ensure that shared files are no longer offered from your computer. That means that you must stop using filesharing programs, unless these are used to download files that are not copyright protected.
Why take action?
Illegally offering copyrighted material is prohibited. Users who do so risk criminal prosecution because this violates the Dutch law.
But, when I download, I do not offer anything, do I?
THIS IS NOT THE CASE. When you download files from the internet using filesharing programs, you automatically offer these files for downloading from your computer to others. Closing the filesharing program when a download is finished, or moving the downloaded files to another location after downloading completes will NOT prevent other internet users from downloading from your computer. All modern filesharing programs (such as BitTorrent and eDonkey) start offering portions of the file before the download is complete, often as soon as the initial connection is made.
Is filesharing illegal in the Netherlands?
Although downloading music files from the internet is currently “tolerated” in the Netherlands as far as individual use is concerned, the practice in fact legally remains a “gray area”. Music file downloads are tolerated as long as they are for private purposes and in cases where it is difficult for home users to legally purchase such materials. This last argument does not apply to the downloading of copyrighted software and DVDs, but this too, remains a gray area. It is possible that the situation will change soon.
However, when it comes to the issue of “provisioning” items, i.e. offering material for other users on the internet to download, Dutch law is very clear: the practice is illegal and punishable.
We count on your cooperation.
