Campus Police Seize Student's Computer for Copyright Violations - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, Oct 12, 2000

STILLWATER, OKLA.

Campus police at Oklahoma State University confiscated a student's computer over allegations from the recording industry that it was used to distribute copyright material.

Everett Eaton, director of public safety at Oklahoma State, says that police seized a computer from a 19-year-old male student's room last month. Earlier that day, the Recording Industry Association of America had notified the school about the alleged distributions.

Copyright infringement can be a misdemeanor or felony, depending on the number of infractions.

The recording industry has sued a number of companies for allegedly infringing copyrights through the distribution of music on the Internet, most notably Redwood City-based Napster and MP3.com.

Seized were a monitor, keyboard, two CD recorders, a scanner and a printer. Police alleged that the student allowed visitors to download music files and some movies through an FTP server site, Eaton says. The case is still under investigation.