I N T E R O F F I C E M E M O R A N D U M Date: 04-Apr-1991 08:06am EST From: Corinne H. Smith CHSMITH Dept: Audio Visual Services Tel No: (814) 863-3104 TO: Remote RSCS/NJE Network User ( _BITNET%SCREEN-L@UA1VM ) Subject: Copyright again I disagree with the "call to copyright civil disobedience," not just from legal standpoint but also from the liability implications. In the cases I've read about, it's the entire institution that is taken to court, not the individual involved. In 1989, the Burlington, VT, school system was sued for having a video library where less than 10% of the collection consisted of legally-acquired copies. The school lost and had to destroy their unlicensed titles; they also had to develop a schoolwide copyright policy. There used to be a "loophole" which made states and their entities immune from damages in the case of copyright infringement. New legislation (H.R. 3045, the Copyright Remedy Act) has eliminated that loophole. Thus, the copyright holders now have nothing holding them back from investigating the practices of state-owned institutions. Would you really want to be the one who forces a lawsuit on your university?