The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Motion
Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the International
Federation of the Phonographic industry (IFPI), have jointly
published a brochure laying out measures to prevent copyright
infringement on business IT infrastructures, suggesting corporate
policies and even including a sample memo instructing employees
against piracy.
According to the industry, the Corporate Policy Guide to
Copyright Use and Security on the Internet will be distributed to
Fortune 1000 corporations in the US, and to all major European
companies.
The guide warns businesses that unauthorised copying of music
and other copyright material is "illegal" and can "tarnish
corporate reputations, increase security risks for computer systems
and put organisations at risk of legal prosecution."
The guide specifically lists the risks illegal downloads pose to
companies, including infection by viruses, trojan horses and "other
destructive elements," spyware, exposing proprietary or
confidential information to third parties, and bandwidth and
resource hogs.
It also lists the legal risks, such as injunctions, damages,
costs and possible criminal sanctions "against your organisation or
its directors", and reminds corporations that copyright owners
"regularly take legal action against organisations that violate
copyright on their computers."
The brochure advises businesses to set copyright policies,
conduct audits on their systems for certain types of copyrighted
material, delete unauthorised copies and designate a copyright
compliance officer.
Finally, the industry reminds corporations of the case of
Arizona-based Integrated Information Systems, which paid $1 million
in a settlement after employees were found accessing and
distributing music files on the company server, in April 2002.
The guide has been issued at a time when the industry is
involved in a legal dispute with Verizon Communications, which was
ordered by a federal judge in January to reveal the identity of a
subscriber suspected of offering hundreds of songs for
download.
Verizon has appealed the ruling, and the court agreed not to
enforce the order while Verizon's request for a stay pending the
appeal is being considered.
The guide is available as an 8-page pdf
here
