III 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 438 

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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 7, 2006 

Mr. ALEXANDER (for himself, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. HATCH, and Mr. NELSON of 

Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

RESOLUTION 

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. 

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; 


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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 probVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:04 Apr 11, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR438.IS SR438

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able 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 are 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, unauthorized peer-topeer 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 peer-to-peer use on college computer systems also 

exposes those systems to increased volumes of pornoVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:04 Apr 11, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR438.IS SR438

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graphic or obscene material, including child pornography, 

which are readily available on peer-to-peer systems; 

Whereas peer-to-peer systems have also been used to gain unauthorized access to personal and sensitive information, 

such as social security account numbers, medical information, tax returns, and bank statements; 

Whereas colleges and universities must use valuable and finite resources in responding to requests from victims and 

law enforcement seeking to stop illegal downloading on 

college computer systems; 

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 illegality and potential legal consequences of unauthorized downloading of 

copyrighted works; and the additional security risks associated with unauthorized peer-to-peer use; and 

Whereas it should be clearly established that unauthorized 

peer-to-peer use is prohibited and violations punished 

consistent with upholding the rule of law: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved, That— 

2 (1) colleges and universities should continue to 

3 take a leadership role in educating students regard4 ing the detrimental consequences of online infringe5 ment of intellectual property rights; and 


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1 (2) colleges and universities should continue to 

2 take all practicable steps to deter and eliminate un3 authorized peer-to-peer use on their computer sys4 tems by adopting or continuing policies to educate 

5 and warn students about the risks of unauthorized 

6 use, and educate students about the intrinsic value 

7 of and need to protect intellectual property. 

Æ 


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