By Mitchell Cook
Illegally downloading music from the Internet is a violation of the Honor Code, and any student caught doing it could face disciplinary action from BYU.
In addition to possibly being kicked out of school, in the most extreme case, anyone who is caught could be fined more than $150,000 per illegally downloaded song, if the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) catches them.
Now more than ever, the music industry is cracking down on people who illegally download music from the Internet. According to the RIAA Web site, it doesn''t matter whether the individual uses those songs for profit or not, he or she will still have to pay. Downloading music is a violation of copyright infringement laws.
But, for BYU, the importance of the issue is whether or not downloading is against the Honor Code.
Steve Baker, director of the Honor Code Office, said, 'If a person downloads music illegally, that is a violation of the Honor Code.'
According to an information sheet available from the BYU Copyright Licensing Office, 'It''s okay to download music from sites authorized by the owners of the copyrighted music, whether or not such sites charge a fee. It''s never okay to download unauthorized music from pirate sites or peer-to-peer systems, include: Kazaa, Morpheus, Napster and Gnutella.'
Although these songs are copyrighted and belong to the record labels that produce them, many - including the infamous peer-to-peer network Napster - argue that downloading the music for personal use, not commercial, is legal.
If in fact downloading copyrighted music is illegal, doing it is in direct violation of the Honor Code.
Many students don''t even realize that it''s illegal to download copyrighted music from the Internet, or even against the Honor Code. However, the Honor Code is very explicit when it comes to breaking the law.
The Honor Code specifically states, 'As a matter of personal commitment, students, faculty and staff of Brigham Young University... seek to demonstrate in daily living on and off campus those moral virtues encompassed in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and will... obey the law....'
Baker said although there have been very few cases of copyright infringement at BYU, if a student is reported, depending on the severity of the case, disciplinary action may be taken. He also assures that each case will be seen on an individual basis.
Many students have mixed feelings about the issue. Some feel the Honor Code Office should crack-down on students who misuse the Internet to pirate music and others feel that downloading music shouldn''t even be against the Honor Code.
'If you''re not selling the music to make a profit, I don''t think that downloading music from sites like Kazaa should be illegal or even against the Honor Code,' said Anjuli Husein, 19, a sophomore from Pebble Beach, Calif., majoring in communications studies.
Jeff Gonzalez, 23, a junior from San Clemente, Calif., didn''t even know that downloading music from the Internet was illegal or even a violation of the Honor Code.
'If this is the case,' Gonzalez said, 'I feel that if students are caught illegally downloading music, they shouldn''t be kicked out of school, but should be reprimanded for it.'