[Libs-Or] Bittorrent downloading in libraries--Any solutions?

Tue Jun 29 13:25:51 PDT 2010

This is an excellent conversation!  As a result, the State Library is going to order Complete Copyright Liability Handbook for Librarians and Educators by Tomas Lipinski.  We will send out an email on libs-or when it is available.

In the mean time, you may be interested in checking out the following DVD:

Copyright in the Digital Age: An Update by College of DuPage, c.2007
"A panel of experts discuss current copyright issues in libraries"
Presenters: Kenneth Crews, Miriam Nisbit, and Tomas Lipinski.

If you would to request this from the Oregon State Library please use your library's established interlibrary loan process or send your full name, the name of your library, complete title information, shipping address, and a phone number to the document delivery department at library.request at state.or.us<mailto:library.request at state.or.us> or (fax) 503-588-7119.  Items will be checked out to your library, not to you personally, for 4 weeks (print materials) or 2 weeks (videos).  Materials will be delivered via mail or Orbis Cascade Alliance Courier, and you may return them the same way.

Katie Anderson, Library Development Services
* Youth Services Consultant * Oregon Center for the Book Coordinator *
Oregon State Library, 250 Winter St. NE, Salem, OR 97301
katie.anderson at state.or.us<mailto:katie.anderson at state.or.us>, 503-378-2528
From: libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us [mailto:libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us] On Behalf Of GIBBON Cindy
Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 12:55 PM
To: TUCKER-RAYMOND Caleb; Buzzy Nielsen; libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
Subject: Re: [Libs-Or] Bittorrent downloading in libraries--Any solutions?

Just to clarify a bit more, the legal issue has to do with receiving notices, usual from the library's ISP, that the ISP has heard from a copyright holder that someone at one of the library's IP addresses is conducting illegal downloads of copyrighted materials. From a legal standpoint, the way you protect yourself is to post the required notices specified in copyright law.

When I was reviewing this with our attorney, we referred to Complete Copyright Liability Handbook for Librarians and Educators (published in 2006).  The author, attorney Thomas Lipinski, suggests that if an institution wants to qualify for the "safe harbor" monetary liability limits offered in Section 512 of the copyright law, there should be a notice to patrons like the one I quote below, which is both in our Acceptable Use of the Internet policy and on our click-thru agreement.

The bandwidth issue is separate and is really a library resource management issue.  Too many bittorrent users and the rest of your users won't be able to get access becasue your bandwidth is all chewed up.

Cindy

Cindy Gibbon
Senior Library Manager for
Access and IT Services
Multnomah County Library
205 NE Russell Street
Portland, OR  97212
503-988-5496 (voice)
503-988-5441 (fax)
cindyg at multcolib.org
-----Original Message-----
From: libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us [mailto:libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us] On Behalf Of TUCKER-RAYMOND Caleb
Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 11:50 AM
To: Buzzy Nielsen; libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
Subject: Re: [Libs-Or] Bittorrent downloading in libraries--Any solutions?
Just curious here - Bittorrent users aren't necessarily doing anything illegal, so is this really a bandwidth issue? If so, how can libraries respond to the kind of legal pressure that Wilsonville is facing?

Caleb Tucker-Raymond

Oregon Statewide Reference Service Coordinator
Multnomah County Library
(503) 988-5438
calebt at multcolib.org
AIM/Y!: calebMCL
www.oregonlibraries.net

-----Original Message-----
From: libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us [mailto:libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us] On Behalf Of Buzzy Nielsen
Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 11:43 AM
To: libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
Subject: Re: [Libs-Or] Bittorrent downloading in libraries--Any solutions?
Hi Greg,

I asked our district's network admin about this, and he gave some useful information. Like Multnomah, we have the boilerplate agreement to which wired and wireless users alike must agree before proceeding (i.e. don't use our computers for illegal stuff). On our wired computers, we've "hidden" access to the bittorrent client, although it does launch if a patron opens a torrent file via the browser.

Our main technique for controlling it, though, is that we throttle incoming and outgoing connections from popular bittorrent and other P2P ports, so they don't draw a lot of overall bandwidth. We use an open source firewall program called pfSense ( http://www.pfsense.com/).

Caveat: all of our public computers, most of our servers, and many of our staff stations run some flavor of Linux, so your mileage may vary with these solutions.

Cheers!
Buzzy

******************************
Assistant Library Director
North Bend Public Library
1800 Sherman Ave.
North Bend, OR 97459
541-756-0400
http://www.cooslibraries.org<http://www.cooslibraries.org/>

On 06/28/2010 04:19 PM, GIBBON Cindy wrote:
Greg, we aren't blocking bit torrent downloading, but we might consider it if we could figure out a good way to do it.  Aside from all else, it takes an awful lot of our wireless bandwidth and leaves other users sometimes unable to do what they need to do.  However, our legal counsel did suggest we add this statement to our Acceptable User of the Interent rules and our click-thru agreement that all patrons must agree to at log-in.  Our understanding is that from a legal standpoint, we do not need to be concerned about library/county  liability in these situations.  I think the principle is similar to the warnings that we post a copy machines.  This statement comes out of a manual on copyright issues for libraries which is sitting in my office (and I'm not) so I can't dredge up the title right now.  Anyway, here are the words we adapted:

Notice: Warning of Copyright Restrictions

As a patron, your ability to post or link to copyrighted material is governed by United States copyright law. The library reserves the right to delete or disable any post or link that, in the judgment of library staff, violates copyright law. In accordance with 17 USC S 512 (i)(1)(A), the library may terminate a patron's access to the system or network for disrespect of the intellectual property rights of others, or for repeat infringements of copyright. The library has adopted this policy and will make all reasonable effort to enforce it in appropriate circumstances.
If your legal counsel wants to talk to ours, let me know.

Cindy

Cindy Gibbon
Senior Library Manager for
Access and IT Services
Multnomah County Library

-----Original Message-----
From: libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us<mailto:libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us> [mailto:libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us] On Behalf Of Martin, Greg
Sent: Monday, June 28, 2010 3:04 PM
To: 'libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us<mailto:libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us>'
Subject: [Libs-Or] Bittorrent downloading in libraries--Any solutions?
Hi All,
I'd like to throw out a couple of questions about bittorrent downloading in Oregon's libraries. Our own library's free and open wireless access sometimes plays host to nefarious copyright scofflaws who download copyrighted files, leading to threatening legal notices being received by our fair city, as the owner of the IP range.
Question #1: Does anyone know what, if any, legal penalties face the library (or the city) for this activity? I've understood it to be something of a gray area in the recent past. Has that changed?
Question #2: Are there any technological fixes that can be instituted to stop or sabotage our moustache-twisting villains? We have our wireless router broadcasting only when the library is open. Additionally we have our wireless upload rate choked off, but I've been told that the servers can't distinguish between bittorrent downloading and 'regular' downloading, meaning that there is no effective means to limit bittorrent downloads without negatively affecting our system as a whole. True?
Further, I'm given to understand that although Multnomah County (public) has a click-through agreement prohibiting illegal activity, bittorrent downloading still works just fine there. I'd suppose if anyone would have a technical solution in place, they would.
Any answers much appreciated. Please copy the list, if possible.
Cheers,
Greg Martin
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