This monograph pays special attention to the intellectual propertyof copyrights and patents. It examines how legal parameters,competing interests, and technological advances take shape ineconomic, political, and social contexts that require colleges anduniversities make intellectual property central to theiroperations. Economic, political and social forces are redefining knowledgeas property that can be owned, and institutions of highereducation, as producers of knowledge, are central participants ofthis phenomenon. Debates about intellectual property are rampant,some arguing that knowledge should not become a commodity forexchange, others than intellectual property fosters innovation insociety. What is not debatable is the importance of the law forresolving disputes about intellectual property. Today, the evolving legal context association with intellectualproperty and technological advancements have created competinginterests and demands from individuals, institutions and evennation. The law is often the realm in which these interests anddisputes take place, with more or less satisfying results. Collegesand universities must grapple with not only complex legal issuesbut also the philosophical and political consequences associatedwith the conversation of intellectual acts into property. This is the fourth issue in the 34th volume of the Jossey-Bassseries ASHE Higher Education Report. Each monographin the series is the definitive analysis of a tough highereducation problem, based on thorough research of pertinentliterature and institutional experiences. Topics are identified bya national survey. Noted practitioners and scholars are thencommissioned to write the reports, with experts providing criticalreviews of each manuscript before publication.

The complex world of online piracy and peer-to-peer file sharing is skillfully condensed into an easy-to-understand guide that provides insight into the criminal justice approach to illegal file sharing, while offering guidance to parents and students who have concerns about potential legal action in response to file-sharing activities. While the actual impact of digital piracy is nearly impossible to precisely calculate, the threat of financial damage from illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing to the world's highest-grossing entertainment firms (and even entire industries!) has garnered attention from government, industry, and academic leaders and criminal justice professionals. Oftentimes, those providing access to computers and file sharing capabilities-parents, schools, libraries-don't know about or understand these activities and, therefore, put themselves and their families at risk for criminal and civil prosecution. This work describes the technological, legal, social, and ethical facets of illegal peer-to-peer file sharing. Geared toward parents, teachers, librarians, students, and any other computer user engaged in file sharing, this book will help readers to understand all forms of traditional and digital copyright violations of protected music, movies, and software. To date over 18,000 P2P users have been sued by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Most of these users have been college students and parents of high-school students. While word of these law suits are spreading, and many parents fear that their children may be using a family computer to illegally download and share copyrighted works, few supervising adults have the technical knowledge needed to determine whether and to what extent pirating may be occurring via a computer and Internet connection they are legally responsible for. Additionally, while P2P networks are filled with millions of users with billions of copyrighted files, few users understand the ways in which they are illegally using computers and other mobile electronic devices to download protected content. While describing both technical and social issues, this book primarily focuses on the social aspects of illegal file sharing, and provides technical concepts at a general level. Fisk skillfully condenses the complex nature of file sharing systems into an easy-to-understand guide, provides insight into the criminal justice approach to illegal file sharing, and offers guidance to parents and students who have concerns about potential legal action in response to file sharing activities.

Author Sherri Mabry Gordon explains how peer-to-peer file sharing works, what is legal and what is not, and she explores new ways of using technology that can benefit everyone.