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Movie Copyright Law College Students Are Being Targeted For Breaking Movie Copyright Law Many people have taken up the hobby of downloading movies and songs on the Internet and sharing them with their friends and family online. However, this is direct violation of the movie copyright law. Not surprisingly, the biggest violators of the movie copyright law are students. It is not surprising that the movie industry sector is sending out copyright infringements claims to college universities around the country. One reason that college students may be the hardest hit when it comes to violations brought against them for infringing on movie copyright law is that they are not aware of how serious a crime it truly it. Many college students who have suits brought against them are shocked, to say the least. They question why they were not warned about the perils of downloading movies and songs online and passing them along to friends. However, with the rise of claims that are being handed down, no one can claim ignorance for much longer. Word is being spread near and far that if you are engaging in illegal downloading and/or sharing then you can be brought to court. College students are learning the hard way that it is against the law and in violation of the movie copyright law to share or download copyrighted material. Many colleges and universities are now stating in their handbooks that it is against the law and the university rules to illegally download movies, music and other forms of media online using a school computer. In addition to illegal downloading and sharing software, the files take up space on the computer systems and use a considerable amount of bandwidth. While most universities and colleges will not look at the content an individual has -- they can isolate and identify the individuals who are hogging up the bandwidth by using illegal file sharing software. The movie and music industries have stepped in and are demanding restitution for illegally downloaded movies, music and other forms of copyrighted media. They have detection agencies that have the technology to identify and trace copyright infringements straight to their source. Once the computer is located they can notify the university or the college that they are in violation. The university will be told that they have a copyright infringement claim against them. Based on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act once the computer is isolated Internet access is terminated to that computer and court proceedings can begin. Does this sound far fetched? Well, it is not. You should know that in April of 2003 four students were sued by Recording Industry Association of America. These students attended Princeton, Michigan Technical University and Rensselear Polytechnic Institute. One student alone had an estimated liability of $150 billion. When you consider that you can be charged $750 per song that is illegally downloaded, the total can add up fast! The good thing is the lawsuits against the college students were settled for amounts less than $20,000. That is not pocket change for college students – or anyone for that matter! Movies and music are meant to be enjoyed. However, illegally downloading movies and music is not much different than walking into a video store and sticking DVDs and CDs in your pocket. Be careful. You do not want to be caught violating the movie copyright law.

Check Out Powerhouse Wal-Mart's Free Offer Page Are you a Wal-Mart fan looking for the best in freebies and special offers? If so, you are in luck. Although Wal-Mart is not typically considered one of the best sources for freebies or coupon shopping, this giant corporation has recently stepped up its promotions, making many dedicated freebie hunters very happy. Here are some tips on getting the best shot at the best Wal-Mart freebies and promotions. Bookmark the Wal-Mart Promotions Page for Easy Access to Freebies and Deals Wal-Mart, like many other companies, has begun to dedicate a special section of their webpage specifically to free offers, along with other deals and promotions. This page is definitely worth checking out on a regular basis. Bookmark this website if you are serious about getting the latest and greatest Wal-Mart deals and promotions. Some of the offers on the page will be around for a months, while others may disappear in a matter of days. Part of the thrill of being a freebie hunter is being vigilant and not letting the best deals slip away from you. You might even consider setting up your very own freebie calendar to make sure that not one good deal slips by you. Tips and Hints for Getting the Best Free Offers from Wal-Mart If you are new to the world of freebie offers, or you have never visited the Wal-Mart site before, here are some tips for getting the best out of Wal-Mart freebie offers. The Wal-Mart free offers webpage is a great resource if you are really interested in Wal-Mart promotions and freebies. Begin by selecting the offers that interest you more. Once you click on a specific offer, you will have to wait for the page to load that provides you with all the details of the offer. Somewhere on the details page—sometimes you have to hunt around for it—you will find a link for the free sample. Once you click on this free sample link, you will get a pop-up window that provides you with the free offer request form. Make sure that you have enabled pop-up windows so that you do not miss out on any special offers or deals. Figuring Out the Tricks of the Wal-Mart Free Offers Page Some freebie hunters have expressed confusion with the Wal-Mart free offer page. That is, some consumers have complained that the page is often difficult to get to, or that it will not load property. To make sure that you don't have trouble with this important resource, you will want to make certain that you are accessing the page with an updated browser over a secure high speed Internet connection. Although you will probably be able to access the free offers webpage with an older web browser over a slower Internet connection, you will probably be more likely to run into snags. The easiest way to get to the page is to bookmark it directly. Otherwise, you will probably have to take several moments to search for it if you only return to the website periodically. The Wal-Mart front page is crowded with text, images and promotions, which can make it difficult to get to the free offers page. Remember to refresh the bookmarked free offer page every time that you return to it, just to make sure that you are looking at the freshest offers. Are There Any Risks Associated with Getting Freebies from Wal-Mart? If you are concerned about your privacy, you may wonder whether there are any known risks associated with requesting information directly from the Wal-Mart free offers page. Read the company's privacy policy carefully if this is a major concern. The company states that they will not share or sell your personal information. However, be aware that the company may send you their own marketing and promotional materials. You may also receive email mailings.

Software company patent A Software Company Patent is the Door to a World of Confusion There is no universal understanding of exactly what a software company patent is. In general, owning a patent allows a company certain rights (or exclusivity) for a prescribed amount of time. Individuals or corporations seeking a patent must apply for a patent in each and every country in which they wish to have one. Unlike copyrights, patents are not automatically granted to applicants and can take quite a while in order to be approved. Another thing to remember, particularly with a software company patent, is that a patent may issue in one or more of the countries in which you've applied but not all of them. The real problem lies in the fact that there really is no central agreement about what a software company patent actually grants among any of the nations so those who are awarded patents may not be getting exactly what they think they are getting in the process. With no universal agreement there really can't be universal enforcement about the laws and the rights surrounding a software company patent. The growth of Internet business and e-commerce in general has led to many patent applications for software, particularly software that was designed for specific business applications. The problem is that while the cases are granted and successfully tried and defended in some countries, other countries offer no enforcement or legal recourse for those who do not honor the software company patent even if the patents were granted in those countries. The fine line between nations about what is and isn't patentable is another challenge when it comes to establishing and honoring patents. In other words, the issue of a software company patent is a rather confusing process at best. Patents differ greatly from copyrights, which are issued automatically and recognized and enforced internationally. Copyrights protect the source code of software from being copied and registration is generally not required in order for your work to be protected. Lately there is a new term, copyleft, which is an obvious play on words and represents the rights to not only redistribute the works that are covered by this but also to modify and freely distribute those modifications. This term is very much in the spirit of many open source types of software and music. The catch for copyleft protection is that the newly created work be distributed in the same manner and spirit in which it was received. In other words if you were freely given the software, then you must freely provide the improvements and modifications you made to that software. Of course this is a long way from the idea of a software company patent. It is also important that you are sure you understand exactly what you are applying for as far as your patent goes. Different countries will grant patents for different things and those are closely regulated and carefully regarded when it comes to software-know what you are applying for and understand what you are being granted. A software company patent means different things to different people in different places and it nearly impossible to get other countries to honor a patent that they would not have granted at the same time they shouldn't expect other countries to honor patents based on their decision to do so either. One unfortunate circumstance surrounding patents is that there seems to be an unequal and obvious disparity between the haves and the have not's. Patent enforcement for software, unlike literature and music is largely subjective. In literature and music, it is rather obvious that the copyright has been abused or that the work has been copied, this isn't as simple with software which is one other reason that software company patent is such a hotly debated subject in the software industry.