Peer-to-peer applications and file sharing have become widespread, especially within the student community. Although using file-sharing software, such as KaZaA or Morpheus, is not illegal itself, distributing copyrighted material without permission is. Such activity may violate federal copyright laws.

Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and similar organizations can and have issued subpoenas to a university when someone on that institution's network has been found to be distributing copyrighted materials. The subpoena may request the identify of the user and that can be the first step towards legal action.

You should seriously consider removing file-sharing software from your system. Beyond concerns over adware and spyware that may affect your machine's performance or worse (e.g., keystroke loggers), many of these applications are programmed to distribute whatever recordings they find on your system without your knowledge or permission. Unfortunately, you are still legally responsible. If you choose to keep file-sharing software, at least make an effort to turn off this distribution function. The University of Chicago maintains a site that addresses Disabling Peer-to-Peer File Sharing. Go there for additional information on disabling this unwanted function.

Indiana University has a site worth visiting that addresses file sharing issues from a student perspective, File Sharing @ IU. It's Copyright Tutorial examines file sharing in the context of copyright. The Knowledge Base articles and their associated drill-down questions are also worth a look.