Warner Music Group Memo

posted onJune 21, 2003

by hitbsecnews

As each of you is undoubtedly aware, the illegal copying of CDs is a serious matter that is adversely affecting the entire music community. Lost revenue as a result of piracy undermines the passion and hard work we bring to our jobs, threatening our livelihood and the livelihood of our artists. Copyright infringement is also illegal, no less so than shoplifting a CD. Downloading copyrighted music and burning CDs from peer-to-peer networks such as KaZaA, Morpheus, Gnutella or any other similar service is a violation of the law, and will not be tolerated among WMG employees.

If you have peer-to-peer software on your company computer, you must remove it immediately. Failure to do so, and the failure to respect music copyrights may lead to disciplinary action, including termination.

Beginning shortly, we will scan our computer network to detect the presence of file sharing software on company computers, so again, it is important that you remove the software immediately. If you need assistance in removing file sharing software, please contact your IT department. Your cooperation on this matter is essential.

The good news is that we have been working hard in recent years to stimulate a legitimate online market for music, and we encourage you to try out the music services in which we're involved. You can access some of them at the following link: http://www.musicunited.org/6_legalsites.html

We understand that a few employees need to access peer-to-peer services in connection with legitimate company business activities. Those employees should contact Jim Watson (James.Watson@wmg.com) so that proper authorization and access can be arranged.

If you are not sure whether an activity is covered by this policy, you should consult your supervisor or Mark Ansorge (212-275-1348) [mark.ansorge@wmg.com] of the WMG Legal Department.

You also may want to take this opportunity to consider whether any peer-to-peer services are being used on computers in your home. Please keep in mind that use of peer-to-peer services to download copyrighted material without the consent of the copyright owner, whether in your office or your home, is illegal. It is also unfair to all of the talented individuals (including yourself) who contribute to the creation and marketing of creative works.

Thank you for your attention.