Although 99 cents may seem like a high price to pay for the song you’ve been humming all week, it might be a better option than facing the consequences of illegal file sharing.

However, those who choose to acquire tunes from friends or free internet sites may find not-so-friendly notices concerning the legality and serious nature of avoiding music costs in their email in-boxes.

“[File-sharing is] exactly what it sounds like — sharing files with someone else,” Carrie Levow, ResNet Coordinator said.

According to Levow, larger companies such as Universal Studios andParamount track students through file sharing sites. Once a company findscopyright material on a student’s computer, it notifies ResNet which inturn forwards the complaint to the students in question via a “Webform.”

Levow said as long as the student abstains from continuing the illegaldownloading then the issue is dropped. However, she said if the studentrepeats the offense after the initial e-mail notification, then the case isdirected to the Office of Student Conduct.

Levow said ResNet received 585 complaints last semester.

According to a ResNet bar graph categorizing its copyright infringementdata over the past four years, the amount of complaints has increased by399 since last spring.

Levow said ResNet works to promote students to utilize legal methods suchas paying downloading sites like iTunes and Napster.

“[We are] encouraging legal methods,” she said.

According to Levow, the number of complaints has increased recently. Shesaid this is most likely because of improved methods of tracking illegaldownloads — not necessarily due to increased student file sharing.

Levow said a surprising fact concerning complaints is that the majority ofthem fall into the category of television shows and movies asopposed to music.

According to ResNet, 45 percent of complaints submitted between Aug. 15, 2002 and Dec. 12, 2006, were due to movies andtelevision.

Jessica Putney, a freshman in First Year College, said she experiencedResNet’s process of dealing with illegal downloaders recently.

According to Putney, she did not know that her Internet service was beingmonitored.

“I was downloading off of LimeWire and I got a message one day from thislady, Carrie Levow or something, and she was like ‘you have placed aninfringement,'” Putney said.

Putney said following that message she stopped. However, she said she received an additional e-mail notificationregarding illegal file sharing about a month after the initial e-mail.

According to Putney, the misunderstanding was eventually cleared upthrough voicemail and e-mail correspondences.

“I haven’t done anything,” Putney said. “I stopped downloading musicimmediately [after the first notification].”

Cyndi Lawler, a freshman in English, echoed Putney’s experience with ResNet.

“I got an e-mail and it was all technical. It kind of freaked me out,”Lawler said. “It was like ‘you can be kicked out of school; this isfederal law.'”

According to Lawler, ResNet required her to submit an explanation of thedownloading incident so her Internet would not be disconnected.

“I just basically told her that I didn’t know that I couldn’t use it forpersonal use and I would stop,” she said.

According to Putney, she was not aware of the enormity of the situation inthe eyes of the University.

“I thought that it was like every college kid did it, and that it wasn’tsomething that you would get in trouble for,” she said.

Lawler reverberated Putney’s statement.

“I knew it was illegal to burn CDs and sell them,” she said. “But Ididn’t know downloading music was illegal just for your own personal use.”