
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November
14, 2007
Congress
Considers Grants for Technology Solutions to Stop Illegal Downloading or P2P
Distribution of Intellectual Property on Campus
***
“We
challenge any college in America to test our solution and see if it doesn’t
solve the problem of illegal file sharing, creating a safe environment for
the legitimate use of P2P and Bit Torrent networks, said CEO & Founder,
Safwat Fahmy SafeMedia Corp, Boca Raton, Fl
Boca
Raton, FL – Hollywood, CA – Congress
is considering legislation that would require colleges receiving federal aid to
educate students and faculty about illegal file-sharing on campus and develop a
plan to offer "technology-based deterrents" to illegal downloading.
The provisions are part of the
College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007, introduced in the House by
Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Education and
Labor, and Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, D-Texas, chairman of the House Subcommittee on
Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness.
The legislation would require
colleges and universities participating in any Title IV program to inform
students and employees on certain "policies and procedures related to the
illegal downloading and distribution of copyrighted materials," and to
"develop a plan for offering alternatives to illegal downloading or
peer-to-peer distribution of intellectual property as well as a plan to explore
technology-based deterrents to prevent such illegal activity."
The legislation makes available
competitive grants to support "Campus Based Digital Theft Prevention
Solutions." SafeMedia CEO &
Chairman Safwat Fahmy applauded Miller and Hinojosa for sponsoring the
legislation.
“This vision, intent and wording
of the bill shows that Congress understands the complex issues of illegal file
sharing and identity theft associated with contaminated P2P networks on U.S.
campuses,” said Fahmy. “The proposed measure also recognizes that technology is
available today to stop contaminated P2P, while allowing the legitimate ones,
which are critical educational tools to operate without interruption.” “
“SafeMedia products available
now stop contaminated P2P networks and offer immediate alternative to illegal
downloading. SafeMedia unique lock and
key system creates a safe and secure environment to distribute
copyrighted material can be used by Universities as an alternative to illegal
downloading, .” said Fahmy.
“SafeMedia has the only products
available today that can end all illegal file sharing and identity theft associated
with encrypted or non-encrypted contaminated P2P," he said.
Contaminated P2P networks are
known to contain illegal copyrighted files, classified business information,
national security data and personal identification documents. SafeMedia’s P2P Disaggregator
technology (P2PD™) was developed to create a secure environment for
unencumbered, economical use of legitimate P2P and Bit Torrent networks on
campus.
The Joint Committee of the
Higher Education and Entertainment Communities – a non-profit organization that
promotes use of information technology in higher education – wrote to Miller's
committee expressing concerns that no technology exists that can stop illegal
file-sharing, an assertion that Fahmy strongly disputes.
“SafeMedia’s P2PD is available
today and was designed specifically to address the complex issues of P2P
networks on college campuses," he said. "We challenge any college in
America to test our solution and see if it doesn’t solve the problem of
eliminating illegal file sharing, creating a safe environment for the
legitimate use of P2P and Bit Torrent networks and provide a safe, secure and
economical digital download solution.”
Dan Glickman, chairman & CEO
of the Motion Pictures Alliance of America, said intellectual property theft
costs more than 140,000 U.S. jobs each year. Glickman said almost half the U.S.
motion picture industry's domestic losses are attributed to illegal
file-sharing over campus P2P networks.
"We are pleased to see that
Congress is taking this step to help keep our economy strong by protecting
copyrighted material on college campuses," said Glickman.
About SafeMedia Corporation
SafeMedia Corporation,
based in Boca Raton, Fl, is a global developer of P2P Disaggregator technology
(P2PD™) that stops illegal peer-to-peer file sharing. SafeMedia’s
technologies provide individual users, businesses, educational institutions,
and public/private organizations with an immediate, effective way to totally
safeguard their network infrastructure from every risks associated with illegal
file sharing of copyrighted files, ensures 24/7/365 compliance with all federal
and state digital copyright laws and eliminates the risk of legal prosecution.
By preventing upload participation, these networks become incapable of growing
and lose their reason to exist. The P2PD™ technology is deployed at end-user
sites, either integrated into network devices installed in user locations such
as edge routers/modems or subnet edge routers and concentrators, or as an
independent network technology (Clouseau®).
[Editors: To view the full published report visit The
Register at: (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/08/bittorrent_encryption_explosion/),
or whitepapers and studies on P2P or SafeMedia technology. For more about
SafeMedia visit: www.SafeMedia.com.
For media interviews contact George McQuade, MAYO Communications, 818-340-5300
or 818-618-9229, or Publicity@MayoCommunications.com.