An Australian university is issuing fines to pirating students and using the money raised for campus facilities instead of returning it to the copyright owners.
Students at the University of NSW can be fined up to $1000 for downloading television shows and movies that infringe copyright using the institution's free Wi-Fi network.
The university also disconnects guilty students from its network for as long as a semester.
News that funds raised go towards improving "student amenities" and not to the rights holders who have had their copyright breached prompted Michael Speck, an independent anti-piracy investigator and former NSW policeman, to question the scheme's legality.
Mr Speck labelled it "misguided and inappropriate".
"I just find it disturbing that a university has decided how it will enforce the laws of the Commonwealth," he said. "It's quite disturbing and without too much natural justice.
"It ultimately doesn't do anything to solve the problem universities have with piracy."
Kelvin Tan posted on the Sydney Morning Herald's Facebook page that he was one of the students caught. He said he forgot to close a program used to pirate when he left home, only to have it automatically reconnect when on campus.
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Jon Lawrence, executive officer of digital rights advocacy group Electronic Frontiers Australia, had concerns about due process being followed and the level of surveillance being deployed to detect alleged infringement.
"Whatever money they are raising from this it would be good if they could devote that to the ultimate purpose of copyright, which is the creation of new content," Mr Lawrence said.
"If they are not giving the money to the rights holders then they should be using it to incentivise the creation of new content at the university."
Steve Dalby, chief regulatory officer of internet provider iiNet, called the fines "very strange".
Conversely, Graham Burke, co-chief executive of Village Roadshow, said he thought it was "terrific" that UNSW was being "proactive and taking responsibility for the users of its network".
"We think it is more important for students to be educated about copyright by the university imposing these fines than it is for the rights holders to collect damages for the breaches that are occurring.
"In fact the more I think about it this action by the university is helping the future of good citizenship of its many students."
According to UNSW, three students and one staff member received "penalty notices" in 2014. All four had their Wi-Fi access suspended; two of the students were also fined $480 each.
The university's academic board sets the fines, which can go up to $1000, a UNSW spokeswoman said. Students and staff can still use the computer network from library desktops and computer labs if disconnected.
Michael Kirby-Lewis, UNSW's chief information officer, defended the practice.
"The proceeds of the fines collected go to student amenities for the benefit of all students. This ensures that there is no potential for the university to view the fines as a revenue source," Mr Kirby-Lewis said.
Students are given two weeks to provide an explanation as to why copyright infringement has occurred or to produce evidence that they had the rights to the material in question, he added.
"Following this period an investigation is conducted and if found to have infringed copyright, the penalty letter is issued by the chief information office under the delegations of the [acceptable computer use] policy," he said.
After the penalty notice is issued, students have 14 days to lodge an appeal.
"This is handled independently of IT through the student conduct and appeals officer," he said.
The little-known practice at UNSW became public in 2008 after the university threatened to end its free Wi-Fi service because students were clogging it with illicit download.
One student was said to have downloaded 7 gigabytes of copyright infringing material in a single day.
"Students' awareness of online copyright issues and UNSW policies has grown significantly since 2008," a UNSW spokeswoman said. "Incidents and penalties are well down on 2008 levels."
In addition to issuing fines, UNSW uses technology to prevent copyright infringement from occurring, although it's not foolproof.
A spokesman for the University of Technology, Sydney said there were no cases relating to students downloading copyrighted material using its facilities.
An RMIT University spokesman said it may disconnect or block students or staff who infringe copyright but said it did not have a policy of imposing a financial penalty. There had been no disconnections this year.
The University of Sydney doesn't have a history of fining students but has been known to disconnect students. In its June student newsletter it warned students not to pirate.
The Abbott government plans to crack down on online piracy, with sources saying it will make it easier to block infringing websites.
