Helen Keller. Socrates. Alfred North Whitehead. Each one was a great educator who left an indelible footprint for successors to follow. Fortunately or unfortunately, technology is making it either much easier or much harder to emulate and build upon the illustrious achievements of our forebears.

A case in point: the Internet. The same technology that allows one to review the contributions of Alfred North Whitehead, also allows one to steal the intellectual property of authors, lyricists, screenwriters and computer game producers.

Gaining access to the Internet is easy. Even if we don’t own a personal computer, free access is available in many, if not in all of our educational institutions. Computer labs, college dorms, and school libraries are all free access venues with little or no restrictions on usage.

The primary channel by which stolen intellectual property gets distributed via the Internet is called peer-to-peer (P2P). Members of the educational community—students, faculty, administration and support-staff—use P2P to illegally obtain copyrighted material. It happens every day and it is probably occurring in your school right now.

Beyond affording the commission of crime using school facilities, educational institutions are in jeopardy from Internet-borne viruses caused by P2P activities. Additionally, P2P is often the venue of choice for child pornography and pornographers. Open access in school often translates into open access and exposure to this content.

The volume of P2P is so great, that in some institutions it prevents accomplishing the critical missions for which the computer system was originally put in place.

SafeMedia research and development has resulted in innovative new technology which brings illegal P2P to a complete and utter halt. Clouseau™ make it completely impossible for anyone to obtain illegal copies of copyright material.

Without it, educational institutions are inadvertently condoning theft. Without it, educational institutions are promoting the honor system and honesty, while hypocritically allowing for pernicious robbery.

First thing is first. Educational institutions need to implement Clouseau™ across their schools and campuses in every subnet within every network. That is the only way to stop this theft, relieve your school and campus from any litigation procedures, and protect your students, staff, and campus from the risks and dangers from illegal file-sharing.

Contact your local school districts, campus and university presidents and leaders, the Department of Education, and the Congress and urge them to realize the potential Clouseau™ has to offer educational institutions in stopping illegal file-sharing in universities, colleges, and schools.

Allocate educational funding from the government to get Clouseau™ implanted within your schools and universities.

The solution is Clouseau™. Simple. Effective. The right thing to do.