United States universities and universities in Bulgaria are boosting their measures against internet piracy, the Bulgarian Association of Music Producers said in a media statement on August 23 2010.

Starting in the new academic year, US and some Bulgarian universities will clamp down on internet piracy and restrict downloading access to music and movie sites as well as other sensitive sites that have copyrighted information. Students caught downloading music and films or other banned material, thus supporting the pirate industry, will be facing anything from fines, community service to expulsion from the academic establishments, the statement said.

According to the Higher Education Opportunity Act, universities are obliged to introduce their students to the new legislation voted into effect on July 1 2010, aiming to combat Internet piracy, and to implement "technological measures" against the downloading of copyrighted material.

As of July 1 this year, textbook publishers and colleges and universities must adhere to new requirements included in the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA) intended to hold down textbook prices, among others.

Accordingly, most US universities have installed software which aims to thwart any piracy activity or support of it  - the fines which students will be facing in the future for downloading copyrighted music, films or other information would range from $750 to 30 000.

Two universities in Bulgaria, the University of National and World Economy and the American University in Bulgaria (AUBG) also have implemented measures to curtail the illegal download of protected files, the Bulgarian Association of Music Producers said.

Software will prevent students from downloading sensitive material, such as music and films. Access will be either limited or banned entirely, and students caught violating the rules will either be denied access to the IT infrastructure or be fined, Luchezar Filchev, head of the Computer Communications office at AUBG, said.