Can't I just say I didn't know it was illegal?

Pleading that you didn't know about the copyright law will not protect you from a lawsuit. Moreover, with all of the news about file sharing and copyright issues on the news, and all of the copyright education that schools like ETBU are providing, it is increasingly difficult for network users to say that they had no idea that copyright law applied to file sharing.

It is your responsibility to be aware of and comply with the law. ETBU strongly encourages users to educate themselves about the current state of copyright law as it applies to file sharing over the Internet, and to keep up to date on changes to copyright legislation. ETBU provides network users with information on these issues here on this Web site.