Staff at the Canterbury District Health Board have been told not to pirate movies using its computer system.

Staff at the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) have been told not to pirate movies using its computer system after a warning from a major Hollywood film studio.

Someone with a board IP address downloaded Paramount Pictures' movie Derek Zoolander No. 2 using staff wi-fi​ on a Canterbury DHB device, a memo from the board's information services manager Chris Dever says.

"This is not acceptable practice and is in breach of the agreement every staff member signs when they join the organisation."

Using file sharing software to download anything was forbidden as it could result in a security breach that shut down the board's entire internet service, the all-staff memo issued on Wednesday says.

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Violating CDHB's information security policies may lead to disciplinary action and staff losing "access and privileges", Dever warns.

CDHB strategic communications manager Karalyn​ van Deursen​ said Paramount contacted the board earlier this week:

In the letter Paramount said: "We are requesting your immediate assistance in removing and disabling access to the infringing material from your network".

"We also ask that you ensure the user and/or IP address owner refrains from future use and sharing of Paramount materials and property."

Van Deursen​ said the board had complied with Paramount's warning and it would not comment on employment-related matters. The board took security seriously and was constantly looking at changes to its systems, she said.

IT lawyer, Rick Shera, said movie studios usually hired agencies to find copyright infringements - discoverable by a telltale download from one internet IP address to another.

It appeared CDHB, as the owner of the IP address, would be liable for an infringement and responsible for removing the downloaded material from its system, Shera said.

The New Zealand Recording Industry Association had laid most of only a handful of successful pirating complaints under the Copyright Act, and the fines were generally a few hundred dollars each, Shera said.