Recording industry targeting universities in music piracy
Students illegally downloading music are being subpoenaed by their IP address, RIAA says
Jake Daggett
Issue date: 3/6/07 Section: News
"Unless the band can't make an entire album that I like," Jordan added.
Illegal downloading is considered mostly harmless by many students. Yet the city of Los Angeles may beg to differ.
The Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation released a study that said in 2005, global counterfeiting and piracy cost local businesses $5.2 billion, and the city $480 million in taxes.
"We understand that no deterrence or education program will 'solve' piracy. Our job is to provide sufficient oxygen for the legal marketplace to show its true promise," said Mitch Bainwol, Chairman and CEO of the RIAA on the Web site. "The theft of music remains unacceptably high and undermines the industry's ability to invest in new music."
"The students need to know if they get caught they are going to get sued," said Jonathan Dolan, assistant director of network services at OSU.
A copy of a John Doe subpoena states that the minimum damage under the Copyright Act is $750 per downloaded file.
"Between 2004 and 2005 the RIAA has sued over 8,000 people. The vast majority of them settled out of court," Dolan said.
The RIAA is also asking network administrators to keep "IP logs," keeping track of the Internet activity of students receiving the John Doe subpoenas, a prospect which some students find unsettling.
"That's an invasion of privacy," Breedlove said.
This is a statement the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit group that works to protect "digital rights," agrees with.
"Those log files can serve as Internet bread crumbs - any third party that has access to them can retrace your online activities," said Cindy Cohn, the Electric Frontier Foundation's legal director on the Web site.
As an Internet provider, OSU isn't legally responsible for what its students do on the online. However, students agree to an Acceptable Use Policy to get their ONID e-mail account - which clearly forbids illegal file sharing.
"There's a certain amount of due process that is being bypassed," Dolan said. "[RIAA] is trying to have us give our students legal advice. Which isn't our place. They should talk to a lawyer."
"The philosophy of OSU, that is pretty consistent," Simmons said. "We rely on the student's judgment. We don't often step in, and our students by-and-large don't let us down."
Illegal downloading is considered mostly harmless by many students. Yet the city of Los Angeles may beg to differ.
The Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation released a study that said in 2005, global counterfeiting and piracy cost local businesses $5.2 billion, and the city $480 million in taxes.
"We understand that no deterrence or education program will 'solve' piracy. Our job is to provide sufficient oxygen for the legal marketplace to show its true promise," said Mitch Bainwol, Chairman and CEO of the RIAA on the Web site. "The theft of music remains unacceptably high and undermines the industry's ability to invest in new music."
"The students need to know if they get caught they are going to get sued," said Jonathan Dolan, assistant director of network services at OSU.
A copy of a John Doe subpoena states that the minimum damage under the Copyright Act is $750 per downloaded file.
"Between 2004 and 2005 the RIAA has sued over 8,000 people. The vast majority of them settled out of court," Dolan said.
The RIAA is also asking network administrators to keep "IP logs," keeping track of the Internet activity of students receiving the John Doe subpoenas, a prospect which some students find unsettling.
"That's an invasion of privacy," Breedlove said.
This is a statement the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit group that works to protect "digital rights," agrees with.
"Those log files can serve as Internet bread crumbs - any third party that has access to them can retrace your online activities," said Cindy Cohn, the Electric Frontier Foundation's legal director on the Web site.
As an Internet provider, OSU isn't legally responsible for what its students do on the online. However, students agree to an Acceptable Use Policy to get their ONID e-mail account - which clearly forbids illegal file sharing.
"There's a certain amount of due process that is being bypassed," Dolan said. "[RIAA] is trying to have us give our students legal advice. Which isn't our place. They should talk to a lawyer."
"The philosophy of OSU, that is pretty consistent," Simmons said. "We rely on the student's judgment. We don't often step in, and our students by-and-large don't let us down."
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