28 March 2007, 15:19
RIAA vs. students: update
At the beginning of March 23 US colleges and universities received 405 "prelitigation settlement letters" from the RIAA demanding to identify students whose IP addresses were spotted in file-sharing activities. Those students could then conveniently settle with the RIAA with a pre-court discount simply by going to a special web-site. Should the students remain unidentified, then the university could be taken to court instead.
"[Students] no longer buy music like they used to. We're trying to send the right message and encourage them to enjoy music legally," Jonathan Lamy, communications director for the RIAA commented on the problem. Another comment from the RIAA describes the efficient approach: “Our pre-litigation settlement letters are offered as a benefit to university students to allow them to settle claims early, at a substantially discounted sum and off the public record.”
The universities have taken different approach ranging from mockery to full compliance. Some universities asked the RIAA to reimburse the cost of processing those letters without revealing any information. In other universities some student had to pay thousands of US dollars.
Here’re some examples of how universities have been dealing with the RIAA’s request.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln doesn’t keep IP logs for more than 1 month so it couldn’t identify students who had shared files earlier than that. The IT administrators were able to track only 9 students out of 23 alleged offenders. The RIAA was disappointed as it expected that " … universities would understand the need to retain these records". Apart from virtually ignoring the demands the university also wants the RIAA to pay $11 for each letter that staff processes.
University of Wisconsin
The University of Wisconsin system received 66 letters. Their response to the RIAA was that they would not bother with passing the letters to individuals without a subpoena. The university just sent e-mails to the students reminding about the “appropriate use guidelines” for downloading.
Dean of Students Lori Berquam expressed her concern with students being targeted. “Housing is kind of like easy pickings — it’s like they are any easy target because there are 5,000 of them on our campus,” Berquam said. “My fear is that this is just the residence folks are being targeted, but … who knows about the rest of the country.”
University of Maine
University of Maine got 27 letters. After deliberating for a week the University of Maine System refused “to produce names of students who allegedly downloaded copyrighted materials” to the RIAA. The students might pick the letters if they want to, but the administrations will not pass the letters to them.
"It's not the university's role to, in effect, serve papers on our students for another party," John Diamond, spokesman for the university system, said of the decision. Diamond said the RIAA's request for student information asks the system to violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which bars the UMS from divulging information not considered public.
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College refused to “police” the students.
“It is not our job to police what students do on a network. We provide the network as long as it’s not corrupting the facility,” said Judy Downing, Director of Computing and Communication Services. Students are “smart and know how to respect the resource and fellow students. This [case] is an opportunity to remind students that there is a price to pay.”
University of Tennessee
One of the students in the University of Tennessee decided to pay $3,000 rather than face the RIAA in court.
Sophomore Chelsea Conn, 19, confessed to downloading 1 310 tracks from the Internet and decided to avoid the possible $1 million suit from the RIAA.
Purdue
The Purdue University decided to fully cooperate with the RIAA.
"We've warned our students repeatedly that downloading music without paying for it is illegal," said Purdue spokesperson Jeanne Norberg. "They have to understand that not only is downloading music illegal, but providing the music to download is also illegal."
“Norberg said even though it will be an expensive, lengthy process, the university will devote staff to matching students with a list of IP addresses -- which are codes assigned to each computer when it logs onto the Internet -- that the RIAA have flagged. She said Purdue will deliver the RIAA's message to those students, but won't pass judgment on the allegations.” (www.jconline.com Campus news)
"We're trying to do what we can to be responsible in this situation. We are an Internet provider," Norberg said. "No one wants the recording artists to suffer an economic loss. ... We also do not have unlimited bandwidth to move files that are not for an academic purpose."
Read more:
UMS refuses to hand student info to RIAA, Mainecampus.com
RIAA threatens to subpoena college, The Phoenix
UW warns music sharers, The Badger Herald
RIAA University Campaign Sputters: Group Asked To Pay Up For Wasting School's Time, TechDirt
RIAA College Steamroller Continues, Slyck
UT student pays $3,000 to settle Internet music sharing, WATE
Purdue ranks No. 2 in illegal downloads, JCOnline
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Comments 18
1. by straun Boston, 29 March 2007, 09:38
http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/07/03/28/0111205.shtml
2. by fatfrogg, 30 March 2007, 09:36
f....king RIAA - screw them to hell. They deserve to go down!! They have ripped off the artists, composer, arrangers, and public since 1930's. I have paid for records, then tapes, then DVDs all of the same recording artitsts. Why should I have to pay again?
3. by burmie, 31 March 2007, 00:34
RIAA is now targeting the rich... wait a second... COLLEGE STUDENTS?? They are broke, people! Now, how low is that? The only reason they are offering a "SUBSTANTIALLY DISCOUNTED SUM" is because college students DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY! IT JUST SHOWS HOW GREEDY PEOPLE ARE TO GRAB THE LAST OF THE PENNIES OUT OF A STUDENT'S POCKET! RIAA is freaking ridiculous. Props to the colleges that respect students. obviously Purdue college does not understand the concept of privacy or respect or obligation to protect their students. Screw RIAA and the people who are brainwashed by RIAA tactics, they are ignorant and think everyone who downloads music is a felon.
HYPOTHETICALLY: If i was a "law-abiding" teen going off to college who spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars on gouged/overpriced CDs from a store, i would not be able to carry the amount of CDs to my dorm - it would be just too many CDs- i would download them when im in the mood to listen to them.
I AM NOT GONNA PAY ANOTHER 20 HARD EARNED DOLLARS ON A CD WHEN I JUST WANT TO LISTEN TO ONE OR TWO OF THE GOOD TRACKS ON THE CD WHEN I HAVE THAT SAME CD AT MY HOUSE!
4. by S u c k my D i c k!, 31 March 2007, 20:48
F u c k RIAA m o r o n s! Let them smoke dope and go down!
5. by (Anonymous), 1 April 2007, 10:48
Absolute bull shit... College students? What did they do?
All they do is learn and work hard to strengthen the economy of tomorrow. Bull shit that Artists are gona go poor and go hungry! ROFL!
Some stupid ass rapper gets pulled over by the cops because he was going 200MPH in his FUCKING BENTLEY OR LAMBORGHINI, and gets out of trouble by signing a few autographs and handing over some cash... THEY DNT EVEN GET ARRESTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT IS WITH THAT?
and what happened to privacy?-- checking in on what college students are downloading. Why dont they go check the god damn rednecks that are sitting in their trailors downloading the whole fucking internet onto their little laptops?
Please... GET A LIFE RIAA
It's probably George Bush's way of getting more money for his fucked up war in Iraq... He cant even pronounce Iraq.. "EYE_RACK"..
First, Raise taxes, let the old die from lack of medication because its too expensive, kick out all the mexicans (who is gona give out happy meals now?) and now... LETS SUE THE FUCKING POOR COLLEGE STUDENTS!
.... lame : (
6. by anonymous, 1 April 2007, 17:00
I don't buy CDs becuase I don't want to provide the money to attack college kids.
7. by FUCKTHESYSTEM, 1 April 2007, 19:31
Great job. Suing students who weren't potential customers in the first place since they're so fucking poor. And the CDs are so fucking overpriced.
8. by L-Train, 5 April 2007, 23:04
My bro was a college student busted at Drexel University on one of their crackdowns. It was Drexel that sold him out - they supplied the RIAA with his IP address! After he paid 40K/year to go there, they basically hung their students out to dry.
My brother settled out of court for $4,100! We needed a lawyer and they threatened to take it to court.
Basically, the RIAA and Drexel University exploited a nineteen year old and his family. I hope they get theirs.
With all the horrible shit that goes on in this world - rapes, murders, animal cruelty - the RIAA can take its cause and shove it. Go do something that actually benefits society instaed of representing a bunch of overpaid sellouts. FUCK YOU RIAA!
9. by tard, 14 April 2007, 01:05
FUCK the RIAA .. thanks for screwing over consumers and artists
10. by philmark, 15 April 2007, 09:55
the riaa will burn in hell ten years from now we will turn our bcks|
11. by Roy Allen, 18 April 2007, 03:02
Since those asshats Metallica put napster out of business and RIAA started suing everybody, I make it my point to go out and buy tons of blank CD's, and download to my hearts content, from e-mail. What are you gonna do next RIAA, open people's e-mail? FUCK YOU! Sue me, I'll go to court, and if I lose, I file bankruptcy, you get nothing out of me! MWAH A HA HA HA HA HA
Yogi
12. by Chilewillow, 20 April 2007, 01:55
Riiiiiiight!! Damn hypocrites. In May of 2000, five major music labels including Sony, BMG, EMI received a tiny "slap on the wrist" from the FTC for colluding to fix CD prices between 1996 and 2000. In that 3-4 year period, it is estimated that they ripped-off comsumers by $500 million dollars. To the best of my knowledge, without admitting any wrong doing, they only had to sign a consent form to cease the illegal activity.
In 2005 Sony, BMG, Warner Music, and others settled a lawsuit with the State of New York "to resolve accusations that it used improper tactics to influence radio programmers to play it's songs" This time they had to admit to wrong doing, but the only other thing they had to do was change their practices.
The major music labels and the RIAA are some of the most slimy, greedy, worst people on earth!! Whoever it was at Purdue who thinks the artists suffer must be brain dead. Get real!!
13. by Mike, 20 April 2007, 02:41
Right now The RIAA is sitting in their offices wondering how they can stop all of this "illegal" file sharing because the artist are getting ripped off. First of all the artist are doing just fine they sign a multi-million dollar contract with the record label and they get their money. By us downloading their songs all its doing is giving a great company like allofmp3 the money to survive.If the artist dont want their songs downloaded then dont publish them. Get a new career and then when they have to pay 20 dollars for a cd they will know why we go to allofmp3 to get our music.I have over 600 cd's and they cost on a average about 17 dollars per cd so whats that 600X17=$10,200 and the RIAA wants to complain and moan about me downloading a few songs for a cheaper price well I'm going to continue to use allofmp3 for my music needs and if they shut it down I'll find another source to get my music cheaper.I will not buy another cd for as long as I can get it for cheaper else where. Thank you allofmp3.
14. by rob, 20 April 2007, 04:50
If you want to win a landmark decision you don’t take some rich dude to court, it’ll cost a package and you could lose. Start with someone who can’t even afford legal representation, let alone a defence and you can get the rich guy later: After you’ve set the precedence.
15. by kelly, 20 April 2007, 17:24
The funny thing is that the RIAA isn't even a government company. They're just a group of people that have decided they are goign to police music. Well they need to wake up. The music world is changing and so is the way we purchase music. And now they're out to shut down internet radio as well, charging internet radio stations fees for not just how many times a song is played but for EACH PERSON THAT LISTENS TO IT.
However I do need to point out one thing - the artists might sign a million dollar contract but they don't get all that money. Hell most of them don't get much of it at all. Even when signed with a major label they still have to pay for their studio time, put some of their own money into the album/videos, etc. If anyone is ripping off the artists it's the major labels. When Goo Goo Dolls were at their peak the guys barely had any money and lived with their parents still.
16. by tomj23, 22 April 2007, 08:04
The RIAA is a for-profit music industry representitive. IF YOU DON"T LIKE WHAT THEY DO DON"T SUPPORT THEIR INDUSTRY. Its as simple as that.
17. by simplesolution, 1 May 2007, 03:57
Like the name says the answer is EASY!! STOP BUYING THE CRAP!!! They keep pointing to illegal downloads as the reason sales are down, but again they lie, it is charging upwards of 17-20 bucks for at most a couple of decent songs. Where is this generation's resolve when it comes to taking a stand for something you truly believe in? If you really despise the RIAA there is sacrifice involved, a different kind of price to be paid, namely holding off on buying a CD even if you really want a track or two. There is supposed to be a six month boycott of CD purchasing coming soon. CMON MTV generation, do you have it in you??? I have bought the same album in LP, 8-track, cassette and CD form, where are my rights, I never even got a token discount from these bastards, to hell with them, fuck metallica too!
18. by Cris, 14 August 2007, 20:21
It's all about money matters. They sued others for money.
It's no longer about justice.