Spring Break
The Daily OrangeCopyright crackdown: Music industry targets college students with lawsuits to stop illegally downloaded music files
By Heath D. Williams
Posted: 3/29/07, 11:24 PM EST Section: Front Page
The RIAA was sending approximately 25 of these letters per month to SU at the time, according to an article published in The Daily Orange in April 2004.
These notices are a logical first step for the RIAA, because colleges and universities need to monitor illegal activity on their networks, Moore said.
"The college has a responsibility to find out if this is happening and to stop it," he said. "They can kick a student off the system or internally discipline them, and that's a lot less cost-onerous than a lawsuit."
The RIAA still sends out many of these notices, even with the association's recent focus on its lawsuit track, Engebretsen said.
"The volume of notices that we are currently sending is three times greater than the number we were sending in the previous academic year," she said. "That was a decision on our part, because the problem on college campuses remains so problematic that we wanted to step up these efforts when it comes to our notices as well. So that program continues."
The RIAA has continued to work closely with colleges and universities through the Joint Committee of the Higher Education and Entertainment Communities, on which RIAA President Cary Sherman serves as co-chair.
The committee is a body that was formed to bring together leaders from the music industry and leaders from the higher education community, Engebretsen said.
Multi-faceted approach
The RIAA's effort to discourage illegal music downloading involves four key aspects - education, offering legal alternatives, technical solutions and enforcement, Engebretsen said.
The association set up a Web site, campusdownloading.org, on which it offers students a list of sites where they can legally download or purchase music and general information on copyright laws and regulations.
The site also features an orientation video, designed for use by administrators to show students as an educational tool and information for parents of college students, Engebretsen said.
These notices are a logical first step for the RIAA, because colleges and universities need to monitor illegal activity on their networks, Moore said.
"The college has a responsibility to find out if this is happening and to stop it," he said. "They can kick a student off the system or internally discipline them, and that's a lot less cost-onerous than a lawsuit."
The RIAA still sends out many of these notices, even with the association's recent focus on its lawsuit track, Engebretsen said.
"The volume of notices that we are currently sending is three times greater than the number we were sending in the previous academic year," she said. "That was a decision on our part, because the problem on college campuses remains so problematic that we wanted to step up these efforts when it comes to our notices as well. So that program continues."
The RIAA has continued to work closely with colleges and universities through the Joint Committee of the Higher Education and Entertainment Communities, on which RIAA President Cary Sherman serves as co-chair.
The committee is a body that was formed to bring together leaders from the music industry and leaders from the higher education community, Engebretsen said.
Multi-faceted approach
The RIAA's effort to discourage illegal music downloading involves four key aspects - education, offering legal alternatives, technical solutions and enforcement, Engebretsen said.
The association set up a Web site, campusdownloading.org, on which it offers students a list of sites where they can legally download or purchase music and general information on copyright laws and regulations.
The site also features an orientation video, designed for use by administrators to show students as an educational tool and information for parents of college students, Engebretsen said.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Redwop
Michael LeBlanc
posted 3/30/07 @ 1:52 AM EST
I am tired of seeing article after article claiming that the RIAA is litigating students for DOWNLOADING copyrighted files; there's nothing illegal about downloading copyrighted material, provided you have a license for that material. (Continued…)
Dana Lukic
posted 4/04/07 @ 11:35 AM EST
I have studied copyright law and my confusion with this whole thing is that today's popular music is played everyday on the radio up to thousands of times a day by different radio stations who are permitted and begged to play these songs by the artists to the public for free. (Continued…)
DeMario Phillips
posted 3/16/08 @ 7:18 PM EST
I agree.
Post a Comment