2008 Woodie Awards
Behind the music: RIAA lawsuits continue
by Esther Walsh
Issue date: 11/13/07 Section: News
Some college students across the country are finding themselves in trouble with the Recording Industry Association of America over legal issues of sharing and downloading music illegally.
Several schools, such as the University of Oregon, University of Kansas, University of Maine and the College of William & Mary, have refused to forward the letters from the RIAA to their students.
The University of Delaware is not one of these institutions.
Cara Duckworth, RIAA spokeswoman, stated in an e-mail message that in RIAA's ongoing campaign to fight illegal sharing of digital music files, the RIAA has sent more than 3,600 pre-litigation letters to students who are using campus networks to engage in illegal file-sharing.
Eighteen students at the university were sent letters by the RIAA on Oct 18. Approximately 400 letters in the same wave were sent to students at 18 other colleges and universities.
As in the past, the letters were not sent directly to those accused of copyright infringement, but to administrators of the colleges and universities they attended, who were expected to forward the letters to their students.
With the increasing frequency of RIAA's pre-litigation letters, many college and university administrators are now questioning if they should protect their students' identities, or be compliant with the RIAA's requests and forward the letters to students.
Karl Hassler, associate director of IT-Network & Systems Services, stated in an e-mail message that the university decided it would be best to pass along critical information to individuals rather than withholding information that students might want to know.Â
"While we don't want to be perceived as agents for the RIAA, we also don't want to deny our students critical information we have about possible litigation against them," Hassler said. "It's up to the recipients to decide what to do, but ultimately, with the information passed along to them, they are able to make that determination."
Several schools, such as the University of Oregon, University of Kansas, University of Maine and the College of William & Mary, have refused to forward the letters from the RIAA to their students.
The University of Delaware is not one of these institutions.
Cara Duckworth, RIAA spokeswoman, stated in an e-mail message that in RIAA's ongoing campaign to fight illegal sharing of digital music files, the RIAA has sent more than 3,600 pre-litigation letters to students who are using campus networks to engage in illegal file-sharing.
Eighteen students at the university were sent letters by the RIAA on Oct 18. Approximately 400 letters in the same wave were sent to students at 18 other colleges and universities.
As in the past, the letters were not sent directly to those accused of copyright infringement, but to administrators of the colleges and universities they attended, who were expected to forward the letters to their students.
With the increasing frequency of RIAA's pre-litigation letters, many college and university administrators are now questioning if they should protect their students' identities, or be compliant with the RIAA's requests and forward the letters to students.
Karl Hassler, associate director of IT-Network & Systems Services, stated in an e-mail message that the university decided it would be best to pass along critical information to individuals rather than withholding information that students might want to know.Â
"While we don't want to be perceived as agents for the RIAA, we also don't want to deny our students critical information we have about possible litigation against them," Hassler said. "It's up to the recipients to decide what to do, but ultimately, with the information passed along to them, they are able to make that determination."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Russell Palmeri
posted 11/14/07 @ 1:31 PM EST
People who get cease and desist letters from the RIAA should not worry too much. There is a lot of things you can do to protect yourself, and the first thing is to get a lawyer who specializes in such cases the same day you get your letter, because a lot has already been done to "prove" you guilty before you even know you are being sued. (Continued…)
Louis
posted 11/14/07 @ 8:23 PM EST
Russell is absolutely right. Many of these cease and desist letters are a scare tactic--It's actually incredibly difficult to convict someone of cyber-crime in general, and even more difficult to prove (for the intents and purposes of a court) that someone downloaded a particular file. (Continued…)
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