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Congress cracks down on university file sharing
Subcommittee talks with RIAA about illegal downloading on campus networks
Jana Kasperkevic
Issue date: 3/12/07 Section: News
Washington, D.C. - "Unfortunately, many schools have turned a blind eye to piracy," Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, said at a hearing concerning Piracy on University Networks. "Current law isn't giving universities enough incentive to comply."
During this hearing, held on Thursday, March 8, the overwhelming opinion was that the universities must take a more active role in reducing and eliminating peer-to-peer, or P2P, file sharing.
One of the main panel witnesses, Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America, does not believe that schools are able to fail at controlling the piracy, and urged colleges to reclaim the integrity, efficiency and legal use of their networks.
In his written testimony, Sherman wrote that "a recent survey by the Intellectual Property Institute at the University of Richmond's School of Law found that more than half of college students download music and movies illegally."
"It doesn't have to be like this," he said. "We take this opportunity to once again ask schools to recognize the harm their inaction causes, to acknowledge the solutions that have been presented and to work with us productively to address a problem that affects us all." Sherman pointed out that the cost of the piracy on college networks includes billions of dollars in lost sales, thousands of lost jobs and lost career opportunities for talented writers and musicians.
Considering these costs, it is no surprise that last week the RIAA announced a new round of lawsuits, including 400 students and 13 higher education institutions. Sherman claims that the RIAA has asked school administrations for assistance in passing pre-lawsuit notices to the students so they can settle before the lawsuits are filed.
"The lawsuits have done more to increase awareness than anything else we've done, and numerous surveys have shown that the No. 1 reason that people have stopped illegal downloading is to avoid the risk of lawsuits," Sherman said. "It's sad that we have to do this, but it's been the most effective deterrent to date." Sherman is not the only one who believes that enforcing harsher rules might be the best solution at the moment.
During this hearing, held on Thursday, March 8, the overwhelming opinion was that the universities must take a more active role in reducing and eliminating peer-to-peer, or P2P, file sharing.
One of the main panel witnesses, Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America, does not believe that schools are able to fail at controlling the piracy, and urged colleges to reclaim the integrity, efficiency and legal use of their networks.
In his written testimony, Sherman wrote that "a recent survey by the Intellectual Property Institute at the University of Richmond's School of Law found that more than half of college students download music and movies illegally."
"It doesn't have to be like this," he said. "We take this opportunity to once again ask schools to recognize the harm their inaction causes, to acknowledge the solutions that have been presented and to work with us productively to address a problem that affects us all." Sherman pointed out that the cost of the piracy on college networks includes billions of dollars in lost sales, thousands of lost jobs and lost career opportunities for talented writers and musicians.
Considering these costs, it is no surprise that last week the RIAA announced a new round of lawsuits, including 400 students and 13 higher education institutions. Sherman claims that the RIAA has asked school administrations for assistance in passing pre-lawsuit notices to the students so they can settle before the lawsuits are filed.
"The lawsuits have done more to increase awareness than anything else we've done, and numerous surveys have shown that the No. 1 reason that people have stopped illegal downloading is to avoid the risk of lawsuits," Sherman said. "It's sad that we have to do this, but it's been the most effective deterrent to date." Sherman is not the only one who believes that enforcing harsher rules might be the best solution at the moment.
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