The University of Oregon denied a request made by the Recording Industry Association of America to send pre-litigation notices to students accused of copyright infringement, citing an inability to accurately identify those being accused.
The university argues that because of file sharing over the school’s wireless network and the close proximity of residents in double-occupancy dorm rooms, they cannot conclusively determine who the exact perpetrator was based solely on the user names logged into the network.
While it remains to be seen whether such arguments will hold up in court, students need to refrain from sharing copyrighted materials regardless.
Students at schools such as UCLA get no such protection from university officials, and are instead readily identified at the request of the RIAA. Students should take advantage of other means of legally accessing and sharing files, such as Ruckus, a free program that allows students to listen to music accompanied by ads.
While UCLA may not fight RIAA subpoenas, it has made serious efforts to provide students with ways to legally access music, and students need to appreciate and utilize the legal options provided specifically for their protection and convenience.