Amid fresh lawsuits filed by the Recording Industry Association
of America, UCLA is now awaiting subpoenas to be issued which would
request the school to turn over information linking the IP
addresses to student names.
The RIAA launched a series of lawsuits on May 26 against illegal
copyright infringement with seven of the 91 university students
facing lawsuits from UCLA. Last week’s lawsuits marked the
first time UCLA students were recipients of such legal action.
The industry filed lawsuits against seven IP addresses. The
lawsuits marked a second wave against users of Internet2 ““ a
specialized high-speed network used by university students. The
application used to access Internet2 is i2hub.
Both legally obligated and voluntary actions are being taken
independently by various parties, including UCLA, to curb illegal
file sharing.
While students from a total of 33 universities face lawsuits,
including UC Berkeley, UC Davis and UC San Diego, those at UCLA
have mixed reactions about the seriousness of the lawsuits ranging
from the apathetic to the concerned.
As the recording industry focuses on cracking down on illegal
file sharing, the fight has hit closer to home.
“There are consequences to these actions,” said
Jenni Engebretsen, spokesperson for the RIAA.
The penalties for taking cases to trial can be costly. The
minimal penalty per song is $750 and civil penalties can run
individuals into thousands of dollars in damages and legal fees.
Whether the file sharing was done for profit, violators are still
liable in civil court for damages and legal fees.
Settling cases can save violators time and money, and for the
most part this is the path previous lawsuits by the RIAA have
taken. “We routinely settle these cases at far less,”
Engebretsen said in regards to the fines imposed on people who
settle cases instead of going to trial.
Going back to Sept. 2003, the RIAA has filed lawsuits against
over 11,700 individuals for illegal file sharing, including users
of peer-to-peer networks such as Kazaa, LimeWire and Grokster.
But Engebretsen said that no case has gone to trial.
Approximately 2,500 people have settled in the courts, according
to the RIAA and the remaining individuals are in various stages of
the legal process.
Engebretsen also said that future lawsuits are a possibility.
“We continue to explore future i2hub litigation,” she
said.
Nevertheless, the lawsuits have proven effective, RIAA
spokespeople said.
“These lawsuits have helped to arrest the growth of
illegal file sharing,” Engebretsen said.
The RIAA routinely files “John Doe” lawsuits because
at the time the lawsuit is filed names are not a part of the legal
record. When the industry suspects IP addresses have engaged in
illegal file sharing, they then file court orders to get the
identity of the computer users.
Schools such as UCLA are legally obligated to respond to these
subpoenas and disclose the identities of the students that
correspond with the IP addresses, said Amy Blum, campus
counsel.
Though the schools provides internet access to students in the
dorms, they will not be held liable if they uphold their legal
obligations, Blum said. A judge could find UCLA to be impeding the
legal process if it does not comply with the subpoenas.
Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, universities can
take “safe harbor” if they comply with the
subpoenas.
To tackle illegal file sharing, UCLA has implemented a
“quarantine” process starting in April 2004. The school
does not actively monitor student Internet activity, said Jim
Davis, Associate Vice Chancellor of Information Technology. He also
added UCLA will only take action if there are claims of illegal
file sharing.
First-time offenders will have their Internet service blocked,
but will still have access to school services, such as MyUCLA.
Repeat offenders will have their Internet service blocked, in
addition to having their names sent to the dean of students.
But besides responding to legal obligations, universities have
also voluntarily proposed alternatives to file sharing, such as
educating students and encouraging them to use legal alternatives
such as Apple’s iTunes store and Napster.
“The best way to control piracy is to offer a compelling
legal alternative,” Engebretsen said. The more young people
are exposed to legal services, the more likely they are to steer
clear of illegal file sharing, she continued.
Colleges nationwide, such as University of Maryland at College
Park now offer 90-day free trials for legal services, such as
Cdigix. Other schools offer discounts on the services.
In 2002, Joint Committee of the Higher Education and
Entertainment Communities was formed. Comprised of university
leaders and music and motion picture executives, its goal is to
have colleges and the entertainment industry develop solutions to
solve illegal file sharing. This committee has led to partnerships
between legal music services and universities.
Apple’s iTunes has also specifically targeted certain
college campuses. As other colleges have experimented with legal
music services, UCLA has also examined these legal music
services.
“We are quite interested in it,” Davis said.
“We will be taking a hard look at what the services
provide.”
Though “there will always be a degree of piracy on the
Internet,” the RIAA’s goal is to “bring it down
to a level of manageable control,” Engebretsen said.