The Observer, March 9, 2007
Volume XXXIX, Issue 20
Copyright violation warnings on the rise
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This academic year, the departments of Student Affairs and ITS have found themselves mired with an unexpected issue: a dramatic rise in the number of copyright infringement notifications sent by companies to dissuade college students from sharing copyrighted music, television shows, movies, and games.
"Last year, we had 63 notifications for the entire year. So far this year, we've had more than 220," said Melissa Alford-Snyder, judicial coordinator for Student Affairs. "That number only includes undergraduates, not graduates and staff, so the real number is higher."
This high volume of notices may lead the department to rethink their method of addressing copyright violations.
Alford-Snyder explained the current judicial process that occurs when Case receives notification that copyrighted material is being shared without authorization. The infringement notice is sent to ITS, which traces the IP address to the student. Student Affairs then sends a warning to the student, informing him or her that such actions are a violation of the university Computing and Information Technology Policy. The student is also directed to remove the material from access. "Nearly all of the time, the student complies and that's the end of the problem," she said.
If a student fails to remove the material in question, their network access is discontinued, and they are subject to disciplinary action. Alford-Snyder emphasized that it has been necessary to take this step only twice.
"Often, these notices request we provide [organizations] with student names. We do not respond to these and would prefer to continue to handle the matter internally, and we feel this is better for students," said Alford-Snyder. She pointed out, however, that the increasing amount of copyright notices takes up a lot of time for those tasked to deal with them. "Chet Ramey [at ITS] probably spends more time dealing with this than I do. The amounts are getting to be overwhelming."
Popular "peer to peer" file sharing programs are not anonymous. As sharing protocols like BitTorrent become more prevalent, so too does it become easier for IP addresses of those offering material to be obtained en masse. "We still get warnings originating from eDonkey and programs like that, but the nature of BitTorrent makes it simple for the IP address of everyone offering a piece of the file to be recorded," Alford-Snyder explained.
"We don't want to block BitTorrent traffic because it has so many legitimate uses, but students need to be aware that sharing copyrighted material has consequences," she said.
"A segment of those who do get notified are genuinely not aware that what they are sharing is illegal. Students often say to me, 'It's a network TV program – I can record it, TiVo it, whatever – I thought it would be OK to download it.' It's a misconception among students to assume that the copyright holders won't care."
Some organizations are more likely to pursue action than others are. "NBC Universal/Paramount has been very persistent. Every day we get another notice from them regarding a TV show or film. A student was notified for an episode of Law and Order that was over ten years old. ABC? None. Fox? Zero. But that could easily change," Alford-Snyder said. The Entertainment Software Association sends out removal notices for games. "It doesn't matter if you've already purchased the game. You're still not allowed to share it."
Previously, Case has only received 'cease and desist' type warnings from copyright holders. However, the university recently received its first subpoena for student information from the Recording Industry Association of America.
Alford-Snyder explained, "In the past, the RIAA only sought settlements from those sharing a great deal of music. Now, it's happening to students who only share one song. They've actually set up a website (http://www.p2plawsuits.com) where you can pay a settlement with a credit card."
John Reilly, legal counsel at Case, advised that such settlements typically range between $4000 and $5000.
The RIAA's recent aggressiveness is actually part of a new campaign to focus their attention on college students who share music. This is evidenced by the recent increase in copyright complaints at institutions like Purdue and Ohio University, where the notifications now number in the thousands. The American Council of Education also issued a bulletin last week, confirming the RIAA's desire to focus on campus file sharing and formulating ways to reduce the problem.
Alford-Snyder described the actions of the RIAA as a way to influence students' purchasing habits. "The RIAA believes that if a student goes through college downloading music, they won't purchase music later on in life either."
The consequences for illegal file sharing are increasing as companies and organizations begin to assert their copyright ownership more and more. In order to keep the problem from expanding at Case, Alford-Snyder continues, students need to be aware that what they are doing has consequences. "Between paying $4000 to settle a lawsuit and buying a song for 99¢, I would play it safe and just buy the song," she said.
"As [these groups] become more serious about their threats, students should be smart about decisions that could be costly later on."
