Hundreds of songs downloaded from services such as Kazaa and Grokster may not be as innocent, and students may not be as anonymous, as they once appeared.
The Recording Industry Association of America intensified their campaign against illegal file-sharing over the summer, subpoenaing the names of individuals sharing copyrighted music files on peer-to-peer networks.
RIAA plans to file lawsuits against the over 1000 alleged violators soon after Labor Day, according to spokesperson Jonathan Lamy.
"This will be just the first wave of lawsuits," Lamy said.
RIAA estimates millions of people are engaged in illegal file-sharing. The University has not been subpoenaed, but students who continue to share music could be targeted in future investigations.
Defendants could face criminal penalties of up to three years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Penalties in civil court can run up to $150,000 per copyrighted file.
The association uses automated software to search networks for the IP addresses of users offering to distribute copyrighted music. IP addresses -- which identify specific computers at the time which they were on a network -- always are publicly available. The association then subpoenas the companies supporting the addresses for users' identifying information.
According to the January ruling in Recording Industry Association of America v. Verizon, Internet service providers must, by law, release the names of customers distributing copyrighted material.
"We are going after the egregious offenders," Lamy said. "If there are a substantial number of songs, they may be a target."
He declined to comment on what may constitute a substantial amount.
RIAA's software pursues only people distributing copyrighted files, not downloading them. However, with many peer-to-peer networks, members automatically become distributors upon creation of an account.
"People may not realize that they are, in fact, a distributor," Lamy said. He advised either uninstalling peer-to-peer networks altogether or changing the default setting to only download files in order to avoid prosecution.
A handful of colleges and universities were among the ISPs subpoenaed over the summer, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Northeastern University. Although the University has not yet been subpoenaed, it has received hundreds of violation notices from individual record companies in the past several years.
"It takes a huge amount, a crushing amount of staff time to deal with them," said Madelyn Wessel, assistant to the vice president for student affairs.
ITC staff must spend time communicating with both the student and the record company, pulling resources away from technical assistance, she added. Students face lost Internet service and possible monetary penalties if they do not remove copyrighted files after a violation notice.
University officials said peer-to-peer programs on student computers can open the University network to viruses and worms. Illegal file sharing also crowds the bandwidth of the University network.
"When our bandwidth gets very full, that slows down the Internet for everyone," said Shirley Payne, ITC director for security coordination and internal relations.
Payne and Wessel both said the University has stepped up its education effort this year, with ITC presentations at first-year orientation and a Web site devoted to explaining copyright laws.
"The statute does not have an 'I don't know what I was doing' aspect," Wessel said. "We're worried about you guys. We do not want to see a bunch of U.Va. students get hit with multi-million dollar lawsuits."
If subpoenaed, the University is obligated to turn over students' information once the subpoena is declared valid by the General Counsel's office.
Along with federal and state penalties, students distributing copyrighted music also may be subject to Judiciary and Honor Committee charges, Wessel added.
The association began an aggressive education campaign over a year ago, according to Lamy. It produced advertisements featuring high-profile recording artists urging viewers to stop illegal downloading, and sent four million instant messages to copyright violators through Kazaa and Grokster.
"We have bent over backward to try to warn people, but behavior is not changing, so we feel we're left with no choice," Lamy said.
He attributed a 26 percent drop in CD sales over the past four years primarily to online piracy.
"Thousands and thousands of record company employees have been laid off," Lamy said. "Hundreds and hundreds of record stores have closed. New bands aren't getting signed. This is really not a victimless crime. Real people are feeling the consequences."
Read More
Students have federal internship offers rescinded due to hiring freeze
By Nina Broderick | YesterdayUntil July 15, no presently vacant federal civilian positions may be filled, and no new positions may be created.
Man dies from self-inflicted gunshot wounds at the Rotunda
By Ford McCracken | YesterdayThe investigation is ongoing, and additional details are not available at this time.
Virginia primary elections feature contested race for Democratic Lt. Gov. candidate
By Nicolas Biernacki | 2 days agoEligible voters can find more information about early voting by consulting the City Department of Voter Registration & Elections website or the County Department of Elections website.
