IU file sharers threatened by entertainment industry

IU students who download music and movies from the Internet are increasingly being threatened in record numbers by the entertainment industry. Since the beginning of April, the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Artists of America have sent 261 notices to IU complaining of possible copyright violations. \nWith the month only half over, IT Policy Officer Mark Bruhn said the surge in reports shows that the entertainment industry is determined to stop illegal filesharing through programs like Kazaa.\nOn April 15 alone, the University received 61 different complaints. \n"The entertainment industry is paying attention to what students are doing and are serious about this," Bruhn said.\nAgents from the MPAA and RIAA constantly patrol the Internet. When those agents observe that a copyrighted file has been traded by a user on IU's accounts, those agents notify Bruhn by e-mail, identifying the user by a number only. Bruhn matches that number to a name and then contacts the user personally by e-mail.\nThe user is told to prove they have a copyright for the file, or else they should delete it. If the user does not respond to the e-mail, his or her name is given to the Dean of Student's Office.\nIf IU receives a second notification about the same user, his or her name is automatically given to the Dean. That user will also have his or her network access suspended. \nDuring March, the policy office turned over the names of 25 students to the Dean of Student's Office. Those students are being punished through the normal judicial process for misuse of University technology accounts.\n"As it is, we give students identified as sharing illegal materials one opportunity to respond and tell us that they deleted all of the illegal files that they possess," Bruhn said. "If they do that quickly, then the case is closed. But, they don't get a second chance."\nFreshman Joie Meffert, who lives in Collins, received an e-mail from IU asking her to delete files. She thought it was junk mail and ignored it. A month later, without warning, the Internet access in her dorm room was cut off.\n"They said it was because I hadn't responded to their e-mail," Meffert said. "After that, I deleted all my files from Kazaa."\nMeffert also had to go through a judicial conference with the Office of Student Ethics. She was told that if she was caught sharing illegal files again, she could be suspended from the University.\n"I'm not sure how I stand on copyright issues, but for now I have to comply because it's the law," she said.\nTwo weeks ago, the RIAA actually sued two college students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for operating a file-sharing system like Napster at www.chewplastic.com. Similar suits were also filed against students at Princeton University and Michigan Technological University.\nThe suit asks for a whopping $150,000 in damages for each song. \nThe IT Policy Office has distributed fliers to all University housing residents warning of the legal risks of filesharing. The flier, titled "Are you legal?," gives students tips on avoiding copyright law infringement. They include:\n• disabling outbound filesharing\n• ensuring you have explicit permission from the copyright holder to share the files\n• learning about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the law which regulates how copyright violations are to be handled. \nIU does not monitor the downloading activity of its users, out of respect for privacy rights. However, when the entertainment industry notifies IU of a violation, the University is required under DMCA to investigate. Once notified, if IU knowingly allows a user to continue to trade files illegally, it can be sued.\n"We can't and won't let the actions of a small number of students increase the chances that Indiana University will be subject to penalty because they are using our network for their illegal activities," Bruhn said.\nHe said IU has no plans to shut off Kazaa or other peer-to-peer programs. \nMeffert, who had about 200 music files on her computer, said it's a good thing the University stands between her and the entertainment industry. \n"The good thing is the University is intervening in this," she said. "Otherwise I could be sued"