IU examining new file sharing policies

As a freshman last year, Brian Collins stared in anger at his computer waiting for the movie "Analyze That" to download from Kazaa. After about an hour, the movie still had not finished, and Collins gave up and went to bed.\nJust two days later, Collins' internet stopped working and he received an e-mail from Warner Brothers stating the company was pressing charges for his illegal downloading of the movie. He got an e-mail the next day from IU and was on probation a week later. \nCollins said he only wanted to save some extra bucks by downloading the movie instead of buying it. \n"I waited the forty minutes for it to download and I didn't ever get to watch it," he said. "And then, when I got in trouble, it was just an extra-low blow."\nStudents from campuses around the nation are downloading hundreds of movies, songs and pictures onto their computers each day. With the entertainment industry cracking down on students like Collins, some universities are examining the way they handle file sharing. Schools such as Penn State University are creating legal alternatives. Although it's still early, IU could be next. \nNow a sophomore, Collins is still on student probation with the Office of Student Ethics and will be until he moves out of the dorms. If caught downloading again, he will be kicked out of the residence halls. However, he still enjoys the benefits of Kazaa.\n"It's free and that's how it should be," Collins said. "I have fast access to whatever music I want. You know, lots of kids do it everyday. I wasn't the only one who was doing it."\nSophomore Joseph Reid, president of McNutt Quad, has seen first-hand the popularity of downloading, even though he doesn't do it himself at IU.\n"I knew my roommate and all of his buddies last year downloaded," Reid said. "I know people who do it, especially incoming freshman who are blessed with high-speed Internet access. They're going to want to take advantage of it because it's cheap and easy."\nIn November, PSU became the first university in the nation to offer a legal catalog of music to its student body. The University worked with Napster to create a system allowing students to use Napster's Premium Service at no fee within the bounds of the copyright law.\nAccording to a PSU press release, Napster will offer students a library of about 500,000 songs beginning in January of 2004 . These downloads can be permanently burned onto a CD for the cost of 99 cents per CD. \nThough IU will keep a close watch on the PSU/Napster deal, University administrators are still in the early process of discussing the situation. \n"We don't have to do anything at all related to online services," said Chief IT Security and Policy Officer for the Office of IT, Mark Bruhn. "We will only do what the vast majority of the students want us to do." \nReid said he agrees the PSU situation will help curb the legal aspects of file sharing, but IU needs to do research before anything is passed. \n"If they can come up with a system that everyone agrees on and makes everyone happy, they should definitely look into it," he said.\nStill, students like Collins say even if IU had a program like this, he still may have not used it. "It'll be legal and they'll be no worries, but I don't want the restrictions when I know I could get as much as I want from Kazaa," he said.\nFrom 2002 to 2003, IU received more than one thousand Digital Millennium Copyright Act notices for the illegal sharing of music, games and software by IU students, according to the IT Policy Office website. \nIU's current goal is to educate students about laws and IU policies on file sharing and let students know owners of copyrighted materials are pursuing those who download illegally. IU does not search for illegal activities, but the University does have to respond to complaints. Upon violation of the rules, the student must provide proof of permission to use the material. If no proof is found, the student will be blocked from the IU network and sent to the Office of the Dean of Students.\nBruhn said if students are disappointed in the situation, they should be encouraged to do something about it.\n"If students disagree with the current copyright laws as they apply to music sharing, they should contact their government representatives and voice their concern." he said. "If they don't exercise that right as a citizen, they shouldn't complain and they should just do what the law requires of them."\nCollins, an avid music fan, continues to download about 20 songs a week to his library of about 1,000 songs from Kazaa.\n"I still think me and everyone else should take advantage of free music while we can," Collins said.\n-- Contact staff writer Danielle Gingerich at dgingeri@indiana.edu.