File-sharing lawsuits settled

This week the Recording Industry Association of America settled lawsuits against three IU computer users who allegedly downloaded music illegally. \nThe lawsuits were agreed upon only four months after being filed in March. RIAA spokesman Jonathan Lamy said such quick resolutions are common.\n"We are very eager to settle out of court," Lamy said. "The objective is not to win a lawsuit but to turn people to legitimate downloading."\nLamy would not comment on the agreement but did say most agreements includ a monetary compensation that average about $3,000, with an injunction that the accuser will not repeat illegal behavior. To date, the RIAA has settled 691 cases.\nThe RIAA, according to their Web site, represents major companies such as Miramax, Virgin Records and Warner Bros., and "investigates illegal activity involving the production and distribution of sound recording."\nLamy also commented that illegally downloading material is still a significant problem but the lawsuits have an extreme impact.\n"There seems to have been a deterrent effect from the suits," Lamy said. "Trafficking from peer to peer has declined, and I believe people are thinking twice before pirating music."\nLamy commented that the suits have had the most impact on awareness of the crime. He said a year ago, when asked if downloading music and media was illegal, about 33 percent of those asked knew it was a crime, but now the numbers are close to 70 percent.\nA legal option students can explore is paying for music through legitimate download services. Lamy said in the first half of 2004, there were 54 million legitimate download opportunities through providers such as Apple's iTunes, which allows people to pay about 99 cents per song to legally download music. Sophomore Adam Miller said he is an iTunes user and feels it's one of the best ways to legally download music.\n"Programs like iTunes make it easier for nonpirates like myself to listen to music without having to buy the whole CD," Miller said.\nThough he is against piracy, Miller said he feels that large monetary punishments are not the best solution.\n"I don't think it's fair, but there is no other option for the industry to defend itself," he said.\nMark Bruhn, chief Information Technology security and policy officer, commented on the responsibilities of the University. \n"Illegal use of our network is a serious violation," Bruhn said. "In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we act immediately on allegations of copyright infringement, and in accordance with our role as an educational institution, we try hard to educate our students on the issues."\nPart of this education outreach is during Freshman Orientation, where students view a slide show that details the seriousness of illegally downloading material. Students who use the IU network also sign an agreement to not participate in any illegal activity through the network.\n"We don't and can't possibly monitor what students send or receive on the network or what applications they use," Bruhn said. "So we can't know whether what they are doing is legal or not. We're not naive enough to think they aren't using file sharing applications illegally, but we can't feasibly confirm that."\nRIAA spokesman Lamy confirmed that two other defendants remain on the lawsuit from March but would not comment on whether or not agreements were in progress.\n-- Contact staff writer Ashley Lough at amlough@indiana.edu.