Sue this!

Since the inception of Napster, the Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA, has been extremely active in efforts to protect the intellectual property of its members by attacking anyone and everyone who commits copyright infringement via Internet file sharing. However, it has not been particularly successful, which has led it to seek help.\nThe RIAA now is asking universities to assist it in suing its own students. The trade group now is requesting that universities turn over information involving student computers, which it could then use as evidence against those students. Some universities, such as the University of Washington, are caving to the RIAA and turning over the information. Others, such as the University of Wisconsin-Madison, are resisting on the grounds that they believe the RIAA’s tactics violate student privacy rights.\nThe RIAA’s battle with the anonymous hordes of Web pirates is fraught with enormous public relations blunders, and this is no exception. First of all, the universities that actually provide information to the RIAA are basically carpet-bombing their reputations with prospective students. Any person who engages in illegal file sharing activities will think twice about attending one of those schools. It will affect even those who buy their music, as it’s tough to sell a school as student-friendly when it is willing to throw those students under a bus for any faceless corporation or organization that comes along.\nOf course, the RIAA itself seems to be trying to turn bad public relations into a science. This is, after all, the group that has sued dead people, 12-year-olds, grandmothers and people who don’t even own computers. It has taken up this cause in the name of protecting its artists and securing fair monetary compensation. Nevertheless, the RIAA seems oblivious to the fact that these lawsuits are not bringing in customers. Contrary to popular belief, suing people does not really make them more likely to buy your products – in fact, it usually has the opposite effect. \nThe real heroes here are the schools who are standing up to the RIAA and standing up for their students. They are taking the proper route. They aren’t necessarily condoning or enabling copyright infringement, but they are doing what basically all third parties in this conflict probably should do – dissociating themselves from the RIAA. If the RIAA wants to hunt down kids who download music without prejudice, that’s their business. Any outside party, though, should have the brains to stay as far away from this public relations nightmare as possible.\nIU ranks 21st on the RIAA’s list of top piracy universities, and after three IU students were sued for piracy, it’s likely the RIAA will take similar action here. If so, the University will have a decision to make: Will it cave to the pressure, or will it protect its students? Piracy or not, we should hope that IU plays the part of the hero, not the lackey.