Posted on March 15, 2006
College students across the nation are being targeted with copyright complaints due to illegal downloading.
Ever since music downloading became popular, the Recording Industry Association of America has remained critical of the illegal practice. It maintains downloading harms the music industry and the artist because it takes away copyright and royalty fees that they would normally receive.
During the 2005-06 school year, 4,916 students were cited as violating RIAA regulations, compared to approximately 15,000 already reported in the 2006-07 school year.
The RIAA identified 25 schools that received the most notices last year in order to increase pressure on the administrations of those schools to take action. Schools such as Ohio University, Purdue University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have received more than 1,000 complaints. More recently, the RIAA decided that 400 students at 13 universities could have the opportunity to receive a discounted settlement before being taken to court.
Although JMU has never brought a student to Judicial Affairs for illegal downloading, they do have a general guideline that they follow if necessary.
“[Information technology] gets a notice that someone has been downloading, so they send an e-mail to that person right away telling them that they have five days to stop,” said Josh Bacon, director of Judicial Affairs. “It almost never happens, and when it does, students almost always comply.”
Students like senior Preston Eberly have received the notice, but disregarded it.
“I have received the ‘quit downloading now’ messages from JMU, but it hasn’t slowed me down,” Eberly said.
On the second offense, JMU can take away the student or faculty’s Internet service, something that rarely happens, according to Bacon. After the third violation, the case is reported to Judicial Affairs where the offender would be charged with computer misuse or noncompliance. Because JMU has never prosecuted someone fully for this offense, the violation would have to be tried much like other cases in Judicial Affairs, Bacon said.
“It would always be case-by-case, so the sanction would depend on the type of violation, the specifics of the situation, and the student’s previous history,” Bacon said.
Despite the warnings of JMU and the RIAA, many students still find themselves drawn to downloading for many reasons.
“I mainly use Limewire and Kazaa because it’s free, super convenient, and frankly, I don’t think that the artists are being adversely affected,” Eberly said. “Some artists are actually appreciative of the visibility that piracy gives them when they are just starting out.”
Some students have compromised, deciding to instead patronize legal downloading services that offer a similar service as the illegal programs but charge money for downloading.
“I use programs like iTunes so that I can buy single songs instead of full albums,” junior Katie Goracke said. “It really makes a difference when it comes to money, and I never feel like I’m going to get in trouble.”
