Copyright Law

Universities becoming exasperated with RIAA, says Chronicle of Higher Education

By Ty Rogers and Ray Beckerman

Thanks to Jon Newton at p2pnet.net for pointing out to us an excellent article by Catherine Rampell in the Chronicle of Higher Education:

Antipiracy Campaign Exasperates Colleges

But attempts to break with recording industry run into legal hurdles

By CATHERINE RAMPELL

Talk to the chief information officer at just about any American university, and he will probably say that his institution has bent over backward to help the Recording Industry Association of America curb illegal file sharing on his campus.

He will also tell you he's angry.

On e-mail lists and in interviews, university CIO's and other information-technology professionals say their mission is getting derailed and staff time is being overloaded by copyright takedown notices, "prelitigation settlement letters," RIAA-issued subpoenas, lobbying efforts, and panicked students accused of piracy.

Now, feeling burdened and betrayed, some of those universities are quietly fighting back, resisting requests for information and trying to quash subpoenas. Those that do so, though, find that their past compliance ? and the continued compliance of their peer institutions ? is being held against them.

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Full post as published by Recording Industry vs The People on August 12, 2008 (boomark / email).