NEWS
UW must give up filesharers
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Also by Nick Penzenstadler:
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- UW to RIAA: No way (March 21, 2007)
- UW warns music sharers (March 19, 2007)
- RIAA sues more college students (March 24, 2004)
- RIAA sues more music sharers, the bulk of them students (January 26, 2004)
by Nick Penzenstadler
Friday, April 27, 2007
A U.S. district court judge said Wednesday the University of Wisconsin System must release the names and contact information of 53 students accused of illegal file sharing on UW networks.
In a controversial decision last month, UW officials announced they would shield its students from "pre-litigation" settlement letters where students would have been asked to settle outside of court for as much as $3,000.
This week, the Recording Industry Association of America filed a "John Doe" lawsuit with UW for the names corresponding with an Internet Protocol identified in association with "unauthorized peer-to-peer services" like LimeWire.
According to RIAA spokesperson Julie Engebretsen, the 53 "John Does" include students throughout the UW System who could be from Eau Claire, Milwaukee, Parkside, Platteville, Stevens Point, Stout, Whitewater or Madison. The identities will only be known if the RIAA decides to issue subpoenas for the names of the individuals who lawsuits were filed against.
Contrary to other media reports, Engebretsen said all 53 "John Does" are not necessarily UW-Madison students.
Engebretsen said when universities decide not to forward settlement letters to their students they end up harming them by not offering them the opportunity to settle out of court.
"Once we have the name in hand, we are in touch with the student directly to discuss settlement," Engebretsen said. "The substantially discounted sum that was available during pre-litigation is no longer available."
UW Division of Information Technology spokesperson Brian Rust, however, said students with matching IP addresses targeted by the RIAA earlier this year were contacted by UW.
"We gave them a heads-up," Rust said. "We told them, 'You might be the subject of a future subpoena and we would encourage you to talk to your parents and/or legal counsel.'"
Engebretsen said the RIAA is sending pre-litigation letters out in mass quantities every month to large universities with high-volume sharing detected.
Now that the legal process has been invoked, Rust said the university will separate itself from students accused.
"It's an issue that doesn't involve the university. We do have a concern for the students, but if they have broken the law, it's not our place to hide them from prosecution," Rust said. "Every time they issue an action, they say, 'We're coming after you, everybody be aware, we really mean it,' it just kind of continues. Our posture is, 'OK, go ahead.'"
University officials are also raising the question of linking individual students with action in public spaces like libraries.
According to UW Interim Chief Information Officer Ken Frazier, 95 percent of the letters have been directed at students living in dormitories under the ResNet system, and it would be difficult to link files to open sources.
"It becomes a point of distribution, and all the cases are really going to be about sharing the music that's on your computer rather than you downloading," Frazier said. "As I understand it, downloading is nearly impossible to detect."
Engebretsen declined comment on the methodology that RIAA uses to file lawsuits against students, as well as the settlement amounts.
Anonymous (April 27, 2007 @ 3:36am):
IP addresses are NOT people. Fuck the RIAA and their extortion racket. Their failed business model is not my fuckin' problem.
Anonymous (April 27, 2007 @ 8:30am):
If you use a P2P program like LimeWire, just move the file from your shared folder upon download completion. If you're using a program that uses the BitTorrent protocol, run it through a highly-anonymous proxy in order to disguise your IP. Even using a program like Peer Guardian 2 helps keep your information out of the hands of RIAA lawyers looking to rip you a new one; but of course I don't endorse such activity as file sharing is considered stealing...
Anonymous (April 27, 2007 @ 9:27am):
Hmmmmmmm, maybe they need to sign up for all those easy credit card offers - as long as Chapter 7 is in the offing why not live for today!
Anonymous (April 27, 2007 @ 10:00am):
exactly how is this possible? Not one single commerical private ISP has turned over anything to the RIAA without a real subpoena. UW is going to lose a lot more of my faith if they don't put up a fight here.
Anonymous (April 27, 2007 @ 11:22am):
This is a court order permitting the RIAA to issue to the UW a subpoena to which it is ordered to comply. The UW doesn't have much of an option but turn the information over.
Anonymous (April 27, 2007 @ 11:39am):
Without a subpoena, UW should not cooperate. If they do, then expect a huge drop in enrollment.
Anonymous (April 27, 2007 @ 12:18pm):
"exactly how is this possible? Not one single commerical private ISP has turned over anything to the RIAA without a real subpoena."
Uh, did you read the first sentence of the article? It says that a judge just ordered UW to turn the data over to the RIAA.
Anonymous (April 27, 2007 @ 12:26pm):
10 am "The identities will only be known if the RIAA decides to issue subpoenas for the names of the individuals who lawsuits were filed against.
"
Anonymous (April 27, 2007 @ 3:52pm):
"Contrary to other media reports, Engebretsen said all 53 "John Does" are not necessarily UW-Madison students."
So, what's being done for the faculty, staff, guests, et al.?
Anonymous (April 27, 2007 @ 9:18pm):
does anyone know when they're going to release names of students caught. because this is b.s.
Anonymous (May 19, 2007 @ 12:37am):
This needs fixing. Companies and their illegal political lobbyists need to be smacked down BADLY, and reminded that their rights are trivial compared to those of the individual.
Fuck the RIAA.
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