When most people think of pirates, peg-legged, parrot-carryingseamen come to mind --not the students on the computers next toyou.
The modern recording industry version of a pirate is someone whodownloads and shares MP3 audio files over peer-to-peer networkssuch as Kazaa and Morpheus. And those pirates -- including some atThe University of Memphis -- could be in some serious trouble withthe Recording Industry Association of America.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA) prohibitsunauthorized distribution or broadcast of copyrighted material ordigital copies of copyrighted material.
And, according to the RIAA, downloading and sharing digitalaudio files constitutes a violation of the DMCA.
Although the RIAA has already issued at least 871 subpoenas forfilesharers, the threat doesn't seem to bother some.
"I don't know anyone that's stopped. Maybe they've cut back, butI don't think anyone will keep them from doing what they're goingto do," said Lauren, a 16-year-old nursing student who asked not tobe fully identified.
College students who use their school's network services todistribute illegal or unauthorized material face sanctions with theRIAA and their university.
Though no U of M student has received a subpoena from the RIAA,there have been cases of copyright infringement at The U of M.
Only a small number of students -- no more than 30 -- have beencited for sharing copyrighted digital material, said Dwayne Scott,associate dean of Judicial Affairs.
When the Legal Affairs department is notified of a DMCAviolation, the student in question faces temporary or permanentsuspension of his or her network privileges, Scott said.
If the student is suspected of copyright infringement a secondtime, the punishment is more severe, said Doris Kirby, executiveassistant to the president for Legal Affairs.
"We're very concerned about addressing second offenders" whounderestimate the seriousness of the offense, Kirby said.
The association's vigilance in defending the recording industryagainst filesharers isn't new. But what began with the forcedshutdown of peer-to-peer pioneer Napster in 2001 has escalated to amanhunt that can impose severe punishments on users.
Using the DMCA as its backbone, the RIAA uses software to trackdown users sharing files on public networks. The users' Internetservice providers can then be subpoenaed for their names andaddresses.
According to the RIAA's Web site, distributing copyrighted fileswithout permission is punishable by up to three years in prison and$250,000 in fines, on top of possible civil penalties.
In spite of the consequences, many students still download andshare copyrighted music, movies and even software.
"They couldn't arrest everyone that fileshares. I bet everyonehere has done it," said James, an 18-year old freshman who askednot to be fully identified. "Technically it's illegal, but it's alaw that needs to be challenged."
