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Music and movie industries to file suit against BU students
The Recording Industry Association of America announced on April 13 that it will file lawsuits against 405 students across the country, including up to 25 at BU, for allegedly sharing music files over the Internet illegally. It is the latest lawsuit in an aggressive campaign by the RIAA to address copyright infringement; a previous suit filed in November targeted 761 students at institutions across the country and included several BU students. In addition, the Motion Picture Association of America notified the University recently that it will pursue lawsuits pertaining to two file-sharing infractions that occurred at BU.
As in the other suits, students are identified by Internet provider addresses, not by names; the plaintiffs obtain the names by issuing subpoenas to the colleges and universities involved. The University’s policy is to comply with legally issued subpoenas, says BU spokesman Colin Riley. The students are responsible for dealing with the legal consequences.
“It’s unfortunate that some students have not gotten the message that this activity may lead to having to hire a lawyer and appear in court,” Riley says.
Illegal file-sharing violates the University’s computing policies and Code of Student Responsibilities, Riley says. When students are caught engaging in illegal file-sharing, they receive a warning from the Office of Information Technology instructing them to remove copyrighted material from their computer. Infractions may result in a loss of University computing privileges and a disciplinary hearing before the Office of Judicial Affairs.
“The message is: get appropriate permission if you download or distribute music or movie or art, which typically means you will have to pay for it,” says Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore. “Not only should students not break the law, but also as members of an academic community, students should maintain the integrity of that community by not taking works of others and sharing them illegally.”
Elmore adds that he encourages students to be involved in “the good-faith debate going on in our society right now” about how original works should be protected. “If people feel that copyright laws should be changed,” he says, “I encourage them to be involved in that discussion, and to weigh in by writing to their representatives or senators.”
15
April 2005
Boston University
Office of University Relations