Thursday, October 10, 2002

Higher-Education Organizations Urge a Crackdown on Illegal File Sharing By VINCENT KIERNAN The leaders of six major higher-education organizations are asking the presidents of all American colleges to take steps to stop illegal distribution of copyrighted materials, such as songs and motion pictures, through college computer networks. "Digital file sharing technology has made it easier than ever before for individuals to make and share a large number of unauthorized copies of creative works (particularly music and movies) without regard to or consideration of the rights of the copyright owners," the six wrote in a letter to the college presidents, which is dated Tuesday and will be mailed in the next several days. "Unfortunately, in some cases, college and university computer systems are being misused as servers to distribute such unauthorized copies worldwide." The letter was signed by the presidents of the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the American Council on Education, the Association of American Universities, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. The issue centers on the use, principally by students, of a variety of programs to download digitized music and movie files, or to share those files with others. The music and motion-picture industries, and some artists, complain that such practices infringe on their copyrights. Meanwhile, the constant transferring of large numbers of bulky audio and video files can swamp college networks, hobbling other users. The Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America are preparing their own letter to college presidents, requesting a halt to illegal downloads. The text of that letter was not immediately available. "We share their concern about the use of campus computer networks for inappropriate file sharing," the six higher-education officials wrote in their letter. The education organizations' letter was motivated, in part, by a "collective concern about potential legal liability for copyright infringement," said Sheldon E. Steinbach, vice president and general counsel for the American Council on Education. Sharman Networks, the Australia-based company which makes KaZaA, one of the most popular file-sharing systems on college campuses, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The six officials asked college presidents to consult with campus officials and consider revisions to campus policies regarding computer use and downloading, as well as to take steps to educate faculty and staff members and students about copyright law. But the letter does not recommend any specific action, such as using technology to limit the amount of downloads, as some colleges have done. However, Mr. Steinbach said that college presidents should view the file-transfer problem as much as a business and budgetary issue as a legal one. "It's a misappropriation of a university-provided facility for nonacademic use," Mr. Steinbach said of such downloads. Few college presidents realize the scope of the problem, he said. "It is my belief that only a fragment of university presidents have any knowledge about the issue," he said. One reason, according to Mr. Steinbach, is that presidents tend not to get involved in information-technology problems but rather leave them for others to solve. Following is the text of the letter from the higher-education organizations. October 8, 2002 Dear Colleagues: We are writing to follow up a letter you recently received from several associations representing the music and motion picture industries. These groups are deeply concerned about copyright infringement that is occurring through the use of peer-to-peer file sharing software on many computer networks, including those on college and university campuses. The letter requests that college and university presidents assess this issue at their own institutions and take positive steps to address illegal practices. Digital file sharing technology has made it easier than ever before for individuals to make and share a large number of unauthorized copies of creative works (particularly music and movies) without regard to or consideration of the rights of the copyright owners. Unfortunately, in some cases, college and university computer systems are being misused as servers to distribute such unauthorized copies worldwide. Several university presidents and association executives recently met with representatives of the recording and the movie industries to discuss their concerns and to review materials that documented such abuses. We share their concern about the use of campus computer networks for inappropriate file sharing and are writing to encourage you to give serious attention to this issue. Obviously, their letter addresses this topic from the perspective of the recording and movie industries and reflects their interpretation of these issues. Nonetheless, we are in total agreement that this issue is important and merits your attention for multiple reasons. We urge you to discuss this issue with all appropriate campus officials including provosts, general counsels, chief information officers, business officers, librarians, and student affairs officers. These discussions may well result in a reassessment of your institutional computer usage policies and bandwidth management practices. In addition, given our responsibility as educators to help students make ethical and lawful choices, we encourage you to make efforts to educate students, faculty and staff about appropriate and inappropriate uses of copywritten materials. This is an exceptionally complex topic that will be of interest to many groups on campus. Indeed, the policies to address peer-to-peer file sharing are likely to have implications for such basic campus values as personal privacy, free speech, and academic freedom. Some institutions of higher education have already addressed this issue and the recording and movie industries' letter provided several examples. While these illustrations merit your consideration, we do not believe that there is a single solution that will work equally well for all schools. This is a challenge that must be addressed on a campus-by-campus basis. In short, while this is a vexing issue with no simple solutions, we hope you will join us in addressing the inappropriate use of campus facilities to disseminate-copywritten materials. Thank you for your consideration. If you have questions concerning these issues, we encourage you to contact any of the following individuals: Sheldon Steinbach (ACE -- 202-939-9361); Richard Harpel (NASULGC -- 202-478-6048); or John Vaughn (AAU -- 202-408-7500). David Ward President, American Council on Education Nils Hasselmo President, Association of American Universities David L. Warren President, National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities George R. Boggs President, American Association of Community Colleges Constantine W. Curris President, American Association of State Colleges and Universities C. Peter Magrath President, National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges Background articles from The Chronicle: Film Studios Want Colleges to Block Students From Downloading Movies (10/11/2002) Economics Professor Backs Technology to Protect Copyrighted Materials (2/1/2002) New Company Besieges Colleges With Notices About Copyright Violations (11/30/2001) Napster Was Nothing Compared With This Year's Bandwidth Problems (9/28/2001) Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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