Dozens of students and staff joined OIT
on February 27, 2008 in the Stamp Student Union Atrium to discuss
file sharing with an expert panel that included a GRAMMY award-winning
artist, other talented musicians, and a university attorney with an
expertise in copyright law.
Some students posed tough questions to panelists, while other students
presented their individual commentary about the controversial issue
at the open microphone, town-hall-styled event.
Sophomore business major and Maryland Music Business Society president
Alan VanToai was a forum speaker, advocating for a new business model
in the music industry and offering a student voice among the music
industry panelists. Cathy Fink, GRAMMY-winning producer, songwriter,
and artist, and William Montgomery, a university professor in the
School of Music and chair of the University Senate, were both on hand
to explain how illegal downloading and file sharing hurts the financial
livelihood of professional musicians.
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Peter Opere, Director of
Campus Sales for Ruckus, described the student benefits of using Ruckus
and explained to students how easy it is to download legally with
Ruckus since the University of Maryland has an official agreement
for the digital entertainment service.
Other forum speakers included Anne Bowden, an attorney
at the university with a specialty in copyright law and fair use,
Gerry Sneeringer, the university’s Director of IT security,
and Amy Ginther, OIT’s Project NEThics coordinator.
“The forum was a great success,” said university
Vice President and Chief Information Officer Jeff Huskamp, who moderated
the event. “Students wanted answers about downloading and file
sharing, and they received answers from guest panelists who presented
various perspectives on the core issues of intellectual property and
copyright law,” Huskamp concluded.
www.oit.umd.edu/PlayFair/forum2008_recap.html
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“Who ever gets caught?” When it comes
to illegal file sharing, this laid-back attitude is familiar among
many University of Maryland students. With the ease and convenience
of technology, file sharing is one of the most popular ways to stay
in tune with the latest music, movies, and television shows. However,
despite how cheap it seems to be, one 22-year-old Maryland senior
can attest that it could have a steep price tag attached.
In her case, she was the recipient of a DCMA complaint, an e-mail
notice from Project NEThics telling her that a copyright owner had
detected copyright infringement on her IP address. The notice suggested
she remove the downloading program she was using, Ares, from her computer.
She complied with this request, but says, “By then it was too
late. They [the RIAA] had already been following my IP address.”
Later, she also received a letter from the RIAA threatening to sue
her for copyright infringement unless she paid a settlement fee. It
cited 76 of the 500+ mostly R&B and pop songs she had downloaded.
She decided not to take the copyright infringement case to court and
paid a $3,000 settlement. This student agreed to be interviewed by
TechKnow to warn her fellow students of the possible consequences
of online piracy.
Q: How did you feel about having to pay $3,000 for
this crime?
A: Horrible at first, but there are worse things
that could have happened, and I could have been sued for much more
so it’s a learning experience.
Q: Did you tell your parents? If so, what was their
reaction?
A: They were the first people I called. They were
calm and said they would help out but I would have to pay them back
eventually.
Q: Do you mind telling us how you raised the money?
A: I asked for donations from family and friends.
[That] raised $1,700 and my parents paid $1,300. I was fortunate enough
to have parents who were able to help.
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Q: Do you still download?
A: Of course not. My computer is probably tapped
or something.
Q: What would you say to students that are currently
downloading music?
A: If you are downloading, know that you can get
caught, and if you don’t have $3,000 or so to pay for it, you
may want to think twice about downloading.
There is a definite possibility that if you are caught downloading
illegally you could wind up in the same position this student did.
In 2007, the RIAA sent 38 similar letters to users of the university’s
computer network. Some have reported paying fines as high as $4,000.
You have the power to prevent a situation like this from happening
to you. Be smart — download legally. For more information about
online piracy and legal alternatives to it, please visit OIT’s
PlayFair Web site at www.oit.umd.edu/PlayFair
or contact Project NEThics at 301.405.8787 or nethics@umd.edu.
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