Congress asks Schools About Piracy

Filed in archive Education , Government , RIAA, IFPI on September 6, 2007

RIAA has co-opted a group from Congress in its ongoing fight against schools. The Congressmen include both Democrats and Republicans and sent a letter to 19 universities including Howard University, UCLA, University of nebraska, University of Wisconsin, and NC State. Most of the schools have rejected attempts by RIAA to get the schools to crack down and contact students about alleged copyright infringement

The letter states "The fact that copyright piracy is not unique to college and university campuses is not an excuse for university officials to fail to take reasonable steps to eliminate such activity nor to appropriately sanction such conduct when discovered. Just as institutions of higher education take seriously the moral and ethical ramifications that result from individual acts of plagiarism, it is critical they convey a similar sense of purpose and commitment in the fight against digital piracy. ... Please describe, in detail, your institution's formal policy or procedure for processing and responding to notices of infringement received from copyright holders. ... Your full and complete responses to the enclosed survey will assist us in determining what 'best practices' need to be instituted It will also help us to assess whether Congress needs to advance legislation to ensure the unacceptable use of educational facilities to obtain or traffic in copyrighted goods is no longer commonly associated with student life on some US campuses."