Students illegally sharing music files online can still be sued by the Recording Industry Association of America, despite a federal court's ruling to deny the industry access to the names of online subscribers.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in December that the RIAA could not issue subpoenas to Internet Service Providers, including colleges, under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act because it is only relevant to ISPs that have provided infringing material on their servers.
Verizon Communications, an ISP that had refused to comply with subpoenas it received, filed the case.
According to the court, the law "does not authorize the issuance of a subpoena to an ISP acting solely as a conduit for communications, the content of which is determined by others."
The law can also free Internet providers from liability as long as they stop providing service to those known to be involved in copyright infringement and they do not benefit financially from this activity.
Subpoenas gave the music industry a speedy and cost-effective way to get the names of online subscribers who download files illegally. Now the recording industry and other copyright owners will have to obtain subpoenas directly from federal judges instead of clerks, as was made possible through the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
However, the RIAA continues to sue suspected file sharers. The group filed 532 new lawsuits Saturday.
Copyright violators can be held responsible for as much as $150,000 in damages per violated copyright, according to the RIAA Web site.
Now, the recording industry identifies illegal file sharers by their Internet Protocol addresses , which identifies individual computers, and then files lawsuits against those subscribers. Once the suit is filed, a subpoena is issued to identify the user by name.
"Our campaign against illegal file sharers is not missing a beat," RIAA president Cary Sherman said in a press release. "We can and will continue to bring lawsuits on a regular basis against those who illegally distribute copyrighted music."
For the time being, colleges don't have to surrender the names of students engaged in copyright infringement and could even be sued by students for an invasion of privacy if they do so.
The RIAA is willing to settle cases with those found illegally file sharing, Sherman said.
However, the ruling means the RIAA can no longer notify file sharers before the lawsuit is formally filed and allow them an opportunity to settle out of court.
AU has complied with the RIAA before, alerted students of the possible legal consequences of file sharing and advised those involved to stop, according to Carl Whitman, director of e-operations.
Throughout the last year, the RIAA has reported suspected AU file sharers to a specially designated council every week, Whitman said. This list is then given to e-operations to handle.
The RIAA has not taken legal action against any AU students.
However, Whitman said the court's decision does not modify the ability of the RIAA to file suits. As long as they legally obtain subpoenas, colleges are required to respond.
"Most people in this field probably feel it was the right decision," Whitman said. "You want to be sure all due process is done."
Since the RIAA first began filing lawsuits against those suspected of copyright infringement, downloading of music files has plummeted 50 percent, according to a survey of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 conducted
by Pew Internet Project and Comscore Media Matrix.
"While multiple factors may have contributed to the decline, every nook of the music downloading world has been affected, including parts of the population that were the most prolific users of online file-sharing networks," the survey said.
The greatest decline was found among students.
The survey indicated that instead of downloading music for free, some people have turned to paid online music services. One of these services is Napster, which has drawn 3.2 million Americans since it re-launched its service in October.
