The Recording Industry Association of America announced last month that it’s changing its strategy for deterring online music piracy. Instead of filing lawsuits against individuals, it is relying on individual Internet service providers to discourage and prevent illegal file-sharing.
Under the new strategy, instead of the RIAA threatening to sue individuals who illegally download, the ISPs have agreed to pass on a notice to their customers who are targeted by the RIAA, informing them of their illegal activities. The ISPs will then have the power to slow or stop the individual’s Internet access if the targeted person continues illegal file-sharing activity.
Jack Bernard, the University’s assistant general counsel, said he is glad to see the lawsuits stop.
“I don’t know why they engaged in the lawsuits in the first place,” he said. “We have asked them to stop for many years.”
Under RIAA’s old system, which has been in place since 2003, pre-litigation settlement letters were sent to individuals whom the RIAA thought were involved in illegal peer-to-peer file-sharing. The letters informed the users of their illegal activities and threatened lawsuits if they did not settle by paying fees to the RIAA.
The RIAA heavily targeted students who used college and university networks to share music files, including students at the University of Michigan.
From 2003 until now, more than 60 University of Michigan students have received pre-litigation settlement letters under the RIAA’s old strategy, Bernard said. Most students settled out of court for about $3,000, he said.
According to a Dec. 19 article in The Wall Street Journal, this strategy change comes because the RIAA found the lawsuits were ineffective in reducing illegal music downloading. Additionally, the old system created a public relations nightmare for RIAA after engaging in numerous expensive lawsuits involving single mothers, young children and one dead person.
LSA freshman Emily Sterling said she is relieved that the RIAA is no longer pursuing the lawsuits.
“I would rather lose my Internet than have to pay,” she said.
Bernard cautioned students against thinking that this change in strategy will be an open season for illegal music file-sharing.
“This doesn’t mean that all bets are off,” he said. “You could still be sued by any number of industries.”
Bernard also said this new system is not necessarily a permanent change, and that the RIAA could “change their mind” at any time.
School of Nursing senior Kim Wilke said she uses iTunes to download music legally because she doesn’t think it’s fair to musicians when people illegally download their work.
“Artists deserve recognition for their music,” she said.
According to the same The Wall Street Journal article, the RIAA claims to have preliminary agreements with some ISPs to carry out these measures but would not say which ones or how many.
Brian Dietz, spokesman for the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, a national organization that represents the majority of ISPs, said in an e-mail interview that he could not confirm any agreements between the RIAA and ISPs, but that many cable company contracts prohibit piracy.
“We look forward to working constructively with the recording industry and other content providers on fair and effect ways to deter copyright infringement,” he said.