EDUCAUSE | Piracy

Tune In Jan. 23 for a Free Web Seminar on Evaluating the RIAA’s Legal Threats to Online Activity

pkurkowski — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:11:33 -0600

The recording industry’s complaints against alleged music downloaders are just the tip of the iceberg in legal threats against online activity. In the five years of the Chilling Effects Clearinghouse, we have seen thousands of legal threats, with claims including trademark infringement, defamation, and copyright infringement. This seminar will discuss some of the range of complaints, both unwarranted and justified, and describe ChillingEffects.org’s resources for those trying to evaluate legal threats. In some cases, the web’s sunlight can help to melt meritless threats.

In this free January 23 EDUCAUSE LIVE! seminar, Legal Threats, Chilling Effects, and Warming the Air, presenter Wendy Seltzer, Fellow, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, and Visiting Professor, Northeastern University School of Law, will discuss these threats and how to evaluate them.

Those unable to attend may wish to visit the archives after the event or browse related EDUCAUSE resources on Copyright Infringement, P2P or File Sharing, Piracy, and Patents.

House Committee Holds Hearing on Filesharing on Campus

hwachs — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 11:19:02 -0500

The House Science and Technology Committee held a full committee hearing on June 5 to discuss “The Role of Technology in Reducing Illegal Filesharing: A University Perspective.” The witnesses represented four campuses and one technology vendor including (click on each name for witness testimony):

Dr. Charles Wight, University of Utah
Dr. Adrian Sannier, Arizona State University
Dean Cheryl Asper Elzy, Illinois State University
Dr. Greg Jackson, University of Chicago
Vance Ikezoye, Audible Magic.

Committee Chairman Gordon began the hearing by giving an overview of the current state of filesharing on campuses and remarking that he didn’t “want to be holding this same hearing in the 111th Congress.” Ranking Member Hall then summarized that there is a general consensus that technology can’t completely solve the problem, but it can be a part of the solution. All of the witnesses reinforced this and testified that no single technology would bring an end to peer-to-peer filesharing on college and university campuses, but rather that a combined approach of technology and education is required. Dean Elzy pointed out that “you can’t stop what you can’t find” when she explained to Ranking Member Hall that only half of all unauthorized copyrighted music files can be detected by current technology, and the percentage is drastically less for movie files. In response to questioning by Committee Member McNerney on the interoperability capabilities of available legal music options, such as Ruckus, Dr. Sannier explained that all of the technologies currently at market have their liabilities.

More information on the hearing is available at http://science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.aspx?NewsID=1846.

Tune In March 7: Free EDUCAUSE Live! Web Seminar on Student Peer-to-Peer Activity at Illinois State University

cluckett — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 15:48:42 -0600

Illinois State University has embarked on a comparative study of what works and what doesn't regarding peer-to-peer (P2P), media, and copyright on campus. After receiving almost 500 Digital Millennium Copyright Act complaints in the academic year 2004–2005, the campus decided to explore the issue in-depth and put into place a multifaceted plan to address it, working on the basis that the issue is not one of technology but rather of education, ethics, and providing legal access. The project has been strengthened by direct interaction with associations such as the Recording Industry Association of America and Motion Picture Association of America, as well as with vendors.

In this free March 7 EDUCAUSE Live! Web seminar, Warren Arbogast, Boulder Management Group, LLC, and David Greenfield, Illinois State University, will address the project’s history, explore the six tenants that make up the project, and provide some early data results. Visit the archives if you are unable to attend, or peruse EDUCAUSE resources on P2P or file sharing.

Loudeye's Anit-Piracy Patent Purchased From the University of Tulsa

mpasiewicz — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 07:38:00 -0500

A Loudeye subsidary, Overpeer, has purchased an peer-to-peer anit-piracy patent from the University of Tulsa.