Illegal downloading on campuses could be heard in criminal courts after a year of letters sent to students around the nation threatening lawsuits in civil courts.
University students and legal representatives saw an increase in pre-litigation settlement letters from the Recording Industry Association of America toward the end of last semester when awareness programs regarding music piracy were on the rise, said Raymond Schiflett, director of Student Legal Services.
"That was somewhat frustrating because we were being very aggressive about getting outreach programs out and developing things to try to stem the tide," Schiflett said. "It would not shock me to see the RIAA decide to start pursuing some students, some select targets, from a criminal perspective."
Schiflett said discussions with the association's attorneys have led him to believe that the University is highly targeted by the RIAA because of the large student population, which could cause students from smaller schools to stop illegal downloading.
"If you capture UT students doing illegal activities, it makes a bigger splash," he said. "I understand their logic. I don't like it, but I understand it."
RIAA spokeswoman Liz Kennedy said the RIAA aims to educate students against illegal file-sharing, but she said the activity cannot be stopped completely and lawsuits cannot be filed against every person downloading.
"An increase in letters is not necessarily an indication of more file-sharing going on," Kennedy said. "This is a campaign meant to encourage individuals to go legal."
Schiflett said illegal downloading could end up costing the downloader much more money than the downloads are worth. The copyright infringement penalty for one song is $750, so the RIAA settlement for $3,000 is oftentimes more affordable than if the issue were taken to court, which could cost thousands of dollars more for expert testimony, he said.
"The RIAA is notably harsh as far as depreciations," Schiflett said. "They don't really care that you don't have any money. They don't care if you're on food stamps."
UT's Information Security officer Cam Beasley said it is not the University's policy to regularly watch what students access while using the University's Internet and that it is the student's responsibility to use the Internet lawfully.
"No specific monitoring for such activity is conducted by the University, but we do respond to lawful inquiries regarding alleged illegal downloading when needed," Beasley said in an e-mail.
Schiflett said information regarding the University's stance on illegal downloading and computer usage is presented at orientation and throughout the year. He said a new campaign was established for orientation this summer to make students aware of the risks involved and a letter will be sent to students in the fall from Juan Gonzalez, vice president for student affairs.
"It's illegal, it's a violation of federal law," Schiflett said. "You really shouldn't be doing it."
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