As the Recording Industry Association of America is pursuing students who download music illegally, one Ohio State student, along with his attorney, are making the pathway rocky.
Mark Kafantaris, who is representing a student listed as "Doe No. 9" in the court records, filed a challenge last week to the U.S. District Court, against a ruling that requires OSU to divulge the identities of its students.
His client is one of nine students who have yet to settle their cases after 17 students were contacted through the university in late July.
A subpoena was issued this month to OSU ordering it to provide the names, addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of those students.
Although laws enacted by the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act generally protect students against the disclosure of personal information, the OSU administration said it is obligated to release information under the order of a government subpoena, and said it is currently gathering the information.
As part of its campaign, the RIAA files mass action suits against numerous "John Doe's" in order to discover the identities of these students. Kafantaris said if their actions are not challenged, it might start a dangerous precedent against students' rights in the future.
"To allow (the RIAA) a free hand at OSU college students by bullying OSU to release their identity is not only an abuse of the legal system, but also leads to an unconceivable result never intended by (the federal Copyright Act)," he said. "Statutory law nor Federal Rules of Civil Procedure support the (RIAA's) application for expedited discovery via subpoenas."
Kafantaris said the process in which the RIAA obtained the subpoena, known as immediate ex parte discovery, was unfair and violates privacy rights.
"The RIAA is targeting college students because they are vulnerable, and they've basically been having their way with them," he said. "It's a highly paid, professional legal team against someone who may barely have enough money for a lawyer. It's unconscionable."
Letters issued in early August offered students a chance to settle at a discounted rate, generally ranging from $3,000 to $5000, before a formal lawsuit is filed. After suits are filed, the federal Copyright Act mandates payment of a minimum of $750 per recording.
Members of the RIAA said that although lawsuits are not preferred as a means to stop ongoing illegal downloading, it is an effective method. RIAA spokesman Jonathan Lamy told The Columbus Dispatch of the 3,600 students who have received letters, 1,700 have settled.
"Lawsuits are by no means our desired course of action. But when the problems continue to persist, year after year, we are left with no choice," said reports by RIAA CEO and Chairman Mitch Bainwol and President Caryl Sherman, explaining the crackdown on student downloading.
College students, who were once considered the biggest customers in the music industry, are slowly becoming less prominent in contributing to sales according to press releases by the RIAA.
Market research firms have uncovered the popularity of student downloading through recent surveys. Studies conducted by the Student Monitor in 2006 revealed more than half of college students downloaded music and movies illegally. NPD, a firm that does market research on music, found that college students alone were responsible for more than 1.3 billion illegal music downloads that same year.
"The theft of music remains unacceptably high and undermines the industry's ability to invest in new music," said Bainwol in a press release by the RIAA. "This is especially the case on college campuses, despite innovative business models such as Ruckus' offer free, legal music to any college student ... We recognize that the nature of online music theft is changing, and we need to adjust our strategies accordingly."
OSU has recently begun to offer legal alternatives to students through Web sites such as Ruckus.com. However, some students say the trend of illegal file-sharing may be too far gone.
Freshman Jaclyn Benedict, who uses iTunes to download music, said she understands why some students download illegally and does not think the lawsuits will prevent students from continuing the trend in the future.
"The lawsuits may discourage those who don't download that much anyway, but I don't think the hardcore downloaders will stop unless they are caught," she said.
Lisa Scott can be reached at scott.917@osu.edu.
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