Ohio State students who share copyrighted files are feeling the effects of increased legal action from the music and motion picture industries.
The Motion Picture Association of America filed a “John Doe” lawsuit against at least one OSU student Wednesday for downloading and sharing movies illegally using i2hub on Internet2, said Chad Giron, a publicity assistant for the MPAA.
The MPAA is a trade organization for seven major studios that looks out for the best interests of the motion picture and television industries, Giron said.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of “John Doe” lawsuits filed against OSU students. The Recording Industry of America filed lawsuits against 25 OSU students Wednesday, also naming “John Doe” until students’ names are released by the university’s Internet Service Provider.
The RIAA represents the U.S. recording industry. According to its Web site, the mission of the organization is to promote and support major record companies.
Peter Swire, professor at OSU’s Moritz College of Law, said “John Doe” lawsuits allow student defendants the opportunity to object to their names being given to the recording and motion picture industries.
“The bad news (for students) is they can face thousands of dollars in penalties,” Swire said. “They should get a lawyer and treat this seriously.”
OSU is not the sole target of the RIAA and MPAA lawsuits. The OSU students are among 405 students sued from 18 universities across the country, said Jenni Engebretsten, a spokeswoman for the RIAA.
Evidence of infringement at another 140 campuses in 41 states was also found, but the RIAA has chosen not to file lawsuits. Each university president is being notified of the illegal activity, she said.
The MPAA also has evidence of illegal downloading and sharing of movies at 140 schools, said Anne Caliguiri, a spokeswoman for the MPAA.
“This is not the first (lawsuit) and I don’t think it will be the last,” she said.
Valerie Shafer, director of Student Affairs for Information Technology at OSU, said Internet2 is a network intended for use by colleges and universities for research and academic pursuits. The i2hub is an application students use to download and share files, similar to programs such as Kazaa or LimeWire, she said.
While i2hub is not affiliated with Internet2, it uses Internet2 to transfer files, Shafer said.
Currently, the RIAA and MPAA know only the Internet Protocol addresses of students. OSU will not release student names until it receives a subpoena, she said.
“At that point, (OSU) would be required by law to give the names and would probably notify the students affected,” Shafer said.
She said OSU will not take any action against the students involved other than notifying the students of violating OSU’s download and copyright policies.
While the RIAA and MPAA lawsuits are not coordinated, they both fight against the same basic infringement, Giron said.
“It is an effort to raise awareness. We want to let people know there are plenty of legal alternatives,” he said.
“People who steal movies believe they are anonymous on the Internet and won’t be held responsible for their actions,” Caliguiri said. “We want them to know that what they are doing is wrong and they will be held responsible for their actions,” she said.
In a CPNewslink online press conference, Cary Sherman, president of the RIAA, said the use of i2hub for illegal file-sharing needed to be addressed immediately. Illegal downloading has a very clear impact, he said.
“Songwriters (are) getting half the royalties they used to, artists (are) being dropped from label rosters, new artists (are) not getting signed, (there have been) thousands of layoffs, and thousands of record stores (have) closed,” he said.
“The idea is to get the problem sufficiently under control so that legitimate commerce can survive,” Sherman said.
Files shared by students being sued include more than 930,000 songs, Sherman said in a transcript of a Tuesday conference call given to The Lantern by the RIAA.
“That equals out to more than 70,000 CDs available for instant download, illegally, and with no musician, songwriter, or record company earning a cent,” he said.
Shafer said she thinks some students do not realize that what they are doing is illegal. She said students may not be aware that while it is legal to share files, it is not legal to share copyrighted ones.
Also, many music and movie downloading sites say they are free, which is usually a tip-off that they are illegal, she said.
Sherman said in the online press conference that if further action is taken – which the RIAA reserves the right to do – the exact charge would be for direct copyright infringement, which carries a minimum penalty of $750 per work infringed.
Students being sued have an average of 3,900 total files, which can add up to a lot of money, he said.
For students at the 140 other schools, Sherman said further action will most likely not be taken.
“It’s a little more likely that we’ll bring actions against newer infringements,” he said. “People who continue to engage in illegal uploading and downloading after they’ve learned that the use of i2hub on Internet2 for this purpose is illegal are appropriate targets in future rounds (of lawsuits).”
