2008 Woodie Awards
RIAA targets AC in latest downloading lawsuit
Caitlin Marchand
Issue date: 12/7/04 Section: News Stories
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Downloading music is nothing new to most Assumption students. There are millions of songs available to anyone who has a computer hooked up to the internet. But of late, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has begun to crack down on thousands of individuals who are downloading and sharing copyrighted music with others.
Recently, one AC student was subpoenaed by the RIAA for infringing on copyrighted music files, said Assumption's General Counsel and Assistant to the Executive Vice President Michael Rubino. The school itself is separate from the issue, and was simply notified that legal action will be taken against this student, who remains unnamed. Rubino says that things are still a little unclear and a lawsuit has yet to be put together.
What is clear is that a law was broken, and the RIAA is simply taking action.
"They are trying to make examples out of a few students," said Rubino. "They are exercising their rights and picking strategic students across the country to make examples of."
According to the Assumption College Information Technology Department, the school has been served with almost 50 "cease and desist" orders from the RIAA against specific students. Individual students were contacted by the IT Department and warned to stop sharing stolen, copyrighted music.
A recent Boston Globe article named Assumption along with more than a dozen other New England colleges, having students who have been subpoenaed by the RIAA. So it is no secret that the recording industry is beginning to make larger efforts to stop the downloading, and sharing, of illegal music files.
The RIAA's official website notes that over $4.2 billion is lost to piracy worldwide. They define piracy as, "the unofficial uploading of a copyrighted sound recording and making it available to the public, or downloading a sound recording from and internet site, even if the recording isn't resold."
How does the RIAA know who is downloading these files?
Recently, one AC student was subpoenaed by the RIAA for infringing on copyrighted music files, said Assumption's General Counsel and Assistant to the Executive Vice President Michael Rubino. The school itself is separate from the issue, and was simply notified that legal action will be taken against this student, who remains unnamed. Rubino says that things are still a little unclear and a lawsuit has yet to be put together.
What is clear is that a law was broken, and the RIAA is simply taking action.
"They are trying to make examples out of a few students," said Rubino. "They are exercising their rights and picking strategic students across the country to make examples of."
According to the Assumption College Information Technology Department, the school has been served with almost 50 "cease and desist" orders from the RIAA against specific students. Individual students were contacted by the IT Department and warned to stop sharing stolen, copyrighted music.
A recent Boston Globe article named Assumption along with more than a dozen other New England colleges, having students who have been subpoenaed by the RIAA. So it is no secret that the recording industry is beginning to make larger efforts to stop the downloading, and sharing, of illegal music files.
The RIAA's official website notes that over $4.2 billion is lost to piracy worldwide. They define piracy as, "the unofficial uploading of a copyrighted sound recording and making it available to the public, or downloading a sound recording from and internet site, even if the recording isn't resold."
How does the RIAA know who is downloading these files?