Students won’t face litigation

The Recording Industry Association of America recently switched the company they use to identify illegal downloading cases.

The switch from MediaSentry to DtecNet Software could mean fewer cases against individual students, said Carol Crimi, senior staff attorney for Student Legal Services.

“There has been some indication they were no longer going to use litigation to go after students,” she said. The RIAA has even been dismissing cases against university students in some states.

Tom Beitl, executive director of infrastructure and operations, agreed with Crimi.

“They’re not going to focus on students as much,” Beitl said, adding that it is probably a result of the bad press that comes with accusing students.

Even if the switch does mean that students will not be targeted as heavily in the future, Kent State still will not condone illegal downloading, Crimi said.

“An illegal download is still an illegal download,” Beitl said. “From our perspective, there’s really no impact. We still have a policy that says to do something illegal using our network, using our resources, is against policy. We don’t allow that.”

Both Crimi and Beitl made it clear that Kent State cooperates with the RIAA when accusations are made, but they’re “not out to get anyone,” Beitl said.

“If we don’t cooperate, we could lose our ISP (Internet Service Provider) status,” Crimi said.

She encourages students to use Ruckus to download music legally.

Ruckus, Crimi said, has been a “big step” in reducing the number of illegal downloading incidents on campus.

Kent State once occupied a spot on the top 20 list of illegal downloading at universities. As of October, it had moved down to number 118.

The only real problem with Ruckus, she said, is that it doesn’t work with Macs.

In addition to using Ruckus, students should also try to educate themselves, said Christa Skiles, editorial communications manager.

“It pays to take just a minute to educate yourself and be aware of the issues,” she said. She encourages students to visit the Information Services Web site at www.kent.edu/is for information on illegal downloading.

If a student is caught illegally downloading or sharing music, he or she should visit Student Legal Services, Crimi said. He or she should also consult an attorney.

“I’ve heard of cases where students entered settlements and were still sued, so definitely speak with an attorney,” she said.

As of right now, Crimi said, there are no pending cases against current Kent State students.

Contact general assignment reporter Sara Scanes at [email protected].