Music cos and AU Universities square off over copyright claims - News - Security

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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Music cos and AU Universities square off over copyright claims

By James Pearce, ZDNet Australia and John Borland, Special to ZDNet Australia
April 10, 2003
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/security/soa/Music-cos-and-AU-Universities-square-off-over-copyright-claims/0,130061744,120273610,00.htm

Music industry heavyweights and three Australian Universities started filing evidence in Federal Court in Sydney today following the breakdown of negotiations concerning access to the universities' computer systems.

Sony, EMI and Universal instigated proceedings against Sydney University, Melbourne University and the University of Tasmania in February, in an attempt to get access to the universities' computer systems to investigate possible copyright infringements. The universities refused, and the two parties have been in "discussions" ever since.

The case is likely to have significant ramifications for Australian students as the music industry pushes its campaign against copyright infringement.

Recently, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed lawsuits against four students for alleged breaches: two at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), and one each at Princeton University and Michigan Technological University.

"The people who run these (campus) networks know full well what they are doing--operating a sophisticated network designed to enable widespread music thievery," RIAA President Cary Sherman said in a statement. "The lawsuits we've filed represent an appropriate step given the seriousness of the offence".

University students have been widely viewed as the core of the various file-swapping networks ever since the appearance of Napster on the digital scene in late 1999. Some universities have seen half or more of their network bandwidth used by people uploading and downloading songs, software and movies over the past few years.