Music giants Sony, EMI, and Universal have taken to court Melbourne University, Sydney University and the University of Tasmania in an effort to obtain information which may contain evidence of copyright infringement. The University of Sydney and the University of Tasmania have agreed to preserve the files as evidence, but have refused to hand over the information to the record companies.
Melbourne University had originally resisted requests from the industry's lawyers to provide information about its network that could provide evidence of piracy.
"Melbourne University has now offered to preserve such material until the judge rules on [whether the information needs to be handed over]," said John Mullarvey, the chief executive officer of the Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee outside the Federal Court in Sydney.
Michael Speck, the managing director of Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI), conducted the surveillance that first found indications of the possibility of illegal activity. "The fact they made that agreement effectively refutes the argument of those universities protecting other information," he said.
According to Speck the music industry has provided the university with off-the-shelf software to make a copy of the files on the network. "We're loaning them a licensed copy," he said, adding the license was a transferable one.
Speck failed to provide any indication of what action the music industry might take in the event of evidence of piracy eventually being discovered on the university network. "Every issue is dealt with on a case-by-case basis," he said.
The hearings have now been delayed until late March due to the "intense urgency" having left the proceedings.
