AgentResponse

“We’re Singing in the Rain!”Phyllis Self & Jim Yucha

Virginia Commonwealth University

January 15, 2004Copyright Phyllis C. Self and James B. Yucha, 2004. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying

is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.

DMCA

Why Should You Care About Copyrights?

• It's the law. Federal statute prohibits the unauthorized use of copyrighted material.

• It's the right thing to do. We should respect the rights and livelihoods of owners and creators of copyrighted material.

• What Our Constitution Says:Congress shall have the power to “promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”

What the DMCA Does

The 1998 enactment of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) represents the most comprehensive reform of United States copyright law in a generation. The DMCA seeks to update U.S. copyright law for the digital age in preparation for ratification of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaties.

Key among the topics included in the DMCA are provisions concerning the circumvention of copyright protection systems, fair use in a digital environment, and online service provider (OSP) liability (including details on safe harbors, damages, and "notice and takedown" practices).

Source: Educause Current Issues Web Site

Youth Culture Supports Downloads

“Younger Americans are less likely to be concerned about copyright than any other age cohort. 72% of online Americans aged 18 to 29 say they do not care whether the music they download onto their computers is copyrighted or not, compared to 61% of Internet users aged 30 to 49, the group that is the next most likely to download after young adults.”

Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project

1998: Congress Enacted the DMCA

• 2000-2002—RIAA Concentrates Enforcement on Napster and Students Living in Dorms

• January 2003—RIAA vs. Verizon:Forces Verizon to release names of subscribers suspected of copyright infringement. Verizon has turned over identity of five customers.

• April 2003—RIAA Sues 4 Students:Princeton, Rensselaer Polytechnical & Michigan Tech.

June, 2003: RIAA Changes Tactics

• June, 2003—Individuals, not KaZaARIAA announces that it will go after individual users, not file-sharing sites.

• July, 2003—RIAA Subpoenas 800+Most campuses comply with initial subpoena.

• July, 2003—MIT Balks at SubpoenasMIT counters that Family Education & Rights Privacy Act prevents release & RIAA filing in DC lacks jurisdiction in Mass. Subpoenas corrected & MIT eventually releases information.

October, 2003: Campuses Respond

• MIT—Student-designed LAMPMIT students launch campus-wide electronic music library with $40,000 technology-innovation grant. System uses MIT’s analog closed-circuit cable TV system. Currently suspended, as record producers claim Loudeye, Inc. lacked permission to sell MP3s to MIT’s library.

• Penn State—Campus-wide NapsterPenn State contracts with Napster to allow unlimited student downloads. Students complain their technology fees are used for the service without their permission.

December, 2003: Verizon Wins Appeal

The RIAA claimed it was entitled to expedited subpoenas issued by court clerks, rather than judges, under the DMCA. Although the industry could track down the numerical Internet address, they could not take legal action without obtaining names and addresses of the swappers from their ISPs.

Verizon argued that the privacy and safety of its customers would be compromised if the subpoenas were not issued by judges, who first review their validity. The company also argued that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act prohibits Internet providers from being held responsible for what moves across their networks. The Court of Appeals for DC agreed with Verizon.

Source: seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2001819916_download20.html

RIAA’s Cary Sherman Responds

"This is a disappointing procedural decision.... This decision in no way changes our right to sue... We can and will continue to file copyright infringement lawsuits against illegal file sharers… It unfortunately means we can no longer notify illegal file sharers before we file lawsuits against them to offer the opportunity to settle outside of litigation. Verizon is solely responsible for a legal process that will now be less sensitive to the interests of its subscribers who engage in illegal activity."

Source: www.riaa.com/news/newsletter/121903.asp

What, Exactly, IS an OSP?

“An entity offering the transmission, routing or providing of connections for digital online communications, between or among points specified by a user, of material of the user’s choosing, without modification to the content as sent or received.”

Colleges and Universities qualify as OSPs when they provide these services to students as long as they have registered with the Copyright Office as an OSP with aDesignated Agent

OSPs Have Some Liability Protection• Transitory Communications• System Caching• Information Location Tools• Storage at Direction of Users

– The provider must not have specific knowledge of infringing activity.

– The provider must not receive financial benefit from the infringing activity.

– Upon receiving notification of claimed infringement, the provider must expeditiously take down or block access to the material.

What Does VCU Do?• Upon receipt of complaint, user is immediately

disconnected from the network.– Students must have an educational interview with

Student Affairs staff before their connection is reinstated.– Almost all have admitted they knew they were sharing

copyrighted files.

• Process begins when VCU’s Registered DMCA Agent receives a complaint from copyright holder.

• Here’s the Web-based program we’ve developed to manage this process:

pself@vcu.edu01/09/2004 02:46 PMTo: <net@vcu.edu>Subject: DMCAPlease go to http://www..../dmca2.asp?ID=-18367xxxx for processing.case ID='-18367xxxx'case number='123sample'

net@vcu.edu01/09/2004 02:47 PMTo: hpl@vcu.eduSubject: DMCA2Hitesh Patel,Please go to http://www..../dmca3.asp?ID=-18367xxxx for processing.

<hpl@vcu.edu>01/09/2004 02:48 PMTo: gp@vcu.eduSubject: DMCA3

Gregory Primavera,Please go to http://www..../dmca4.asp?ID=-18367xxxx for processing.

gp@vcu.edu01/09/2004 02:51 PMTo: hpl@vcu.eduSubject: DMCA4Hitesh Patel,Please go to http://www..../dmca5.asp?ID=-18367xxxx for processing.

Students Respond To RIAA Tactics

Source: www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=109

Students Respond To RIAA Tactics

Source: www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=109

“While multiple factors may have contributed to the decline, every nook of the music downloading world has been affected, including the parts of the population that were the most prolific users of online file-sharing networks. Steep drops in downloading were recorded among students, broadband users, young adults (those ages 18-29) and Internet veterans. … The survey was conducted among those 18 and older.”

How Do Virginia Schools Respond?

Virginia Higher Educational Institutions that are registered OSPs have formed an informal coalition to:– Meet annually to share ideas– Operate an informational email listserv– Share educational materials developed for

students and staff

Different Schools Respond Differently• Many manage bandwidth:

– “If students consistently use above a certain level of bandwidth, an automated process notifies them and their network access is shifted to a ‘small pipe’.”

• Some (as does VCU) disconnect students upon receiving a complaint.

• Some disconnect students after 2 or 3 complaints.

• Most have educational campaigns to make students aware of copyright issues:– Article in student newspaper

– Orientation handouts

– Mass emails to the entire university community

– Inclusion in Responsible Computing Policy which all students, faculty and staff agree to (even if they haven't read it, they have to click acceptance).

DMCA Complaints this semesterGeorge Mason University: 116

Virginia Tech University: 112

University of Richmond: 7

Mary Washington College: 0

Virginia Commonwealth University: 0

Comments on changes this year:• “We've already had two students temporarily partitioned this year. Last year

we had one student who collected about 7 notices before he finally came to an interview. Twice as many notices as this time last year.”

• “All complaints this year have come from movies studios, none from the music industry!”

• “There are many more separate movie owners sending notices. Instead of MPAA, we have Paramount, Universal. MediaSentry also represents movie rights holders.”

Discussion• The scans that the recording industry run are

completely automated. We have not been able to determine a pattern of when or where they will run.

• Only part of your network falls under the safe harbor provision: where you are acting as OSP for students. For the rest of your network, you are the content provider and there is no safe harbor.

• Copyright holder for the most part have changed tactics and are now going after individuals, so we are seeing fewer requests for removal.

More Information!

• If you operate an OSP and do not have a registered agent, you have no liability protection. Register now!http://www.copyright.gov/onlinesp

• Find out more about the DMCAhttp://www.copyright.gov//legislation/dmca.pdf

VCU Academic Technology

Phyllis C. Self, Ph.D.Vice Provost,Academic TechnologyVirginia Commonwealth Universitypself@vcu.edu

James B. YuchaDirector, Web Support ServicesAcademic Technologyjyucha@vcu.edu

Clyde S. LausheyInformation Security OfficerVirginia Commonwealth Universitycslaushe@vcu.edu