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UMS refuses to pass student details on to RIAA

28 March 2007 10:13 by Ben "Lethal_B" Reid | 11 comments

The University of Maine System has rejected a request made by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to disclose the personal info of students alleged to have engaged in the illegal p2p sharing of copyrighted works on its campuses.

The RIAA has been dishing out letters recently to Universities notifying them that alleged pirate students face litigation, requesting that they inform students assigned to I.P. addresses said to have engaged in illegal filesharing - allowing them a chance to settle with the trade group out-of-court.

The University of Maine notified students with pending RIAA lawsuits on Friday, however the institution refuses to pass over the details of the students to the RIAA. "It's not the university's role to, in effect, serve papers on our students for another party," said John Diamond, spokesman for the university system. "We want our students to be aware of it (the suit), but we do not feel that it is our obligation to be the arm of the RIAA beyond simply sharing the information."

Diamond believes that fulfilling the RIAA's request and handing over personal info of students would see the UMS breach the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which bars the UMS from sharing private information. "The only way the RIAA can get that information is if the RIAA takes us to court to get those names," Diamond added.

Source:
Maine Campus

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Discuss this article!
tucker001 (Member) 28 March 2007 10:15
Leave the damn kids alone [ + quote]
Wyattj (Newbie) 28 March 2007 10:54
Now I remember why I pay that extra $45 a year to have UMS plates on my car! [ + quote]
ofolion (Senior Member) 28 March 2007 11:16
Nice, they probably have barely enough money as it is, taking more could wreck their lives tbh! [ + quote]
navsav (Member) 28 March 2007 11:37
Well done Univeristy of Maine!!!! More schools and organizations should follow this example. [ + quote]
ceno82 (Junior Member) 28 March 2007 12:45
Well if the students pay the RIAA then how will they pay the school??? Smart move on the schools part to look out for their students! [ + quote]
sssharp (Junior Member) 28 March 2007 15:31
Hopefully current college students will become heads of the RIAA. Maybe changes will be against the lawsuits filed for p2p sharing because of their bad college days. NOT!! (as Borat would say) [ + quote]
Unfocused (Member) 28 March 2007 16:19
What next! Is the RIAA going to team up with Sallie Mae and offer a payment package that takes care of the education cost as well as the lawsuit cost? [ + quote]
RNR1995 (Inactive) 31 March 2007 4:54
The school is doing the right thing. The RIAA is totally circumventing the law with "nameless lawsuits". We have something in this country called the Constitution and people better start to read it as everyday we lose more and more of our rights. Do not get me wrong if you SELL someone elses work you should go to jail, but file sharing is no different than sharing with your neighbor. The reason the music industry is losing money is two fold One they did not get on board fast enough with legal downloads and two MOST NEW ARTISTS SUCK! PLEASE stay in your parents garage where you belong! I cannot even tell you the last great CD that was released?? Also I am no fan of MP3 everything I own is on a pressed Cd I have no digital music at all unless it is something special out of print [ + quote]
ocarlos1 (Newbie) 31 March 2007 10:48
[bHOW ABOUT A LIST OF RIAA Members and a boycott of their movies?][/b] [ + quote]
putinsky (Inactive) 31 March 2007 16:59
Why doesn't someone create a program to defend the privacy from the invading RIAA. [ + quote]
frankacne (Newbie) 2 April 2007 8:49
There's a good idea, its about time the Fat Cats at the RIAA got a few letters and home phone calls from us. Its easy to sit a fat arse behind a big desk laying down any laws you please and bullying kids but its a different matter when the swines have to stand up and be counted. Lets have a list of names, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers and turn the tide on the dodgy activities of the RIAA. [ + quote]