Ben Reid
28 Mar 2007 10:13
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