James Delahunty
16 Nov 2007 16:29
The College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007, which has been unanimously passed by the House Education and Labor Committee, includes provisions that plunge Universities into the front lines of the war on file sharing. The provisions force the educational facilities to adopt strict anti-piracy policies and even offer an alternative to illegal downloading, like a deal with Napster.
On Wednesday, the bill went through a mark-up sesison, but Section 494, which includes the copyright-related provisions, was not addressed despite pressure from higher education groups like the American Council on Education. As part of the financial aid process, the shcools would have to inform students about their official policies about copyright infringement and explain civil and crimional penalties.
They would also be required to, "develop a plan for offering alternatives to illegal downloading or peer-to-peer distribution of intellectual property as well as a plan to explore technology-based deterrents to prevent such illegal activity." The press release about COAA issued by the House Education and Labor Committee interestingly completely leaves the copyright-related provisions out.
Source:
Ars Technica