July 24, 2007 9:51 AM PDT

Universities win Senate fight over anti-P2P proposal

Posted by Declan McCullagh

Updated Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has withdrawn anti-file sharing legislation that had drawn yowls of protest from universities this week.

Reid, without explanation, on Monday nixed his own amendment that would have required colleges and universities–in exchange for federal funding–to use technology to “prevent the illegal downloading or peer-to-peer distribution of intellectual property.”

Instead, Reid replaced it with a diluted version merely instructing higher ed institutions to advise their students not to commit copyright infringement and tell students what actions they’re taking to prevent “unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material” through campus networks. The revised version was tacked onto the Higher Education Reauthorization Act on Tuesday, a Reid spokesman said in a telephone conversation, which the Senate then approved by a 95-0 vote.

http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9749071-7.html