p2pnet news | RIAA News:- Ohio University is patting itself on the back for a good job, well done.

Once at the top of Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG’s RIAA (s)hit list as the, “recipient of more music sharing complaints than any other university,” it’s now a fully fledged corporate copyright cop, passing on RIAA extortion demands to students and spending thousands of dollars in school funds on dodgy ‘filtering’ technology.

The labels claim files shared equal sales lost.

Sharing music is exactly the same as walking into a store and stealing a CD, say the likes of the RIAA’s Cary ‘Tough Love’ Sherman, mischaracterising file sharers —- their own customers —- as criminals and thieves.

However, in sharing, nothing has been stolen, no one is deprived of something they used to own and no money changes hands.

The labels have never come even close to proving the patently absurd contention that when someone shares something with someone else, they’re blocking a sale. But the statement is picked up and rebroadcast by the mainstream media as though it’s fact.

Now Ohio is boasting it spent more than $75,000 for a device that “scans data crisscrossing its network for copyrighted media”.

Cosying up to Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG and their RIAA may not do students a lot of good, but it makes for an easier, softer life for school administrators.

“This month, the RIAA sent 401 more letters, none of which went to OU,” says The Post.

‘Dubious piece of technology’

Back when the Big 4 launched their sue ‘em all anti-P2P, anti-consumer campaign the RIAA’s then newly appointed leader, Mitch Bainwol, spent a lot of time touting an extremely dubious piece of technology he claimed was the answer to file sharing.

Such was his enthusiasm p2pnet was wondering if the RIAA had an investment in Audible Magic, the company producing this system

“Colleges and universities across the country are turning to special software to wipe out, limit or monitor peer-to-peer file-sharing on their networks,” says The Post, going on, “OU began testing one of these devices last year and spent more than $75,000 to purchase one.” It continues:

CopySense, a special computer sold by California-based Audible Magic, uses patented software to create audio fingerprints for copyrighted media. It compares those fingerprints to audio passing over OU’s network and disconnects computers sharing files with matching fingerprints.

OU paid $59,950 for the CopySense device and an additional $15,585 for support, maintenance and a year of database updates, which keep the device loaded with fingerprints for newly released music.

After CopySense was installed, the number of DMCA notices OU received dropped dramatically.

Well, how about that?

Cause or effect?

In 2004, when Bainwol was busily patrolling the corridors of power, pushing Audible Magic to anyone who’d listen, “The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has been touting technologies offered by Audible Magic as the cure for peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing on university (and high school!) campuses,” wrote EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) staff technologist Chris Palmer, going on:

The company has also been making the rounds of congressional offices in Washington, DC, talking up its technologies as a silver bullet for P2P infringement.

While we at EFF support universities taking steps to educate staff and students about copyright law and to control excessive bandwidth usage, it is important that universities are not sold expensive, ineffective solutions simply to appease the public relations needs of the RIAA.

It is also important that policymakers not be misled by the bullish pronouncements of the RIAA and Audible Magic regarding the effectiveness of ‘acoustic filtering’ technologies.

Information from public sources suggests that Audible Magic’s filtering technology is trivial to defeat.

For universities, this means an investment today may well be worthless tomorrow. Policymakers, meanwhile, would do well to examine all filtering technologies closely before putting faith in the promises of vendors.

A close look at Audible Magic’s technology suggests that its filtering is no silver bullet.

But $75K isn’t all OU has spent on placating the RIAA.

‘Borderline incompetent …’

Doug Jacobson (right) is an RIAA hired ‘expert’ whose expertise has been repeatedly seriously questioned.

He’s been described as “borderline incompetent” and his allegations of copyright infringement levelled at a 57-year-old New York home health aide “unproven” by Dr Johan Pouwelse, the internationally acknowledged Dutch expert and visiting scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

And yet in addition to blowing 75 grand on unproven technology promoted by the RIAA, Ohio University is also paying Jacobson’s company $16,000 a year in ‘maintenance’.

Meanwhile, “OU received 100 letters during the last academic year and chose to forward them to students. Of those, 80 settled, according to the RIAA,” says The Post, adding:

“One man gave up his truck’s title to pay his daughter’s settlement. Several students interviewed by The Post said they were not sure if they could afford to pay both the settlement and tuition.

“Eight students who did not settle were sued in Ohio’s federal district courts after OU was forced to hand over their names during the summer in response to a subpoena. One student unsuccessfully challenged the subpoena; his name was turned over Nov. 30.

“Five cases are ongoing. Another student settled and a seventh, who failed to respond to the lawsuit, had a $6,750 default judgment entered against her.”

And, “One lawsuit could cost OU its starting varsity baseball catcher,” laments the story, adding:

“I am a college student who is trying to better myself and if I have to pay this I am going to be forced by my father to drop out of school,” wrote Chris Klimko, a junior criminology major and starting catcher for OU’s baseball team since his freshman year.

“I do not have their music, and I do not want their music. If they were trying to get people to stop listening to their music, they succeeded.”

“The RIAA is targeting college students because they are vulnerable, and they’ve basically been having their way with them,” said an Ohio State student who, with his attorney, Mark Kafantaris, was determined not to let the multi-billion-dollar labels turn him into an RIAA promo statistic, saying.

“It’s a highly paid, professional legal team against someone who may barely have enough money for a lawyer. It’s unconscionable.”

And, “Here, we have the well-oiled and ready legal machine of the music industry poised against … unemployed college students who depend on their parents, the government or benevolent institutions for their very sustenance,” Kafantaris stated.

“It’s an abuse of the legal system.”

Stay tuned.

Slashdot it!

Also See:
The Post - As recording industry wages nationwide war on piracy, OU falls off the map, February 27, 2008
cure for peer-to-peer - Audible Magic’s ’silver bullet’, July 13, 2004
seriously questioned - Johan Pouwelse vs RIAA’s Doug Jacobson, February 21, 2008
$16,000 a year - Ohio University pays RIAA ‘expert’, October 31, 2007
RIAA promo statistic - Ohio student says NO! to the RIAA, November 29, 2007

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 8:55 am and is filed under RIAA News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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