p2pnet - rss feed: Why does Harvard escape the RIAA?
p2pnet news | RIAA News:- What does Harvard have that most other senior schools in America don’t have?
An RIAA-proof vest, maybe?
Because while other universities across the land are being bombarded with extortion letters which Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony BMG’s RIAA expects school authorities to hand-deliver to students, Harvard has yet to receive even one.
Could it be the immunity is about to vanish as the Big 4 enforcement unit ups the ante even further with scores of DMCA notices which have suddenly started arriving.
Last month p2pnet exclusively reported the enormous, and totally unexpected and unexplained, spike.
Was it because students had dramatically increased file sharing?
No, we were told.
“Clearly something has changed, and we don’t believe it’s a sudden massive spontaneous nationwide coast-to-coast spike in file-sharing activity,” said Steve Worona, director of policy and networking programs and founding director of the Educause/Cornell Institute for computer policy and law,.
Then yesterday, “Indiana University reports 80 notices a day,” said Slashdot. “It will be interesting to see if the affected schools join the legal battle against the RIAA, or cave under the increased pressure.”
But until we find out, why has Harvard escaped?
Certainly, it was a leader in declaring schools shouldn’t cave in to the RIAA.
Harvard and other universities to which the RIAA sent pre-litigation notices, “ought to take strong, direct action” and “tell the RIAA to take a hike,” said Charles Nesson, William F. Weld professor of law, Harvard Law School, and founder and faculty co-director, Berkman Center for Internet & Society; and John Palfrey, clinical professor of law and executive director, the Berkman Center.
Was Harvard’s strong and clear statement that it wasn’t about to be intimidated enough to deter the Big 4 extortion unit from targeting it in its sue every student you can find campaign’?
Or is it, “something in the water system” - wonders Wired, quoting Wendy Selzter, a Berkman Center for Internet & Society fellow, as saying:
“Harvard hasn’t gotten prelitigation letters or subpoenas asking for identification of an IP address.”
Could it be Harvard students have found a clever way of masking their activities?
Whatever the answer, the story has RIAA mouthperson Cara Duckworth stating:
“While we have detected incidences of theft on the Harvard network, the levels are not sufficient enough to warrant legal action. Of course, this could always change, depending on what we find.”
Meanwhile, “Seltzer had her own theory about the RIAA’s tactics, it goes on. “It might be that somebody doesn’t want to go against the Harvard legal team or endowment or law faculty or brand,” she said.
Or, “Perhaps the RIAA doesn’t wish to make waves with the next-generation of the rich and powerful,” adds Wired.
Jon Newton - p2pnet
.
.Stumble It!
bombarded with extortion letters - p2pnet RIAA school report, February 2, 2008
p2pnet - Sudden ‘huge’ spike in school DMCA notices, April 25, 2008
something has changed - 18 universities named in RIAA DMCA attacks, May 1, 2008
Slashdot - Massive Increase in RIAA Copyright Notices , May 2, 2008
Harvard escaped - RIAA hits top US schools. But not Harvard, November 23rd, 2007
tell the RIAA to take a hike - RIAA student victimisation campaign, July 21, 2007
Wired - RIAA Says Harvard Students’ File-Sharing Does Not ‘Warrant Legal Action’, May 2, 2007
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May 3rd, 2008 at 8:07 am
” Meanwhile, “Seltzer had her own theory about the RIAA’s tactics, it goes on. “It might be that somebody doesn’t want to go against the Harvard legal team or endowment or law faculty or brand,” she said.
Or, “Perhaps the RIAA doesn’t wish to make waves with the next-generation of the rich and powerful,” adds Wired. ”
Yes, and Yes.
The only reasons.
Never fight someone that can not only fight back, but HURT you.
May 3rd, 2008 at 9:31 am
Maybe Harvard has the resources to fight back and this scares the shit out of the RIAA.
The RIAA doesn’t like to actually goto court over these things since their odds of winning aren’t that great.
May 3rd, 2008 at 11:14 am
Harvard should join up with the other universities and fight ‘em anyways… at the very least it’d make for interesting news
May 3rd, 2008 at 11:27 am
The RIAA is a pack of parasites and bullies, therefore like all the bullies and parasites they are weak and coward attacking only those that they perceive as weak.
If you think you are weak think again. You can kick their ass. Don’t settle even if you can not afford an attorney. Wost scenario is they sue you and you lose. Since as a student you have no asset so just BK chapter 7 using a good BK attorney that you pay with your credit card that will be part of the BK. Your attoney is paid it did not cost you anything and they got zip! They even have to pay their one Attorney fee!!! Haha! Fuck you RIAA!
Ok your credit is ruin but you will be surprised that a lot of lenders are still willing to do business with you! You will even be able to buy your house once you have enought income even with a BK on your credit record!
“The only thing you have to fear is fear itself.”
May 3rd, 2008 at 11:41 am
I don’t beleive a second that Harvard is any different than any other campus as far as fp2p is concerned. I believe as well that the RIAA is scared, scared scared!
And no they are not going to change this.
They are scared and they are scared!
Hoo! Harvard is so frigtening, the best law school in the nation!
Hoo! This is really really spooky! Don’t gigle it Shitman!
May 3rd, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Do you think it could have anything to do with evidence professors assigning their students to drafting motions to quash an RIAA subpoena?
May 3rd, 2008 at 3:35 pm
The RIAA is no doubt scared that legal precedent would be set in favor of the p2p file sharers, if they were to attack the strong, so they focus on the weak.
May 3rd, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Yes Ray, they’re not interested in a “fair” fight, which they’d most likely lose. Bullying and intimidation is what they’re about, and when they see they haven’t achieved that, they wish to squirm out of it. They prefer to pick off the young, weak, and helpless, or those they believe are the easiest targets. Just like the schoolyard bully prefers to pick on small children and girls who would be most terrorized.
I bet they curse the day they victimized Tanya Anderson and her daughter.
May 3rd, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Also it has become abundantly clear that they attack students because they know the only money they have is for their education, and if they take that away from them, they may relieve them of educational opportunity, thus destroying their lives and careers; or at least give it a serious setback and cause them major inconvenience, hurt, stress, and disruption to their lives. In other words, rape and pillage, like the pimps they are.
How many businesses and large corporations do you hear of being sued for file sharing? I’m not talking about copyright infringement on a large scale. Or how many rich people? It might be argued that the rich have no need of file sharing, but I don’t believe that’s true. Nor would they be better at hiding the fact.
Let’s hope all these 1000s of students receiving DMCA notices will also have noticed the new precedent that making available is not distribution, and refuse to pay anything. They know students can’t afford legal fees so they press ahead, but you don’t need a lawyer even, and you can apply to be compensated for costs.
May 3rd, 2008 at 6:01 pm
They know NOW if it goes to Court most likely the cartels will lose, but students can’t afford legal costs of even a one off hearing. However if Harvard is a prestigious Uni with rich kids and parents it seems they CAN afford it, and so it’d be a waste of time and expense.
May 3rd, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Maybe file sharing is not much of a problem at Harvard, I don’t know
May 3rd, 2008 at 6:28 pm
” Maybe file sharing is not much of a problem at Harvard, I don’t know ”
It’s not a ‘problem’ anywhere for anyone, at least, not in the way the RIAA claims.
No, the truth is, if they went after Harvard they would be spanked, and
spanked hard.
They fail to think long term.
The students they are attacking are the leaders and legislators of the future.
And, not too far away a future it is.
May 4th, 2008 at 10:33 am
Always hear Harvard/Yale as a duo .. but I guess Yale has been hit by a few ??
It must not have any RIAA connections, or a law school
May 5th, 2008 at 8:14 am
” Always hear Harvard/Yale as a duo .. but I guess Yale has been hit by a few ?? ”
There seems to be no information supporting that assumption.
Cite a source please.
From what I am finding it is more likely that RIAA avoids Yale for the same
or similar reasons that they avoid harvard.
They’d get a beatdown.
May 5th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
People at harvard have the kind of money they need to fight these kind of cases, where as other smaller universities have poorer people who can hardly afford there universities costs let alone fighting the RIAA. Gotta be careful who you extort these days.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:10 am
@Dreddsnik
No source, it was a question (a badly phrased one as I was in a rush) i.e ‘has yale been hit by lawsuits or not’.
I ask since Yale/Harvard always seem to be examples of similar class schools, they always seem to be brought up as a duo.