RIAA lawyer still Penn trustee
p2pnet.net News Feature:- With the increased attention US universities are getting from the music industry, it’s interesting to note that an RIAA lawyer is still a trustee at Penn State, the site chosen by the entertainment industry as its first institution of higher learning sales and marketing outlet with Roxio’s Napster II funnelling Big Music ‘product’ into the campus.
The University of Rochester became second RIAA site of earning,
Barry K. Robinson is the RIAA’s senior counsel for corporate affairs and as such, deals with “day-to-day” legal matters for the association, including trademark violations, as Bridget Smith and Jen Winberry pointed out in the Digital Collegian Online as far back as last November.
The RIAA blandly says it had nothing to do with Napster II being ‘chosen’ as Penn’s download service, and Robinson says the fact he’s a senior RIAA lawyer is neither here nor there.
“The RIAA was informed of the deal after it was made,” Smith and Winberry quote Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon as saying. “Barry Robinson is one of 32 board members. His knowledge of the issues surrounding this national problem have been a good resource for us, but it is not related to his having 1/32 of the power of the board.”
And, “The RIAA represents the label and the music industry, and they are quite happy with the deal we have made,” Napster spokesman Seth Oster said.
By a remarkable coincidence, both Robinson and Penn president Graham Spanier are on the entertainment industry’s Joint Committee of Higher Education and Content Communities, together with RIAA president Cary Sherman and former MPAA (Motion Picture Association of American) president Jack Valenti.
Also on the ‘committee’ is University of Rochester provost Charles Phelps, who’s chairman of the Technology Task Force.
Another interesting member is the IFPI’s Dr Richard Gooch. IFPI stands for International Federation of Phonographic Industries, a Big Music enforcement unit whose brief has absolutely nothing to do with US universities, although its boss, Jay Berman, once ran the RIAA.
Among other things, elements of the committee would seek, “information on available or planned technologies that might include such tools as traffic auditing; bandwidth shaping; file blocking, screening, and filtering; and network performance analysis” – all essential elements for any good school.
In the meanwhile, Napster II continues to invade campuses, carrying Big Music product as it goes, and Big Music continues to sue students, not to speak of their mothers, fathers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and so on, in an attempt to win their hearts and minds. And wallets.
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Below is the list of JCHEEC members as of September 2, 2003. We haven’t been able to find a more current one and there will have been a number of changes. For example, the MPAA’s Jack Valenti is now semi-retired, Warner Music is under new ownership, Hilary Rosen was replaced by Mitch Bainwol, and other universities are now part of the entertainment industry line-up.
Higher Education Representatives
Molly Corbett Broad, President, University of North Carolina; John L. Hennessy, President, Stanford University; Charles Phelps, Provost, University of Rochester; Dorothy K. Robinson, Vice President and General Counsel, Yale University; and, Graham Spanier (Cochair), President – Pennsylvania State University
Staff
Mark Luker – Vice President, EDUCAUSE; Shelley Steinbach, Vice President and General Counsel, American Council on Education; and, John Vaughn, Executive Vice-President, Association of American Universities
Entertainment Industry Representatives
Roger Ames, Chairman and CEO, Warner Music Group; Matthew T. Gerson, Senior Vice President, U.S. Public Policy and Government Relations, Vivendi Universal; Sherry Lansing, Chairman, Paramount Pictures; Hilary Rosen, Chairman and CEO RIAA; Cary Sherman (Cochair), President, RIAA; and, Jack Valenti, President and CEO, MPAA
Staff
Fritz Attaway, Executive Vice President Government Relations and Washington General Counsel, MPAA; Troy Dow, Vice President and Counsel for Technology and New Media, Motion Picture Association of America; Mitch Glazier, Senior Vice President, Government Relations and Legislative Counsel, Vivendi Universal; Barry Robinson, Senior Counsel for Corporate Affairs, RIAA; and, han Whitehead, Vice President and Anti-Piracy Counsel, RIAA.
Technology Task Force of the Joint Committee
Higher Education Members
Charles Phelps (Chair); Dave Lambert, Vice President and CIO, Georgetown University; and, Michael McRobbie, Vice President for Information Technology and CIO, Indiana University
Task Force Staff
Mark Luker, Vice President, EDUCAUSE
Entertainment Industry Liaisons to the Technology Task Force
Cary Sherman (Senior Liaison), President, RIAA; Joseph Cates, Vice President, Advance Technology, Universal Music Group; Dr Richard Gooch, IFPI; Brad Hunt, Sr Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Motion Picture Association of America; Jonathan Whitehead; and, Liaison Staff
Liaison Staff
Bruce Block, Senior Vice President for Technology, RIAA
July 30th, 2004 at 11:08 pm
Great article. Keep it up.
July 31st, 2004 at 1:46 am
m2
July 31st, 2004 at 4:22 am
Well it looks like that the “Good Old Boy” club is alive and well !!!! But for how long????? Their Day is coming !!!!! The more abusive laws they try to pass will only shead more light on their rotten biz dealings and the public at large will begin to learn the Truth About The Music Biz!!!!!!! Boycott Major Label Music Kill the Beast In Your EARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!