Will Colleges Stop Helping the RIAA Prosecute Music Pirates?

Read Write Web is reporting that some colleges have decided not to continue helping the RIAA track down music pirates that steal on their networks.

Hey, piracy is wrong, and the RIAA has the write to fight it however they can. But the cost of monitoring networks has apparently become enormous for schools, so it is a natural reaction that some will object to the staff and expense required to do so. Piracy prevention is after all not a primary role of a college.

It should be an interesting turn of events. And it brings to the fore the issue of how much responsibility a connection provider has in monitoring and policing the activities of people on its network.

This is a really tough issue -- I suppose if gun manufacturers can be sued when people get shot, then networks can be sued when music is stolen. But what an incredibly complex set of legal issues this must bring up. And what about suing the car manufacturer if a bank thief uses it to get away from the crime scene.

Clearly I am not a lawyer, eeh?

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