New TN Law Forces Universities To Patrol For Copyright Violations 331
CSMatt points with this excerpt from the EFF's page: "Last week, the RIAA celebrated the signing of a ridiculous new law in Tennessee that says: 'Each public and private institution of higher education in the state that has student residential computer networks shall: [...] [R]easonably attempt to prevent the infringement of copyrighted works over the institution's computer and network resources, if such institution receives fifty (50) or more legally valid notices of infringement as prescribed by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 within the preceding year.' While the entertainment industry failed to get 'hard' requirements for universities in the Higher Education Act passed by Congress earlier this year, the RIAA succeeded in Tennessee (and is pushing in other states) with this provision that gives Big Content the ability to hold universities hostage through the use of infringement notices. Moreover, the new rules will cost Tennessee a pretty penny — in the cost review attached to the Tennessee bill, the state's Fiscal Review Committee estimates that the new obligations will initially cost the state a whopping $9.5 million for software, hardware, and personnel, with recurring annual costs of more than $1.5 million for personnel and maintenance."
Nashville's recording industry (Score:5, Insightful)
How is this surprising? The recording industry is a multi-billion dollar industry in Nashville.
Money "well" spent (Score:2, Insightful)
But come fu*king on! Why the hell would you spend millions of dollars on protection like this?? That money could sure as hell be spent elsewhere, since not only could the rest of the world use it but also even the USA themselves...
What is legally valid? (Score:5, Insightful)
According to a recently lawsuit [thecrimson.com] against the RIAA on the legality of their tactics, I would question if the notices are legally valid or not.
Copyleft (Score:1, Insightful)
Indie Music (Score:5, Insightful)
Stop listening to garbage music that corporate America wants you to buy. Indie music is free and you can't be sued for downloading it freely, because it's offered as a promotional gimmick to sell concert tickets. Many Indie bands advocate people sharing purchased copies of their albums, because musicians know that this freely sharing of music creates more fans. Look at Radiohead... how much did they earn on that album they released as donor-ware?
Sure you can apply all the regulations you want but you're just excluding people from your products in the long run.
Wishfull thinking (Score:5, Insightful)
Sometimes I need some detachment from slashdot to be able to keep reading. I know it's stupid and insensitive and wrong on many levels but I have to say it.
News like this give me the same feelings as horrible wars in third world countries. The more I learn the more revulsion I feel and it reaches a point where I simply detach and start thinking about something else. I transport myself to the little world around myself where those things simply don't happen.
I know about the "...now they come after me and there's nobody else left to care." parable, but still, I need a beer and a quiet mind to deal with extreme evil, or, as in this case, with extreme idiocy/corruption.
It seems they value that more than education. (Score:5, Insightful)
It seems that they're more interested in protecting the music industry than supporting the education of their people.
Anyone want to predict what the outcome will be in about 20 years?
What's the problem? (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Valid (Score:3, Insightful)
Really.... "reasonably attempt" and only if there are fifty or more "legally valid" notices...
The kind of legislation made by lawyers to increase the amount of time they get to charge customers for litigation.
The end of residential computer networks (Score:5, Insightful)
If I were a university, I'd take this as my cue to disconnect the residential university network from the campus network and outsource the connectivity. The students would have to VPN in if they wanted access to campus services.
This would probably be cheaper than complying with this law, and even if it weren't, it would send a message to the lawmakers to be mindful of the law of unintended consequences.
Re:It seems they value that more than education. (Score:5, Insightful)
Closed P2P (Score:2, Insightful)
Another approach to fighting RIAA and MPAA would be to create a kind of digital fingerprint process that would allow Indie bands and film makers to freely release their stuff over a closed P2P utilizing user accounts. This type of thing has been attempted in the past with great failure, but it's possible that with the proper interest, a push to exclude greedy practices from infiltrating P2P networks would be essential.
A theory of mine is that many record labels would want to release their stuff for free on P2P so that they can sue later and reap big rewards. That song used to generate $0.99 each, but after you seed it and nurture it, the windfall is $2500 for each song for each downloader.
Tell me this isn't happening!!!!!!
Like they don't have anything bettet to do.... (Score:3, Insightful)
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Nashville's recording industry (Score:5, Insightful)
The timing and pricetag are rather surprising, considering the state's current 800 Million dollar projected budget shortfall.
-ellie
Re:Thats too bad. (Score:5, Insightful)
The population has access to all the democratic participation that they can afford.
Re:Copyleft (Score:2, Insightful)
Good luck with that.
Re:What is legally valid? (Score:3, Insightful)
Of course the third (and most expensive) option is to pay off the legislators, as I'm sure the RIAA did.
Re:Nashville's recording industry (Score:5, Insightful)
Wrong question.
Right question: who in their right mind would want to steal music dumbed down to music industry specifications?
Hank Williams Sr., Bill Monroe, Roy Acuff, the Carters, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins -- the list goes on of worthwhile country musicians. The industry isn't run by creative people, it does its best to strangle of the life out of any kind of music it touches.
Re:It seems they value that more than education. (Score:3, Insightful)
If I were the colleges, I would just farm out the student connections - thus removing my liability. Access to the local network would be via VPN.
Re:Nashville's recording industry (Score:5, Insightful)
Absolutely. Hell, Les Paul basically invented multi-track recording. He was decades ahead of his time.
Re:It seems they value that more than education. (Score:2, Insightful)
I just don't understand how you can see the two connected in ways that are detrimental to each other.
They are both competing for time and resources. Money used for stopping illegal file sharing is money that won't be spent on education.
Tennessee? (Score:3, Insightful)
At first I thought, "With the economy being what it is, I can't believe that a state would pass such an expensive statute." Then I remembered that Tennessee is the home of Nashville. So perhaps that is why the RIAA has so much pull there.
Re:It seems they value that more than education. (Score:3, Insightful)
Strawman!
The question you have to ask is WHY is file sharing illegal. To protect the recording industry's outdated business model.
The enxt question is WHY is the population (because it is them through their taxes) asked to PAY for enforcing a law that makes them and their children criminals in order to line the pockets of music executives?
Why is an university forced to limit the freedom (academic or otherwise) because the music industry decided it should?
Re:Nashville's recording industry (Score:2, Insightful)
Hit them where it hurts (Score:4, Insightful)
Stop buying music and movies. Yes that includes the ones in iTunes.
No mattr how loud you complain, if you still are giving them your money, nothing will get solved.
You have to be the change you want to see in the world - Ghandi
Re:What is legally valid? (Score:3, Insightful)
I was thinking the same thing, what does the DMCA have to do with file-sharing?
Re:Money "well" spent (Score:2, Insightful)
As a University of Tennessee employee, let me chime in my support in those regards.
UT has had enough priority issues as it was before. They tried to do away with the Speech&Audiology department - one of the few programs for hearing impaired students in the South Eastern US.... and spent more than twice that programs budget renovating the stadium for a struggling football team.
If my directors and superiors are any indication as to how this law will be implemented, the new measurement of how well the IT services are doing in the administrations eyes are how many students they successfully catch in a given month. Most people in positions of authority on campus have absolutely no technical experience (my boss required me to babysit him while he used a scanner to scan some family photos), and all of them are in a constant race to jockey for the favor and affection of whoever is above them.
Nashville has more than country (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Nashville's recording industry (Score:5, Insightful)
Country music is the most popular form of music in America according to Arbitron radio ratings.
And McDonald's is the most popular restaurant. Which just proves the American people have no taste in either music or food...
Re:It seems they value that more than education. (Score:3, Insightful)
You people keep asking the wrong questions.
Why is it a law?
Re:So you're a judge, also? (Score:4, Insightful)
How the US managed to pass a law that retroactively (and, therefore, unconstitutionally) extended copyright terms 10 years ago is beyond me, but it happened.
Re:Terrorism (Score:2, Insightful)
Oh please. If the mafia came after you for file sharing, you would be begging for lawyers and political hijinks.
Re:Best of luck RIAA (Score:3, Insightful)
Unless this law is struck down your uni will either do what the STATE wants or lose state support, perhaps accreditation, funding. This is a compliance issue now, not a "good luck" issue.
The state is not responsible for accreditation. We are not a state institution and do not rely on the state for any funding. The contention is between the development of our alumni relations (donations) and spending money on enforcing another organizations business model. I would be shocked if we voluntarily spent money we didn't have on something that we don't need, when we could spend it on pan handling our well heeled alumni.
Re:Nashville's recording industry (Score:4, Insightful)
McDonalds is popular because of consistancy and market penetration combined with geed marketing.
Country Music is popular because it stretches across a broader range of influences. You have blues and bluegrass on one end and pop on the other with combination of everything in the middle. All the other forms of music is severely limited in ranges and style and attract more people because of the influences in the style then genre itself. Someone who listens to bluegrass will likely also listen to pop country too. Someone who listens to light rock will probably not listen to speed metal or death metal. To them, crossing to country is probably more appealing. Anyways, if you can't stand country, it is probably because you haven't heard enough songs across the range (IE, People like the Dixie chicks or kenney Chesney because they are closer to rock country or pop country but they don't like the yodeling works of Jimmie Rodgers. Here are a few pages [countrymus...offame.com] talking about the differences in styles within [thinkquest.org] the genres.
Of course I sort of feel the same way as you expresses about rap music. But I have to admit, there are some rap songs that I can tollorate and actually like, I just can't stand the others long enough to buy those CDs or listen to the radio stations waiting for the songs.
Re:It seems they value that more than education. (Score:3, Insightful)
Strawman? What? I just asked if someone can explain the logic behind a statement. Since when if that a straw man? Ohh.. I get it now, the statement I was replying to is a strawman.
That actually has nothing to do with this law. There is a law that makes certain types of file sharing illegal and it need to be followed or changed. This law was passed on some sort of effort to make sure it was followed and if you object to it, you need to get it changed instead of asking why. Your personal validation has no weight in whether the law is invalid or not unless something like the constitution of the state or country is in conflict with it. If the law is there, deal with it. Otherwise, get the law changed.
Am I missing something here? Is there some abridged right to the music that the record companies are pimping out? Is it too much to ask the children of today to either not buy the cd or record them from the radio or something instead of stealing a CD, ripping it and giving it to all their friends? Actually, the population is not becoming criminals just to line the pockets of the Music or Record companies. They are becoming criminals because they are breaking the laws that give the copyright owners exclusive control over their content's distribution. I'm sure you wouldn't mind a law being enforced that stopped the guy bigger then you from walking into your room and taking your money whenever he wanted to. I'm sure you wouldn't mind the law being enforced that stops the neighbor from taking the tires off your car and selling them to someone else once a week. I'm sure you won't mind the law being enforced that stops drunk drivers from running red lights and crashing into your car and killing the passengers. But somehow, taking something that isn't yours and giving it to someone else is completely ok if the record labels are who you took it from and making people criminals for that is wrong.
If it is law, it needs enforcement. If you don't like the law, get it changed. There is nothing in this law that effects the education of people under any sane interpretation of reasonable and the connections to students not learning just isn't there.
Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)