Students 'rip, mix, burn' at their own risk

Rachel Niehuus hasn't bought a CD in four years. The freshman at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who just arrived at the ivy-covered campus on the Charles River last week, listens to new songs every day but can't remember the last time she paid for one.

"I download five or six times a day," the chemistry major from Bellville, Texas, says. "So not a massive amount, but probably enough to get caught." Ms. Niehuus isn't the least bit nervous about being sued for copyright infringement - perhaps at her own peril.

Some 56 million Americans use file-swapping software such as KaZaA and Grokster, according to the Boston-based research firm Yankee Group - so many that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has tried to discourage the practice by filing upwards of 2,000 subpoenas this summer in a bid to obtain the real names and contact information of file-sharers.

Its campaign came to a grinding halt in August, however, when Boston College and MIT refused to acknowledge, on a technicality, the handful of RIAA subpoenas they'd received - and a US district judge ruled in their favor. All 2,000 subpoenas were issued in Washington, D.C., and these would have to be refiled in Massachusetts, he said.

The RIAA targeted the schools because, although it is able to spot file-sharing activity through an ISP (Internet Service Provider, such as MIT), file sharers are identified only by their online aliases - anon1984, say.

To pursue its lawsuits, the RIAA needs the schools to release users' personal information so that it can match the aliases with real people.

The ruling prompted file sharers and privacy groups around the country to declare victory, while the volume of music downloading continues unabated. But the sense of security so many students feel may be a false one.

For one, no clear pattern has emerged as to which types of downloaders the RIAA is pursuing. This is just the "first round" of subpoenas, warns RIAA spokeswoman Amanda Collins. Anyone can be targeted.

Then, too, Boston College and MIT say they are unwilling to defend students' privacy if the RIAA files the subpoenas properly. "The onus is on the students not to violate copyright laws," says Jack Dunn, director of public affairs at Boston College.

"I've said repeatedly that we oppose the subpoenas, not in an effort to protect students from the consequences of copyright infringement," he adds, "but rather to protect student rights under federal law and to establish the proper procedures to be followed by the RIAA in the future."

In a written statement, James Bruce, vice president for information systems at MIT, echoed Boston College's stance. "Unless there is a change in the law, if the RIAA serves MIT with a valid subpoena ... MIT will provide the information that the RIAA lawfully requests."

Note to students: Tread carefully. If the RIAA gets it right next time, it could sue users, under federal copyright law, for anywhere between $4,000 and $100,000 a song, and your school may not be able to do a thing about it.

But if the RIAA hopes to scare students away from file sharing, it hasn't worked - at least not yet. Many see 2,000 subpoenas as a drop in the bucket, given the millions of file sharers roaming cyberland.

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