A recent survey shows that most college students are not concerned with the consequences of illegal downloading, even as 413 students at 22 universities received prelitigation settlement letters yesterday.
The letters were part of the third wave in a movement by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to deter illegal downloading among college students.
Penn State students have not yet been affected, but the enforcement will continue on a rolling basis, according to the RIAA.
Sixty-seven percent of college students are not concerned with their illegal downloading habits, according to a recent survey by Brooklyn-based research group SurveyU. Five hundred online interviews were conducted between March 24 and March 26.
The survey showed that 98 percent of the students said they had at least one song they obtained without payment. Overall, only 57 percent of the respondents' music libraries had been bought legally.
In February, the RIAA enacted a new initiative to deter illegal downloads. The new process gives students the opportunity to settle copyright infringement claims against them before a formal lawsuit is filed.
February's first wave sent out 400 letters to 13 different universities. In March, 405 letters were sent to 23 universities.
"This is not our preferred course, but we hope that students will understand the consequences of stealing music and that our partners in the college community will appreciate the proactive role they can play," RIAA President Cary Sherman said in a press release. "This is a program about defending our rights and providing the appropriate foundation for the legal marketplace to flourish."
The RIAA sends pre-litigation letters to the universities, informing school officials of a forthcoming suit against one of its students or staff members. Administrators are then asked to forward the letter to the affected network user, who is identified only by Internet protocol (IP) address.
"Because we haven't gotten any litigation letters, we haven't had any discussions about what we would do," Penn State Assistant Director of Judicial Affairs Gary Miller said, adding that the office would be involved with holding students accountable but is not usually involved in legal proceedings.
Miller said illegal downloading violates the university code of conduct section 13, regarding unauthorized entry or use.
The same concept applies to computer misuse.
A student would receive a warning, probation and review of Penn State's policy for a first offense, Miller said. With repeated infractions, the sanction level begins with extended disciplinary probation up to deferred expulsion, temporary loss of Internet connection and parental notification.
Although most cases occur on campus, Judicial Affairs would also handle off-campus violations, Miller said.
"We're encouraged by the response of universities that are forwarding the pre-litigation settlement letters to students," Steven Marks, executive vice president and general counsel for the RIAA, said in a press release. "Not every student will take advantage of this opportunity, but those that do get the benefit of a discounted settlement and no public mark on their record."
Glen Gorecki (freshman-information sciences and technology) said he thinks most college students feel that getting caught is something that only happens to other people.
"The odds of them being picked seem so slim," Gorecki said. "They think it just won't happen to them."
Chris Arnott (sophomore-petroleum and natural gas engineering) agreed. "There are so many people doing it, it's statistically unlikely to get caught," he said.
The RIAA encourages legal downloads from sources such as Ruckus, a college-only multimedia service that offers free music tracks and videos to any user with a .edu email address.
