RIAA issues subpoenas to UT students

The third time’s a charm for the Recording Industry Association of America to catch UT students illegally downloading music.

According to UT spokesman Jay Mayfield, the university received two waves of subpoenas last week, as opposed to previous pre-litigation letters, requesting the school disclose the names and personal information of 42 students accused of illegally downloading copyrighted music. The subpoenas are the most recent development in the conflict between the RIAA and student piracy on the UT campus.

Since Nov. 14, 2007, UT has received 32 pre-litigation letters, according to Mayfield. Mayfield said the protocol for dealing with pre-litigation letters is still the same as it has been for the last year.

“When we receive the pre-litigation letters, we continue to let the students know (about the letters) with an e-mail and immediately with a follow-up letter,” Mayfield said.

Students targeted by the RIAA can either pay a $3,000 settlement fee or go to trial with the association; the trial, however, could cost up to $200,000 in damages, as seen in the trial of a Minnesota woman last year.

When a student is found out and sent a letter or a subpoena, UT can’t provide the student legal advice, said Mayfield.

“We certainly recommend that students that are involved with this ... find out what their options are and how to proceed,” he said.

While piracy is still a problem for the RIAA, many students are now using music downloading services like Ruckus instead of pirating music.

According to Mayfield, UT currently has 11,284 students and faculty subscribing to Ruckus, with 3,523,714 dowloads to date.

Yet, Ruckus isn’t as popular among some students.

Rachel Murray, freshman in journalism and electronic media, said, “A majority of the people I’ve talked to who’ve actually used Ruckus say it hasn’t worked for them most of the time.”

Sarah Carter, a freshman in child and family studies, agreed with Murray. “Ruckus was (difficult) to use, and I couldn’t get it to work,” Carter said.

Nevertheless, Mayfield said participation in Ruckus is high and that it’s important that students remember they have a choice on where they get their music.

“The point that we underscore in this is that students really have an option here. Students do not have to download music illegally in order to get music,” Mayfield said.

One student so far who did not pay the settlement fee attempted to dodge the industry’s demand that UT identify him. His motion to quash failed, however, and the settlement notice has not yet been filed.