Campus piracy provisions remained intact in the higher education ...

provisions removed (WID March 14 p5), but got some of them diluted. The final bill would require schools to make an “annual disclosure” to students warning of civil and criminal penalties for file-sharing and explaining campus disciplinary actions that file-sharers risk. Higher- education groups didn’t oppose that provision. Language was weakened on required institutional use of “technological deterrents” to campus piracy, according to Mark Luker, vice president of university information- technology group Educause. He explained changes in a letter to members. The conference report cites as examples of deterrents “bandwidth shaping, traffic monitoring to identify the largest bandwidth users, a vigorous program of accepting and responding to Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notices, and a variety of commercial products designed to reduce or block illegal file sharing.” Colleges long have feared being forced to buy anti-piracy systems such as those of Audible Magic, Red Lambda and SafeMedia. Schools consider them expensive to install and run, but vendors vigorously dispute that view (WID March 9/07 p1). The report language says the deterrent section is “technology neutral and [does] not imply that any particular technology measures are favored or required for inclusion in an institution’s plan,” rattling off several vendors’ products and school policies. Luker warned of stronger language on so-called alternatives to piracy. The final bill now says schools “will, to the extent practicable, offer alternatives” to piracy on campus, where previously the bills said schools only needed “plans” for doing so. Most schools have read that as requiring licensed music and movie services as provided by Rhapsody, Napster and other companies. But the language is loose enough for colleges to comply simply by providing their own on-campus services and posting links to commercial services, Luker said. The entertainment industry praised the provisions. David Israelite, president of the National Music Publishers Association, said enacting the bill will make sure students are “fully informed” about piracy’s consequences, and noted the bill’s provision of grants to fund piracy solutions. “Congress is sending a strong message that intellectual property is worth protecting,” MPAA Chairman Dan Glickman said. The group said it soon will give schools a “campus briefing book” on the new law, technologies for dealing with piracy and sites offering legal content. RIAA Chairman Mitch Bainwol said enacting the bill will “help protect the integrity of taxpayer- funded university networks” by encouraging schools to use technology that is “available, viable and affordable” to stop piracy and keep students out of the group’s legal sights. Enactment won’t put “undue burdens on our higher education system,” but rather help ensure that students can find “high quality, good paying jobs” in the creative industries, said Copyright Alliance Executive Director Patrick Ross.