P2P has g2g

Napster may be history, but the practice of downloading and sharing files peer to peer (P2P) is thriving much to the horror of people in the music, publishing and computer software industries. One venue that is a haven of opportunity for creative content piracy is the college or university computer system. For this reason, the associations representing the music and motion picture industries sent a letter to all college and university presidents in October, saying that music and video file sharing has got to go (g2g). It warns them to assess the file-sharing practices on their campuses and move to address illegal situations.

As a follow-up to that letter, the Washington, D.C.-based associations representing most of the higher education institutions contacted presidents warning them to take the issue of copyright infringement seriously. It recommended campuswide discussion that could result in a reassessment of institutional computer usage policies and bandwidth management practices. "Given our responsibility as educators to help students make ethical and lawful choices," the letter said, "we encourage you to make efforts to educate students, faculty, and staff about appropriate and inappropriate uses of copyright materials."

The letter notes the complexity of the issues raised: "The policies to address peer-to-peer file sharing are likely to have implications for such basic campus values as personal privacy, free speech and academic freedom."

You can read the letters online at the American Council on Education Web site, www.acenet.edu/washington/letters/2002/10october/copyright.cfm.