UW-Madison and the Division of Information Technology have taken proactive measures to protect students from allegations of illegal downloading from the Recording Industry Association of America.
DoIT is responsible for finding people who illegally download on campus and reporting them to the RIAA, but it also alleviates the pressure of potential litigation on students by taking small steps to complete the RIAA's cease and desist orders. The steps that DoIT has taken come at no small cost - in the last few years UW-Madison has spent more than $300,000 on RIAA allegations.
In the past year, the RIAA sent more than 1,000 letters to UW-Madison, which is up from the 204 letters sent during the 2005-'06 school year. If the RIAA continues to increase the amount of letters it sends each year, DoIT can expect an increase in the already high cost of protecting students.
Even with increasing costs, UW-Madison will still carry the responsibility of funding research to comply with the RIAA.
If UW-Madison chooses not to comply, it could be liable to pay for any copyright infringement that the RIAA can prove. The cost of the potential copyright infringement UW-Madison could face if it takes this route may be significantly higher than paying the cost of being the middle man between students and the RIAA.
Because UW-Madison is complying with the RIAA, it is also protecting itself - the RIAA could cite the university for fewer copyright violations than those schools that fail to fulfill the requests of the RIAA.
To date, the RIAA is taking more aggressive, yet seemingly frivolous steps to prosecute people who illegally download.
These attempts are costing UW-Madison money that could be spent on more important endeavors than legal matters.
Even though UW-Madison allots money to a legal-issues fund, perhaps some money from this fund could be siphoned into keeping class sections open so students can graduate on time.
Clearly, students cannot depend on their lawmakers to ensure this. It is unknown how long the RIAA will continue its ventures in finding people who illegally download and muscling money out of educational institutions, like UW-Madison.
It is also unreasonable for the RIAA to focus only on dorm residents just because they are easier to locate - with UW-Madison's resources.
Many more people illegally download in the off-campus student community and go unpunished because the RIAA has no means to find them.
Considering the number of students who are able to illegally download because they no longer live in the dorms, it is uncertain whether the RIAA is going to accomplish anything in the end.
