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File Sharing Back in House Legislation
11/12/2007
Develop a plan for offering alternatives to illegal downloading or peer-to-peer distribution of intellectual property as well as a plan to explore technology-based deterrents to prevent such illegal activity.Developing a plan and implementing a plan are, of course, two different things. And the legislation does not provide any particular guidelines for the plans to be developed by colleges and universities. Nor does it specify that universities must provide subscriptions for students and employees to legal music download services.
It does, on the other hand, authorize the Secretary of Education to provide grants for universities and colleges to develop and implement plans for dealing with illegal file sharing beginning in 2009 and running through four subsequent years.
According to Section 494b:
The Secretary may make grants to institutions of higher education, or consortia of such institutions, and enter into contracts with such institutions, consortia, and other organizations, to develop, implement, operate, improve, and disseminate programs of prevention, education, and cost-effective technological solutions, to reduce and eliminate the illegal downloading and distribution of intellectual property. Such grants or contracts may also be used for the support of a higher education centers that will provide training, technical assistance, evaluation, dissemination, and associated services and assistance to the higher education community as determined by the Secretary and institutions of higher education.The legislation also requires, under Section 487, that universities and colleges annually disclose to students information about illegal file sharing, including potential civil and criminal liabilities, including a summary of federal penalties; a description of the institution's policies (if any) in regard to illegal file sharing; and a description of the actions the institution takes to prevent and detect illegal or unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material "on the institution's information technology system."
The legislation will be reviewed and marked up this week by the House Committee on Education and Labor. We will provide updates on any significant developments.
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About the author: Dave Nagel is the executive editor for 1105 Media's educational technology online publications and electronic newsletters. He can be reached at dnagel@1105media.com.
Have any additional questions? Want to share your story? Want to pass along a news tip? Contact Dave Nagel, executive editor, at dnagel@1105media.com.
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