Duke Now Requires RIAA to Have Proof of Illegal File-Sharing

Wants actual evidence of copyright infringement before it forwards pre-litigation “settlement” letters to students.

An odd thing has happened on the campus of Duke University. The Office of Student Affairs is now requiring the RIAA and other copyright holder groups to submit evidence that a student committed copyright infringement before it forwards pre-litigation “settlement” letters to them

The new policy is a departure from previous policy whereby it forwarded the notices to students no questions asked.

“What we’re saying is that in order for us to pass on a settlement letter to a student, we’re going to start requiring evidence that someone actually downloaded from that student,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta. “If the RIAA can’t prove that actual illegal behavior occurred, then we’re not going to comply.”

The RIAA is sure to have a tough time both linking an individual to the act of copyright infringement since they have but an IP address as evidence to go on and it’s no secret that their collection methods are prone to false positives.

“So basically what they’re saying now is that before this they didn’t have proof? They allowed for ‘not good proof’ to be shown beforehand, or just not shown at all?” said one irate student.

Duke has received more than 1,000 infringement notices in the past year, including more than 40 pre-litigation notices, 21 settlement offers, and eight subpoenas.

Let’s hope that other colleges and universities have the bravery and fortitude to require actual evidence in copyright infringement claims against their students as well. Is it really too much to ask?

jared@zeropaid.com