Fighting Music Piracy on College Campuses

Fighting Music Piracy on College Campuses
The debate over the best way to prevent illegal downloading by students. Transcript of radio broadcast:
04 June 2008

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

When the parents of today's young people were in school, sharing music was a slow process. They had to copy songs from a vinyl record or a cassette using a tape recorder.

Today friends can share the latest hits at the speed of light over the Internet. Peer-to-peer networks make file sharing easy -- and, in many cases, illegal.

Five years ago, the Recording Industry Association of America, the R.I.A.A., launched a major effort to catch music pirates. Piracy violates copyright laws. These laws protect creative works against reproduction or sale without permission.

The industry group has brought thousands of civil actions against university students. Students caught pirating can also pay a settlement to avoid a lawsuit and possible fines.

The association uses special software to identify illegal file sharing on campus networks. But many colleges and universities oppose efforts to require schools to use similar technology. They see it as a waste of resources. They say much more illegal sharing takes place through commercial Internet providers than through campus networks.

Educause is a group that works for what it calls the "intelligent use" of information technology in higher education. Steven Worona from Educause says about eighty percent of college students do not live on school grounds. And their computers, he says, are generally not linked to school networks.

On its Web site, the R.I.A.A. says it has chosen to target college students because their music piracy remains an especially big problem. It says that some recent surveys show that more than half of the nation’s college students often download music and movies illegally.

The industry group has also pushed Congress to take action. In February, the House of Representatives approved a higher education bill containing anti-piracy requirements. The measure would require all schools involved in federal financial-aid programs to develop plans to deal with unlawful downloading. Schools could invest in technology to block piracy, or they could offer legal file-sharing services.

A similar bill in the Senate would require schools to inform their students about issues related to peer-to-peer file sharing. Educause's Steve Worona says most American colleges and universities already do this with incoming students. Students who get caught often have to pay fines, or they lose their use of the school’s network.

And that’s the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Jill Moss. I’m Steve Ember.


----------------------------Google Translate

打击盗版音乐大学校园
辩论的最佳方式，以防止非法下载的学生。全文电台广播：
2008年6月4日

这是美国之音特别英语教育的报告。

当父母今天的年轻人，在学校，共享音乐是一个缓慢的过程。他们复制的歌曲，从地毡式的纪录，或用卡式录音机。

今天的朋友可以分享最新的热门歌曲，在光的速度超过互联网。点对点网络，使文件共享容易-和，在许多情况下，非法的。

五年前，美国唱片工业协会， RIAA表示，截止到，发起了一项重大的努力，急起直追，音乐海盗。盗版是违反版权法的保护。这些法律的保护创作作品的禁止复制或出售未经允许。

工业组带来了数以千计的民间行动，打击大学的学生。学生被盗版的也可以支付解决，以避免诉讼和可能的罚款。

该协会利用特殊的软件来识别非法文件共享校园网。但许多高校在反对的努力，要求学校使用类似的技术。他们看到它作为一个资源的浪费。他们说，更为非法共享需要的地方，通过商业互联网服务供应商，比通过校园网。

educause是一组工程，为它所谓的“智能使用”信息技术在高等教育。史蒂芬worona从educause说，约80 ％的大学生并不住在学校的理由。和他们的电脑，他说，一般不会有联系的学校网络。

在其网站上， r.i.a.a.说，它已选择的目标，大学生，因为他们的音乐盗版仍是一个特别是大问题。它说，最近的一些调查结果显示，一半以上的国家的大学生往往会下载音乐和电影非法入境者。

工业组还推国会采取行动。今年2月，美国国会众议院批准了一项高等教育条例草案载有反盗版的要求。这项措施将要求所有涉及的学校在联邦金融援助计划的发展计划，以对付非法下载。学校可投资于技术，以阻止盗版活动，或他们可以提供法律文件共享服务。

类似法案在参院将要求学校告知他们的学生对有关问题的点对点文件共享。 educause的史蒂夫worona说，大多数美国高校已经为此与来袭的学生。学生谁陷入往往要付出罚款，或他们失去使用学校的网络。

这是该美国之音特别英语教育的报告，写的小杰苔。我史蒂夫ember