Eagleionline

Last week administrators at Brooklyn Law School issued a memorandum informing students that it ultimately decided it would not release the names of students who illegally downloaded material from the internet on the BLS server to the RIAA and other intellectual property owners.  This statement followed a memorandum issued the previous day that BLS would proactively investigate students who illegally download software and media using the BLS server and report them to the holders of the intellectual property rights without warning.  The new policy involves notifying the students accused of internet piracy and ordering them to desist any illegal copyright infringement.  BLS admins have apparently decided to give students who engage in internet piracy a little more leniency and refrain from proactive investigation.

To anyone who has illegally downloaded copyrighted material from the internet and/or heard of lawsuits for internet piracy, this kind of litigation can be very scary.  Copyright infringement plaintiffs can request and often receive huge monetary awards depending on the volume of material downloaded.  An adverse judgment can bury an unsuspecting student in debt from which s/he might never get out of.  While it may make sense for a corporate ISP to investigate and report on illegal downloading when served with a subpoena or civil complaint by the property rights holder, the kind of zealous persecution proposed by BLS last week seemed rather scary coming from the institution those students enrolled in.  It is refreshing that BLS has decided not to actively investigate and expose its own students for internet piracy.

Although it is standard practice for network managers to only supply the names of illegal downloaders only when ordered to by a subpoena, the special role of a law school in enforcing compliance with the law should not be underestimated.  Law students should have a special respect for the law and be held to a high standard of compliance – it seems reasonable for the law school to forbid illegal downloading and enforce the Digital Millennium Copyright Act when necessary.  However, ISPs have a safe harbor provision under the DMCA that protects them from liability if they block access to the infringing material after they receive notice, so they aren’t obligated to proactively release the names of individual students to intellectual property owners.  Additionally, students should expect a certain degree of confidentiality and loyalty from the institution that they fund with huge sums of tuition dollars.  An institution that investigates and informs on students without warning doesn’t seem like the kind of place that prospective students would want to enroll in.

Luckily for Brooklyn Law School students their law school has decided to take a protective role rather than an aggressive one.  Regardless of the posture of one’s ISP, if a student wants to commit illegal piracy it makes sense to do it outside of the realm of one’s law school.  As law students we don’t need allegations of copyright infringement attached to our law school records.  Is it possible this kind of situation could develop here at Boston College Law School?  How would our administration come down on deciding between protecting students and enforcing IP law?