Thanks to the Supreme Court, file-sharing software like LimeWire and Morpheus may soon be disappearing from students' computers.
The nation's highest court ruled last month that companies that provide file-sharing software are liable for the actions of those who utilize the service to download copyrighted files.
In the wake of the Recording Industry Association of America's lawsuits against students at colleges across the United States, this decision gives the music and movie industries the ability to bring lawsuits against companies that provide file-sharing services.
In a unanimous decision, the justices came down hard on international software company Grokster -- the parent company of file-sharing software provider Morpheus -- and other companies that turn a blind eye to the illegal activities of those who use their services.
"We hold that one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright ... is liable for the resulting act of infringements by third parties," Justice David Souter wrote in the Court's opinion.
Penn's policy on illegal downloading promises a stiff penalty to anyone caught violatingcopyright laws.
University Information Security Officer David Millar said that 20 to 30 students are investigated -- based on claims from recording companies -- and are caught downloading files illegally each month.
Although the University will turn over names of illegal downloaders when issued subpoenas, Penn does nothing more than alert students to the fact that they are violating the law when they are caught, Millar added.
"The University does not try to stop people from downloading," he said.
Many file-sharing service providers say that their software is used for many forms of legal downloading. In fact, many file-sharing services are used to share files and documents between academic institutions.
However, the court looked to recent numbers indicating that such software is used primarily for illegal purposes.
According to a recent report from entertainment news Web site Digital Music News, over 8.9 million users are sharing files using the P2P network -- a popular format provided by file-sharing giants Morpheus and LimeWire -- up significantly from 3.8 million users in 2003.
While many students opt for the ease of illegal downloading, legal options such as Napster, iTunes and even Walmart.com provide music for a small fee per song.
This is the type of downloading that College sophomore Jason Karsh hopes Penn can provide in the near future.
Karsh, along with fellow Undergraduate Assembly member and College sophomore Sunny Patel, has come up with a plan of action for the UA on legal downloading for Penn students and has already presented some of his findings to University officials.
According to Karsh, coverage of the UA plan of action in November 2004 led to overwhelming corporate support for the idea.
"We kept getting e-mail after e-mail from companies who were offering their services and presenting their business plans," Karsh said.
Nonetheless, Karsh says, assistance from Penn's administration has been virtually nonexistent.
"The University seems very reluctant," Karsh said. Providing file-sharing services "does not seem to be high up on their list of priorities."
Karsh added that proposals for for unlimited downloading services could cost students as little as $2 a month -- far less than the $8 monthly the University charges for phone service in on-campus housing.
"If we today said we wanted to do it, it would be up and running in two weeks," Karsh said.
Millar believes that the best option for students is to seek out legal means.
"I think people should be very careful because copyright-holders are very interested in tracking down violators," Millar said. "I think people are a lot better off using legal music or movie alternatives. It could reduce the cost to them."
The fight over copyright infringement is far from over in the eyes of the recording industry and the file-sharing software providers, but the ruling seems to mark a victory for music and movie companies.
Jenni Engebretsen, a spokeswoman for the Recording Industry Association of America, said, "This is a shot in the arm to legal downloading services. Legitimate music services have been competing with bad actors such as Grokster. ... This decision levels the playing field."
