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Harvard Law Professor Urges University to Fight RIAA

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the you-know-you-want-to dept.

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "Distinguished Harvard University Law School Professor Charles Nesson has called upon Harvard University to fight back against the RIAA and stand up for its students, writing 'Seeking to outsource its enforcement costs, the RIAA asks universities to point fingers at their students, to filter their Internet access, and to pass along notices of claimed copyright infringement. But these responses distort the University's educational mission. ...[W]e should be assisting our students both by explaining the law and by resisting the subpoenas that the RIAA serves upon us. We should be deploying our clinical legal student training programs to defend our targeted students.'"

12 of 180 comments (clear)

  1. wow by wellingj · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Finally some one with some integrity speaks on the matter.

    --
    Money is the root of all evil?
  2. Authority by CriminalNerd · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If this gets out all over the media, people would start fighting back more since a Harvard law professor is advocating resistance, and we all know that Harvard has brand power that is rivaled by only a few other high-grade universities. If Harvard does resist, we can have a new slogan: "Fight the RIAA because Harvard's doing it."

    1. Re:Authority by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      so they do it for all the wrong reasons and they learn nothing from it?

      -why did we fight riaa anyways?
      -i dunno lol, harvard was doing it

    2. Re:Authority by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well, Havard is privately funded, and there's a saying where I come from: Those who pay dictate the way.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:Authority by SillyNickName4me · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If they lose this fight, they'll singlehandedly make the "Ivy League" a thing of the past. I'm not siding with the RIAA here, but the law, unfortunately, is on their side.

      The law isn't on their side when it comes to going on a fishing expedition. Also, the number of cases that the RIAA has won in court so far (that is NOT the same as people settling) isn't very high, and their cases being thrownn out isn't exactly unheard of..

      I'd rather think that a law professor has some idea about this, and about the legal risks in general. I would even go as far as suggesting that he probably has a lot more of an idea then you and me together.

      Are these colleges prepared to take the risk of losing everything to stand up for their students?

      Is this society prepared to destoy such colleges and their future in order to protect the ill-gotten exclusive rights of an industry that is doomed to failure?

  3. Interesting possibilities by rde · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We should be deploying our clinical legal student training programs to defend our targeted students.
    Ooh, this raises some intriguing possibilities. If a university's legal faculty 'n' lawyers-to-be rally around the students, a whole body of experience will quickly build up. By the time they become fully-fledged lawyers, a whole bunch of students will be familiar with the xxAA and their tactics.
    Could lead to some interesting exam projects, too; "Find a granny being sued by the RIAA and prepare a suitable defense. For bonus credit, find a granny who doesn't have a computer but is being sued by the RIAA."

  4. Thank you by aarku · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Thank you NewYorkCountryLawyer. Keep doing your thang!

  5. Re:About Time by pflickner · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yeah, considering you can go to Borders, buy a cd, and bring it back. Oh, the policy is that you can't return open cd's, but if you whine a lot and ask to speak to a manager, you're good to go. The RIAA doesn't even go after them, so I can't figure out why they go after moms and kids.

  6. law schools by timmarhy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    i believe there's 2 things they tell you in law school 1. never sue a church - they are exempt from just about everything 2. never sue a university with a well stocked law faculty - you'll become the target of the best legal minds in the world who will have 100's of students working for free.

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    If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
    1. Re:law schools by cskrat · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Then consider that likely a good chunk of the law student's are planning to be Nth generation lawyers. This means that you get to bring in parents, siblings and possibly grandparents that may be in firms that would like to be precedent setters in **AA style cases.

      Yeah real smart for the **AA's to go marching into a den of hundreds (if not over a thousand) highly vicious (Type-A personality) lions (Lawyers). (parenthetical commentary FTW)

      --
      My God! It's full of eval()'s.
  7. Finally, a ray of hope! by nocynic · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It is fantastic and the right thing that was needed. A reputed university such as Harvard propagates the fight against the RIAA. Why does it make such a difference when Harvard does it? Well, we all know that University of Wisconsin (Madison), albeit respected, does not match to the global reputation and brand recall that comes with an Ivy league university such as Harvard. Harvard's name is familiar to everyone around the world. Students in India, China, Pakistan the UK, everyones knows of Harvard. Even the crowd that isn't aware of the education system in other countries (the US), knows of Harvard.

    So, Harvard fighting the RIAA, if publicized correctly by the media, will get the attention of everyone around the world. Take the MIT dean issue that came up recently, for example. That was splashed all across the news channels everywhere in the world!
    I am currently in India and it was quite a talk here when the MIT news came out. I'm talking about local news channel covering the story! If the same happens with Harvard's move, is could almost be certain that people can will be educated more about the problem and its impact on internet downloads.

  8. Re:"Defenseless" is no excuse for infringement by grimJester · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Being "relatively defenseless families without lawyers or ready means to pay" is not justification for violating copyright. I don't have the an attorney on retainer or the means to pay, but that doesn't mean I can speed or violate traffic laws with impunity. "But judge, I can't afford the ticket so I shouldn't be prosecuted" won't fly very far in court. People in this country need to start taking responsibility for themselves.

    You presuppose that they are guilty, which is not the way the law works. Innocent until proven guilty, and these students have not been proven guilty. In addition, they have a right to defend themselves regardless of whether they are innocent or guilty. As things stand, they don't have the resources to defend themselves. The professor is proposing that they be given the resources to do so.

    Even the guilty should be able to defend themselves in court.