School says records don't exist

Font Size:
Default font size
Larger font size

GRAND FORKS (AP) - A recording industry trade group is trying to find two University of North Dakota students or employees who illegally downloaded music online. But school officials said they no longer have records to identify the computer users.

The Recording Industry Association of America said last week it will give hundreds of college students suspected of illegally sharing music online a chance to reach settlements before being sued for copyright infringement.

The association sent letters Wednesday to 13 universities threatening lawsuits against 400 separate computer users for illegal downloading.

The association asked the universities to forward those letters to the computer users.

UND Information Technology Director Dorette Kerian said the list included two addresses for computers on the UND campus. But she said the university cannot identify the computer users because the school only keeps logs of computer users for 30 days. She said the downloads happened more than a month ago.

"We're not sending letters to anyone except back to them saying we cannot identify these two people," Kerian said.

She said UND cooperates with the trade group to identify illegal downloads and warns students against the practice. She said the school typically receives more notices of illegal downloads in fall when new students arrive on campus.

The trade group's initial list of 13 schools did not include UND, but did include North Dakota State University. Kerian said that's because most computers in North Dakota University System schools in the eastern part of the state are in same domain, which has its administrator on the NDSU campus.

The trade group said it will file federal lawsuits against those who do not settle with them. The minimum damages to be paid under copyright law is $750 for each copyrighted recording that has been shared, the group said.

Print Email

/news/state-and-regional
 
Sponsored by:

Connect with Us