Think nobody’s watching when you illegally download music from the web? Think again.
According to the Hatchet, a lawsuit was filed in late September by 10 record companies against 19 GW students who allegedly violated copyright laws. On October 11th, a federal court approved a motion ordering GW to reveal the names, addresses, emails and telephone numbers of the accused students.
Of the cases examined, most songs were downloaded off peer-to-peer networks such as Gnutella and BitTORRENT. One user reportedly downloaded 3,538 songs illegally, although most of the cases involved numbers below 500.
Kate Landau, a freshman at GW, says she doesn’t illegally download music anymore. “I didn’t think it was right to essentially steal music from the artist instead of giving them the credit they really deserve,” she said.
Another freshman, who wishes to remain anonymous in light of this article, has a different take on the situation, “I do illegally download music, but I also buy concert tickets, t-shirts and posters, so they’re making money off me anyway,” they said. “I don’t feel bad about a 99 cent song.”
The case here at GW is part of a nationwide movement by the recording industry to hold people, especially students, responsible for illegal music downloads.
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