If nothing else, P2P supporters received a morale boost today. Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers submitted a supporting motion to quash an RIAA subpoena sent to the University of Oregon. Like many universities and colleges, the University of Oregon has thousands of students meddling in the copyright affairs of the music industry.

As has become the routine, the university received a subpoena demanding the identities of 17 suspected file-sharers. The subpoena contains the alleged infringer's IP/time stamp, which in theory should allow the ISP to identify the suspected pirate. However the University of Oregon feels the IP/time stamp evidence is insufficient to positively identify an uploader. In their motion to quash the RIAA's subpoena, the university argued that many of the IP addresses belong to double occupancy rooms which have frequent visitors, which makes pinpointing the offender difficult, if not impossible.

The Oregon Attorney General's office echoed these concerns in their supporting motion. According to Recording Industry vs. People blogger and P2P litigation defender Ray Beckerman, this is an unprecedented level of support for colleges and universities. Additionally, this is the first time a university has filed a motion to squash on behalf of students. Many file-sharers note that the government has been notoriously sympathetic to the concerns of music and movie industry, while placing consumers on the back burner.

The issue of higher learning institutions resisting the music industry is a score yet to be settled. While many have refused to forward pre-litigation letters to students, none have had the benefit or the far ranging implications of having an Attorney General's office in their corner.

This story is filed in these Slyck News categories
Entertainment Industry :: RIAA
Legal/Courtroom :: Court Rulings/Decisions

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