"Digital revenues in 2004 totaled about $180 million. For 2008, they will approach $3 billion, or about 30 percent of our total revenues," Bainwol said. "And while the marketplace is dominated still by the download model (especially iTunes), consumers enjoy phenomenal choice -- subscriptions, advertising-based legal peer to peer, streaming services, mobile music and on and on."
On campus, Virginia Tech's Communications Network Services delivers voice, data and video services, including the Internet that is sometimes used by students to download files illegally. Jeff Kidd is the public relations manager for CNS. He is called on to research inquiries concerning network-based copyright infringement.
"This appears to be a return to the practice of sending many complaints monthly to ISPs, primarily institutions of higher education, requesting them to curtail alleged file sharing by their subscribers," Kidd said.
The same peer-to-peer software that MediaSentry used to track, however, isn't completely frowned upon. Programs such as LimeWire, Kazaa and Morpheus often have legitimate educational purposes.
"I can tell you... peer-to-peer software has plenty of useful and legal applications," McBride said.
Kidd agreed, echoing a similar sentiment.
"Use of P2P software over the campus network is not prohibited, precisely because it has legitimate educational applications," Kidd said.
Having worked at Tech for more than 20 years, Kidd says that students have been notified on campus for network-based copyright infringement on behalf of the RIAA, and that he is often included when they are notified (although it wouldn't be mandatory).
"CNS receives all takedown notices, and forwards them to Judicial Affairs once they are ready to proceed with a judicial referral," said Bryon Hughes, assistant director of Judicial Affairs.
Kidd said, however, that it is difficult to violate Tech's Internet-use policy, and that CNS doesn't receive as many complaints as some may think.
"The university does not receive complaints about music files being downloaded. It is key that all who would use peer-to-peer software understand that this software is so effective precisely because it is designed to concurrently share or upload copyrighted files to others," Kidd said. "Peer-to-peer packages are designed to share copyrighted files ... and in some cases without active participation of the user. Even if file sharing is deactivated in the software, peer-to-peer programs typically reauthorize file sharing each time the computer is restarted."
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Once again you've confused downloading with sharing. No one has ever been prosecuted or sued for downloading copyrighted material--only for sharing the same.
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