文档介绍：UNIT NINE
TEXT ONE
For many college students, back to school also means back to downloading music over the university's high-speed connection. But not so fast: The music industry's crackdown on piracy on campus didn't stop with the end of the spring semester.
In August, the Recording Industry Association of America sent pre-litigation letters to 58 colleges—coast to coast, from Boston University to San Diego State. More than 2,400 letters already have been sent to students at schools targeted by the RIAA. The letters offer students the option of paying a settlement fee based on the number of tunes the student allegedly downloaded illegally or taking the risk of a potentially more expensive lawsuit.
The music association isolates addresses that generate high downloading and file-sharing traffic, then asks the school to turn over the identity of those students, so it can get in touch with them. Some schools, like the University of Wisconsin, have declined to assist the RIAA, explaining that "to identify the IP users and forward the letters to them would put the university in an fortable and inappropriate alliance with the RIAA," says Meg McCall, a spokesperson for the university. "While we agree that violation of copyright law is serious and should be addressed, the only way to be certain of infractions is to pursue ac
Students also are a bit flummoxed by the pre-litigation letters, though many appear to be opting for the quick settlement. When Cassandra Hunt, then a sophomore at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, received a notice from the school stating she was identified for violating copyright law, she asked the RIAA about the settlement fees. Explaining that it had identified 272 songs, which could potentially cost $750 per song should her case go to trial, it offered her a settlement fee. "Now, I know what you're thinking," wrote the physics major in an op-ed for The Tech last year. "With a collection of 272 whole songs, no wonder the RIAA pelled