Universities to RIAA: We Won't Help You Sue Our Students (Some Will, for a Price)

UPDATE:

The University of Nebraska is taking the mercenary approach towards ratting out its students. Details of the University of Nebraska's billing process for RIAA investigations:

[q
url="http://consumerist.com/consumer/riaa/university-of-nebraska-will-bill-riaa-11-for-each-threatening-letter-received-246813.php"]Unlike
the University of Wisconsin, which refuses to rat out its students to
the RIAA, the University of Nebraska is playing along with the
recording industry's efforts to sue people for piracy. But if the RIAA
wants Nebraska's help, they'll need to pay up.

The university has estimated that each complaint - basically a
warning that a computer on the UNL campus is being used to pirate music
- costs about $11 to process, Weir said. So the university wants to be
paid for its trouble. Wiltse's letter to the Denver firm representing
the RIAA asked the recording industry to reimburse NU for the cost of
finding the offending students.

"We're spending taxpayer dollars tracking down RIAA problems," Weir
said. "Are we an agent of the RIAA? Why aren't they paying us for this?"

In response to NU's request, the RIAA's Engebretsen said, "It is
neither practical nor appropriate for us to entertain a reimbursement
request."

Let's be clear: UNL *did* play along with the recording industry,
and tried to find the pirates in their midst. But their IT system
doesn't keep good records. The university changes IP addresses
regularly, and they only keep one month's records. So they're unable to
help the RIAA, and the university nonetheless runs up expenses.[/q]

PREVIOUS UPDATE:

More schools are getting in on the act: University of Nebraska is the latest American university to stand up to the RIAA...

[q
url="http://www.boingboing.net/2007/03/22/u_of_nebraska_to_ria.html"]The
University of Nebraska is so pissed off with the RIAA's outrageous
requests to help rat out students who file-share that it has sent the
RIAA a bill for the time the University has wasted dealing with the
RIAA's demands. Go Corn Huskers![/q]

PREVIOUS UPDATE:

UW- Madison is refusing to act as the RIAA's repo man, but at the same time warns its students not to use university networks for file-sharing.

[q
url="http://consumerist.com/consumer/riaa/university-of-wisconsin+madison-will-not-forward-riaa-letters-to-students-245211.php"]Jason,
a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has written in to
share what his school is doing in response to the RIAA P2PLawsuit.com
campaign. In this campaign, attorneys for Sony, Universal, EMI, Warner
Music Group and more sent letters to several colleges demanding that
they be forwarded to students. The letter (PDF) threatens students with
a lawsuit and instructs them to identify themselves and pay a
settlement to the recording companies via the website P2Plawsuits.com.

UW-M has sent an email informing students that although they've been
given letters to forward to students, they university will not comply
without a written subpoena.[/q]

ORIGINAL POST:

RIAA to Universities: Spy on Students, Lure Them into Surrendering Their Rights

Yikes. Spying and legal trickery, all in one article. More gestapo tactics from the Recording Industry Association of America, whose impatience with due process is becoming legendary.