Copyright Law Rampage
by T. Colin Dodd
Bill tying financial aid to antipiracy efforts passes House committee
The House Education and Labor Committee unanimously passed the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007. Among other things, the COAA would require colleges and universities to adopt strict antipiracy policies and possibly offer students access to subscription-based music services like Napster.
COAA went through a markup session yesterday, and despite pressure from higher education groups like the American Council on Education, the copyright-related provisions were not addressed. Indeed, Section 494 looks to have survived unscathed.
As it stands, the bill would put colleges and universities on the front lines of the war against file-sharing. As part of the financial aid administration process, schools would have to inform students about their official policies about copyright infringement, as well as possible civil and criminal penalties. They would also have to “develop a plan for offering alternatives to illegal downloading or peer-to-peer distribution of intellectual property as well as a plan to explore technology-based deterrents to prevent such illegal activity.”
