University of Oregon refusing to help ID music pirates

EUGENE, Ore. — A lawsuit brought by the recording industry is pitting piracy against privacy.

Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers filed court papers this week seeking to free the University of Oregon from having to identify students who illegally downloaded music.

In August, a group of recording companies filed a lawsuit accusing 17 Oregon students of music piracy. The students are identified only by an Internet address, and industry lawyers have asked the university to identify the students.

Similar suits have been filed across the U.S., and universities and colleges have been cooperating. The University of Oregon has traced the file sharing to dorm rooms and users of a wireless network, but officials can't be sure who shared the music without interviewing students and examining their private computers, The Oregonian newspaper reported.

University officials contend that would violate privacy rights.

"University (officials) feel like they are being asked to do the investigation on behalf of the company when it's not really their role," said Stephanie Soden, spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Justice.

Since 2003, the music industry has taken legal action against more than 20,000 people suspected of using the Internet to make illegal copies of songs.

The Recording Industry Association of America could not be reached for comment after hours. But Jonathan Lamy, a spokesman for the association, told an Ohio University forum this week that the music business is "hemorrhaging" jobs and money and the lawsuits are a last resort.

Ray Beckerman, a New York copyright attorney, said Oregon is the first state he knows of that is seeking to protect the identity of students accused of piracy.

If so, it would be the second time in months that Oregon has been involved in a key lawsuit involving music piracy. A Beaverton woman filed a class-action lawsuit against the recording industry in August, accusing it of illegal spying and intimidation in its crackdown.