In America, the Big Four music cartel now routinely blackmails colleges and universities into peddling product via the likes of Napster and iTunes, with school staff working as unpaid PR and marketing teams.

Cartel members EMI, Vivendi Universal, Warner Music and Sony BMG wield the threat of lawsuits for non-compliance, and now Britain’s famous the University of Oxford has apparently joined the club. It’s promoting iTunes on campus and one of its most prestigious colleges, Christ Church, admits it’s to act as a Big Four anti-p2p cop.

In the background the BPI (British Phonographic Industry), owned by the Big Four, is “monitoring” the situation.
More than 75 students were, “detected illegally downloading copyright material in the past two years,” says the The Oxford Student, going on:

“Alan Gay, deputy director of Oxford University Computing Services (OUCS), told The Oxford Student media corporations have already notified the university on 16 occasions this academic year that students have been illegally sharing files such as MP3s and videos. Sixty were detected in the previous year.

“These ‘cease and desist’ requests are legal notices designed to force the university to stop its members using file sharing software to exchange copyright material. Mr Gay said: ‘You get the impression that there’s a big searchlight going round, and sometimes it focuses on us, and sometimes we go for a while without anything happening’.”

The student newspaper says the level of monitoring and action by film and music companies has increased and, “The university has an official ban on the use of peer-to-peer software, and charges colleges around £60 (about $106) each time a complaint is received. Colleges pass this fine onto the student in question, often imposing an additional charge.”

Christ Church was the first college to officially to warn students of the, “consequences of file sharing,” says The Oxford Student, going on:

“Last week Teddy Hall circulated an email to students warning them they would face ‘a further penalty of £50 (about $89),’ if caught illicitly downloading copyright material.

” ‘The illegal downloading of music, films, etc. via file-sharing software is strictly prohibited by the University and College,’ read the email, which claimed the dean, Dr Alistair Borthwick, ‘believes that it is only a matter of time before the copyright infringements result in a court case’. Christ Church has announced that it will actively scan all internet traffic within the college.”

Students have been told, “if the college detects any use of file-sharing software, other than Apple’s iTunes, offenders will have internet access revoked,” the story continues. “Magdalen, while also following basic OUCS rules, apparently takes a more relaxed approach to file sharing.”

iTunes is not, of course, p2p file sharing software. It’s a purpose-designed hard-core sales application loaded with DRM to specifically prevent sharing.

Magdalen, while also following basic OUCS rules, apparently takes a more relaxed approach to file sharing, says the Oxford Student.

“The Junior Censor said that ‘we do not issue fines, but we expect undergraduates to carry the costs which OUCS charge (£50 plus VAT) if a copyright infringement is incurred’.”

Keble’s IT department said students would face fines of £100 to cover administration costs, says the story, adding:

“Matt Phillips, Communications Manager of the British Phonographic Industry, said he was surprised at the number of notices Oxford received. ‘We know the majority of file sharing within institutions like universities occurs across networks rather than through peer-to-peer… so we tend to limit our monitoring to communicating with heads of IT, and alerting them to the dangers of illegal downloads’.”

The labels’ previous experiences at Oxford have not, however, been so successful.

In 2002, during an Oxford Union Debate, then RIAA (Recording Industy Association of America) spin-doctor-in-chief Hilary Rosen tried to carry the proposition, “This House believes that ‘the free music mentality is a threat to the future of music’.”

She failed and music survived.
Via p2pnet.net