Jessica has a lot on her hands.
After she downloaded nearly 300 songs from LimeWire last year, the RIAA warned her that if she didn't agree to pay a $3,000 settlement, she could be sued. Saying the Recording Industry Association of America's demands were unfair, she refused to pay the settlement.
That means the University of Maryland University College accounting major could go to court - and potentially be forced to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. If she loses her case, she said, she could be out of options.
"I'll file for bankruptcy," she said.
Jessica is one of 38 students who received pre-litigation letters from the RIAA for illegal file sharing last year. In an Office of Information Technology forum on file sharing Wednesday, she spoke out about her experience, calling the fines disproportionate and saying she refuses to pay. Jessica agreed to share her story with The Diamondback, but asked not to be identified because she feared involving her employer on the campus. Jessica is a pseudonym.
Illegal file sharing became a hot political issue for universities after the Digital Millennium Copyright Act passed almost a decade ago, said Gerry Sneeringer, director of IT security at the OIT. Last year the RIAA launched a campaign to sue students who download and share files illegally.
Jessica's troubles began last year when she installed LimeWire on her work computer and downloaded 274 songs illegally. It was just for convenience, she said - she already owned the CDs to most of the songs but didn't want to bring them to work.
In July, she arrived at work on the campus and found her computer was confiscated. A week later, she discovered she was one of the students targeted by the RIAA.
"When I first found out, it really upset me," she said. "[But] I cannot let it affect my work or school."
The RIAA discovered Jessica by identifying her IP address as one that downloaded a large number of files. After matching the IP address to her name, OIT sent Jessica a letter from the RIAA warning her that she could be sued.
The university keeps students' names confidential unless the RIAA issues a subpoena, which they do only if the student refuses to settle.
OIT forwarded her an e-mail from the RIAA that told her she could settle out of court for $3,000. She balked at the cost.
"At that point, I had never heard about this," she said. "If I rob a store, I wouldn't be fined this amount of money."
Jessica hopes the case will never make it to trial. If it does, she could pay between $750 and $30,000 for each file she downloaded illegally, said Anne Bowden, University Counsel. But the penalty can be up to $150,000 per file if the court finds that the infringement is deliberate. Conversely, if the court sees the defendant as being unaware of the violations, then the penalty may be $200 or less per illegal download.
"I think it's ridiculous," Jessica said. "Unconstitutional."
Not everyone agrees. At the forum, many spoke out on the economic damages file sharing can pose for the music industry.
"This is taking money from my retirement," said William Montgomery, a school of music professor and chair of the University Senate. "I urge you to think of it in a more human way."
Cathy Fink, a Grammy award-winning producer, songwriter and singer, said illegal downloading will lower the quality of recordings because without an adequate budget, musicians cannot afford to use the best equipment.
"Ultimately, illegal file sharing takes money out of ... the health, well-being of artists," Fink said.
But Jessica argued that the fines the RIAA collects don't go to artists.
"My feelings have not changed on file sharing," she said. "To me, people sharing about music is a way to learn about new artists."
Jessica sought help from her father, a personal injury attorney. Though he does not know much about file sharing, he tried to negotiate for a smaller settlement, and the RIAA offered him a six-month payment plan. But it was still too expensive, Jessica said.
Calling the recording industry group "jerks," she remains staunch in her position: The RIAA, she said, will never see a penny of her money. Not only that, she added, they've lost a customer.
chrisyudbk@gmail.com
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