University policies on piracy reviewed

The spectre of recording industry raids on Australian universities to stem the illicit trade of copyright material has not crossed the Tasman yet, but as music sales dive the gloves may soon come off.

The director of IT services at the Auckland University of Technology, Wendy Bussen, said students using university networks for illegal file sharing could prompt raids in NZ.

"If we find equipment is not being used in the way it should be, we track it, we investigate it and we deal with it through our own procedures."

Bussen has been discussing with Australian university counterparts the risks posed by illegal trading and has sought legal advice.

University policies have been reviewed, students and staff educated about their legal responsibilities and network traffic monitored.

"It's quite a difficult situation for a university because file servers are used to run your business, and they have students working on them."

The University of Auckland is similarly active in working to prevent student misuse of IT facilities.

Information security manager Stephen Taylor said the installation of peer-to-peer software, commonly used for illegal file trading, could be detected within minutes and confirmation sought that it was for legitimate educational purposes.

"The internet poses lots of risks. It's really how you manage those and take an active stance rather than not doing anything until something inappropriate happens."

No legal action has been taken in New Zealand against illegal file traders, but a drop of more than 7 per cent in sales last year has recording industry bosses looking for answers.

Universal Music managing director Adam Holt said life had been too easy for New Zealanders intent on pirating copyright material.

"We've got to be the nicest suers in the world. We send people letters, we do adverts saying 'don't do this' ... We give people plenty of warning."

Holt said although there had so far been no legal action, it would be "naive of anyone to say there was no problem in New Zealand".

New Zealand had been a year behind the rest of the world in experiencing problems, he said, possibly because of a relatively low broadband internet uptake.

Holt said more local legitimate download services, such as Digirama (www.digirama.co.nz), must be developed to provide people with a choice.

That would be matched by the creation of an industry anti-piracy team.

"We'll need to start getting tough to protect our interests and we'll be looking for support from allied industries as well."

It is hoped a "carrot and stick" approach will stabilise falling sales this year, but Holt is realistic about the challenge.

"Why pay for music when you can get it for free or just burn it off a friend."

As spokesman for the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand, Holt will be trying to influence the ongoing review of copyright laws.

In a bill expected in Parliament this year, the Government intends to legalise music format switching, such as copying from CDs to portable music players.

Holt opposes the proposal, saying it is inconsistent because it applies only to music and will remove a cornerstone of copyright protection.