A judge has decided officials at Marshall University must release the names of students involved with downloading music illegally on one condition.
Monday's decision requires the Recording Industry Association of America reword the subpoena and send new notices to officials at Marshall, said Arnold Miller, executive director of university computing services.
Officials at Marshall went back to court to ask them to stop the subpoena, Miller said. Officials informed the judge that there was no real cause.
"We went to court several weeks ago," Miller said. "They came back and said they kind of agreed that the subpoena wasn't worded correctly."
The subpoena originally stated Marshall was to release the names of the seven students caught using the networks to download music illegally. However, Miller said they could only release the names of those the computers are registered to, not necessarily who committed the act.
"You're asking us to identify who was on the computer, but we only know who was authorized," Miller said about the subpoena.
Hensley said the only information he knew about the current situation was what he has read so far but it is an issue between the RIAA and students involved, and not the institution. He said the students should already be informed their names would be released as soon as the new subpoena is received.
"The RIAA will send us a new set of subpoenas," Miller said. "It's not clear to us at this point if all of these students have actually received a notice to settle outside of court."
Some of those notices to settle outside of court may have expired by now, Miller said. Settlements made outside of court between the RIAA and students have been approximately $3,000 to $5,000.
Officials at Marshall were waiting for a court to tell them they have to give up the names of students involved, Steve Hensley, dean of Student Affairs, said with a Parthenon reporter in an interview last month.
Marshall received a subpoena last year, requiring the names of 12 students involved in similar acts to be released.
"We've gone through one round of those subpoena and we thought it was a one time thing," Miller said. "We thought they were trying to prove a point."
Students will face consequences including fines and having their Internet shut off, Hensley said.
"Because of the law, we have to shut their access to their Internet off," Miller said.
Students have already been informed if a court issued a subpoena, Marshall would have to stand by that decision and release the information, Hensley said.
MIller said the university has all of the information prepared.
The RIAA still has the right to return at a later date and proceed with the legal process to press charges against students for copyright infringement and illegal downloading, Miller said.
Whitney Johnson can be contacted at johnson253@marshall.edu.
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