Uni of Washington reveals stance on filesharing

The University of Washington (UW) has been under the spotlight recently for its stance on filesharing. As with a number of universities in the US, UW has received letters from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as part of the RIAA’s attempt to curb the number of people who download songs using filesharing services like Ares and Omemo.

Students who download songs at countless universities have received pre-lawsuit settlement letters offering the chance to settle out of court or else be sued for filesharing.

While most universities forward all letters to students, UW only sends the letters to students when they may face legal charges. UW has defended its actions, saying that it forwards letters when students are likely to face legal action after downloading songs.

Sometimes in the letters, several students are named. Also, a number of the letter are ambiguous and will not lead to legal prosecution, says UW.

UW encourages students to download songs from legal filesharing services, but the university refuses to tell its students what to do. The key, as UW sees it, is that students better educate themselves about filesharing and how to download songs without being sued.

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