Panel: Campuses must do more to end piracy

WASHINGTON, March 9 (UPI) -- University administrators need to be more actively involved in battling piracy on campuses, members of a U.S. House of Representatives panel said.

Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., chairman of the Intellectual Property Subcommittee, told a panel of university administrators, music industry executives and others that the time for talk has passed, The Hollywood Reporter said.

"I'm concerned that current law isn't giving universities enough incentive to stop piracy," Berman said, adding that tax incentives and other governmental perks universities now receive may need a closer look.

John Vaughn of the Association of American Universities argued that piracy is a "ubiquitous" problem "not unique to higher education.

An industry trade group official cited one report that students accounted for 1.3 billion illegal music downloads in 2006, The Washington Post reported.

"Music has never been more popular with fans than it is right now," but fewer people -- particularly college students -- are paying for it, said Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America, said.

The RIAA this year sent hundreds of complaints to students, pressured administrators to take tougher anti-piracy measures and tried shaming colleges by publishing a list of top offending schools.