San Francisco Law School Comes to Aid of Students Accused of Copyright Infringement

February 28, 2008

Another law school clinic is assisting college students who have been accused of swapping music files online in violation of copyright law. Students taking part in an intellectual-property project of the University of San Francisco School of Law are counseling some students at the university and at San Francisco State University on how to respond to letters they have received from the Recording Industry Association of America, accusing them of copyright infringement.

The law students, under the tutelage of Robert E. Talbot, a law professor, are explaining to the accused college students their rights, and whether they can bring an effective defense against the recording-industry group, according to an article published last week by the law school. The law students also are helping Ray Beckerman, a New York lawyer and blogger, defend people sued by the industry group throughout the country.

“The RIAA is using heavy-handed tactics that some of the law students feel border on extortion,” Mr. Talbot says in the article.

Law students with the University of Maine’s Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic have gone a step further, actually representing students who are singled out by the Recording Industry Association of America.—-Andrea L. Foster

Posted on Thursday February 28, 2008