by SHANE SINNOTT

A couple of weeks ago, the mighty U.S.
Congress sent letters to the presidents of 19 American universities, requiring them to complete surveys as to what measures are being taken to curb piracy on their campuses. They have until the end of the month to respond, and there is a veiled threat for those whose excuses don’t pass muster. “If we do not receive acceptable answers, Congress will be forced to act,” speaketh House Judiciary Committee member Lamar Smith (R-TX). The letter goes on to say, “The fact that copyright piracy is not unique to college and university campuses is not an excuse for higher education officials to fail to take responsible steps to eliminate such activity nor to appropriately sanction such conduct when discovered…”

Well, I would wager that fact is precisely the excuse some colleges are going to use. Colleges targeted for the letter are apparently on lists compiled by the RIAA and MPAA of the Top Piracy schools in the nation (not to be confused with the Top Party schools in the nation list, though I bet both are compiled with a similar whimsy). Ultimately, Congress is saying it will use the survey responses to determine if it needs to enact legislation to ensure “piracy is no longer associated with student life on some U.S. campuses.” It’s hard to imagine what, exactly, this legislation would be, but the point has been made—the industry bodies are pissed. How treating the bulk of their target market like criminals is going to help them is beyond me, but I wish them all the best.

Here in Canada, where according to the CRIA we have the highest illegal MP3 downloads per capita in the world, you have no worries. Our copyright laws have yet to be significantly “updated” and thus there’s no real legal penalty for downloading copyrighted material. We’re stuck in the dark ages, much like that other safe haven, Sweden.

Take advantage of our lax copyright laws while they last: the new Spoon record, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, has leaked, and it’s incredible. You can download the track “You Got Yr Cherry Bomb” at tinyurl.com/2ueuwg.

Arrrrrrgh, matey! ssinnott@gmail.com