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TANet used for illegal downloads

"Universities are a blind spot when it comes to intellectual property rights enforcement."

Spencer Yang, Foundation for the Protection of Film and Video Works executive director

Taiwanese students by the hundreds of thousands use the Taiwan Academic Network (TANet), an intranet run by local universities and the Ministry of Education (MOE), to illegally download materials off the Internet while the ministry turns a blind eye to the problem, Motion Picture Association (MPA) officials alleged yesterday.

Representing Hollywood film companies, the MPA went on the offensive yesterday, slamming the ministry at a luncheon held by its local affiliate, the Foundation for the Protection of Film and Video Works.

"Universities are a blind spot when it comes to intellectual property rights [IPR] enforcement because TANet isn't accessible to users outside the education system," said the foundation's executive director, Spencer Yang (楊泰順).

"Many students are using a computer network established with tax dollars for illegal downloads and outsiders can't monitor the situation," he said.

A recent foundation survey showed that nearly half of all Taiwanese university students -- or 250,000 students -- use TANet to illegally download movies.

Illegal downloading of music is even more rampant, with 84 percent of respondents admitting to such behavior.

The foundation commissioned the Media and Instructional Resource Center at Fu Jen Catholic University in November to conduct the survey, Yang said.

Based on face-to-face interviews with 2,278 students at 19 institutions countrywide, the survey accurately reflected the lack of IPR enforcement and awareness on campuses, he said.

Schools should limit downloads and investigate Internet Protocol (IP) addresses involved in suspicious downloads, Yang told reporters, adding that the ministry hadn't promulgated clear, consistent regulations regarding TANet usage.

"They're very slow [in responding to our concerns]," Yang said, referring to the ministry's Computer Center, which oversees TANet.

"Or, they pass the buck and tell us we should go out ourselves and educate students [about copyright infringement]," he added.

Speaking to the Taipei Times yesterday, Computer Center director Lee Chang-shu (李長樹) rebutted Yang's allegations that the ministry wasn't doing enough to protect copyrights.

Clear rules on TANet usage and close coordination between the ministry and schools in handling IPR-related complaints already exist, Lee said.

"We're active in educating students, too. But due to privacy issues, we can't just access the content that students share with one another on TANet," Lee said.

Chen Wen-bin (陳文斌), a section chief at the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, said by telephone yesterday that "illegal downloads are a problem," but that the government and schools place a premium on protecting intellectual property.

"There are good mechanisms in place [to address the problem]," Chen said.
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