Cornell University officials today (Sept. 22, 2000) responded to a request by Howard King, a Los Angeles lawyer representing the rock band Metallica and rap artist Dr. Dre, that the university block students' access to the Napster file-sharing service.

The text of Cornell's response, sent to King in a letter signed by Patricia A. McClary, associate university counsel, follows.

Howard E. King, Esq. 
King, Purtich, Holmes, Paterno & Berliner, LLP 
1900 Avenue of the Stars 
Twenty-fifth Floor 
Los Angeles, CA 90067-4506

Dear Mr. King:

Your letter of September 8, 2000 to President Rawlings has been referred to this office for response.

At the outset, we wish to assure you that, as a major producer and consumer of intellectual property, Cornell University has great respect for the copyright laws and is sensitive to issues of infringement. Copyright infringement constitutes a violation of several University policies and the University undertakes extensive on-going initiatives to educate its faculty, staff, and students regarding this subject.

Your letter does not claim that Cornell is engaging in the allegedly infringing conduct; nor does it explain why the University should be held accountable for the actions of others. As an Internet service provider, Cornell merely provides access to electronic resources available on the Internet. We do not, and cannot, monitor the content of all traffic on our network and have no legal obligation to do so. The University responds to infringement complaints satisfying the requirements of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. As such, Cornell is operating within the safe harbor afforded service providers under that statute as well as being in compliance with all other applicable laws. If you are aware of a specific case of infringement, you should file a complaint at copyright_abuse@cornell.edu to have it addressed.">Your letter does not claim that Cornell is engaging in the allegedly infringing conduct; nor does it explain why the University should be held accountable for the actions of others. As an Internet service provider, Cornell merely provides access to electronic resources available on the Internet. We do not, and cannot, monitor the content of all traffic on our network and have no legal obligation to do so. The University responds to infringement complaints satisfying the requirements of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. As such, Cornell is operating within the safe harbor afforded service providers under that statute as well as being in compliance with all other applicable laws. If you are aware of a specific case of infringement, you should file a complaint at copyright_abuse@cornell.edu to have it addressed.

The University must decline to comply with your request that it block all access to Napster. While we acknowledge the potential for misuse of this technology, we believe that it would be inappropriate to foreclose access by the entire University community to a large body of electronic material based on the potential for irresponsible conduct by some.

There is, as you must appreciate, great potential for lawful, beneficial uses of file-sharing technologies such as Napster. Indeed, many artists choose to make their work freely available on the Internet as a means to reach larger audiences. Denying the University community the benefits of this technology would, in our view, be inconsistent with the University's educational mission and the principles of academic freedom.

Cornell continues to follow closely developments in this evolving area of law and will, of course, conform to any new law that may emerge in the future.

Finally, we welcome you and your clients to participate in Cornell's annual Computer Policy and Law conference and to present your views in that forum.

Sincerely,

Patricia A. McClary

Associate University Counsel