Higher Education Opportunity Act (H.R.4137)

August 2008

On July 31st, 2008, Congress passed the Higher Education Opportunity Act (H.R.4137), which among other things, mandates that institutions of higher education devise plans that would provide viable "legal" alternatives to illegal downloading while educating students regarding anti-piracy (and the consequences of piracy/ illegal file-sharing).

Organizations such as Educause and the Association of American Universities, as well as the Electronic Frontier Foundation ("EFF") and Public Knowledge, both of which are outspoken opponents of strong copyright protection, have been critical of the bill, citing concerns that an institution's failure to implement the required "technology-based deterrents" could lead to a loss of federal financial aid for students. Other concerns were that the cost of this required anti-piracy initiative might be passed along to students and that newly implemented anti-piracy technology could possibly allow for privacy invasion or spying on network activities.

This bipartisan bill can be seen as a victory for the copyright community and was signed into law by the President on August 14, 2008.