On Sunday, Cary Sherman, President of the RIAA, in announcing new RIAA suits against students using Internet2 P2P (chuckle), tried an idealistic appeal on educators:

As we educate the future leaders on campuses in Pittsburgh and throughout the nation, we have the opportunity to foster a climate where creativity is valued and respected. In this way, we can pave the way to a new century of innovation.

As an academic, I'm not real fond of having Cary Sherman including himself in the "we" who educate. I'd prefer that the RIAA and other content industries abandon their current efforts to educate K-12 students (and everyone else) in their version of intellectual property. But even better, CMU professor Roger Dannenberg makes it clear that those that steal shouldn't take the moral high ground when it comes to piracy:

Mr. Sherman, you say that stealing "is not OK," and yet I have musician friends who cannot get RIAA members to pay them the royalties they are due. While you are asking universities to address your problems, please don't forget that you too can be a "powerful leader in curbing theft of copyright materials on campus." If you'll stop your members from stealing from my friends, and then study some history, maybe I can help you.

Touché! Read the rest. It made my day.