Sorry, no-can-do, says Tufts

Tufts University responded last week to a subpoena in yet another file-sharing case by explaining why they could not actually identify the "Does" named in the case. While this is hardly a new argument, the IT department at Tufts did a particularly nice job of refusing politely, with a catchy smattering of jargon:

"Protesting that Tufts University's DHCP-based systems 'were not designed to facilitate forensic examinations,' but rather to ensure 'smooth operations and to manage capacity issues" (Thanks to Slashdot and Recording Industry vs. the People.)

The IT department suggested a new approach for RIAA, in which they request that the university "preserve, rather than overwrite, the DHCP data, for the RIAA's forensic benefit." Oddly, though, the DHCP data, as they explain in their brief, do not directly identify students, but only MAC addresses, so it is not clear how much additional information could be gleaned even if the university retained records for RIAA.