Beginning a new round of copyright infringement lawsuits, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced Thursday they will be taking legal action against 791 individuals suspected of illegally downloading music files. Twenty-five are university students charged with using illegal peer-to-peer service connections on sites such as eDonkey, Limewire and Kazaa.
The students implicated in the suits attend the following schools: American University, Amherst College, Assumption College, Boston College, Boston University, Bridgewater State College, Emerson College, Iowa State University, James Madison University, Mount Holyoke College, Northeastern University and the University of Massachusetts.
Princeton students are not unfamiliar with RIAA lawsuits. In 2003, Daniel Peng '05 settled his suit for $15,000, though penalties can include up to five years in prison and/or $250,000 in fines.
And in April, the RIAA charged three University students with illegally downloading music files.
"There are several University policies discouraging downloading intellectual properties," said Patricia Allen, manager of media relations for the University. She said students to read Rights, Rules and Responsibilities for more information.
The RIAA is a trade group that represents record companies across the world.
In an effort to financially support its members, the RIAA works to protect their property rights worldwide, conduct consumer research and monitor state and federal regulations, according to its website.
The RIAA identifies copyright music offenders through "John Doe" lawsuits.
This process, which takes about two weeks, first identifies perpetrators by their Internet protocol addresses.
The RIAA then compels Internet service providers to identify offenders by their IP addresses, RIAA spokesman Jonathon Lamy's press representative said.
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