University receives subpoena for 25 students

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) subpoenaed the University on Monday for the identities of 25 students accused of illegally sharing music files, University spokesman Eric Quinones said.

The 25 students, along with 380 students at 17 other colleges nationwide, are being sued for copyright infringement by the industry trade group as part of its latest campaign to curb music piracy on college campuses.

The University expects to respond to the subpoena by May 9, the deadline for compliance.

"The General Counsel's Office will review the subpoena to see if there is any reason to challenge it, but they don't expect there to be any reason to challenge, and we expect to comply," Quinones said.

Students being sued by the RIAA will be notified today by the Office of General Counsel, Quinones said. Lawsuits filed against file-sharing students are typically settled out of court for around $3,000.

In March, the RIAA notified the University that 39 students would face lawsuits but announced last week that no more than 25 students would be sued at any one college.

Many of the 39 originally targeted students are still unsure if they will face litigation. In interviews Monday afternoon, five of the notified students said they are waiting to hear if they are being sued.

The lawsuits filed last Wednesday in New Jersey District Court were "John Doe" suits, so termed because they mention only an accused student's IP address. The RIAA has subpoenaed the University to obtain the names of the students in question.

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On Monday, RIAA spokesperson Jenni Engebretsen said the association is willing to communicate with targeted students about possible settlements. "We would certainly be in contact back and forth to see if the individual is interested in a settlement at this point," Engebretsen said.

This round of lawsuits targeted students who traded music files on i2hub, a file-sharing program that runs on the Internet2 network at 206 colleges and affiliated institutions.

Last week, RIAA president Cary Sherman called university officials to offer students legitimate alternatives to file-sharing by forming partnerships with legal music services.

Penn State and Napster inked a deal in 2003 that allows university students to stream an unlimited number of songs for free. Students who want to own the digital music can purchase it for 99 cents per song.

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Quinones said that Princeton is waiting to see how such agreements turn out.

"Other universities have established partnerships with technology companies in offering file-sharing services, and like many other universities, we are interested in the results of their efforts," Quinones said. "Right now our focus remains on educating students about copyright issues so they make the right choices."

Engebretsen said the litigation has had an effect. "We believe that these lawsuits have done a great deal to arrest the growth of illegal file-sharing," she said, adding that the RIAA plans to continue aggressively pursuing music pirates.

The Motion Picture Association America (MPAA) also entered the fray last week with its announcement that students at 12 colleges nationwide would be sued for illegally sharing movie files on advanced shared networks like Internet2. Princeton was not one of the universities named.