Our very favourite American based representative body for major recording companies, the Recording Industry Association Of America, has launched another batch of lawsuits against those almost definitely evil American students who are using the ultra-fast college-based internet2 network to share music files online. This is the third time the RIAA has specifically targeted those illegally sharing music files on campus twice before, and the latest assault brings the number of students targeted up to 560 at 39 different colleges.
The colleges, who are essentially these students' internet service providers, have long been wary of attempts by the RIAA to target individual students with litigation, though they don't want to be seen to be harbouring high level copyright violators on their campuses. The strategy many colleges have used is to work with the likes of Napster to offer students access to legit music platforms, though stats suggest many P2P users continue to access music illegally even when offered access to a Napster style service. Pressure on the colleges to take more proactive action against file sharers among the US student population may, though, be about to increase after two US senators recently called on the Government Accountability Office to investigate the levels of university anti-piracy controls in place.
The latest round of college targeted litigation was part of 757 new lawsuits launched by the RIAA this week. Other lawsuits were targeted at individuals suspected of sharing large amounts of copyrighted music via the likes of eDonkey, Grokster, Kazaa and LimeWire.