RIAA targets more Nebraska students

RIAA targets more Nebraska students

	Published : Sat, 21 Apr 2007 00:00 By : Agencies Print this Story

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Another round of threatening letters is on its way to suspected music pirates at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with 19 more students accused of illegally downloading music, the university said Friday.

It's the third batch of students targeted at the university, bringing the total number to 80.

The Recording Industry Association of America filed 'John Doe' lawsuits against five UNL students last week, alleging copyright infringement. Those five students have not been identified, and university lawyer John Wiltse told Nebraska regents at their Friday meeting that the alleged violators will not be identified unless the recording industry obtains a subpoena.

Otherwise, the process is fairly anonymous. The recording industry group's letters are sent to the university, asking officials to pass them along to alleged offenders.

In late February, the association sent letters offering discounted settlements to 400 computer users at 13 universities. Since then, more than 800 new letters have been sent, offering students the option to settle with the group.

Some UNL students already have settled with the organization. Tom Keefe, who works in Student Legal Services at UNL and has handled some of the settlement offer letters, said students could have settled within 20 days of notification for a $3,000 fee. After that, he said, the offer jumps to $4,000.

UNL still hasn't heard back from the recording industry group on a request for reimbursement of for costs to track down the students accused in the first two rounds.

Regent Jonathan Henning suggested that students who illegally download files be the ones to pay the university's investigation costs.

'They are the ones stealing,' he said.

Regents asked Wiltse why the university complied with the recording industry's request to forward the letters to students accused of illegal downloading.

'Certainly I agree that the university shouldn't be an enclave for thieves,' Henning said, but asked why the university should forward the letters.

Wiltse said they relayed the letters to give students the opportunity to respond and possibly settle to avoid costly lawsuits and litigation.

'The distinction here is, one thing we have not done is turned over the names of any students,' Regent Chuck Hassebrook said.

UNL is not a target of the lawsuit, Wiltse told regents, and likely won't be.

The recording industry group has sued about 18,000 computer users nationwide since September 2003, including about 1,000 university students.