Major record labels sue Pitt student, others

The Recording Industry Association of America launched a new round of lawsuits against file… The Recording Industry Association of America launched a new round of lawsuits against file sharers at the end of last month. The lawsuits included at least one Pitt student using Internet2, a faster-than-average network available only to students.

“The spotlight on illegal downloading on college campuses is shining brighter each day,” RIAA President Cary Sherman said in a release. “We are grateful for each and every initiative that brings attention to this problem and moves the ball forward. We, too, will continue to do our part.”

The RIAA’s September lawsuits targeted 757 individuals, including users at 17 different colleges. This is the third time the RIAA has included Internet2 users in its lawsuits.

In April, the RIAA filed 405 lawsuits. The cases, as in this new wave of lawsuits, were filed against nameless defendants because the RIAA had only Internet protocol addresses to identify the users with. Such a case is called a “John Doe” case.

In John Doe cases, the plaintiffs (the RIAA) are able to file a complaint without names, with the assurance that, after a judge grants the request, the actual identities of the defendants can be obtained and subpoenaed through the IP addresses.

Sixteen of the accounts in the 405 April lawsuits were linked to Pitt students.

In the release, Sherman seemed invigorated by a June Supreme Court decision, which found that companies distributing software – programs for file sharing – with the intent to promote copyright infringement can be held responsible if such acts occur.

“The authority of the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling should not be ignored by students returning to campus this fall with sights set on free music,” Sherman said. “Both the businesses that encourage theft and the individuals who download songs without permission can be held accountable for their illegal actions.”