The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), acting on behalf of the world's major record companies has filed legal action against the students at 18 colleges across the US, alleging they illegally downloaded and swapped music files using a high-speed network, known as Internet2.
The movie industry association will also join the fight to combat the download and swapping of movie files using the high-speed network.
The Recording Industry Association of America said it would sue more than 400 students, while the Motion Picture Association of America, declining to name the number of students it sued, confirmed the action.
The lightening-fast network, used primarily by participating colleges and universities for academic research, is the next generation of the Internet that, when used for legitimate purposes, offers an exciting tool for researchers, RIAA President Cary Sherman said. "Yet we cannot let this high-speed network become a zone of lawlessness where the normal rules don't apply," he said.
Through the use of a file-sharing application known as i2hub, students are "hijacking" Internet2 to illegally download copyrighted songs and other works on a large scale, Mr. Sherman continued.
By using a file-sharing application known as i2hub, a movie can be downloaded in less than five minutes and a music track in less than 20 seconds.
"We've heard from a lot of students concerned about whether they are going to be targeted and some who have been," said Allison Navone, intake co-ordinator with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "With more than 60 million Americans using file sharing, lawsuits are not the answer. It's time to get artists paid and make file sharing legal."
Vnunet - Reuters - BBC
