RIAA Sues More Internet2 File Swappers

The Recording Industry Association of America announced Thursday it has filed a second wave of copyright infringement lawsuits against students swapping files on the Internet2 network. The group added 20 new universities to its list of targets, specifically suing 91 students across 33 college campuses.

Internet2 is the name given to the next-generation network that links colleges and universities, which is intended for research of new technologies.

The RIAA also filed 649 "John Doe" suits against individuals sharing files via peer-to-peer networks including KaZaa, LimeWire and Grokster. Such John Doe suits involve cases where the RIAA does not know the identity of a file swapper, only the IP address used.

The latest round of lawsuits follows the RIAA's initial assault on Internet2 users last month. 405 college students were sued at 18 universities for using an application called "i2hub" to swap music and movies.

"As long as students continue to corrupt this specialized academic network for the flagrant theft of music, we will continue to make it clear that there are consequences for these unlawful actions," said RIAA President Cary Sherman. "Whether it's done on a computer at home or one in a college dorm room, the act of theft is one and the same."

Sherman previously characterized the RIAA's lawsuits as educational tools that, "remind music fans about the law and provide incentives to university administrators to offer legal alternatives."