RIAA targets Ohio University students

Athens (OH) - The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has taken aim at Ohio University, calling out 50 students who it says participated in illegal music sharing.

The RIAA went to school officials with a list of university e-mail addresses it tracked down, and asked them to pass along notices to the students associated with the addresses.

The association wants each student to pay $3000, which has historically been the standard settlement amount. Depending on the severity of the piracy, going to court could be much more costly. Under the law, the minimum amount of damages that could be awarded for each count of copyright infringement is $750.

One Ohio University student was reported to have 787 music files on her file sharing account, which would put her minimum liability at nearly $600,000.

Since 2003, the RIAA has sued nearly 18,000 individuals, which includes students at more than 130 universities. According to the group’s spokesperson Jenni Engebretsen, every case has been settled outside of court.