They're at it again.
The Recording Industry Association of America announced Wednesday that it has sent a second batch of pre-litigation settlement letters to students at 23 colleges.
Although the University of Michigan didn't receive any of the 405 letters sent this month, it has received notices that students will receive pre-litigation letters in the future, said Jack Bernard, the University's assistant general counsel.
The letters - part of the RIAA's recent crackdown on illegal peer-to-peer file-sharing - give students accused of copyright infringement an opportunity to settle with record companies before a lawsuit is filed against them.
On March 3, the University began receiving notices, which Bernard said list the IP addresses of computers that the RIAA says have been involved in illegally sharing music. Several others followed in the next few days. The RIAA has now pointed out more than a dozen IP addresses at the University that allegedly shared music illegally.
Bernard said he doesn't know why the RIAA hasn't yet sent the University any pre-litigation settlement letters. The organization refused to give Bernard any information about the letters, he said.
RIAA spokeswoman Jenni Engebretsen said yesterday that she couldn't comment on any notices the University has received, but she said the RIAA contacts universities before sending pre-litigation letters. The RIAA asks the University to preserve its records that show who owned the IP addresses, she said.
After Spring Break, the University told students who owned the computers implicated in the notices that the RIAA intended to issue the University pre-litigation letters to their IP addresses.
After the RIAA sends letters to the University and the University forwards them to students, offenders have 20 days to respond.
If a student fails to reply, the RIAA issues a subpoena to the University asking for the student's name. The record company alleging copyright infringement then files a lawsuit.
