James Delahunty
17 Apr 2007 18:56
North Carolina State University (NCSU) is reportedly advising students that have been targeted by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to push back. The University's Student Legal Services department has been advising students to fight back all the way to federal court. NCSU is one of many Universities in the U.S. that received pre-litigation notices from the RIAA in February.
The RIAA targeted the unidentified students and offered an early settlement option to avoid going to court. Some universities were quick to comply with the RIAA and forward the notices on to students while others insisted they are not capable of identifying the students based on the information they received.
NCSU did forward the notices on to students but only one of the targeted students came forward to settle, while 23 others face a "John Doe" lawsuit instead. The director of student legal services at NCSU, Pam Gerace said that the RIAA said it might have use for the names in the future and so advised students not to give away their identities yet.
Once the RIAA gets the names of the students from NCSU however, they will no longer be able to hide behind the University.
Source:
Ars Technica