Trade Group Accuses 754 People of Piracy

The Recording Industry Assn. of America, a trade group that represents the U.S. recording industry, filed lawsuits against 754 individuals, accusing them of distributing copyrighted music on the Internet.

The organization said it had filed the cases in federal courts across the U.S., and that 40 of the targeted individuals used networks at academic institutions, including Columbia University, Michigan State University and UC Berkeley, to illegally share music files.

Online and physical piracy are the primary reasons for a 5.8% drop in music sales in the first half of the year, the industry trade group said. It has now sued 16,350 individuals since December 2003.