The Recording Industry Association of America said it has filed lawsuits against college students who operate private computer networks, alleging the networks are being used to illegally trade copies of digital music files.

The RIAA said its member companies, which include Vivendi Universal, Sony Corp, AOL Time Warner, EMI Group Plc and Bertelsmann AG, filed suit against two students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and against one student each at Princeton University and Michigan Technological University.

In a statement, the RIAA described the file-sharing systems, as miniature versions of Napster, offering about 2.5 million files. The networks are only open to students.

The suits are seeking $150,000 in damages per each copyright infringed.

(via Wired News)