SONG SUITS HIT SOUR NOTE MAGISTRATE SAYS SCHOOLS NEED NOT REVEAL STUDENT SUSPECTS' NAMES.

Byline: Evan Pondel Staff Writer

A judge's decision that two universities do not have to reveal the names of students accused of sharing copyrighted music on the Internet is evidence that litigation is losing some of its punch in curbing piracy, analysts said Wednesday.

In a filing earlier this month, a federal magistrate ruled that two North Carolina universities do not have to reveal the identities of students who may have used the universities' computer systems to swap music files. The lawsuit raised questions as to whether identifying the students infringed on privacy rights.

In a broader context, the ruling sheds light on a recording industry that continues to bring lawsuits against university students suspected of illegally sharing digital music. The Recording Industry Association of America has sued more than 10,000 individuals - about 800 of them students - since January 2004, with more than 2,200 settlements ranging from $3,500 to $4,500. But while the RIAA's investigative process has changed in the last year, the legal community is more dubious about the efficacy of such litigation.

``One of the reasons to bring these kinds of lawsuits is to educate the public. And in that regard, campaigns like this have been effective,'' said Ian Ballon, co-chairman of intellectual property and Internet practice at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in West Los Angeles. But ``there has been a trend in courts making it difficult for copyright owners to gain identities.''

Ballon said these cases are further bogged down and more costly when a university is subpoenaed with the intent of identifying a student who has illegally shared music files. ``It would be a lot easier to simply go to the source.''

All eyes will be on the U.S. Supreme Court this summer for more clarity on the issue as it relates to the Grokster file-sharing case.

Until then, the RIAA continues to chip away at piracy by unleashing fresh lawsuits. On Wednesday, the Washington D.C.-based trade group announced a new wave of copyright-infringement lawsuits against more than 700 people across the country who are accused of illegal file sharing.

The suits don't identify names and simply refer to the file sharers as ``John Does.'' The RIAA began using the anonymous moniker in January 2004 after what some say was a more direct method drew criticism from the telecommunications industry.

Now the RIAA must jump through several hoops to identify file sharers. ``It's a more cumbersome and lengthy process, but the end result is the same,'' said Jonathan Lamy, spokesman for the RIAA.

The University of Southern California has been informed by the RIAA that 25 users of its network will be named in a lawsuit for allegedly engaging in illegal downloading activity, according to a statement issued Wednesday by Carol Mauch Amir, associate general counsel at USC.

Evan Pondel, [phone]

evan.pondel(at)dailynews.com