Oregon's Top Cop Opposing RIAA Inquiry at 'Animal House' Birthplace:

Oregon's top law enforcement official is weighing in on behalf of University of Oregon students targeted by the Recording Industry Association of America for unauthorized music file sharing.

It is the first time a state attorney general has weighed in on an RIAA subpoena seeking the identity of somebody behind an IP address. The RIAA has subpoenaed the university, home to the movie 'Animal House,' to acquire the names of 17 students who allegedly traded copyrighted music online through the Eugene school's servers.

The RIAA has targeted thousands of individuals and students at dozens of universities.

The Oregon AG says (.pdf) it's not possible to identify the alleged culprits. 'We have attempted to identify all seventeen alleged infringers and have been unable to do so,' said the court papers, filed in Oregon U.S. District Court on Wednesday by Attorney General Hardy Myers' office.

The AG's office wrote that some of the IP addresses relate to 'double occupancy dorm rooms' where it is impossible to pinpoint a purloiner.

Other IP addresses were connected via wireless access, with assigned user names, according to the legal filing. However, the university said it was 'unable to determine whether the content was accessed by the individual assigned that user name or by someone else using the computer associated with the user name.'

Photo ralphhogaboom

See Also:

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• Duluth Jurors Schooled in Techno Speak
• Big, Small Media Create Colluding Copyright Cartel

(Read Original Article - Via Threat Level.)