Washington - The music industry has ratcheted up its pressure on universities and their students to stop downloading music illegally on campus networks, having already sent thousands more complaints this year than last, the Associated Press reported.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) identified for AP the 25 schools that have received the most copyright complaints so far this year; some 15,000 students among them having been targeted.

The University of Ohio, Purdue, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Tennessee and University of South Carolina made up the top five.

Purdue students received 37 complaints in 2006; so far this year they have been sent 1,068.

"It's something we feel we have to do," RIAA president Cary Sherman told AP. "We have to let people know that if they engage in this activity, they are not anonymous."

The complaints are sometimes a preliminary step towards filing more formal copyright infringement lawsuits, which the RIAA has done against the most egregious campus offenders.

Schools respond differently to complaints, but often provide one or more warnings to students before taking steps like cutting off their Internet access.

Related Links:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070221/ap_on_hi_te/downloading_music_3 (AP)