ST. LOUIS, Miss., April 29 (UPI) -- The recording industry  
sued 477 Internet users this week, including dozens of people at
colleges in 11 states.
        The record companies say they do not know the identities of  
the suspected copyright violators; they have instead identified the
"John Doe" defendants through their Internet Protocol number, a code
that pinpoints a computer on the Internet.
        The companies want Internet service providers to identify  
the computer users behind the Internet protocol numbers, the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch reported Thursday.
        The suit continues the music industry's shift away from its  
earlier strategy, in which the Recording Industry Association of
America filed motions in court seeking to force Internet service
providers to identify suspected music copiers before a suit was
filed against specific defendants.
        Charter Communications Inc. of Town and Country and other  
providers of Internet service have attacked those motions, and one
federal appeals court has found the subpoena process is illegal.