[Air-l] RIAA and freedom to copy

Is anyone aware of the effort by RIAA to force college students to pay huge cash settlements of supposed copyright infringement? They are going to the student's IP source, and getting IP addresses of students who have used P2P tools. They send threatening letters - telling them they are illegally copying music using P2P technology then proposing to settle the infringement for large sums. There is no actual law suit, just the threat of a suit and a proposed settlement. Does anyone know the legal precedent for such threats? Is file sharing really copyright infringement? Dr. Alexander Randall Professor of Communication University of the Virgin Islands