OMAHA, Neb. — A recording industry group that has been offering settlements to college students suspected of sharing music online says more than a quarter of the alleged music pirates have accepted the offer.

The Recording Industry Association of America sent letters offering discounted settlements to 400 computer users at 13 universities in late February. Another batch was sent out this week.

Association spokesman Jonathan Lamy said yesterday that, so far, 116 settlements have been reached after the first round of letters went out.

As part of its ongoing copyright crackdown, the association has sued about 18,000 computer users nationwide since September 2003. That includes about 1,000 university students.

The lawsuits were initially filed against "John Doe" defendants, based on their Internet addresses. Many are accused of downloading music over university Internet services. After filing a lawsuit, recording industry lawyers work through the courts to learn the name of the defendant.

In the association's latest effort to curb music piracy, colleges are given letters to forward to suspected students, Lamy said. Students are urged to contact the association to broker a settlement before the lawsuit goes forward. "Part of the rationale for this new program is to offer students a chance to settle early and with no public mark on their record," he said.

A letter to one Ohio University student accused her of distributing 787 audio files, putting her total minimum potential liability at more than $590,000. Minimum damages under the law are $750 for each copyright recording that had been shared, the letter said.

Patrick McGee, an attorney that Ohio University arranged to meet with its students, has said $3,000 is the standard settlement offer, though cases have settled for as much as $5,000.

The second wave of letters, which the association sent out Wednesday, targeted 405 students at 23 colleges. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln was the only school whose students — 61 in all — were targeted in both rounds of letters.

UNL spokeswoman Kelly Bartling said the university was having problems identifying some of the targeted students because it only stores computer usage records for 31 days.

Thirteen of the 36 students who were sent letters in February have been identified, she said, as were 19 of the 25 who were sent letters this week.

Bartling said yesterday that the students were being referred to the university's student legal services for advice.