Two Brandeis students are facing lawsuits for copyright infringement in federal district court filed by the Recording Industry of Association of America, according to an RIAA press release. The claim was filed June 14, the release stated.

It's become the RIAA's practice to send "prelitigation letters" to university network users each month in hopes of deterring the illegal downloading of copyrighted material on file-sharing networks. These letters warn of the legal repercussions of downloading and inform students of a 20-day period during which they can pay the RIAA a "discounted rate" to settle the case, an RIAA spokesperson told the Justice.

Of the 15 Brandeis students who received letters from the RIAA last month, all but two settled within the prelitigation phase. Thirteen universities received letters last month for 400 users that the RIAA charged with illegal activity.

One Brandeis student who received a prelitigation letter said that after consulting a lawyer she agreed to pay the requested sum of $3,000 to the RIAA. She said RIAA officials refused to negotiate any lower.

"I worked so hard throughout my Brandeis career and only to find out that this happened greatly stressed me out. However, since it has been taken care of, I am just relieved that it is over and I wish to put it behind me," she wrote in an e-mail to the Justice last month.

RIAA President Cary Sherman said individuals can be sued for between $750 and $150,000 per song infringed.
Out-of-court settlements in early May 2005 ranged from $12,000 to $17,000, though many previous cases were settled for about $3,000.

Among the 91 college students the RIAA sued that May, eight were from Brandeis.

If students settle outside of court, the charge doesn't appear on their record, the RIAA representative said.

Following the 20 days to settle outside of court, the RIAA can subpoena the University for the name of the network user and contact the student directly to settle at a higher rate. If a settlement isn't reached, the RIAA's policy is to proceed with the case, now filed under the student's name.

The RIAA has maintained that university officials are responsible for monitoring network activities and can block access on peer-to-peer networks. Universities should also promote free and legal downloading services to students and not hesitate to take disciplinary action against illegal users, RIAA officials assert.

Perry Hanson, vice president for Library and Technology Services, said last month that though LTS administrators could keep track of how individuals on the University network use P2P networks, they choose not to do so.

"We're agnostic in terms of what goes on, in terms of traffic," Hanson said. "The one thing we care about is anyone who abuses the network . It's one of our computer use issues, but someone who uses a lot of bandwidth, we ask them not to do that. We've been doing that for years."

Brandeis network use policy prohibits sharing copyrighted files, but enforcement of that policy is not common. LTS often takes action against users who use an abnormally high amount of bandwidth, which is almost always being used for file-sharing programs, Hanson told the Justice in September 2005.

Rick Sawyer, dean of student life, said LTS could file a judicial action against a network user.

"Using Brandeis facilities and equipment to commit a crime is a violation of University policy," he explained in an e-mail. "There are legal means to download music and films. Those should be exercised."

The RIAA identified the anonymous students by their Internet protocol addresses on the Brandeis network. RIAA investigators go on P2P networks such as Limewire, search for copyrighted material, identify the IP addresses of users distributing the material, and trace them to university networks.

A survey by Student Monitor, a market research group on college students, reported in spring 2006 that over half of college students illegally download music and movies.

"With record companies embracing digital distribution models of every kind, there is more legal music available now than ever before," said Steven Marks, the executive vice president and general counsel for the RIAA, in a statement this month. "Yet for one reason or another, theft on college campuses continues at disproportionately high levels.