"[Last Thursday,] the College received seven new notices of copyright infringement, bringing the total number of complaints to twelve. The notices contain documentation of the number of files being shared illegally, 141 to 1,584, examples of the specific files being shared, and the times when the alleged illegal filesharing took place," Bridegam wrote. As of Monday, the number of complaints had risen to 13.
By Monday, all but two of the students had responded to notification from Bridegam. He said that the students' primary concern was the question of their monetary liability. "In cases where the RIAA has taken legal action, settlements have ranged from $3,000 to $17,000 per case," Bridegam said in his email.
According to Bridegam, the number may continue to rise quickly as more groups join in the inquiry. "They broadened the scope of the investigation. They are now looking at films and even videogames," he said. "I think they're going to continue until they've made a huge point with all people who violate copyright law."
In response to the emails, the College has disconnected the offending IP addresses and asked their users to meet with Bridegam. Students can then request to be reconnected with or without agreeing to remove the files and filesharing programs from their computers. If they choose not to, they may face a direct lawsuit.
Bridegam also noted in his email that removal of the files and programs does not ensure immunity to legal action. "[T]he RIAA makes it clear that its initial complaint does not constitute a waiver of its right to recover damages at a later time," he said.
The RIAA's emails include vague threats of liability for individuals and the College. "You should understand that this letter constitutes notice that this network user may be liable for the infringing activity occurring on your network. In addition, under the [DMCA], if you ignore this notice, your institution may also be liable for any resulting infringement," the email stated.
"I think we've satisfied our responsibility," said Bridegam in response.
The College has not decided what course of action it will take if it should receive anything other than a complaint. "We are not aware of the issuance of any subpoenas to Amherst College students at this time," wrote Bridegam. He guessed that one possible reason the College has not received more than notifications is its fast and direct response to fulfill its responsibility.
Bridegam did not to promise to fight potential subpoenas should they be filed. At least one student responded angrily in an email to Bridegam. The student wanted the College to fight legal action in order to protect students.
Bridegam said that the College would deal with the subpoena issue if it comes up. "We haven't been asked for the names, so there's nothing to fight.
His advice to members of the College community is simple. "If you have illegal entertainment files on your computer, please erase them now. If you have a peer-to-peer application such as KaZaA on your computer, please make sure that it is not serving copyrighted music or film files illegally."
Students are taking the warning seriously. "I didn't change my settings at first, but the last email made me nervous, so I turned off my filesharing," said Amanda Richardson '06. "I still have not stopped downloading music, though."
Bridegam confirmed that for now, music from non-major labels and people who do not offer music to other users to download are safe.