Continuing its campaign against people who share music files via the Internet, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed 261 new lawsuits, yesterday. The defendants in these federal lawsuits, according to RIAA press releases, are accused of offering more than 1,000 files through peer-to-peer networks such as KaZaA and Morpheus. This legal action comes after the trade group issued over 1,600 subpoenas over the summer on similar charges.At the same time, the RIAA announced an amnesty program for people who admit to sharing music files. RIAA officials stated this program allows suspected file sharers to gain immunity from future legal actions. However, the people who received subpoenas earlier this year are not eligible for amnesty, according to an RIAA press release. "Instead of treating customers like criminals, the industry should look at what they want and find a way to offer it to them," Wendy Seltzer, a staff lawyer with the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), told The New York Times. EFF is a group committed to protecting online activities such as file sharing from prosecution.

Many of the people served with subpoenas and lawsuits this year have been students at colleges and universities across the country. Lawsuits this past spring resulted in four students paying settlements upwards of $15,000. So far, no one at Brandeis has been served.