No Penn State student has been named in any of the recent Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) subpoenas over illegal file sharing, but the university has received formal complaints that have led it to disable internet access to students accused of illegal sharing.

Complaints are generally given for a smaller number of violations, whereas the lawsuits are targeted against the "most severe, most repeat offenders," said Sam Haldeman, assistant to the associate vice provost for Information Technology Services.

In any given month, Penn State can receive between 24 and 55 complaints about illegal file sharing, said Kathy Kimball, director of security operations and services for Information Technology Services.

Haldeman said once Penn State receives a complaint, it must follow the same laws as any other Internet service provider, as described in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

"We get one of these complaints, and by rule, the DMCA says when you get issued a complaint, you disable the access, disable the content and then things go through some loops and hassles," he said.

He said he believes the number of complaints from the RIAA has dropped significantly since Penn State started offering the Napster service to on-campus residents. He said the majority of complaints still coming in are related to off-campus residents who dial in to the network and who do not have access to the Napster service. "This is a load off of us," Haldeman said.

Kimball said the university has not totaled the number of complaints from specific organizations, but said they come from a variety of sources.

"Complaints have been received from the RIAA, the Motion Picture Association of America, Universal Studios, the Business Software Alliance and the Interactive Digital Software Association (now the Entertainment Software Association). Complaints have involved not only music files but also games, movies, software and electronic books," she said in an e-mail message.

Haldeman said after the university cuts off access to a student accused of illegal sharing, the only way a student can regain the connection is to sign a document indicating "you understand the significance of what you're doing."

"Generally speaking, it's just been removing the material, disabling the access, and then having students come back and verify that both of those things have been done," Haldeman said.

In the case that the RIAA would serve a legal subpoena to Penn State, the university would most likely turn over the name of the student for legal action, Haldeman said.

"We have a responsibility to follow through with the DMCA," he said.

He described the lawsuits as "old school, reactionary tactics" but said the industry uses them because they are effective in deterring illegal sharing.

"They are vicious because the lawsuits work for them," he said. "For a ridiculously low amount of money, they get 500 names," he added. "They're going to sue you," he said, adding that the person being sued will end up paying for all the RIAA's legal costs.

"They're hiring the best, and you're going to be paying for them," he said.

Haldeman said university officials have established a good relationship with the record industry.

"We're getting a lot of support from the RIAA," he said.

He said the relationship with the recording industry might be related to the decrease in complaints.

"Maybe that's a reason we're not getting them anymore," he said.

RIAA spokesman Jonathan Lamy said he thought the issues of the Napster service and the file-sharing complaints were separate.

"We send thousands of those on an annual basis," he said of the complaints.

Haldeman said he is trying to encourage Napster to make more songs available to students to deter them from the temptation to download illegally.

Megan Moser (sophomore-elementary education) said she thinks the Napster service relieves the university of responsibility to try to defend students from RIAA lawsuits.

"Now that they have Napster, they can't really fight," she said. "They did try to provide us with something else."

Haldeman said the lack of selection of free songs on Napster might cause some students to revert to using other file-sharing programs.

"We do understand some students will be going back to Kazaa for the buy-only songs," Haldeman said.

He said the issue of illegal file sharing is new terrain, and the final outcome is still not known.

"We're on the tip of an iceberg," he said. "I don't know if we'll sink or float."