A recent spike in online-piracy notifications from the Recording Industry Association of America has mystified college officials. Some say they wonder whether the increase is part of a strategy to persuade Congress to make colleges crack down on students who download music illegally.
But Cary Sherman, president of the industry group, said in an interview on Tuesday that even the association has been surprised by the timing of the sharp increase in notifications, which he said was caused by an upgrade in the software used by a company the association hired to detect piracy.