Music File-Swappers

U.K. High Court Tells ISPs to Name Alleged Music File-Swappers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 20, 2005 - 8:18am.

London -- The British Phonographic Industry (BPI), a U.K. record label trade group, announced on Wednesday that the U.K. High Court has sided with its arguments and ordered five Internet service providers to turn over the names of 33 alleged music file-swappers. The individuals are alleged to have collectively uploaded more than 72,000 music files to peer-to-peer networks. The BPI, which released data today claiming that downloaders have cost the industry $855 million in lost sales over the past two years, said it has now sued a total of 90 U.K. residents for copyright infringement. "This court order should remind every user of a peer-to-peer filesharing service in Britain that they are not anonymous," said BPI general counsel Geoff Taylor. "We are continuing to collect evidence every day against people who are still uploading music illegally, despite all the warnings we have given."

tags: ISP | U.K. High Court | Music File-Swappers |

BPI and IFPI Launch International Lawsuits Against Music File-Swappers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 13, 2005 - 10:07am.

London -- The British Phonographic Industry (BPI), a U.K.-based music industry trade organization, announced that it plans to go to court to seek the disclosure of 33 people suspected of uploading hundreds of music tracks to peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. The BPI has now taken legal action against 90 people suspected of pirating music. Although 31 cases are still pending, 23 people have so far been found guilty of illegal file-sharing and ordered to pay about $3,700 each. "We have warned people time and again that unauthorized file-sharing is against the law," said BPI General Counsel Geoff Taylor. "We will maintain our campaign until the message gets across." Meanwhile, the IFPI -- the BPI's international homologue -- also announced that it has filed 963 suits against alleged music pirates in 11 countries, including Finland, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Japan -- which became the first Asian nation to take action against suspected music file-swappers.

RIAA Sues Another 753 Alleged Music File-Swappers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 2, 2005 - 7:50am.

Washington -- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced that it has sued 753 more "John Doe" defendants for copyright infringement on Internet file-sharing networks, bringing the total number of individuals sued by the RIAA to over 9,000. The new batch includes lawsuits filed against students at 11 universities, including USC, Texas A&M and Louisiana State University. "Even while we work to hold accountable the businesses that encourage and profit from illegal file sharing, it's critical to simultaneously send a strong message that the individual users of these pirate networks can be caught and face the consequences," said RIAA president Cary Sherman. "The lawsuits are a critical deterrent. They have helped arrest the extraordinary growth of illicit p2p use."

tags: Music | RIAA | Music File-Swappers |

RIAA Sues Another 754 Music File-Swappers for Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 17, 2004 - 10:45am.

Washington -- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced on Friday that it has sued another 754 alleged Internet song-swappers for copyright infringement, bringing the total number of individuals sued by the group to over 7,000. The "John Doe" suits, which will seek to obtain the identities of the peer-to-peer users from their Internet service providers, were served against individuals in seven states and the District of Columbia, including students at Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania and four other schools. "With legal online retailers still forced to compete against illegal free networks, the playing field remains decidedly unbalanced," said RIAA president Cary Sherman. "That's why continued enforcement against individuals stealing and distributing music illegally is essential, as is holding accountable the businesses that intentionally promote and profit from this theft." The RIAA is currently embroiled in an Australian copyright case against Sharman Networks, operator of the Kazaa file-sharing exchange, and recently received word that the U.S. Supreme Court will hear its appeal of a federal court ruling that found file-sharing networks are not liable for any copyright infringement committed by users of their software.

tags: Music | RIAA | Copyright Infringement | Music File-Swappers |