Music industry sues file-sharers in Europe and Canada

In a move that steps up the industry's international campaign against on-line copyright theft, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry has confirmed that 247 individuals in four countries will be charged with illegally making available hundreds of music tracks for copying, transmission and distribution via file-sharing services.

The exact charges and penalties imposed will depend on the laws in place in each individual country, as follows:

Denmark: More than 120 people are being sent civil demand letters asking them either to stop illegal file sharing and pay compensation, or face legal action. These users were found allegedly to be offering between a few hundred and tens of thousands of music files on file-sharing services.

Germany: 68 individuals have been reported to law enforcement authorities pursuant to criminal complaints for alleged peer-to-peer infringement. Evidence was submitted to the prosecutor that each individual was offering between 300 and several thousand music files on the internet.

Italy: 30 individuals have been charged with copyright infringement. The Public Prosecutor's office in Milan ordered criminal raids that started in January. A special unit of the Fiscal Police has seized 25 computers, 30 hard discs and storage systems, and 50,000 files as evidence.

Canada: 29 individuals will face copyright infringement claims following court proceedings for disclosure by their internet service providers of their identification. Users in these cases allegedly were offering between 650 and 3,600 music files on file-sharing services.

The actions follow similar suits in the US, where the Recording Industry Association of America has to date filed suit against 1,997 individuals; and last week, the British Phonographic Industry warned of court action in the UK against "serial uploaders".

Jay Berman, Chairman and CEO of the IFPI said:

"Today we are making it clear that we are totally prepared to enforce the law, and we will start actions against those people who are breaking it by uploading hundreds of music files on to the internet. We will not stand by while thousands of people involved in the creation of music see their careers and livelihoods destroyed. The message is that people are at a real risk of being sued or prosecuted if they continue to rip off those who make music. "

The IFPI says illegal file-sharing has been a major cause of the decline in global music sales in the last five years, citing independent surveys in major music markets. But this is contradicted by a study published on Monday by Harvard Business School and the University of North Carolina.

The report suggests that file-sharing does not in fact affect record sales. It states: "While downloads occur on a vast scale, most users are likely individuals who would not have bought the album even in the absence of file sharing." It also argues that the effect of this on album sales is "statistically indistinguishable from zero" and that more popular CDs actually benefit from file sharing.