Jenjie
05-04-2006, 10:07 AM
The music industry has launched a fresh legal assault on people accused of illegal file-sharing.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is taking legal action against nearly 2,000 song-swappers in 10 countries.
The British music industry says illegal file-sharing has cost it £1.1bn over the last three years.
Research firm XTN data said that illegal downloads in the UK have increased by 3% to 28% of music downloads since last September.
Last year the UK record industry's trade association, BPI, won landmark court cases that resulted in two file-sharers paying thousands of pounds in damages for their online activities.
Cheaper prices, the removal of digital rights management (DRM) on tracks, and services that are easier to use would encourage them to move to commercial services, it said.
"Clunky software, difficulty in finding tracks and over zealous protection limiting where customers can play music they've bought are continuing to fuel file-sharing," said Greig Harper, founder of XTN Data.
The new courts cases are aimed at uploaders, the people who make music available on file sharing networks. The IFPI said they are targeting what it calls persistent file-sharers, who typically upload thousands of music files.
If the IFPI wins the cases, the defendants could end up paying compensation of several thousand euros.
In Germany, where 542 people have made financial settlements with the music industry, the average payout is 2,670 euros (£1,900).
But the IFPI is keen to point out that it is not always the uploader who ends up footing the bill. It has warned parents that they are responsible for their children's online activities.
Read the full story at BBC Technology (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4875142.stm)
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is taking legal action against nearly 2,000 song-swappers in 10 countries.
The British music industry says illegal file-sharing has cost it £1.1bn over the last three years.
Research firm XTN data said that illegal downloads in the UK have increased by 3% to 28% of music downloads since last September.
Last year the UK record industry's trade association, BPI, won landmark court cases that resulted in two file-sharers paying thousands of pounds in damages for their online activities.
Cheaper prices, the removal of digital rights management (DRM) on tracks, and services that are easier to use would encourage them to move to commercial services, it said.
"Clunky software, difficulty in finding tracks and over zealous protection limiting where customers can play music they've bought are continuing to fuel file-sharing," said Greig Harper, founder of XTN Data.
The new courts cases are aimed at uploaders, the people who make music available on file sharing networks. The IFPI said they are targeting what it calls persistent file-sharers, who typically upload thousands of music files.
If the IFPI wins the cases, the defendants could end up paying compensation of several thousand euros.
In Germany, where 542 people have made financial settlements with the music industry, the average payout is 2,670 euros (£1,900).
But the IFPI is keen to point out that it is not always the uploader who ends up footing the bill. It has warned parents that they are responsible for their children's online activities.
Read the full story at BBC Technology (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4875142.stm)