Music industry launches fresh file-sharing assault

Music industry body the IFPI has announced a new wave of lawsuits against music pirates, with more than 8,000 people in 17 countries accused of uploading music to illegal file-sharing websites such as LimeWire.

The suits will target uploaders who the IFPI claims have been making hundreds or thousands of songs available for download illegally via "unauthorised networks", and will see file-sharers from Eastern Europe and South America sued for the first time.

The 8,000 suits bring the total number of legal actions taken outside the US to more than 13,000. Over 2,300 people have already paid up for their actions, spending an average of €2,420 for their uploading crimes.

A spokesman for the IFPI said: "This is just the latest wave and I suspect it won't be the last, unless there's a revolutionary change in people's behaviour."

Despite a number of legal victories by the music industry against file-sharing networks including Grokster and Kazaa, music's black market has changed little. According to the IFPI's spokesman, illegal song-swapping is "being contained", while legal activity continues to grow.

No file-sharers from the UK will be prosecuted in this spate of legal action. To date, UK music industry association the BPI has taken legal action against more than 100 song-swappers.

In other news, Universal has announced it is to sue two video sites, Bolt.com and Grouper, which it says have breached copyright by uploading videos from their artists. Universal is suing the pair for $150,000 each.