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Thirty-three more UK file-sharers' heads on the block
Along with over 900 more across Europe

By Jo Best

Published: Tuesday 12 April 2005

UK music industry trade body the BPI (British Phonographic Industry) has announced the latest move in its campaign against illegal file-sharers - proclaiming that it will be going to court to seek the disclosure of 33 more people suspected of uploading hundreds of music tracks to P2P networks.

The BPI has now taken legal action against 90 confirmed and suspected music pirates. The first wave of cases were settled earlier this year, with 23 file-sharers paying an average of £2,000 each.

Another 31 cases are still ongoing in the UK.

A BPI spokesman said the action was necessary because "it's obvious people are still file-sharing... the progress that's been made in terms of encouraging legal services has been great, but the message is not there to everyone".

He added the BPI "was not going to commit to further action".

The cases form part of a wider move by the global music industry to seek legal redress from suspected music pirates.

International music trade body the IFPI also revealed today that 963 suits had been filed against music pirates in 11 countries worldwide.

Finland, Iceland, Ireland and the Netherlands are suing music pirates for the first time, while Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and the UK are continuing the policy of prosecuting illegal P2P users started last year. So far, 248 file-swappers have been collared across Europe, paying a fine of €3,000 on average.

The pirates have included a French chef, a German judge and a British local councillor, and have uploaded from hundreds to tens of thousands of files.

Japan has also filed several suits and is now the first Asian country to do so.

The cases pale in comparison to the legal action ongoing in the US - where 9,900 cases have been brought so far.