Crackdown on internet music theft
8 Oct 04
The UK music industry takes action against illegal filesharing via the internet
The British Phonographic Industry is to seek damages and interdicts or injunctions against people who are uploading recordings on to filesharing networks.
This is the first time such action has been taken in the UK although similar action has already been taken in the US.
It aims to stem the falling sales of singles, which have dropped by more than half since downloading began in the late 90s.
BPI chairman Peter Jamieson said: "We have been warning for months that unauthorized file-sharing is illegal. These are not people casually downloading the odd track. They are uploading music on a massive scale, effectively stealing the livelihoods of thousands of artists and the people who invest in them."
One individual is said to have uploaded over 7,000 files. A total of 350,000 messages have also been sent to users' desktops warning of the consequences if they continue.