LOS
ANGELES (RIAA) - More than seven hundred illegal file sharers were sued
today by the music industry for copyright infringement as part of its
ongoing effort to protect the work of record labels, musicians,
writers, producers and others from theft through illegal downloading on
the Internet. The number of university network users targeted in these
suits is nearly three times the number sued in recent rounds, signaling
a continuing effort to step up anti-piracy enforcement on college
campuses.
The "
John Doe" suits, brought by the Recording
Industry Association of
America (RIAA) on behalf of the major record
companies, cite the individuals for illegally distributing copyrighted
music on the
Internet via unauthorized peer-to-peer services such as
KaZaa, eDonkey and Limewire.
"Legitimate music services grow in
popularity with more and more music being purchased everyday. But, the
great music created by hard working writers, artists and technicians
continues to be stolen at an alarming rate through illegitimate
peer-to-peer services on the Internet," said Steven Marks, General
Counsel, RIAA. "If the legitimate music services are to continue to
grow and prosper, we must continue to let individuals know that they
bear responsibility for illegally stealing the work of those who make
the music. And, we need to educate them about the widespread
availability of legal music sites on the web."
In recent months
many universities across the country have reached -- and others are now
negotiating -- agreements to offer legitimate music services to
students on their campuses and networks. However, college and
university network students continue to be among the most frequent
users of illegal peer-to-peer sites for obtaining music.
Among
those sued today are 68 users of computer networks at 23 universities
and colleges including Bentley College, Bridgewater
State College,
University of Massachusetts (Lowell), Georgetown University, Harvard
University Medical School,
Old Dominion University, Virginia
Commonwealth University, Illinois
State University, The Ohio State
University, Ohio University, University of Kentucky, College of Mount
Saint Vincent, Pace University, SUNY at Morrisville,
Texas A&M
University, University of South Florida, University of Southern
Mississippi,
Indiana Institute of Technology,
Indiana University,
Wabash College, Michigan
State University, Wayne
State University,
University of Michigan (Ann Arbor).
"Today's university and
college students are tomorrow's leaders," noted Marks. "In a world that
is becoming more and more connected through the wonders of digital
technology, students need to understand that just because someone
else's property or creations can be obtained easily and freely without
anyone seemingly knowing, there are consequences because it is
stealing."
Marks added that there are now plenty of legal
alternatives to illegal downloading available to anyone with access to
the Internet. According to the new IFPI 2005
Digital Music report, the
number of legitimate music sites worldwide quadrupled to more than 230
in 2004 with an available music catalogue that doubled to more than one
million songs. In addition, purchased downloads of songs were up more
than tenfold to more than 200 million.
