London - More than 8 000 new legal cases have been launched against illegal music downloaders across 17 countries in recent weeks, the (IFPI) has revealed.
The new round of legal action continues to target file-sharers - people who place copyrighted songs onto Internet file-sharing websites and offer them to millions of web surfers without permission.
In Poland, the IFPI is specifically targeting people who upload music onto Internet file-sharing networks.
The industry-sponsored IFPI has been at the forefront of battle against pirated digital music and aims to usher increasing numbers of consumers into legal, paying channels.
The cases, which include criminal and civil lawsuits, target 17 countries, including for the first-ever time Brazil, Mexico and Poland, the IFPI said in a statement.
Cases were also lodged in Argentina, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore and Switzerland.
A total of 130 000 legal actions have now been taken outside of the United States by the IFPI.
The group added that it was targeting uploaders using the most well-known file-sharing Internet websites, which include , , , , , and .
"Consumers today can get music legally in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago, with over three million tracks available on nearly 400 sites worldwide as well as an array of mobile platforms," said IFPI chairman John Kennedy.
"Yet some people continue to consume their music illegally, refusing to respect the creative work of artists, songwriters and record producers.
"As a result we reluctantly continue with our legal actions and today sees the latest escalation of that campaign to show that file-sharing copyrighted music does carry real legal risks - apart from the risks to privacy and the risks from spyware and viruses."
More than 2 300 people have already been fined for illegally file-sharing with the average settlement totalling $3 036 (about R22 900) according to IFPI data.
People from all walks of life have faces prosecution over the issue, ranging from a laboratory assistant in Finland to a German parson, according to the group.
"There is no excuse," added Kennedy. "People should understand that they can be caught whatever network they are using.
"The next time a series of law suits are announced you could be on the receiving end if you are an illegal file sharer." - AFP
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