AfterDawn: News

IFPI unleashes P2P lawsuits across the world

Often better-known as the "mother of all RIAAs", the International Federation of Phonogram and Videogram Producers, has extended its on-going holy war against the P2P networks to several new countries. Yesterday, IFPI filed total of 963 lawsuits around the world. Countries where lawsuits were filed included Finland, Japan, Ireland, Netherlands and Iceland.

According to the IFPI, the example that RIAA has set in the U.S. by sueing thousands of individuals, seems to work and it is determined to extend that method to the European and Asian countries now and in the future.



According to several IFPI's local operations, including Finnish ÄKT, the lawsuits were targeted to P2P users who were considered as "heavy file uploaders", people who share thousands, maybe tens of thousands of files via P2P networks. It should be remembered that downloading from P2P networks is perfectly legal in most of the European countries. The lawsuits weren't targeted to any particular P2P network, but instead included users of eMule, eDonkey, Kazaa, BitTorrent, DirectConnect, DC++, etc.

The quick breakdown for each targeted country:

• Austria - 50 criminal and civil cases
• Denmark - appx. 200 cases
• Finland - 28 cases
• France - 60 cases
• Germany - 401 cases
• Iceland - 23 cases (all using Direct Connect or DC++)
• Ireland - 17 civil cases
• Italy - 26 cases
• Japan - 44 cases
• Netherlands - 50 cases
• United Kingdom - 31 cases

More information: IFPI

Written by: Petteri Pyyny @ 12 Apr 2005 4:01

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• 16 comments

• strcruzer

  My question here is how many of these files are actually real MP3's of copyrighted work? and how many are files of independant musicians work?
  
  I keep reading (on various Blogs) of how the music industry is trying to stop the independant artists from getting their work out using P2P by making P2P illegal. As well as tageting the smaller retailers who are selling the independant artists CD's.
  
  Just some thoughts....

  12.4.2005 07:52 #1

• GrayArea

  "According to the IFPI, the example that RIAA has set in the U.S. by sueing thousands of individuals, seems to work..."
  
  What?
  P2P use is UP since the RIAA lawsuits started. iTunes and other "legal" internet music sales are a bad joke compared with the number of files shared over P2P. How do they consider that "working"??? The only thing that the RIAA suits have accomlished is pissing off music customers. I guess a lot of money turns just about anybody into a greedy A-hole.

  12.4.2005 07:55 #2

• SGSeries2

  I'm beginning to not care anymore.

  12.4.2005 08:54 #3

• Ludikhris

  After studying this whole topic in my economics class it's obvious that P2P "music" sharing is down. P2P may be up because people are now downloading video streams of various sorts but music is now down a bit. If you don't believe me then you're ignorant to true study and analysis, music sharing is down.

  12.4.2005 10:37 #4

• malcdogg

  Now you see? You could have just stated a fact but you had to throw ignorant in there. Why do people do that? Anyway, to my point, it's a good age for lawyers to get rich. Sure do wish i was a lawyer for the RIAA or the IFPI.

  12.4.2005 10:44 #5

• Berge

  Ludikhris,
  
  What resources did you study to show that P2P "music" downloads have dropped? What numbers are you looking at? Who has tracked these numbers? Are you making this assumption because of such launches as itunes? Is this assumption because music sales are up this year? This does not lead to any concrete evidence that illegal music downloading is "down."
  
  Who even tracks illegal music downloads? If you had such information, I'm sure the RIAA would love to have your instructors resources!
  
  I'm not saying that your information is incorrect, but it's a little dangerous to make such a blanket statement just because you've studied one facet of the music download industry. If you have some information, facts or figures, I'd be happy to discuss these with you and perhaps shed some light on your premature conclusions.

  12.4.2005 11:08 #6

• SD2

  now come on everyone they need that 8th vacation home. greedy F8&^ers

  12.4.2005 11:25 #7

• Letukka

  http://www.p2punite.net
  
  Only if we are united we can make a difference.

  12.4.2005 12:46 #8

• GrayArea

  Ludikhris-
  
  http://p2pnet.net/story/4497

  12.4.2005 14:28 #9

• m_towell

  Hmmm - Hello George Orwell's Big Brother!! With all these lawsuits going on, will they start sueing people for _thinking_ of pirating something?

  12.4.2005 15:39 #10

• mystic

  the saddest part of this would be if the idea of sharing is distroyed . we have learned in the past that if we dont share we will die as a race of anamals on this planet and here we go again.. I heard that right now they are going after the uploaders and this included a judge as well as truckers and childern... well the problum is with the website hoste who is ultamily responcible for what gets posted on site under their control ... if I buy a website then Im resoponcible for all its content that is placed on it.... so who's going to stop this media frenzy on sueing everyone .. hey the lawyers are loving this they seem to be the only ones making any money.... why isnt any one sueing the record lables for making a product with a defetive securty item and force them to come up with a better uncopyable recording... if I slip a disk into my machine and it can copy the music to my hard drive an then I can burn the songs to a blank disk with Real player why is that my fault when real player is a free down load ? why not go after the company who made the software .......

  13.4.2005 04:44 #11

• SGSeries2

  I'm sorry, there's just so many levels... It should be more like the record labels should be sued for stagnating our legal right to digitally backup our own media, but then people who come up with those encryption technologies would be out of a job... I'll just say no one should be sueing anyone. Why can't we all just get along?

  13.4.2005 08:40 #12

• newlaw

  There is only one way for music, dvds companys to listen to the public and that is hit them in there pocket everyone has an option to buy their products or not I no longer buy music cds dvds video or pc games money better in my pocket! why are we not protected more against breaking copy right Thats because its worth more to them in revenue from sueing
  remmember people do have power against this .gov only make us believe we cannot stand up to them but the fact is we can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  13.4.2005 08:45 #13

• blitzman

  Having spent thousands over the past 30 years on Vinyl,Tape,and Vhs only to have more and more formatts released,Mini Disc,DAT etc i get the impression that the
  International Federation of Phonogram and Videogram Producers want to have their cake and anything else they can get their greedy hands on.
  I've paid for the music i'm downloading over and over again!
  Not to mention that the files are often 128k bit rate,hardly Hifi!!
  Take me to court and i'll show up with 3000+lp's!!
  BRING IT ON YOU PARASITES!!!
  Oh yeah and boycott the @uckers!!

  13.4.2005 17:53 #14

• Ludikhris

  I, like many of you thought that sharing was up... and in total it does look as though it is. I am also pleased with the inevitablilities that this revolution brings. Though music sharing is down it is only a minor set back to a larger picture. Unless completely made illegal by our judicial system P2P is going to take over. The big producing companies don't like this because P2P will be thier demise, they are a middle man. Eventually music and creativity will be better off due to the rise of P2P in the music industry. I cannot say the same for movies, they do need more structure to produce product. A movie takes millions of dollars still because out technology is not readily available to create professional quality goods like PCs have done with music. However sharing of movies is happening just like music.
  
  As far as the doubt that music sharing is down... it is just economic common sense. There is an introduction of a substitute "music download sites" and and introduction of a cost "roughly 10000 per settlement" through those two things into the over cost of a download and you have less gain per download than you had before. Also there is the notion that many people though P2P was legal, with it being widespread flagged as illegal activity nowadays, parents have at least a small effect of their children doing it. If I find the article that was published on it (one I was skeptical of at first as well) Ill track it all down and post it here. Don't assume I'm against P2P, im for it as a technological advance, I'm just stating that it makes zero sense from an economical standpoint to rationalize music downloads increasing.
  
  Ludikhris

  13.4.2005 18:24 #15

• youwho

  POINT 1
  As mentioned by blitzman...I have bought albums in the format of taped cassettes, LP's and discs. Some Have been damaged or lost and even stolen. Years go by and at times I may miss a particular recording that I once owned...so I find it and download it. What is the problem? I have already paid for the right to own a copy of the said album...haven't I???
  POINT 2
  How many time have you heard a particular track on the radio or even watched it on TV and thought.."I will go and by that"? And you end up having to buy a full album full of crap just so you can have a copy of that particular track that you heard on the radio/TV? I would like to be able to buy individual track to save on to my PC and when enough are are collected burn onto a CD...the end result being that I have a CD "FULL" of the music I want and not what some producer thinks I might want??

  14.4.2005 13:54 #16