The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) has previously targeted heavy sharers of illegal music files with litigation, but according to IRMA chairman, Willie Kavanagh, this selective targeting of file sharers proved to be very time consuming and costly. Meanwhile the music companies believe the action was not sufficient to safeguard their intellectual property.
CD sales in the country have suffered a €44 million loss in the past six years with a decline in total sales from €146 million in 2001 to €102 million in 2007, or a 30% decline overall, according to Kavanagh. Now the music companies seek to force Eircom to filter the traffic on its networks and stamp out illegal file sharing by its users.
In an affidavit, Kavanagh outlined public-awareness actions taken by the trade group in the country to discourage music piracy. However, he said Internet pirates come from all walks of life and that today some young people have never known a time when they have had to pay for sound recordings.
Written by: James Delahunty @ 11 Mar 2008 12:23
