8,000 face lawsuits over file sharing

The music industry has dished out 8,000 new lawsuits against people in 17 countries who are alleged to have illegally downloaded tracks.

The move by the International Federation for the Phonograph Industry (IFPI) targets people who 'share' music using internet services including Bit Torrent, Edonkey, Direct Connect, Gnutella, Limewire, Soulseek and WinMX.

Legal actions have been extended to Brazil for the first time, where record company revenues have been halved since 2000 and where more than one billion music tracks were illegally downloaded last year.

Poland and Mexico now join Austria, Argentina, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Singapore and Switzerland on the hit list.

IFPI claimed that over 2,300 of people have already been caught, paying an average settlement fine of around £1,300 each.

John Kennedy, chairman and chief executive of IFPI, said: “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.

"There is no excuse. People should understand that they can be caught whatever network they are using. The next time a series of lawsuits are announced you could be on the receiving end if you are an illegal file-sharer.”

He added: “Around the world many people have already paid a heavy price for their illegal file sharing. They all thought they were unlikely to be caught, but teachers, postal workers, IT managers, scientists and people in a host of other occupations, as well as parents, have ended up having to dig deeply into their pockets.”