FAQ

1) WHO IS BEING SUED?

This is the biggest wave of legal actions against internet music file-sharers to date. Today's actions extend the policy of suing alleged illegal file-sharers to four new countries in Europe - Netherlands, Finland, Ireland and Iceland - plus Japan. They join Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and the UK, who all began litigation in the last year.

2) HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE BEING SUED?

Today 963 legal actions in 11 countries are being announced, bringing the total number of cases against illegal file-sharers to 1,652 in Europe and Asia and 11,552 worldwide. This follows a first year of legal actions in Europe, which has already resulted in 248 individuals settling on average for more than €3,000. The number and type of actions varies per country due to different internet piracy situations and legal processes. But this is only the beginning in every one - there will be more.

3) WHY ARE THEY BEING SUED?

They are being sued because they are charged with breaking copyright law by making music available to others via the internet without permission from those who created the music.

4) WHAT DAMAGE IS ILLEGAL FILE-SWAPPING CAUSING THE MUSIC INDUSTRY?

It's a huge problem. Surveys in many of the major markets prove that illegal file-sharing is a major factor in the fall in world music sales, down by more than US$6 billion in the last five years. Looking at just a few countries: in the last five years, the value of audio sales is down in Germany 50%, Denmark 43%, Netherlands 35%, Italy 24%, Austria by 30%, Finland by 18%. These are countries whose broadband penetration has risen sharply over the same period of time.

5) WHO ARE THESE INDIVIDUALS BEING SUED BY?

They are being sued by the national record associations which represent the music recording industry, and in some cases by record labels themselves, in each country. Where criminal cases are taken, such as in Italy, these are brought by the public prosecutor.

6) IS THE RECORDING INDUSTRY SUING ITS OWN CUSTOMERS?

These are not music fans - these are people who are charged with distributing large amounts of copyrighted music illegally. Their actions are robbing people of their earnings and are tantamount to theft. They aren't fans, any more than people who lift CDs from record shops.

7) WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU JUST DOWNLOAD JUST A FEW TRACKS?

This campaign is aimed primarily at "major uploaders" i.e. those copying and distributing hundreds of files onto the internet to millions of people.

8) WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THOSE SUED? WILL THEY GO TO JAIL OR BE FINED?

It's unlikely anyone will go to jail, although that will depend on each country's legal system. However, the biggest likely punishment is a large fine if the case is settled.

9) WHERE CAN I GET MUSIC LEGALLY ONLINE?

There are already more than 150 online music sites in Europe (more than 230 worldwide) which offer up to 1 million tracks - the equivalent of approximately 80,000 albums.

Pan-European sites include those from Coca-Cola, Apple's iTunes, Napster and SonyConnect. In addition there is a plethora of specialised and regional services coming on-stream every month.

A cross-industry initiative promotes all the legitimate online services. You can link to them all from the website. See www.pro-music.org for a list of links.

10) ARE THESE ONE-OFF LAWSUITS OR WILL THERE BE MORE?

It is inevitable that other countries also suffering from the problem will also resort to lawsuits and join the 11 in Europe and Asia that are doing so now. Lawsuits in each country will continue for the foreseeable future.

11) WHAT CAN PEOPLE DO TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE NOT SUED?

They should disable their P2P software's uploading capability and delete music from 'shared folders' on their computers - go to www.pro-music.org for details on how to do this on KaZaA and other P2P systems.

For more information contact IFPI Communications:
Tel: +44 (0)20 7878 7900
Email: info@ifpi.org