Breakdown of legal cases against illegal file-sharing

November 15, 2005

Austria: IFPI Austria has filed an additional 75 criminal cases against people found to have been offering large numbers of music files on peer-to-peer file sharing services without authorisation, bringing the total to 275 cases launched since October 2004. To date, 150 individuals have settled their claims with IFPI Austria, at an average of Euro 3,500 each - one as high as Euro 5,500.

Denmark: IFPI Denmark has sent civil demand letters to 200 more alleged illegal music file-sharers, bringing the total number of such legal claims launched in Denmark to over 743. So far, 172 individuals in Denmark (representing almost one-third of those targeted in previous waves) have already either paid or agreed to pay compensation averaging a few thousand Euros each - one as high as Euro 13,000.

Finland: The Finnish anti-piracy organisation CIAPC and IFPI Finland have filed a further 30 criminal complaints against alleged uploaders of music on peer-to-peer services, bringing the total number of complaints laid to 58. In addition civil claims for compensation are added to the criminal claims, with 11 of the original cases leading to settlements averaging over Euro 3,400 per user.

France: Criminal complaints and civil cases have been filed against an additional 24 major uploaders of music in France, following the 127 cases announced already, bringing the total to 151. French anti-piracy organisation SCPP is pursuing criminal proceedings that allow fines and other sanctions, and in the civil cases has requested termination of the internet account of infringers. Across all cases, nearly 100 individuals have had their internet accounts terminated by court order. Following the first full French court judgement in a peer-to-peer case on 2 February 2005, other French courts have also confirmed that file-sharing is illegal with users being fined and one user receiving a two month suspended prison sentence.

Germany: IFPI Germany filed 1486 additional criminal complaints against individuals alleged to be engaged in illegal file-sharing of music. This brings the number of such cases launched to 2055. To date, 127 people have paid financial settlements.

Iceland: IFPI Iceland and the local film industry have filed criminal complaints against a further 10 alleged large-scale uploaders, bringing the total number of cases brought against users on the DirectConnect and BitTorrent file-sharing services since April 2005 to 33.

Ireland: The Irish recording industry association IRMA has prepared 50 further civil cases against peer-to-peer users believed to be making available hundreds or thousands of music files on file-sharing services without permission. The new cases follow on from 17 cases announced in April 2005, which led to a decision of the Irish court in July 2005 ordering the disclosure of the individual users details. Twelve of the 17 users have settled their cases agreeing to pay, on average, over Euro 2,250 each.

Italy: Italian police have taken action against 8 more individuals on suspicion of copyright infringement in connection with large-scale file sharing of music and, in these cases, the alleged operation of illegal file-sharing servers. There are now 126 the total number of cases brought against individuals. Individuals found guilty are subject to fines expected in the range of Euro 5,000 to Euro 25,000 with additional civil compensation possible. It is expected that the latest actions, announced today, will lead to more raids against major uploaders in the near future.

Sweden: IFPI Sweden has filed 15 criminal complaints concerning the activities of individuals who are believed to be major music file uploaders operating in Sweden. These are the first cases of their kind brought by the recording industry in Sweden.

Switzerland: IFPI Switzerland has started gathering evidence against Swiss peer-to-peer uploaders believed to be involved in illegal music file-sharing, and will be filing criminal complaints with the police. These are the first cases to be brought in Switzerland as part of the broader international campaign.

United Kingdom: The UK record industry has taken a further 96 cases against individuals, with a further 65 actions taken today. Unless resolved, users face civil court actions for an injunction and damages. The cases bring the total number of actions filed by the BPI since October 2004 to 153. Seventy-one of them have already been resolved with defendants paying more than GBP 140,000 (Euro 210,000) in total compensation - on average more than GBP 2,000 (Euro 3,000) each.

Hong Kong: IFPI Hong Kong has prepared civil action against 22 major uploaders on peer-to-peer networks in Hong Kong. These cases are the first of their kind brought by the recording industry in Hong Kong and, with the cases announced today in Singapore, mark the expansion of the campaign into South East Asia for the first time.

Japan: RIAJ, the Japanese recording industry association, will be taking a further 40 civil actions seeking the disclosure of information regarding users allegedly engaged in illegal file-sharing. These cases will add to the 44 cases already brought in Japan. Seven users have settled out of court with record producers, by the end of October.

Singapore: Recording Industry Association (Singapore) has filed 33 criminal complaints against individuals alleged to be involved in the illegal file-sharing of music. These cases are the first involving users of FastTrack and Gnutella networks in Singapore and with the cases announced today in Hong Kong, mark the expansion of the campaign into South East Asia for the first time.

Argentina: The Argentinean recording industry association, CAPIF, has started civil actions against 20 people found to have been offering large numbers of music files on P2P services without authorisation. These are the first cases of this type in Argentina as the campaign extends to Latin America for the first time

United States: Since September 2003, the US recording industry has brought civil copyright infringement lawsuits against over 15,597 alleged illegal file sharers. There have been 3590 settlements to date, averaging several thousand US dollars each. Since April, the RIAA has announced several rounds of copyright infringement lawsuits against a total of 5675 individuals, including a targeted campaign against internet theft on university campuses.

For further information please contact Adrian Strain or Julie Harari at IFPI Communications on tel: +44 (0)20 7878 7935 or go www.ifpi.org.