British record industry bosses have dramatically stepped up the drive to stop illegal music downloading, revealing they are to force five offenders into the courts.
The three men and two women will be sued for full compensation and legal costs - bills which could individually reach tens of thousands of pounds.
They are among some 90 people caught this year by the British Phonographic Industry as part of its mass crackdown on unlawful uploading of tracks by stars such as chart toppers Coldplay, Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani and Kanye West. Sixty people have already agreed to pay out-of-court settlements averaging around £2,500 each, including a London jazz singer fined after her 19-year-old son shared 1,330 songs from the family computer.
But the unnamed five, from King's Lynn, Crawley, Port Talbot, Brighton and South Glamorgan, have refused to co-operate since the BPI first tracked them down in April.
Between them, they are said to have uploaded a total of 9,000 tracks on their computers, which were then made available for others to download.
'So far 60 UK internet users have settled legal claims against them for illegal file-sharing, paying up to £6,500 in compensation,' said BPI general counsel, Geoff Taylor.
'We have tried to agree fair settlements, but if people refuse to deal with the evidence against them, the law must take its course.' He added: 'We will be seeking an injunction and full damages for the losses they have caused, in addition-to the considerable legal costs we are incurring as a result of their illegal activity.'
Illegal downloads are said to have cost the British record industry £650m over the past two years - and a massive £1.3bn annually, worldwide.
Each person's illegal downloading of music is equivalent to the loss of 20 CDs to the UK industry. But the industry has achieved considerable success in recent months in clamping down. Last month the BPI revealed a 744% rise in the number of legal downloads on the past year, with more than 5.5m online tracks sold in the second quarter of this year.
'Music fans are increasingly tuning in to legal download sites for the choice, value and convenience they offer. But we cannot let illegal file-sharers off the hook,' said BPI chairman Peter Jamieson. 'They are undermining the legal services, they are damaging music and they are breaking the law.'
Last month the US supreme court found software firm Grokster liable for encouraging users to share pirated material over its network.
TOP 10 OFFICIAL UK DOWNLOADS
1 James Blunt - You're Beautiful
2 2Pac - Ghetto Gospel
3 Charlotte Church - Crazy Chick
4 Kelly Clarkson - Since U Been Gone
5 Mariah Carey - We Belong Together
6 Inaya Day - Nasty Girl
7 Kanye West - Diamonds from Sierra Leone
8 Audio Bullys feat. Nancy Sinatra - Shot You Down
9 Green Day - Wake Me Up When September
10 Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.