Recording industry starts legal actions against illegal file-sharing internationally

IFPI and the recording industry associations in Denmark, Germany, Italy and Canada today announced the first wave of international lawsuits charging individuals with illegally file-sharing copyrighted music.

A total of 247 alleged illegal file-sharers face legal action in a move that steps up the industry's international campaign against online copyright theft. Further waves of lawsuits against major offenders will be launched in different countries in the coming months.

The legal actions, following similar successful actions in United States, charge the individuals with illegally making available hundreds of music tracks for copying, transmission and distribution via file-sharing services.

IFPI, representing the recording industry worldwide, made it clear that the legal actions come only after a sustained educational effort by the music industry and as record companies are making available the bulk of their music for downloading legally.

A recent independent five-country survey commissioned by IFPI shows more than 65% of people know that file-sharing copyrighted music is illegal.

More than 600,000 consumers in Europe alone are now accessing a large catalogue of 300,000 tracks that are available from 50 legal online sites.

Jay Berman, Chairman and CEO of IFPI. said: "Today's announcement should come as no surprise. Over the past year the record industry has been extremely active internationally and locally, educating the public about the huge damage being done by illegal file-sharing, explaining the laws and promoting all the sites where large catalogues of copyrighted music are available for consumers to access legitimately. "

"We have made it clear that file-sharing without the permission of the copyright holder is illegal, that it amounts to "file-stealing", and that it affect jobs and livelihoods across the whole industry. Ultimately, though, we have learned that education alone is not sufficient, and that some people persist because, like shop-lifters, they think they can 'get away with it'. So we have decided that only the prospect of legal action is going to make those people rethink what they are doing."

"Today we are making it clear that we are totally prepared to enforce the law, and we will start actions against those people who are breaking it by uploading hundreds of music files on to the internet. We will not stand by while thousands of people involved in the creation of music see their careers and livelihoods destroyed. The message is that people are at a real risk of being sued or prosecuted if they continue to rip off those who make music. "

Illegal file-sharing has been a major cause of the decline in global music sales in the last five years. This in turn has caused widespread cuts and job losses across the industry, affecting retailers, record companies and their artist rosters, recording studios, song writers, management companies, publishers and many others sectors, all of them economically dependent on copyrighted music.

Global sales of recorded music fell 7% in value in 2002. IFPI's global figures for 2003 have not yet been released, but it estimated that sales for the year will have been down by over 7%. A number of third party surveys in major music markets have confirmed that illegal file-sharing directly depresses music purchases by consumers.

Other countries have stepped up their 'warning' campaigns to put illegal file-sharers of music on notice that if they continue with their activities they risk court action. Sweden is announcing today the launch of their instant messaging campaign to users of peer-to-peer networks, following a similar announcement by the UK on 25 March.


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Divorce Online in Minutes

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About the author:
Jeffrey Broobin is a free-lance writer on family and finance issues; his main goal is to help people during their complicated period of life.
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Email: jeffreyb@legalhelpmate.com

Wanted: Perfect Lawyers

In this sometimes cruel world, we can consider the lawyers as our knights in shining armor especially during legal proceedings. Do you agree with me? Definitely, I think so. However, I must say that being a lawyer is really never easy. One must have the expertise and experience in efficiently representing a client regarding a legal problem. Also, he must have at least gained a reputable name in the legal genre to also gain the trust and respect from those people who need their legal advice.

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Therefore, in instances where you are being bothered by a certain problem that you cannot resolve by yourself, it will certainly never take less of you as a person to consult a legal expert. Remember that it’s always better to look for a lawyer sooner than later. After all, these lawyers also need time to prepare before deadlines sneak up. After finding one, you’ll soon realize that it’s a lot easier to take a rest after talking to an experienced attorney.

Indeed, people can avail the services of these lawyers for legal advice in almost all kinds of situations. So, if you aren’t sure of what your legal rights are, now can be the best time for you to obtain an attorney to evaluate your situation. Because even if you can get through a legal problem without the aid of a legal specialist, you must always keep in mind that it’s still better to find someone who can represent you in your search for the truth and justice.


About the author:
For comments and questions about the article, you may visit http://www.mesrianilaw.com

Have you been looking for the latest and accurate opinion in relation to fathers right

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Michael Nixon is the webmaster at data-info-stoppress.info

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Legal Debt Collection Tricks

If a customer owes your local business money, it's hard not to feel angry, like you want to do anything possible to get your money back. But the days of going all out to collect on a debt over.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, designed to protect consumers from harassment or intimidation, sets firm limits on what you can do to collect a debt from a consumer. The federal debt collections law even prohibits practices that were once standard, and that you might not consider harassment at all.

Besides, as a local business, you have an even more powerful reason to be especially careful about legal debt collection issues. You have something much more valuable at stake than a lawsuit: your business's reputation in the community.

Legal Debt Collection Best Practices:

There are plenty of articles on the web that lay out in plain English what the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act says you can and cannot do. Just to give you some idea of the law's requirements, here are some of the biggest:

- No telling any third party about the debt (except collection bureaus, collection agencies, or the debtor's attorney).

- No calling on the telephone 9 pm - 8 am, or calling repeatedly in a way that is annoying.

- No postcards or envelopes that mention the debt.

- No threats to take actions you cannot or will not really take, such as seizing property, in the case of an unsecured debt.

- No misrepresenting yourself (e.g., "Hi! This is the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes. May I speak to John?").

- No paying down the debt with payments the customer has directed be applied to other debts

Tips and Tricks for Legal Debt Collections:

With all these limits on what you can do to collect a debt, what can you do legally?

- Speak with the debtor personally on the telephone

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