RIAA Brings New Round Of Lawsuits Against 751 Online Music Thieves

WASHINGTON, DC -- As part of its ongoing effort to level the playing field for legal online music services and protect the record industry’s ability to invest in new music, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), on behalf of its member companies, announced a new round of copyright infringement lawsuits today against 751 new individuals, including students at the college campuses of Drexel University, Harvard University, and the University of Southern California.

The “John Doe” lawsuits filed today cite individuals for illegally distributing copyrighted music on the Internet via unauthorized peer-to-peer services such as LimeWire and Kazaa, In addition to the “John Doe” litigations, the major music companies filed lawsuits against 105 named defendants. Named defendant suits were filed today in Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Texas and Wisconsin (specific cities below).

“The end of the year is an especially important time for the music community, and an especially fortunate time for music fans, with a great slate of new releases in stores,” said Cary Sherman, President, RIAA. “We must do everything to protect the integrity of the marketplace. That means educating fans about steering clear of pirated product and continuing to enforce our rights to send a clear message that stealing music will bring consequences. At stake is the music industry’s ability to invest in the next generation of music and a chance for legal online music services to flourish.”

Specifically, lawsuits with named defendants were filed in: Phoenix, Arizona; Hartford and New Haven, Connecticut; Columbus and Macon, Georgia; Chicago, Rock Island, Springfield, Illinois; Boston and Springfield, Massachusetts; Bay City, Detroit, and Flint, Michigan; Asheville, Charlotte, Durham, Greensboro, Statesville, and Winston Salem, North Carolina; Omaha, Nebraska; Newark and Trenton, New Jersey; Brooklyn, New York; Abilene, Amarillo, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Lubbock, and San Angelo, Texas; Green Bay and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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The Recording Industry Association of America is the trade group that represents the U.S. recording industry. Its mission is to foster a business and legal climate that supports and promotes our members' creative and financial vitality. Its members are the record companies that comprise the most vibrant national music industry in the world. RIAA™ members create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 90% of all legitimate sound recordings produced and sold in the United States. In support of this mission, the RIAA works to protect intellectual property rights worldwide and the First Amendment rights of artists; conduct consumer industry and technical research; and monitor and review - - state and federal laws, regulations and policies. The RIAA™ also certifies Gold™, Platinum™, Multi-Platinum™, and Diamond sales awards, Los Premios De Oro y Platino™, an award celebrating Latin music sales.

Contacts:
Jonathan Lamy
Jenni Engebretsen
Amanda Hunter
202-775-0101

(http://www.riaa.com/news/newsletter/121505.asp)