UK record companies' trade association the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has been granted an order by the High Court requiring six UK Internet service providers to disclose the names and addresses of 31 individuals alleged to have uploaded large numbers of music files on to peer-to-peer file sharing networks.
This follows BPI's last announcement on March 4, that it had successfully settled 23 of the 26 cases launched in its first round of litigation against illegal uploaders, beginning in October 2004.
BPI General Counsel Geoff Taylor said,
"Once again the Court has accepted that BPI has evidence that file sharers in the UK are infringing copyright and has ruled that the identities of these 31 individuals should be disclosed, so that the BPI can take legal action. Today's result is a blow for illegal uploaders who believe that the law simply does not apply to them."
The order for disclosure means that the ISPs concerned now have 14 days in which to give the BPI the names and addresses of the 31 broadband account holders. Once it receives the names and addresses, the BPI will write to the individuals concerned, setting out the details of their infringements and offering them the opportunity to settle the case before proceedings are issued.
Geoff Taylor added,
"This sends a powerful message to people that are illegally distributing music on peer-to-peer networks that they are not anonymous and that they will be held responsible for what they are doing. File sharers in the UK have already discovered this to their cost, and we will not simply stand back and allow them to illegally distribute our members' music on the Internet. We learned from our first round of cases that people from all walks of life are engaged in this activity. We would particularly advise parents to check what their children are doing on the Internet and make sure that they are not breaking the law by file sharing illegally."
The BPI has produced a guide on how to avoid file sharing illegally.
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