WASHINGTON - The recording industry yesterday sued 532 computer users it said were illegally distributing songs over the Internet - the first lawsuits since a federal appeals court blocked the use of special copyright subpoenas to identify those being targeted.
The action represents the largest number of lawsuits filed at one time since the trade group for the largest music labels, the Recording Industry Association of America, launched its legal campaign last summer to cripple Internet music piracy.
Music lawyers filed the newest cases against John Doe defendants - identified only by their numeric Internet protocol addresses - and expected to work through the courts to learn their names and where they live. All the defendants were customers of one of four Internet providers.
The 532 new defendants represent a fraction of the estimated tens of millions of U.S. computer users who regularly download music illegally across the Internet, but the recording association described each one as a major offender
distributing an average of more than 800 songs online. 17
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The Associated Press
