RIAA Targets Over 500 Additional Music Swappers

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is mounting a new offensive against illegal file sharers. This time around, the RIAA is suing 493 "John Doe" defendants, along with 24 named defendants who had previously been included on earlier John Doe lists and failed to settle out of court.

In its ongoing campaign against copyright infringement, the RIAA has sued over 3,000 individuals since September 2003 - including a 12 year-old girl. It has settled out of court with over 400 of those defendants, with payouts averaging roughly $3,000 USD.

Before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia disallowed the practice, the RIAA blanketed Internet service providers with requests to comply with copyright subpoenas served on behalf of the recording industry. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) previously allowed the RIAA to demand the "expeditious" disclosure of user identities from ISPs.

In its ruling, the court wrote that the DMCA, "betrays no awareness whatsoever that Internet users might be able directly to exchange files containing copyrighted works." As a result, the DMCA cannot be used as a license to police peer to peer networks, and the RIAA must file John Doe lawsuits.

"We will continue to go the extra mile and seek to resolve these cases in a fair and reasonable manner. That's in the best interests of everyone involved," commented RIAA President Cary Sherman.