RIAA Brings New Round of Illegal File Sharing Lawsuits

WASHINGTON - July 20, 2004 - The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), on behalf of the major record companies, today filed a new round of copyright infringement lawsuits against 506 illegal file sharers.

As with all the lawsuits filed so far this year, the RIAA is utilizing the “John Doe” litigation process, which is used to sue defendants whose names are not known. In addition to the “John Doe” complaints, an additional 90 separate lawsuits were filed against named defendants -- individuals who were identified through the litigation process and then declined or ignored an RIAA overture to settle the case before it proceeded any further.

The “John Doe” litigations against 506 illegal file sharers were filed in Alexandria, Va, St. Louis, New York, Atlanta, Plano, Tex., and Seattle. Lawsuits against 90 named defendants were filed in several different states across the country, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, Washington and Washington, D.C.

The continuing anti-piracy efforts are helping to establish an environment where legitimate online music services can flourish and expand into new business and marketing opportunities. According to reports by SoundScan, there were 54 million legal downloads in the first half of 2004, compared to 19 million for the last half of 2003. The RIAA recently announced the expansion of its Gold and Platinum program to digital downloads, a further reflection of a marketplace that is becoming mainstream. And universities and legitimate services are increasingly teaming up to offer high-quality, legal online music options to students.

“There is an incredible array of legitimate digital distribution models serving today’s music fans,” said Cary Sherman, President, RIAA. “For these new business models and those in the future to succeed, there must be a return on the investment in art. That’s why it’s essential that we continue to send a clear message that stealing copyrighted works is against the law and has consequences. The lawsuits have been extraordinarily effective in providing a measure of deterrence and educating the public about the law and the availability of great legal alternatives.”

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The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is the trade organization that supports and promotes the creative and financial vitality of the major music companies. Its members are the music labels that comprise the most vibrant record industry in the world. RIAA® members create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 85% of all legitimate recorded music produced and sold in the United States.

In support of this mission, the RIAA works to protect the intellectual property and First Amendment rights of artists and music labels; 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 as well as Los Premios De Oro y Platino™, an award celebrating Latin music sales.