Copyright Infringement Lawsuits Brought Against 753 Additional Illegal File Sharers

WASHINGTON - February 28, 2005 - The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), on behalf of the major record companies, today announced a new wave of copyright infringement lawsuits against illegal file sharers, including individual network users at 11 different colleges.

The “John Doe” suits cite the individuals for illegally distributing copyrighted music on the Internet via unauthorized peer-to-peer services such as KaZaa, eDonkey and Grokster.

While the record industry aggressively licenses its catalogues of music to a host of legitimate digital services and those businesses continue to attract new fans, Cary Sherman, the RIAA’s President, said that, “the vast potential of the legal marketplace is mostly unfilled. This is especially so when compared to the illegal file sharing networks where millions of songs are downloaded unlawfully each week.”

“Even while we work to hold accountable the businesses that encourage and profit from illegal file sharing, it’s critical to simultaneously send a strong message that the individual users of these pirate networks can be caught and face the consequences,” added Sherman. “The lawsuits are a critical deterrent. They have helped arrest the extraordinary growth of illicit p2p use.”

Among those sued today are users of computer networks at 11 universities and colleges, including: Hamilton College; Louisiana State University; Louisiana Tech. University; Loyola University Chicago; Ohio University; Old Dominion University; Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute; Texas A&M University; University of Southern California; Vanderbilt University; and Wright State University.

As a partial reflection of the positive trends in the online music marketplace, Sherman pointed to new independent research, including a February study (http://www.ipsos-insight.com/pressrelease.aspx?id=2550) from Ipsos-Insight. According to that study, “nearly half (47%) of American downloaders aged 12 and older had paid a fee to download music or MP3 files off of the Internet. This represents a leap in activity roughly double the 22% witnessed in December 2003, and over five times the activity in December 2002.”

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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.