725 Additional Illegal File Sharers Cited In New Wave of Copyright Infringement Lawsuits

WASHINGTON - April 27, 2005 - As part of its ongoing effort to protect the work of record labels, musicians, writers, producers and others from theft through illegal downloading, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), on behalf of the major record companies, today announced a new wave of copyright infringement lawsuits against 725 illegal file sharers.

The “John Doe” suits filed today cite the individuals for illegally distributing copyrighted music on the Internet via unauthorized peer-to-peer services such as KaZaa, eDonkey and Grokster. The litigations were filed in federal district courts across the country, including in: California, Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

In addition to the “John Doe” lawsuits, music companies filed 200 named defendant lawsuits today against illegal file sharers in California, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Texas. The names of these individuals, whose Internet Protocol (IP) addresses were previously identified in “John Doe” lawsuits, have been subpoenaed from their respective Internet Service Provider (ISP).

“With offerings from legitimate online services expanding and evolving every day, this is an incredibly exciting time for digital music,” said Cary Sherman, President, RIAA. “The future looks bright, but its potential can only be achieved when legal services are given the chance to truly flourish on an even playing field where music fans understand right and wrong. These lawsuits -- coupled with ongoing education and aggressive licensing from the music companies -- continue to be an important component of our overall effort to discourage illegal downloading and encourage music fans to turn to legal music sites.”

Earlier this month, the RIAA took on an emerging epidemic of music theft on a specialized, high-speed university computer network known as Internet2. As part of this action, the music industry filed lawsuits against 405 students using the file-sharing application i2hub to download and share music on the Internet2 network. While this initial filing was limited to students at 18 campuses, the RIAA found evidence of i2hub infringement at another 140 schools in 41 states and is exploring the possibility of future lawsuits against abusers of Internet2.

The “John Doe” lawsuits filed today do not include users of university networks.

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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.