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261 Lawsuits Filed on Internet Music Sharing September 9, 2003 By AMY HARMON The recording industry filed 261 lawsuits yesterday against people who share copyrighted music over the Internet, charging them with copyright infringement in the first broad legal action aimed at ordinary users of file-sharing networks. The blizzard of lawsuits — which is expected to be followed by thousands more — is a turning point for the music industry, which has sought to avoid direct conflict with its potential consumers as it battles online piracy. But industry officials said they now believe that the only way to stem the widespread file-swapping is to make people realize they will be punished for participating — even in the context of an Internet culture where many forms of information are free. Advertisement "Nobody likes playing the heavy and having to resort to litigation," said Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America. "But when you're being victimized by illegal activity there comes a time when you have to step up and take appropriate action." In an effort to soften the legal attack, the record industry group is also offering amnesty for file sharers who turn themselves in before legal action is taken against them. Under the "clean slate" program unveiled by the industry yesterday, people seeking amnesty must destroy files that they have downloaded illegally and sign a notarized form pledging never to trade copyrighted works again. Since the rise of Napster, the first popular file-sharing network, millions of people have traded copyrighted music on the Internet without paying for it. The suits filed yesterday are intended to change the perception of many people that they could do so with impunity. The record industry's trade group said it selected the defendants by employing simple search techniques that allow anyone using the major file-sharing services to see what files other users are making available to copy from their own computers.
Approximate Word count = 1153
Approximate Pages = 4.6
(250 words per page double spaced)
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