The music industry's global campaign against illegal sharing of music on the internet visited the Republic last week as a first wave of legal settlements was agreed.
The Irish Recorded Music Association (Irma) disclosed that eight internet users have so far accepted liability for illegally "uploading" music tracks onto file-sharing networks. Each party has agreed to pay Irma sums ranging from €2,000 to €6,000 in damages for breach of copyright and has pledged not to illegally share music tracks in the future.
File sharing networks such as KaZaA and Gnutella enable people to link their computers together via the internet to share the music files stored on their machines. They have proved extraordinarily popular among young internet users, who have downloaded hundreds of millions of tracks without paying for them.
The rise of illegal file-sharing networks has forced music companies to develop legal alternatives such as Apple's iTunes website. This new distribution network coupled with the development of a range of fashionable digital music players, is posing huge challenges for music retailers. But the biggest threat to music sales is the sheer scale of illegal sharing of music via the internet, with just under one billion music tracks available on file sharing networks at any one time.
Illegal downloading costs the global music industry billions of euros every year. This has prompted it to take legal action against firms that operate file-sharing networks and those who use them. Tracking illegal sharing of music on the web is relatively easy for music companies, which can log an internet account-holder's online address and then force the internet service provider to release the details.
This is how Irma identified the 17 Irish internet account holders that it is threatening to take legal action against unless they agree to accept liability. The eight internet account holders who have agreed to settle with Irma include parents, who have admitted liability on behalf of their children, and at least one firm that did not know that one of its employees was using its network to illegally upload music. A further nine internet users have either not responded to the legal letters sent to them by Irma or are refusing to accept liability.
This refusal could lead to future legal battles over who is liable for uploading: the internet account holder (who is often a parent) or other people in the same household (often children) who upload material on the web? As Irma considers a second wave of actions, parents need to be aware of how their children are using the web.