Well, the courts could be very busy in the coming months. Yesterday's announcement that the BPI was taking 28 evil downloaders to court was part of a Europe wide initiative spearheaded by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. In total 459 new lawsuits were issued against individuals across Europe who the IFPI or local industry associations suspect of illegally sharing large amounts of music online. According to the IFPI's official statement 174 suits are being filed in Denmark, 100 in Austria, 100 in Germany, 50 in France, 28 in the UK and 7 in Italy.
The latest lawsuits follow the 247 the IFPI issued in Europe and Canada back in March. However the rest of the world has a long way to go yet - the Recording Industry Association of America has so far issued an estimated 5700 lawsuits against those pesky American downloaders.
Announcing the Europe wide programme of litigation yesterday, IFPI boss Jay Berman told reporters: "We are at the point where the law has to be enforced. There is quite simply no longer any excuse for illegally file-sharing. People who love music should buy it online and not swap files illegally. If they do continue to engage in illegal music file-sharing, they are in effect engaged in copyright theft, and may therefore have to face the legal consequences."
If the many record industry execs who spoke in favour of the BPI's lawsuits yesterday didn't win you over to their side of the argument, then surely the words of some esteemed politicians will clinch it.
Arts Minister, Estelle Morris told reporters yesterday: "Piracy is theft - pure and simple. Whether it's Jamelia or a jobbing musician, the artist suffers. We owe it to them to make sure they get a fair return for their creativity, flair and inspiration. The Government supports the principle of proportionate legal action against the worst offending uploaders. I hope it will stop in their tracks the habitual offender who uploads to make a quick buck out of other people's talent." Hey, she's heard of Jamelia, isn't she cool.
UK MEP Arlene McCarthy added: "We know that there are millions of illegal files circulating on the Internet at any given time. In the European Parliament we have dealt with this by passing effective laws to legislate for the Internet age. There is no upside to illegal uploading - it undermines jobs and creativity. The law is there to be respected and enforced."
CMU's Chris Cooke was heard saying: "While the music industry should protect their copyright, it is easy to exaggerate the real impact of illegal downloading on the wider music business. Lawsuits alone won't solve anything, record labels need to be creating exciting new revenue streams blah blah blah." God, I'm boring even myself now.