BPI sits on sidelines as P2P lawsuits fly

While the European music industry has begun to sue file swappers in Europe, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) insists that it has no plans to join in - yet.

Following the lead of the Recording Industry Association of America, European members of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) have filed more than 200 suits in Germany, Denmark and Italy. Several hundred more are expected over the coming weeks.

IFPI chairman and chief executive Jay Berman said in a statement: "On the strength of the developments in Denmark, Germany and Italy we can confirm that there will be more legal action in other countries in the near future.

"We need to continue letting people all over the world know that file-sharing other people's copyrighted music is illegal, that it is damaging the whole music sector, that it is not anonymous and that it carries legal consequences."

Allen Dixon, general counsel and executive director of the IFPI, told vnunet.com that the approach taken in each country varies.

"It depends in which country the cases are heard as they have different procedures, and the industry will look at what legal tools are best suited to the problem. In general, though, criminal procedures work best," he explained.

In the UK, the BPI said it has no plans yet to launch legal action. "The implication from the IFPI is that the UK will be next to file lawsuits, but this is not the case," said a spokesman.

"Our strategy currently is to monitor the situation. But if we feel that our warnings are not effective, including sending instant messages to P2P users, then legal action is a route we will take."