RIAA issues new lawsuits in P2P fight

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has filed its third batch of lawsuits against music file swappers.

This latest onslaught against users of peer-to-peer sites sees subpoenas issued to 41 people accused of uploading copyrighted music files.

While far fewer than the first two rounds, the new suits brings the total number of individuals sued by the RIAA to 382.

But the RIAA warns that there may be more to come as it has also sent letters to a further 90 people who are allegedly swapping files on sites such as Grokster and Kazaa.

The letters give these swappers the chance to reach a settlement with the RIAA before the cases go to trial.

Groupe Archambault, the Canadian equivalent to the RIAA, is also mulling over a similar initiative.

"This is an ongoing strategy, and the way to let people know that there is a risk of consequences is to continue the programme," RIAA president Cary Sherman said in a statement.

"You don't set up a speed trap for one day and stop enforcement thereafter. It has to be consistent."

The RIAA has reportedly settled for around $3,000 per person and has reached agreement with 220 people so far.

It said that this figure is made up of people who have already been sued, people who received notification letters and settled, and people who have decided to 'come clean' after warnings from their ISPs.

Users who signed up for the RIAA's amnesty will not be sued for file swapping in the past - provided they agree not to do it again.

But not everything is going the RIAA's way. Many ISPs are continuing to fight against the subpoenas, which will require them to identify file swappers who use their services.