The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) will file the first lawsuits against alleged file swappers by the end of August.

Rather than press one or two token cases, the RIAA plans to sue hundreds of people unless they settle out of court, it said.

Over the past few weeks, the RIAA has sent nearly 1,000 subpoenas to internet service providers and universities to obtain the identities of suspected file traders.

"We are only going after people who have uploaded substantial amounts and no one should be surprised if they have done this and are taken to court," said an RIAA spokeswoman.

"We advertised the fact that they were breaking the copyright law on major TV channels and newspapers and what we would do."

But when asked what constituted "substantial" amounts, the RIAA told vnunet.com that it would not quantify amounts. "Just one file is one file too many," said the spokeswoman.

The trade body said that it would look at each lawsuit on a case by case basis.

The RIAA has also appointed former Republican Party official Mitch Bainwol as its new chief executive from 1 September.

It is thought to have chosen the veteran political strategist in order to give the group more clout in US politics as it steps up its battle against file sharing.