In its continuing battle against illegal file sharing, the Recording Industry Association of America sent cease-and-desist letters on Tuesday to seven popular peer-to-peer file-sharing companies.
While an RIAA spokesperson would not confirm the names of the seven P2Ps that received the letters, The Wall Street Journal reported that such popular services as BearShare, LimeWire and WinMX were among the targets.
In a copy of the document obtained by MTV News, the music industry trade organization requests that the P2Ps "immediately cease and desist from enabling and inducing the infringement of RIAA member sound recordings."
The move was meant to capitalize on a unanimous June decision by the Supreme Court against Grokster, in which it ruled that file-trading networks can and should be held liable when they create programs that are used primarily to illegally swap music, movies and other copyright-protected works (see "File-Sharing Networks Can Be Liable For Copyright Infringements, Supreme Court Rules").
"In its ruling in MGM vs. Grokster, the Supreme Court noted that technological options — like filtering — are readily available and would effectively prevent the wholesale theft of copyrighted works," the RIAA said in a statement. "Additionally, record companies have demonstrated a strong desire to work with a variety of legitimate online enterprises that respect the rights of creators and provide high-quality music to fans. For a number of legitimate peer-to-peer services, those wheels are well in motion. In short: the transition to a legitimate online model is clear and achievable; the implications associated with ignoring that opportunity are great.
"Companies situated similarly to Grokster have been given ample opportunity to do the right thing. There is a right way and a wrong way to conduct a business. Those businesses that continue to knowingly operate on the wrong side of that line do so at their own risk."
The RIAA supports legal file sharing services and has encouraged P2Ps to install filtering software that would either block copyrighted material or allow the copyright holders to be paid. In the letter, the RIAA reminds the companies not to destroy any files related to the operation of their networks that might serve as evidence and encourages them get in touch if they wish to avoid trial by reaching a settlement. Spokespeople for LimeWire and BearShare could not be reached for comment at press time.
Following the June Supreme Court decision, the RIAA affirmed that they would continue to hold accountable both businesses and individuals that engage in theft and the uploading of copyrighted works. In just the past two months, the RIAA has filed more than 1,500 suits against individual users (see "RIAA Sues 784 For File-Sharing, Gives Props To Supreme Court Ruling").
For complete digital music coverage, check out the Digital Music Reports.
