The music industry has begun dropping pamphlets on universities across the globe in its latest blitz against online piracy.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), a global trade group representing major and independent music labels and publishers, said Thursday it has begun issuing brochures to universities in 29 countries in Europe, South America, Asia and Australia spelling out the legal and technological snares of online file-sharing networks.
“In Canada and Europe, we have found institutions where users are uploading thousands of files using university computer networks,” said Allen Dixon, general counsel at IFPI in London. “At times, you can’t even get on the Internet in some places because (peer-to-peer file-sharing) traffic is hogging the bandwidth.”
The IFPI, which represents majors Warner Music, Universal Music, EMI, Sony Music and BMG, has vowed to fight piracy on all fronts. The music industry blames peer-to-peer networks for part of the decline in recorded music sales, a slump some predict will continue for years, eating further into sales.
Online file-sharing networks such as Kazaa and iMesh attract millions of people each day who swap music, film and software, drawing the wrath of copyright holders everywhere.
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