Music firms are launching their first lawsuits in Asia as the crackdown on net piracy continues. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry announced this morning it had filed 963 lawsuits, with some of them in Japan. Other countries targeted this time round include the Netherlands, Finland, Ireland and Iceland.
Music sales in Japan have fallen by nearly a third in the past five years - the country has the world"s second-largest market for music. John Kennedy, IFPI chairman and chief executive, said: "The industry has decided this is the time to act. The Japanese are law-abiding citizens and it may be this delivers the short, sharp jolt that we need there."
The lawsuits come as legal online alternatives such as Napster and iTunes continue to expand. The industry is also calling for ISPs to take a more pro-active approach by going after those who illegally upload material themselves.