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| Music industry steps up war on downloaders
SAN JOSE, Calif., July 19 (UPI) -- Nearly every major Internet provider has been subpoenaed by the music industry in its fervor to stop the illegal trade of music over the Internet. In the past month alone, the Recording Industry Association of America has obtained at least 871 federal subpoenas, the San Jose Mercury News reported Saturday. Serious & personalized business, investment and technology intelligence for a serious advantage - BizVantage! The industry is gathering the names of individual computer users from their providers, the newspaper said. Once they have the information, civil lawsuits will be filed against online bootleggers. The RIAA began its unprecedented hunt soon after a federal judge ruled that file-swapping services could not be held liable for the copyright abuses of their millions of users. Court documents show the RIAA has subpoenaed virtually ever major Internet provider, including EarthLink, Pacific Bell Internet, Comcast and Charter Communications, the Mercury said. The RIAA has threatened illegal downloaders with possible fines of $150,000 per stolen song.
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