The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA), which is the Irish equivalent of the RIAA has welcomed the decision made by the High Court in Dublin, to force ISPs to reveal the contact details of 17 individuals found to be illegally sharing music online. As a result, the IRMA is writing to these individuals giving the option to settle or face court.
Like the RIAA, the IRMA is doing this to try and educate others including parents that the unauthorised sharing of music is both illegal and will not be tolerated. They also mention that online copyright infringement contributed towards the €28 million in lost sales in Ireland between 2001 and 2004.
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This High Court action comes after 15 months of educational initiatives to raise awareness of the cultural and economic damage done by illegal file sharing. Abuse of copyright on the Internet has contributed to a EUR28 million drop in music sales in Ireland between 2001 and 2004. |
It is a pity to see that the IRMA has decided to copy the RIAA's tactics thinking that bringing those who share music through the courts will help. Unfortunately unlike the US, music within Ireland is very expensive with most albums costing typically between €18 (~US$22) and €25 (US$35) the last time I checked. Also as many Irish consumers are starting to shop online such as from CD-Wow, play.com and Amazon where music is roughly half the price of high street shops here, these are generally not counted as purchases within Ireland, so without much thought, the music industry just puts the main blame on unauthorised file sharing.
Feel free to discuss and find out more about file sharing, its legal issues as well as legal alternatives on our Music Download, Peer to Peer (P2P) & Legal Issues.
Source: Irish Recorded Music Association - News
