The RIAA has announced that a new round of copyright infringement lawsuits have been filed against 765 illegal file sharers. These “John Doe” lawsuits cite individuals for sharing copyrighted music via unauthorized P2P services such as Grokster, eDonkey, KaZaA and LimeWire. The litigations were filed in federal district courts across the country, including California, Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

"In the coming weeks and months, we will significantly expand our anti-piracy efforts for those who have ignored the Court’s message,” said RIAA President Cary Sherman. “Enforcing our rights against the businesses and individuals engaged in music theft is a critical component of our overall effort to discourage illegal downloading and encourage music fans to turn to legal services. We know that our education and enforcement efforts have made a real impact. With broadband penetration skyrocketing, use of legitimate services continues to surge, while the wildfire-like growth of illicit services has been arrested.” 

RIAA executives have said that redoubling efforts to level the playing field for all legal services is essential. “Last month, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that businesses that encourage the theft of music can be held accountable for their actions,” said Sherman. “For businesses and individuals alike, the authority and credibility of the Court’s decision could not be more clear: downloading without permission is ‘garden variety theft.’ We will continue to send a strong message to the users of these illicit networks that their actions are illegal, they can be identified and the consequences are real.”