Hourly Update

Tucson man sued by music industry over downloaded songs

A Tucson man is one of 72 people named in federal lawsuits nationwide this week accusing them of illegally downloading music. According to a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Tucson, Virgil Bandy is accused of downloading songs recorded by the Eagles, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Ideal, Boyz II Men, Allure and Usher. Bandy and the other 71 defendants are also accused of distributing the copyrighted recordings to others using an online media distribution system. Bandy is being sued by the music groups’ producers, which include Virgin Records America Inc., Motown Record Co., Arista Records and Sony BMG Music Entertainment. The phone number listed in Qwest’s White Pages for a Virgil Bandy was disconnected. The companies want Bandy to destroy all copies of the recordings they say he’s downloaded. They also want him to be prohibited from downloading or uploading recordings. The companies are seeking the cost of the lawsuit, plus statutory damages for each act of infringement. Jenni Engebretsen, a spokeswoman for the Recording Industry Association of America, said that since 1999 overall shipments of compact discs and other recordings are down 35 percent as a result of piracy. Unlawfully downloading music is no different from shoplifting CDs from a store and not only adversely affects recording artists, but songwriters, backup musicians, producers and cities’ tax revenues, Engebretsen said. The 72 lawsuits - which include two filed in federal court in Phoenix - are part of an on-going enforcement program, Engebretsen said. Engebretsen declined to comment on how the defendants in these cases are being identified, but according to a news release from the RIAA, their names were subpoenaed from their respective Internet service providers. The RIAA has filed copyright infringement lawsuits against a few unauthorized peer-to-peer services, and several others have closed down of their own accord, the news release stated. “There really has been an explosion of legal ways for fans to get their music online and with so many options available, there is no excuse for continued music theft,” Engebretsen said. To find legal download sites, Engebretsen recommended people visit www.musicunited.org.