The move came as the BPI, the UK's equivalent of the RIAA, released new research indicating that 8 million people in the UK claim to be downloading music, 92% of them (7.4 million people) using unauthorised services like Kazaa.
It also found that, while spending among those who do not download music remained flat in 2003, those who download music spent 32% less on buying albums in 2003 than they did in 2002, while their spending on singles was down 59%.
"There is no clearer evidence of the damage that illegal downloading is doing to British music and the British music industry," said BPI Chairman Peter Jamieson.
The BPI points out that illegal file-sharing is outlawed under the The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
The legislation contains two key provisions, as recently amended by the UK's implementation of the EU Copyright Directive:
Section 16, which reserves to the owner exclusive rights to copy and to
communicate their works to the public; and
Section 20, which says communication to the public includes "the making available to the public of the work by electronic transmission in such a way that members of the public may access it from a place and at a time individually chosen by them."
Jamieson said:
"People who trade or swap or share music files illegally over the internet open themselves up to the possibility of legal action. With this campaign we are taking this message directly to people's computer desktops."
The BPI has unveiled a new instant messaging campaign over the internet, warning uploaders that they face court action if they do not disable file-sharing software on their computers.
File sharing networks such as KaZaA and Grokster have an in-built messaging service that allows users to send anonymous messages to each other which appear on the screen while they are online.
The file sharing network itself enables the BPI to find unauthorised music files, and allows the sending of an instant message stating that a user is infringing copyright and breaking the law.
The BPI is focusing its efforts in this campaign on the so-called serial uploaders.
"Research reveals that the bulk of the problem of illegal downloading is facilitated by a small hardcore of people who are offering hundreds and often thousands of music files over the internet," says Jamieson. "These 'serial uploaders' are flouting the law and they are damaging British music and the British music industry."
The message will read:
WARNING
The file-sharing network you are connected to indicates that you are offering music to others from your computer.
Doing this without permission from the copyright owner is illegal.
Such actions damage everyone involved in creating and investing in music.
Copyright law exists to protect those creators and investors.
When you break the law, you risk legal penalties.
Avoid that risk. Do not offer, download or distribute music to others without permission on a file-sharing service like this. Disable the 'share' feature, or uninstall the filesharing software.
This message has been sent to you by British Phonographic Industry Ltd on behalf of its members and those of Phonographic Performance Ltd - more than 95 % of UK record companies.
The move follows a similar campaign by the Recording Industry Association of America, which began sending instant messages to file sharers in late April last year. The RIAA has since followed up the warnings with legal action and to date has filed suit against 1,977 individuals.
In an interview with OUT-LAW News last year, BPI Director General Andrew Yeates made a point of proportionality – that any action taken against file-sharers would need to be proportional to the infringement and that any damages in such actions would reflect this.
Unlike the US and its controversial DMCA, the legislation used against file-sharers, the damages that the BPI could expect in this country are not fixed in legislation and would likely be more modest than the RIAA could win in US courts.