Record Labels' Suits Accuse 531 of Piracy

The recording industry, continuing its effort to thwart music piracy, sued an additional 531 people it said were illegally posting songs over the Internet for free downloads.

The people, identified only by numbers known as their Internet protocol address, were named in five lawsuits filed in Philadelphia; Atlanta; Orlando, Fla.; and Trenton, N.J., according to the Recording Industry Assn. of America.

The suits are a second wave of litigation since a U.S. appeals court limited the ability of the music industry to obtain the identities of computer users through a special subpoena process. Last month, the association sued 532 people in the so-called John Doe lawsuits.