The music industry is to take legal action against 247 online song-swappers across Europe in the biggest crackdown against music piracy outside the US.
The International Federation for the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has said it will pursue serious offenders across the continent through the court system.
They have been targetted for illegally distributing hundreds of music tracks using file-sharing technology.
UK music firms have already threatened court action against song-swappers.
The first wave of legal actions will affect Germany, Italy, Denmark and Canada, and will be implimented according to that country's law.
In Italy, 30 people have already been charged with copyright infringement, while computers and files have been seized as evidence.
In Denmark, 120 people have been sent civil demands asking them to stop illegal file-sharing and pay compensation - or face legal action.
An IFPI spokeswoman told BBC News Online that no British lawsuits are being enacted at this time, but this would certainly be a "possibility" in the future.
The move is the latest in the organisation's campaign to persuade online music-swappers that they can obtain music legally.
The IFPI has spent the last year sending 21 million warning messages to people using unauthorised software to share files.
