e.Digital Corporation (fka EDIG)

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About 1.45 Mln. Users Illegally Download 75 Mln. Music Files Via File-Swapping: ACCS and RIAJ - Japan

June 4, 2002 (TOKYO) -- The Association of Copyright for Computer Software (ACCS) and the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) announced on May 29 the results of a joint survey on the use of file-swapping software, such as "Napster" and "WinMX," in Japan.

According to the survey, about 1.45 million Internet users have had the experience of using the file-swapping software, and approximately 75 million music files have been downloaded via the Internet.

"To date, as many as 75 million music files have been illegally downloaded via the Internet. I think this situation has a great negative impact on businesses, such as CD sales. With the spread of the broadband service, more and more Internet users will use the illegal file-swapping software. We will continue to take strong measures to cope with copyright infringements in the future," said Hidetoshi Haeno, managing director and general manager of the RIAJ.

The announcement is based on the results of a questionnaire conducted from Jan. 9-15, 2002, using the Internet. ACCS and RIAJ estimated the figures to Japan's entire Internet users from the 21,060 replies to the questionnaires collected in the survey.

The two organizations conducted a similar survey in May 2001. The number of file-swapping software users in Japan totaled about one million in 2001. But the number decreased to about 680,000 in January 2002. According to ACCS and RIAJ, the number of the file-swapping software users in Japan dropped partly because file-exchanging services using the Napster software suspended their operations. Another possible reason is the media report on a WinMX user who was arrested for copyright infringement in November 2001, the two organizations said. However, the findings of the two surveys conducted in 2001 and 2002 showed that about 450,000 additional people started using the file-swapping software during the period.

The results of the questionnaire survey conducted in January 2002 showed that about 40 percent of the users who were refraining from using the file-swapping software temporarily wanted to use it again. "There is still a high possibility that the illegal use of the file-swapping software will expand rapidly among Internet users in the future," said Hiroshi Kubota, executive director of the ACCS.