Several Iowans are targeted in a series of copyright infringement lawsuits filed by several major music companies. Two lawsuits were filed in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Iowa, and six lawsuits were filed in other parts of the state. Among those named as defendants were a Scott and a Clinton County resident. The lawsuits allege the defendants shared songs over the Internet without permission.
The music companies filing the suits include Arista, Virgin Records, Motown Record Company, UMG Recordings, BMG Music, Sony and others. The defendants are accused of sharing the music of various artists including MC Hammer, Janet Jackson, Phil Collins, Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston and others. In a related note, a group of movie studios filed copyright infringement lawsuits against four Iowans for what they claim was illegal sharing of movies over the Internet.