Canada joins online piracy fight

A similar crackdown in the US led to hundreds of lawsuits

Canada's biggest music companies have begun legal moves to try to identify people who illegally swap songs online.

Firms including EMI and Universal want the courts to order internet service providers (ISPs) to give them the names of 29 alleged large-scale offenders.

But the ISPs are calling the actions "an infringement of customer privacy".

Similar anti-piracy crackdowns in the US have led to more than 400 lawsuits in five months. Canada's music industry is the sixth largest in the world.

The Canadian Recording Industry Association has instigated the action, encouraged by signs that the US campaign has slowed down illegal downloading.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said the number of copyrighted music files hosted on networks had fallen by about a fifth in the past year.

But Canada's second largest cable company, Shaw Communications, said it would fight the court case.

Chief executive Jim Shaw said: "We intend to ask the court to preserve the privacy of our customers. We believe this application amounts to a civil search warrant."

The hearing at the Federal Court of Canada was adjourned until 12 March.