The “John Doe” lawsuits filed today cite individuals for illegally distributing copyrighted music on the Internet via unauthorized peer-to-peer services such as LimeWire and Kazaa, In addition to the “John Doe” litigations, the major music companies filed lawsuits against 105 named defendants. Named defendant suits were filed today in Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Texas and Wisconsin (specific cities below).

“The end of the year is an especially important time for the music community, and an especially fortunate time for music fans, with a great slate of new releases in stores,” said Cary Sherman, President, RIAA. “We must do everything to protect the integrity of the marketplace. That means educating fans about steering clear of pirated product and continuing to enforce our rights to send a clear message that stealing music will bring consequences. At stake is the music industry’s ability to invest in the next generation of music and a chance for legal online music services to flourish.”

Specifically, lawsuits with named defendants were filed in: Phoenix, Arizona; Hartford and New Haven, Connecticut; Columbus and Macon, Georgia; Chicago, Rock Island, Springfield, Illinois; Boston and Springfield, Massachusetts; Bay City, Detroit, and Flint, Michigan; Asheville, Charlotte, Durham, Greensboro, Statesville, and Winston Salem, North Carolina; Omaha, Nebraska; Newark and Trenton, New Jersey; Brooklyn, New York; Abilene, Amarillo, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Lubbock, and San Angelo, Texas; Green Bay and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.