London, Dec 20 : The American music industry watchdog has said that it will not launch any lawsuits against Internet users who download music illegally, according to reports.

The controversial policy by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was halted after around 35,000 people were served with lawsuits since 2003.

And the subjects of those lawsuits have included several single mothers, a dead person and even a 13-year-old girl.

The RIAA told the Wall Street Journal that they are planning to launch a new policy targeting illegal downloaders through warnings from their Internet service providers
(ISPs), and believe that it will turn out to be more effective.

The body revealed that it had already reached a deal with many providers to carry out the proposals but did not disclose which ones.

"Part of the issue with infringement is for people to be aware that their actions are not anonymous," Times Online quoted Mitch Bainwol, the chairman of the RIAA, as saying.

Bainwol said that although he believed that the litigation was effective in many regards, the industry does have new methods available to it.

"Over the course of five years, the marketplace has changed," he said.

Music sales have continued to fall since it became common practice for internet users to share music files or download them from illegal websites. (ANI)