By James McNair
Enquirer staff writer

Whoever "Jordan" is on the online file-sharing program Kazaa, he or she shares 700 songs by the likes of Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Nickel Creek. "Stroekert" has a lot of Aerosmith, Montgomery Gentry and Good Charlotte among his or her 612 files on Kazaa. And "eaglesblonde2" is willing to swap 717 tunes heavy on rap, rock and R&B.

All of the songs were illegally acquired, music companies contend in federal lawsuits filed in Covington and Cincinnati last week.

The lawsuits, filed against three people by name and 23 "John Doe" defendants, pit Warner Bros., Sony Music, BMG Music, Capital Re-cords, Elektra, Motown and other music labels against people they say violated U.S. copyright laws by downloading and sharing music through Internet file-sharing services.

In recent weeks, music companies have blitzed U.S. courthouses with lawsuits against people they accuse of online piracy. Cases have been filed against 744 users of Kazaa, eDonkey, Limewire, Grokster and other file-sharing platforms.

Only 152 defendants were identified by name.

"There will always be a degree of piracy, both on the street and online," said Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America. "But without a strong measure of deterrence, piracy will overwhelm and choke the creation and distribution of music."

The music industry has battled for more than three years with so-called peer-to-peer file-sharing programs and their users, who download music for free on their computers. It suffered a setback Aug. 19 when a federal appeals court in San Francisco upheld a lower court ruling that the file-sharing programs Grokster and Morpheus were merely tools, not buffet tables for free music.

Sharman Networks, the Australian company that distributes Kazaa, said it would ask the courts to declare its product a legal one as well.

But the California case did not interfere with the music industry's right to go after people who use those programs for wrongful ends.

"That court affirmed that the underlying activity of anyone uploading or downloading works without the permission of the creator is engaging in illegal activity," said Jonathan Lamy, an RIAA spokesman.

Lamy said music companies identify violators through John Doe lawsuits and make settlement offers before taking them to court. He said the industry has reached 835 settlements nationwide and has suits pending against about 4,600 people.

The industry's local targets are Kentucky residents Ted Kloeker- stroekert on Kazaa, according to the complaint - and Scott Malof - Jordan on Kazaa - and Mike Paullus, or eaglesblonde2, the lone defendant in Cincinnati. The complaints against them, filed by David Black and Brian O'Connell of the law firm Dinsmore & Shohl, seek unspecified monetary damages, legal fees, destruction of downloaded music and a ban on future music sharing.

Kloeker, of Walton, said Friday that he hadn't seen the lawsuit. He said he doesn't download music. He wondered if his children did.

"I don't know what to tell you there," he said. "I definitely didn't get on there (Kazaa), and my kids might have gotten on there, or they might not have."

Malof and Paullus could not be reached for comment. The fourth lawsuit accuses 23 "John Does" of downloading such songs as "Living Dead Girl" by Rob Zombie, "Boot Scootin' Boogie" by Brooks & Dunn and "Body Bumpin' Yippie Yi-Yo" by Public Announcement. It expects to learn the identities of the downloaders as the case unfolds.

E-mail jmcnair@enquirer.com