The second largest file-sharing network on the internet has been severely disabled in a significant coup for the music industry's fight against piracy. Seven servers on the notorious eDonkey network, on which millions of users illegally share music and other files, were this week shut down following orders by German courts, the International Federation of Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said. The closure would knock out about third of eDonkey's 4 million users and cause "a major disruption" to one of the world's "top three file-sharing networks" the IFPI said in a statement. Similar injunctions have been issued against eDonkey-linked servers in France and the Netherlands.

This is a multi-country campaign and we will continue to take action against individuals who are deliberately and flagrantly violating the rights of artists and record companies,

said Jo Oliver, head of litigation at IFPI.