Sony have filed a claim against a Swedish music fan to the tune of €178,000 for illegally distributing advance Beyonce's album '4' online.
According to the website Torrentfreak, the album leak occurred on June 8th 2011 - before the release date - and it is believed that the uploader works in the music industry.
Sony claim that they have been adversely affected by the leak, suffering monetary losses as well as hits to its marketing strategy. Interestingly, they also stated that their relationship with Beyonce has suffered as a result of the incident.
Sony appears to be ramping up their efforts to stop illegal filesharing. Earlier this year, two men in Blackpool were given six month suspended sentences and ordered to complete 100 hours of community service after being found to have download over 7,000 music files illegally.
