First the record industry went after direct download MP3 websites, then Napster, BitTorrent, eDonkey and now - sites that offer song scores and lyrics.

The Music Publishers' Association, which publishes sheet music, is might unhappy that sites are reproducing musical notes without permission and plans to start hitting heads next year.

I wonder if they will start to sue shops that use sheet music to wrap gifts in?

The Beeb says:

MPA president Lauren Keiser said he wanted site owners to be jailed. He said unlicensed guitar tabs and song scores were widely available on the internet but were "completely illegal".

Mr Keiser said he did not just want to shut websites and impose fines, saying if authorities can "throw in some jail time I think we'll be a little more effective".

The MPA would target "very big sites that people would think are legitimate and very, very popular", Mr Keiser said.

"The Xerox machine was the big usurper of our potential income," he said. "But now the internet is taking more of a bite out of sheet music and printed music sales so we're taking a more proactive stance."