Fred Lawrence didn't even know what file sharing was before the film industry accused him of illegally downloading movies.

The 67-year old was served papers by the Motion Picture Association of America, which is seeking $600,000 in damages for four movies illegally downloaded through the Internet file-sharing service iMesh.

Lawrence says his grandson was twelve and unaware it was illegal when he downloaded "The Incredibles", "I, Robot", "The Grudge" and "The Forgotten" last December.

The MPAA told Lawrence the lawsuit would be dropped if he paid $4,000 in installments over a year to 18-months.

Lawrence says, "I don't want to sound like a smart aleck, but $4,000 might as well be a million."

Fred von Lohmann, senior staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based organization dedicated to protecting civil liberties on the Internet says the movie industry has joined forces with the music industry hundreds of users of file sharing networks.

Kori Bernards, MPAA vice president of corporate communications says the group is trying to fight a problem that costs the movie industry nearly $5.4 billion a year.

He says, "We're not asking for anyone's sympathy. We are asking for people to understand the consequences of Internet piracy."