British record industry trade organ BPI is 'investigating' Amazon.com for possible illegal importing of CDs into the UK.

This, together with two legal actions, represents, "the music industry's first large assault on parallel importing, where genuine goods are bought in one country, usually more cheaply, before being imported and sold in another without the copyright owner's consent," says a Financial Times story here.

The BPI is. "looking at amazon.com," a person "close to the trade body" is quoted as saying. "If the product the UK consumer buys is from the US, we would have to look at that carefully. Potentially they are acting without the consent and authority of the UK record companies."

However, the BPI isn't concerned with amazon.co.uk, "which the BPI has separately concluded does not import CDs illegally," says the FT, going on that the news comes as, "the BPI prepares to fight its most high-profile illegal importing case against CD Wow, a Hong Kong-based retailer that has been one of the internet's success stories with an estimated £100m ($182m) turnover last year.

"The BPI's lawsuit, to be heard in the High Court next month, alleges that CD Wow imports CDs bought outside the European Economic Area into the UK, where it sells them cheaper than traditional retailers.

"The BPI has also issued legal proceedings against play.com, another online CD retailer, based in Jersey," adds the report.