Jail time for BitTorrent user!! by R1Z

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Jail time for BitTorrent user!!

POSTED BY: R1Z
UPDATED: Monday, November 7, 2005 06:13
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Monday, November 7, 2005 4:47 AM

From the International Herald Tribune website:

Hong Kong court orders jail for movie-sharing
By Keith Bradsher The New York Times

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2005

HONG KONG In a case likely to draw attention around the globe from people who use the Internet to share movies and music recordings, a Hong Kong judge sentenced a local resident on Monday to three months in jail for using an Internet file-sharing system to make three Hollywood movies available for others to download free.

Margaret Fu, a spokeswoman for the Asia-Pacific office of the Motion Picture Association, whose members include major Hollywood studios, said the case represented the first jail sentence imposed on anyone who had made movies available to others using BitTorrent, a popular Internet file-sharing system.

A court in Sweden has ordered civil penalties, but no jail sentence, for an Internet user there for distributing movies using a different Internet file-sharing system, according to Fu.

The judge, Colin Mackintosh of the Hong Kong Magistrates' Court at Tuen Mun, sentenced the local man, Chan Nai-ming, for installing three movies on his computer in a format that allowed others to copy them, then announcing on Internet newsgroups that the movies were available.

Chan, who used the name Big Crook on the Internet, was not charging money for the copies.

Paul Francis, Chan's lawyer, said his client had immediately given notice of his intention to appeal both his conviction and the sentence to a higher court and had been released on bail of 5,000 Hong Kong dollars, or $645.

"Our view is that the sentence was excessive in all circumstances," Francis said.

Unlike Singapore, Hong Kong does not have a reputation for imposing jail sentences for infractions that might draw only fines elsewhere. But Hong Kong has been trying hard to shed its role as a center for movie piracy and to develop an image as a city where intellectual property rights are protected; studios often release movies to cinemas here weeks after they do so in the United States or Europe, because illegal copies appear so quickly.

Hong Kong officials welcomed Chan's conviction.

"We believe the court has reached the most appropriate verdict based on the circumstances of the case," said Tam Yiu-keung, head of the intellectual property investigation bureau at Hong Kong's customs department.

A spokesman for the Hong Kong government's Bureau of Commerce, Industry and Technology said the verdict would have a deterrent effect.

"We urge young people to respect intellectual property rights and abide by the law," the spokesman said.

The energy with which Chan has been investigated and prosecuted has underlined the government's determination to discourage the copying of files on the Internet. In summarizing the evidence, Mackintosh described how a Hong Kong customs official had downloaded a copy of the three movies - "Daredevil," "Red Planet" and "Miss Congeniality" - and then traced them to an Internet address in Hong Kong before arranging a raid on Chan's home.

A team of customs officers arrived with a warrant at Chan's home at 7 a.m. on Jan. 12, and as his wife was leaving for work, they asked her to let them inside, where they found Chan at his computer. According to the prosecution, Chan told one of the officers that he was Big Crook and was solely responsible for uploading the files. The officer took notes on the conversation, and Chan signed the note.

Chan later testified that he had signed the note only in the belief that he needed to do so for the officers to allow his wife to go to work and that he would not get into trouble. Mackintosh did not accept this argument.

Francis argued during the trial that Chan's actions did not meet the legal definition for distributing a copyrighted work because Chan had only saved the movies on his computer and connected the computer to the Internet in a way that allowed others to download the movie. But the judge dismissed this argument, saying an ordinary definition of "distribution" would encompass what Chan had done.

The judge also accepted the prosecution's argument that Chan had deprived studios of part of their revenue. The customs officers determined that 30 to 40 people had downloaded each of the movies that Chan had made available, and these people might have rented or purchased the movies otherwise, the judge concluded.

Fu said the Motion Picture Association, which is the international arm of the Motion Picture Association of America, would have no response to the severity of the sentence for Chan until its headquarters in Los Angeles issued a statement.

HONG KONG In a case likely to draw attention around the globe from people who use the Internet to share movies and music recordings, a Hong Kong judge sentenced a local resident on Monday to three months in jail for using an Internet file-sharing system to make three Hollywood movies available for others to download free.

Margaret Fu, a spokeswoman for the Asia-Pacific office of the Motion Picture Association, whose members include major Hollywood studios, said the case represented the first jail sentence imposed on anyone who had made movies available to others using BitTorrent, a popular Internet file-sharing system.

A court in Sweden has ordered civil penalties, but no jail sentence, for an Internet user there for distributing movies using a different Internet file-sharing system, according to Fu.

The judge, Colin Mackintosh of the Hong Kong Magistrates' Court at Tuen Mun, sentenced the local man, Chan Nai-ming, for installing three movies on his computer in a format that allowed others to copy them, then announcing on Internet newsgroups that the movies were available.

Chan, who used the name Big Crook on the Internet, was not charging money for the copies.

Paul Francis, Chan's lawyer, said his client had immediately given notice of his intention to appeal both his conviction and the sentence to a higher court and had been released on bail of 5,000 Hong Kong dollars, or $645.

"Our view is that the sentence was excessive in all circumstances," Francis said.

Unlike Singapore, Hong Kong does not have a reputation for imposing jail sentences for infractions that might draw only fines elsewhere. But Hong Kong has been trying hard to shed its role as a center for movie piracy and to develop an image as a city where intellectual property rights are protected; studios often release movies to cinemas here weeks after they do so in the United States or Europe, because illegal copies appear so quickly.

Hong Kong officials welcomed Chan's conviction.

"We believe the court has reached the most appropriate verdict based on the circumstances of the case," said Tam Yiu-keung, head of the intellectual property investigation bureau at Hong Kong's customs department.

A spokesman for the Hong Kong government's Bureau of Commerce, Industry and Technology said the verdict would have a deterrent effect.

"We urge young people to respect intellectual property rights and abide by the law," the spokesman said.

The energy with which Chan has been investigated and prosecuted has underlined the government's determination to discourage the copying of files on the Internet. In summarizing the evidence, Mackintosh described how a Hong Kong customs official had downloaded a copy of the three movies - "Daredevil," "Red Planet" and "Miss Congeniality" - and then traced them to an Internet address in Hong Kong before arranging a raid on Chan's home.

A team of customs officers arrived with a warrant at Chan's home at 7 a.m. on Jan. 12, and as his wife was leaving for work, they asked her to let them inside, where they found Chan at his computer. According to the prosecution, Chan told one of the officers that he was Big Crook and was solely responsible for uploading the files. The officer took notes on the conversation, and Chan signed the note.

Chan later testified that he had signed the note only in the belief that he needed to do so for the officers to allow his wife to go to work and that he would not get into trouble. Mackintosh did not accept this argument.

Francis argued during the trial that Chan's actions did not meet the legal definition for distributing a copyrighted work because Chan had only saved the movies on his computer and connected the computer to the Internet in a way that allowed others to download the movie. But the judge dismissed this argument, saying an ordinary definition of "distribution" would encompass what Chan had done.

The judge also accepted the prosecution's argument that Chan had deprived studios of part of their revenue. The customs officers determined that 30 to 40 people had downloaded each of the movies that Chan had made available, and these people might have rented or purchased the movies otherwise, the judge concluded.

Fu said the Motion Picture Association, which is the international arm of the Motion Picture Association of America, would have no response to the severity of the sentence for Chan until its headquarters in Los Angeles

To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites. Moderation is for monks. --Robt. Heinlein

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Monday, November 7, 2005 5:28 AM

CHRISISALL

R1Z, this is just more of your left-wing nonsense.
You made this up, and even if you didn't...well, it can't be true.
Next you'll be telling us that the FBI and CIA do random internet and telephone sweeps lookin' for terrorists. That in the future, viewing a blue ray dvd will entail hooking up to some master computer that tracks and/or ok's your movie. Maybe even that there are orbiting nukes around the Earth!

Nobody gets put in jail for pressing a few keys on his computer, that would be, you know...facist and stuff.

This is a waste of time; I'm doing REAL work here. I'm trying to locate Saddam's stash of missing WMD's, I think I have a line on that undersea installation just off the Virginia coast, the one Blofeld used to use...

BitTorrent is a commie site anyway Chrisisall

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Monday, November 7, 2005 5:33 AM

R1Z

You got me.

And everyone knows that bootlegs actually INCREASE legitimate dvd sales and therefore profit for artists.

To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites. Moderation is for monks. --Robt. Heinlein

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Monday, November 7, 2005 5:41 AM

CHRISISALL

I bought a boot of True Lies in NY's chinatown when it was still in theatres, and after I watched it I thought "This movie seems pretty good, I'm gonna buy the real tape when it comes out!"
The boot served as an advertisement, so the dude that sold it to me made ten bucks for ensuring a legitimate $25 sale to the movie company.
Now if these idiots will just make movies available to the public right away, in every form, they'll begin to make more money right away, and drive bootleggers out of business!IMHO

BTW, that lead on Blofeld's old digs turned out to be a false one planted by Saddam himself from a computer in prison...
damn, I was so close....

Chrisisall

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Monday, November 7, 2005 5:56 AM

CHRISISALL

Oh, and BTW, to comment for real on the arrest of Mr. Chan, this kind of thing was inevitable, controlling $ is a major priority for the governments, and throwing some kids in jail for a spell will send a serious message to big-time crooks who really harm the entertainment industry!

Or maybe not.

You know, if they'd pay as much attention to who's learning what in airliner flight school, and cross-reference that with who's flying on what airline.....What am I saying, that's hard work!

Chrisisall

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Monday, November 7, 2005 6:02 AM

R1Z

Clearly, the local government felt that their growing reputation as an intellectual property free-for-all zone was a BAD thing.

Personally, if I'm gonna become a pirate, I want more than a movie for my efforts. Like, maybe, a cruise ship of my very own (with the odd RPG hole here and there.)

Make no small plans.

And Chris--I was gonna say that for the price of your $10.00 bootleg/trial copy of your movie, you could have bought a ticket and the money would have gone to the studio and artists instead of a petty criminal, but in NYC that might not be the case.

To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites. Moderation is for monks. --Robt. Heinlein

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Monday, November 7, 2005 6:13 AM

CHRISISALL

Quote:
Originally posted by R1Z:
And Chris--I was gonna say that for the price of your $10.00 bootleg/trial copy of your movie, you could have bought a ticket and the money would have gone to the studio and artists instead of a petty criminal, but in NYC that might not be the case.

Well, to see the movie that day would've meant traveling uptown ($2 for me and my wife), finding a theatre with an appropriate showtime (that means waiting approx. 1-1 1/2 hours), getting two NYC priced tickets ($8 each that year), and of course, the obligatory popcorn and soda ($10 easy), plus, we were on our way home at that point anyway.
It was an impulse buy.

Chrisisall, who's never done it since (and SURE wouldn't now; I could go to JAIL!!!)

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