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Customs officers of the Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau cracked down on a case of distribution of suspected pirated music files on a local discussion forum and arrested a 21-year-old man yesterday (October 13).
Customs earlier received a complaint regarding distribution of suspected pirated music files on a local discussion forum. The suspected pirated music files were being uploaded onto a cyberlocker for downloading. Members of the discussion forum, after replying a message post, could access a hyperlink to the cyberlocker to download the suspected pirated music files.
After investigation, Customs officers yesterday conducted a raid operation to search a household in Kwun Tong. A man was arrested and a batch of computer equipment with a total value of about $7,400 was seized. The man has been released on bail pending further investigation.
The arrested person was suspected to have recorded the whole live performance of a concert held before the official release of a CD album as publicity and edited the sound recording into eight music files. These files were compressed and uploaded onto a cyberlocker. The arrested person then posted the hyperlink to the cyberlocker on a local discussion forum before the official CD album was released.
According to the Copyright Ordinance, anyone who without the license of the copyright owner distributes an infringing copy of a work to such an extent as to affect prejudicially the owner, whether or not it is for benefit, commits an offence. The maximum penalty is imprisonment for four years and a fine of $50,000 for each infringing copy.
Members of the public who come across any suspected infringing activities may report to the Customs on the 24-hour hotline 2545 6182.
Ends/Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Issued at HKT 19:48
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