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HK Shut Down Illegal MP3 Web Site
Hong Kong - Hong Kong customs officers shut down a Web site and arrested three people for illegally distributing Chinese pop songs, the first ever arrests in the city related to music piracy over the Internet.
``This morning we smashed an illegal website distributing illegal MP3 and Real Audio files,'' said Ben Leung Lun-cheung, deputy head of the intellectual property investigation bureau of the customs department.
The arrests follow an international crackdown on Internet music distribution. Storing music as MP3 files has become a popular way of finding and playing music. Music companies such as Time Warner, Bertelsmann AG and others recently sued Napster Inc., a closely held U.S.-based company that allows consumers to swap MP3 files without paying the music labels or artists, for copyright infringement.
Hong Kong customs officers acted on a tip from the International Federation of Phonographic Industries, said Leung. Two computers and a server worth a total of HK$40,000 were seized, as well as 68 MP3 and Real Audio files.
Leung said the three men would be charged under the copyright ordinance with knowingly distributing infringing copies of music on the Internet without the knowledge of the owner.
The maximum penalty for such an offence is four years in prison and a fine of HK$50,000.
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