A Hong Kong court sentenced a man to three months in prison yesterday in what is believed to be the first jail sentence for distributing movie files over the popular online BitTorrent (BT) network.
In a stark warning to online file sharers worldwide, Chan Nai-ming, 38, an unemployed man who called himself "Big Crook," was jailed for uploading three Hollywood movies onto the Web via the BitTorrent.
In sentencing, magistrate Colin Mackintosh served notice on online pirates the world over.
"The message has to be sent out by courts that the distribution of infringing copies, particularly by seeding films onto the Internet, will not be treated leniently," Mackintosh said in his judgement.
Although there was no evidence of any personal financial gain nor element of trade of business, the magistrate said there was little distinction between sharers of unauthorized files on the Internet, and manufacturers or distributors of pirated CDs and DVDs. Such offenders in the past had been given up to 12-month jail terms.
Acknowledging the "huge" potential for damage this has caused to the film industry, Mackintosh said "it would be irresponsible of the courts not to recognize that" thus "a sentence of imprisonment is imperative."
Although several online file sharers using services other than BitTorrent have received jail sentences, most recently in Taiwan and the US, all sentences were either suspended or later converted to fines.
Ricky Fung, chairman of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, believed the court made a fair judgement.
"The deterrent effect is certainly there. A lot of people think they would be lucky enough not to get caught but they should realize now they could be punished by the law," he said.
Woody Tsung, chief executive of the Motion Picture Industry Association, welcomed the verdict.
"Jailing is quite a serious punishment and to a certain extent, it's good enough. If BT users think they could go to jail by uploading movies onto the Internet without permission, no one would dare at do it again," he said.
BT is a program that works by allowing downloads from multiple sources, each supplying a small part of the whole. When anyone downloads a BT file, it becomes a source for the others. Thus, locating those who upload or download material can be a difficult and complicated process, industry observers said.
"If I have to sue someone, I would have to know who I am suing. So this [judgement] can't simply solve the rest of the cases," Tsung said.
Chan was arrested in January and charged in April for uploading Daredevil, Miss Congeniality and Red Planet onto the Internet without a license by using the BT He was convicted of copyright infringement on Oct. 24. He faced a maximum of four years in prison.
Mackintosh said he reduced the term because this was Chan's first offence and the first sentencing for such a case in the world.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique