Across China: Hong Kong

Film piracy

Hong Kong Customs officers have arrested a 38-year-old man for using a BitTorrent peer-to-peer file-sharing program to distribute two films on an Internet discussion forum, according to the Hong Kong government.

The case was detected recently when officers were monitoring illegal file-sharing activities on the Internet.

Officers tracked down the suspect's location with the service provider's support and arrested him. A computer and related net-serving peripheral equipment worth $10,000 were seized in his residence.

Copyright Ordinance infringers face four years' jail time and a fine of up to $50,000 per infringing copy of intellectual property.

(China Daily 05/11/2009 page11)