Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Hong Kong's "Big Crook" Appeal Case Has Started

Last year Chan Nai-ming, BitTorrent uploader under the alias Big Crook was sentenced to three months in jail by an Hong Kong court. Chan was out on bail until his appeal, which began September 26th.

"At the hearing the defence argued that Mr Chan was merely the "seeder", and that the downlaoders had initiated the actual distribution. His council addes that whereas Mr Chan might have infringed copyright in some way, it was not an extent that warranted criminal sanction. The prosecution argued that the law clearly states that putting files into a BitTorrent format and sticking them on a bulletin board amounts to distribution."

Source: Economist City Briefings Hong Kong, here.

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