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Source:
www.spf.gov.sg |
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3 Subjects Arrested for Illegal Distribution of
Copyrighted Songs on the Internet |
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A pre-dawn raid on 3 locations by the Police
on 17 August 2005 saw the arrest of 3 male subjects aged between 16 and
22 years old for distributing infringing copies of copyrighted music on
the Internet. |
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The 16 year-old student, 21 year-old
unemployed man and 22 year-old factory operator were arrested in their
respective residences. |
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4 personal computers, 1 laptop computer
along with an assortment of computer peripherals and storage mediums
were also seized for investigation. |
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Sometime in March 2005, the Intellectual
Property Rights Branch (IPRB) of the Criminal Investigation Department
received information from the Recording Industry Association Singapore (RIAS)
that a number of online users were illegally distributing songs in
digital format, typically known as MPEG layer 3 or mp3 files, on one of
the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channels. |
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Upon receipt of the information, Police
conducted extensive probes into the said IRC channel and managed to
ascertain the identities of the perpetrators. |
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Police also established the modus operandi
adopted by them. From the Internet, the perpetrators downloaded a
particular program that would facilitate the sharing of mp3 files stored
in their computers. |
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The program is then configured by the
perpetrators to specify the IRC channel, the folder where the files are
located, number of allowed active connections to their computers at any
one time as well as the type of files they intend to share. |
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The perpetrators had also configured the
program to send timely broadcast messages on the IRC channel to invite
others to download mp3 files from their computers. |
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Preliminary investigations revealed that the
perpetrators had in their computers, an estimated total of about 20,000
mp3 files that were intended for distribution. |
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It is also revealed that a person would be
accorded priority when downloading mp3 files from others if he had
distributed more files on the said IRC channel. The person will be
placed ahead of others in the ˇ°queueˇ± if there is more than one person
requesting for the same file simultaneously. |
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This operation, which is a first for the
Police, is part of police enforcement efforts with rights owners in
tackling music piracy. The Police will work closely with rights owners
to take to task persons who think they can exploit the faceless and
anonymous features of the Internet to perpetuate such activities. |
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Deputy Superintendent of Police Tan Kah Khin,
Head of the Intellectual Property Rights Branch of Criminal
Investigation Department said, ˇ°Police would like to remind Internet
users that the distribution of copyrighted materials such as songs,
software or movies on the Internet without prior consent from the rights
owner is against the law and the consequences are severe. |
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"It is also an offence to download such
materials from the Internet. Under the amended Copyright Act which took
effect as of 1 January 2005 , it is a criminal offence for any person
who wilfully infringes the copyright of another to obtain a commercial
advantage, or to a significant extent or both. The offence carries an
imprisonment term up to 6 months or fine up to $20,000/- or to both.ˇ± |
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Persons found guilty of distributing
infringing articles of any work in which copyright subsists, are liable
to a fine not exceeding $10,000/- per article, and up to a maximum fine
of $100,000/-, or to an imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or
to both. |
PUBLIC AFFAIRS
DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
17 August 2005 @ 8.00 pm |
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Source:
www.spf.gov.sg Media Release 17 Aug
2005 |
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Three arrested for illegally distributing copyrighted songs
online
