HONG KONG CUSTOMS BUSTS ASIA'S FIRST TOP-SITE

UNCLAS HONG KONG 001107 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/CM, EEB/IPE/TMCGOWAN, JURBAN DEPT PASS USTR FOR ALTBACH, RAGLAND DEPT PASS USPTO FOR TBROWNING GUANGZHOU FOR WONG E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KIPR PGOV ETRD ECON HK SUBJECT: HONG KONG CUSTOMS BUSTS ASIA'S FIRST TOP-SITE ¶1. Summary: Hong Kong Customs, working with local copyright associations, has for the first time in Asia taken down a "top-site". These high-speed file sharing sites are the top of the digital piracy food chain, distributing the latest high-quality digital content through a highly secure network to members around the world who can then use more established channels to distribute content to end-users. The action is yet another demonstration of the close and cooperative working relationship between Hong Kong law enforcement and international Intellectual Property rightsholders. End Summary. ¶2. Hong Kong Customs and Excise (HKCE) announced June 15 that it had uncovered an international copyright piracy syndicate that uses high-speed internet servers to distribute copyright-infringing items including movies, music, television programs, computer programs, and game software. HKCE arrested two local men and seized four computer servers with 11.6 terabyte capacity. (Note: 1 terabyte equals 1000 gigabytes and can store approximately 250 high-quality movies.) The two men are currently free on HK$5000 (US$645) bail. The maximum penalty for distribution of copyright-infringing work is four years imprisonment and a fine of HK$50,000 (US$6450) per infringing copy. ¶3. This "top-site" operated as a central distribution center for distributors of copyright infringing content around the world. Membership to the &top-site8 was strictly controlled, with new members only able to join through existing members. All members were actively uploading infringing materials, said HKCE Divisional Commander Michael Kwan, which would then be downloaded and distributed through other networks, including discussion forums, websites and by producing optical discs. Most content was not kept on the "top-site" for long periods, and would typically be removed after about one month. ¶4. The syndicate took some care to avoid detection. In addition to strictly limiting access, members were required to log in with a user name and password at a designated overseas IP address. Logging in from a Hong Kong address would be rejected to evade detection by Hong Kong Customs. A tip from the copyright industry representatives in March 2009 led to a three-month undercover investigation by HKCE,s Anti-Internet Piracy Team and the June 9 raids against two Hong Kong locations. HKCE officials believe the top-site had been operating for more than two years, with 200 active members in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, the U.S., and Canada. While enforcement action has been taken against similar &top-sites8 in other jurisdictions, HKCE said this is the first "top-site" detected in Asia. ¶5. Hong Kong-based International Federation Against Copyright Theft (IFACT),with major support from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA),confirmed they had provided information to HKCE to spark the investigation. IFACT Executive Director Sam Ho said the pirate syndicate is well-known in greater China as one of the more prolific and active infringing groups, and is particularly famous for their releases, many of which come with Chinese subtitles. ¶6. Ho said this "top-site" was used to distribute MPAA member companies products, including movies such as "Star Trek" and "Dragonball Evolution", popular TV series like "Lost" and "Prison Break", Bollywood, Chinese, and Hong Kong movies, Discovery Channel and BBC programming, and Xbox, PS2, PS3, and Wii games. He praised the work of the HKCE Anti-Internet Piracy Team to take down the first "top-site" in the Asia Pacific region. MARUT