25 new cases of illegal music file-sharing handed over to
police
By May Wong, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 17 October 2006 1921
hrs
The Recording Industry Association of Singapore (RIAS) has found 25
new cases of illegal music file-sharing and downloading.
It has filed these cases with the police, in line with
international efforts to deter copyright theft.
Over 8,000 new cases in 17 countries were also reported on
Tuesday.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, an
organisation against music piracy, says legal action is being taken
against the biggest culprits of South America and Eastern
Europe.
Over in Singapore, the 25 new cases were reported just days after
the police had raided the homes of seven illegal music
file-sharers.
RIAS says that the new cases involve users who are illegally
downloading and sharing music files via international networks like
Limewire and Gnutella.
In October last year, over 800 instant warning messages were sent
to illegal music file-sharers.
That number dipped to 32 last month alone.
Edward Neubronner, CEO of RIAS, said: "So it's clearly an
indication that the majority in Singapore understand and know that
these activities are wrong, they are illegal and the consequences
can be very dire."
Two Singaporean men were jailed four months and three months
respectively in February for distributing hundreds of pirated
digital music files through an Internet chat program.
They were the first to be punished in Singapore for a non
profit-making offence under the city-state's Copyright Act.
A third was let off with a warning because he was only 16 years old
at that time.
"The reaction when three were arrested was that: there are so many
of us, are you going to catch all of us? Now, after the seven whose
homes have been raided by the police, it's clear that everybody is
saying, 'ok! it's not fooling around, and I don't think I want to
face such severe consequences'," said Mr Neubronner.
A media expert believes the new cases will have a chilling effect
among online users.
Associate Professor Ang Peng Hwa, Chair of Wee Kim Wee School of
Communication and Information at the Nanyang Technological
University, said: "The volume of downloading will go down at least
for a while. You have to see what kinds of penalties are levied on
those people who have been charged.....I'm not sure if many people
know, but the copyright laws in Singapore are very tough. In fact,
they are the toughest in the world right now. We are, for better or
worse, leading the world in this area."
Liew Woon Yin, Director-General of Intellectual Property Office of
Singapore (IPOS), said: "The provision is actually not meant to
target the one or two individuals who download and distribute
music. The whole purpose and objective of the Act is to tackle
infringers who download music wilfully and to a significant extent.
We're of the view that the activities that we've conducted so far
have been effective. We can't say that people are not aware of the
provisions in the law and people are not aware that it's wrong to
infringe somebody else's work."
IPOS admits that it's not possible to eradicate music piracy in
Singapore.
But education is the key.
IPOS has been alerting the public about the importance of honouring
intellectual property through its advertisements in movie theatres
and magazines.
And if need be, it says it will step up its educational campaign. -
CNA/ir
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/235999/1/.html
