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First BitTorrent Arrest in Hong Kong

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the john-law-catches-on dept.

prostoalex writes "Associated Press says a 38-year-old was arrested in Hong Kong for uploading Daredevil, Red Planet and Miss Congeniality via a BitTorrent client. Hong Kong laws provide for a maximum of 4 years in prison and $6,400 fine for every copy distributed without copyright owner's permission."

4 of 454 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Wow! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Bull.

    My rights are not affected by the prosecution of some pirate. We don't have, nor should we expect, the right to pirate movies.

  2. Don't call it a "BitTorrent Arrest" by jqh1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Don't call it a "BitTorrent Arrest" -- some of my best friends use BitTorrent for perfectly legitimate reasons... It's really an arrest for piracy.

    --
    who's moderating the meta-moderators?
  3. Remember, kids by Dark+Paladin · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Bittorrents don't upload copyrighted files - people do.

    --
    52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
  4. Re:My rights online? by cpt+kangarooski · · Score: 4, Insightful

    No, distribution is merely an exercise of freedom of speech, and that's a natural right.

    This right is partially, temporarily, waived by society in order to further other societal interests, but the previous poster's point remains a good one: what are these interests that are so compelling as to justify an infringement on free speech?

    We should never assume that copyright is inevitable. Rather, we should consider it critically and always reassess whether it is desirable at all, and if so, to what extent.

    --
    -- This and all my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.