Two Hong Kongers sentenced in jail for web pirates

Two men from Hong Kong are sentenced Wednesday to six and four months separately in prison for setting up a website selling illicit Japanese cartoon movies and animation discs.

These are the toughest sentences so far for selling infringing video discs via the Internet.

The website proprietor was convicted at Kwun Tong Magistracy Wednesday of possessing infringing copies of copyright works for sale and sentenced to six months in jail. A staff member was convicted for the same offense on two charges and sentenced to three months and four months in jail respectively, with the sentences to run concurrently.

On Nov. 1, 2004, Hong Kong customs officers arrested a man who was sending a batch of parcels containing infringing discs in a post office in Mong Kok, Kowloon of Hong Kong. Officers subsequently searched the office of a nearby company and seized 3, 000 infringing discs and arrested the proprietor.

Since 2000, there have been 45 Internet piracy convictions.

Source: Xinhua