Japanese police make first file-sharing arrests

KYOTO — Two people who used the file-sharing software “Winny” to offer
movies and video game software to an unspecified number of people over the
Internet have been arrested, police said.

Katsuhiko Kimoto, a 41-year-old self-employed businessman from Takasaki,
Gunma Prefecture, and an unemployed 19-year-old from Matsuyama were arrested on
suspicion of violating copyright laws.

Law enforcers also searched the home of the developer of Winny, and shut down
the Internet page that was offering free copies of the software.

It is the first time police have arrested people for using file-sharing
software. Investigators said Kimoto used the software to release the U.S. movie
“A Beautiful Mind” and one more item over the Internet without permission of the
copyright holders, while the 19-year-old allegedly offered the popular video
game software Super Mario Advance and another item so people could download
them.

Both suspects have reportedly admitted to the allegations against them. Two
companies including Nintento had launched complaints.

Winny enables people to easily download movies, games and other software that
is being shared by simply typing in part of a file name. The Tokyo-based
Association of Copyright for Computer Software said that there were about
250,000 users as of September this year. Distribution of obscene images and
child pornography through use of the software has also become a problem.

The Japan and International Motion Picture Copyright Association estimates
the damage in this incident of “A Beautiful Mind” alone at about 230 million
yen.

“This can be described as an exposure that warns against the morals of
users,” an association representative said. (Mainichi Shimbun, Japan, Nov. 28,
2003)

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