Music police step up pirate hunt

The music piracy watchdog is tightening the noose around the thousands of people who illegally upload and download music - and the worst offenders may face criminal charges as early as the end of the year.

First in line would be those who offer thousands of songs for uploading, says Mark McCall, director of anti-piracy for the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand.

"We are primarily aiming at those who are uploading and, as a consequence, we might find those downloading.

"Uploading" is sending songs to an internet host; "downloading" is taking them from a host.

"If we serve cease and desist orders and they do so, then we could end our action there," Mr McCall said.

"Criminal prosecution would be on a case-by-case basis, but it's certainly one of the tools I'm looking at."

He said the information RIANZ was gathering could lead to action against individual computer users by the end of the year.

Under the Copyright Act, guilty parties face a jail term of up to five years and/or a fine of up to $150,000.

The move is an advance on recent tactics. No individual prosecutions have been made in New Zealand against illegal file-sharers, although it is common elsewhere; nearly 20,000 cases in 17 countries were brought against illegal uploaders last year.

The RIANZ uses software to track computers used for illegal file-sharing. It is similar to software being used by the movie industry as revealed in the Weekend Herald.

The software is available through the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, of which RIANZ is a member.

It use has raised concern from internet companies, the Privacy Commissioner and police, but Mr McCall said the software would not be used for anything but tracking music pirates.

He would not say how many users RIANZ had in its sights, as "it could alert them or make others think that they're safe".

He said the industry was losing $45 million a year because of physical music piracy - such as selling copied CDs.

But it was difficult to know how much was lost through digital piracy such as illegal downloads, although the sum "would be considerable".

He said the battle against piracy was made more difficult by the advent of broadband internet connections and their fast download speeds.

He had been talking to several parties - including internet service providers and universities, which have very fast connection speeds - about how to combat music piracy.

"This is the start of the battle. There are several more battles to go.

"Illegal downloading is destroying creative industries."

Seti Tofaeono, who sold pirated CDs, was last week jailed for nine months - the first prison term for such an offence.

Although the case did not involve digital piracy, Mr McCall said it was a victory and a message that the courts would deal severely with music pirates.


Stolen sounds

Physical piracy: selling copied CDs or DVDs.

Digital piracy: Illegally downloading sound files, or uploading them for others to download.

Industry losses through physical piracy : $45 million a year.

Industry losses through digital piracy: Unknown, but large.

Penalties: Under the Copyright Act, pirates face a five-year maximum jail term and/or a maximum fine of $150,000.