Suspect faces three charges of putting movies on internet
The world's first copyright infringement case involving BitTorrent file-sharing technology - for sharing movies on the internet - went before the Tuen Mun Court yesterday.
Chan Nai-ming, 38, of Tuen Mun, pleaded not guilty to three charges of attempting to distribute three copyrighted Hollywood films without the owners' licences on January 10 and 11.
The charges fall under sections 118 and 119 of the Copyrights Ordinance and chapters 528 and 159 of the Crimes Ordinance.
Principal magistrate Timothy Jenkins fixed a pre-trial hearing for June 23 to address unresolved questions related to the charges cited by government prosecutor Hayson Tse Ka-sze.
Mr Tse said both sides needed to agree on: whether Chan had admitted to anything while under caution relating to the charges; whether he had used his computer to commit the accused acts; and whether file-sharing with BitTorrent technology amounts to an offence as defined under the Copyrights Ordinance.