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Browsing a BitTorrent website led a customs officer to a landmark arrest

A customs officer was browsing a BitTorrent movie newsgroup when he encountered 'Big Crook', a Hong Kong user who uploaded the Hollywood film Daredevil to the site, a court heard yesterday.

Officer Chan Tsz-lai downloaded the movie and two others uploaded from the same IP address in January this year,  leading to the world's first arrest involving BitTorrent technology.

On the second day of the trial of Chan Nai-ming,  38, customs Senior Inspector Kwan Yuk-kwan  gave his testimony on how BitTorrent technology works.

Chan - who the prosecution alleges used the alias 'Big Crook' - was charged in April with attempting to distribute three copyrighted films  without the owners' licences. He has pleaded not guilty.

Chan's lawyer on Wednesday sought to have the statements he had signed with customs officers during his arrest ruled inadmissible. But Tuen Mun Court magistrate Colin Mackintosh  yesterday rejected the application and ruled the statements admissible.

Senior Inspector Kwan told the court that copyright-infringing copies of three films - Daredevil, Red Planet and Miss Congeniality - were found on the defendant's computer during a customs raid on his home on January 12.

Photo images of the labels of the compact discs were also found on the computer. A digital camera consistent with the make and model used to take the photos was found at the defendant's home, government prosecutor Hayson Tse Ka-sze  told the court.

In cross-examination, defence lawyer Paul Francis  asked Senior Inspector Kwan if it was true that  one computer may only be able to get part of a film  from another  computer onto which   it was uploaded. Senior Inspector Kwan agreed, but said the originating 'seeder' computer  was most responsible for the distribution of the copyrighted work.

BitTorrent is a  programme that  breaks  files up into smaller fragments.  The fragments are distributed to a group of  computers, and other BitTorrent users can later  reassemble     them by downloading them over the internet.

Mr Francis argued that the process of downloading was initiated by the downloading computer and not by the seeder computer. But Senior Inspector Kwan said the seeder computer had to be turned on and connected to a BitTorrent-user website first.

The trial continues today.



'Big Crook' put film on internet, court hears