LONDON, UK (IFPI) - Dutch anti-piracy organisation BREIN handed over a claim at the private address of an operator of an illegal bittorrent site on 12th April. The 20-year old from Helmond, Netherlands operates the p2p file sharing service Torrentit.com, formerly known as 123torrents.
The site offered almost 2000 confirmed links to movies, television series, music, computer games and other copyrighted content. Many of the films come from well-known groups that are dedicated to making available illegally the latest films on the Internet soon after, or even before, their legitimate release date. Torrentit has 27,000 registered users and last week the site ceased its file-sharing activity, announcing that it will be back.
BREIN has demanded and immediate end to the illegal activities and undertakings with significant financial penalties attached. The operator will be summoned if he does not comply with BREIN's demands and a complaint may be put to the criminal authorities. BREIN reserves the right to claim damages and profits.
Torrentit had previously been taken down by its Dutch service provider, in response to a notice from BREIN. However, it had been relocated to a server in Malaysia and continued its infringing activities. Meanwhile the operator tried to sell the site for 30,000 euros.
Tim Kuik, managing director of BREIN, said: "This case sends a strong message to people engaged in illegal file-sharing and shows our determination to track down illegal music distributors on whatever network they are operating. Other p2p filesharing services such as eDonkey will also be targeted again and we will expand our enforcement to newsgroups which offer copyright protected content. Our enforcement is not about technology, but about what you do with it. "
P2P sites
Illegal p2p sites are commonly used for the massive distribution of illegal files on the internet. Around two thirds of all internet traffic consists of p2p file sharing. The majority of the p2p sites are well organised and comprise illegal offers of popular films, music, games and software. In addition the sites also manage the traffic between users. The operators of the sites often charge users - so called 'donations' - who then get preferential treatment in return.
Obtaining information on illegal filesharers
Illegal sites are registered anonymously but details of their identity can often be traced through public sources on the internet. Otherwise they are claimed from internet service providers, via the courts if necessary. Once BREIN has identified the perpetrator, it presents a claim.
The claims demand immediate cessation of the activities and an anti-piracy undertaking with a penalty sum. The damages can quickly run into tens of thousands of euros or more.
Brein's anti-piracy work
BREIN campaigns against illegal p2p file sharing services. It has enjoyed considerable success in recent months. Some 46 of the more than 90 Dutch p2p sites with a total of around 440,000 registered users have ceased their illegal activities. Investigations are underway against other p2p sites and actions are progressing.
About BREIN
The BREIN foundation is the joint anti-piracy program of authors, artists and producers of music, film and interactive software; a unique bundling of forces of the entire entertainment industry in the fight against Intellectual Property theft. BREIN is the central contact for government, law enforcement, trade and media in the Netherlands with respect to all issues concerning the unauthorised copying and distribution of entertainment products both offline and online. BREIN is the Dutch acronym for "Protection Rights Entertainment Industry Netherlands" and also the Dutch word for "brain".
For more information, see www.anti-piracy.nl
