Teen charged with illegal file-sharing

Aftenposten
Jan. 05, 2007

A 16-year-old from Stavanger has become the first Norwegian charged with illegal file-sharing for distributing copyright protected material via the Internet.

Police in Rogaland aim to get the accused a suspended sentence of 60 days in jail and a fine of NOK 4,000 (USD 644). In addition the boy's parents face a six-figure fine for compensation from the music and film industry, newspaper Dagbladet reports on its web site.

"We are very pleased that the police have taken charge and will punish the person behind it. This sends a signal that this kind of operation is illegal," Roald Dye, secretary general of the Norwegian Videogram Association, told Dagbladet.

"This boy must answer for his conscious actions. He was fully aware that this is illegal. The case is also a powerful signal to parents - they must pay more attention to what their children are doing," Marte Thorsby of the recording industry organization IFPI told Dagbladet.

The boy is charged with running the network known as the Stavanger Dragon Hub in the file-sharing program Direct Connect, and administering the sharing of 7,000 films, 150,000 songs and 20,000 video clips.

"We will calculate how much music and how many films were shared, how many copies are distributed and the value of this. We may demand compensation in a civil suit after the criminal case. It can quickly work out to a six-figure sum," said lawyer Espen Tøndel.