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Wednesday December 13, 1:09 PM3RD LD: Winny software developer found guilty over copyright violations(Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING INFO IN 6-8TH, 10TH, 11TH GRAFS)The Kyoto District Court on Wednesday found a former researcher at the University of Tokyo who developed the Winny anonymous file-sharing software program guilty of assisting users in copyright violations through peer-to-peer online file exchanges, and sentenced him to a fine of 1.5 million yen. It is the first case in which a developer of software has been charged over the unlawful acts of the software's users. Prosecutors had sought one year in prison for Isamu Kaneko, 36, claiming he developed the program intending to destroy the copyright system and promoted unlawful copying of protected content. Presiding Judge Makoto Himuro said, "The defendant made Winny public on his homepage, assisting misusers (of the software) to easily violate copyrights," and called his acts "selfish and irresponsible." But the judge added, "Although the defendant was fully aware of his copyright violations, it cannot be said that he intended to spread violations," while recognizing the technology used in Winny as "meaningful." After sentencing, Kaneko told press, "I am disappointed by the ruling. I will appeal and ask how technology development should be." "Engineers would stop developing useful technologies in fear of the possibility of being charged with assisting crime," he added. The Kyoto District Public Prosecutors Office also expressed its discontent with the sentence and said it will decide on its next move after talking with higher-up prosecutors. During the trial Kaneko pleaded not guilty, and his defense counsel argued he merely experimented with a new technology and had no intention of destroying the copyright system as he even requested the program's users not to use it for illegal purposes. The court ruled whether providing technologies would constitute a crime or not depends on how they are used in a society and people's awareness, as well as what the providers think when they give their technologies to others. But leading defense lawyer Atsuhiro Katsura said, "It is not at all clear what would and what would not be crime assistance. This would have a bad influence on future technological development." Kaneko developed Winny in May 2002 and posted it on his website, enabling two Winny users to download movies and other files illegally through the software in September 2003, according to the ruling. He was arrested in May 2004, while the two were found guilty of violating the copyright law. Copyright damages caused by the free program is estimated to amount to about 10 billion yen, according to the Association of Copyright for Computer Software, which works for and researches the protection of copyrights of digital works. Winny software enables the transfer of files over the Internet, and a number of information leaks involving the file-sharing program, including defense secrets as well as investigative and medical information, have been reported. Kaneko started creating programs when he was an elementary school student. After graduating from college, he joined the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, now the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, as a researcher, and was later hired as a researcher at the University of Tokyo. At present, he is continuing his research as a technical adviser at a software developing firm in Tokyo. |
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