Germans bust up Net pic ring
Unauthorized Web site made $1.2 mil in revenues
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The Web-based ftp-welt.com had 45,000 subscribers and charged e12 ($15) per film or a monthly rate of $170 to download unauthorized versions of new films. It made more than $1.2 million in revenues this year.
The service, which also offered games and music, was registered in the British Virgin Islands but operated from Germany with servers in the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.
International police unit Interpol has been asked to organize the seizure of the servers in the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.
The public prosecutor, who co-ordinated with the German Federation against Copyright Theft in the operation, will charge those arrested with organized crime offenses as well as violating copyright laws. One of the individuals is a Munich attorney who is well-known for defending alleged copyright violators.
"This multi-country crackdown demonstrates our intent to aggressively prosecute these shadowy international figures who brazenly traffic in our member companies' products," said John G. Malcolm, senior VP and director of worldwide antipiracy operations for the Motion Picture Assn. of America.
