Man who can't switch on computer faces illegal downloading suit

Tech News

Mar 19, 2006, 10:24 GMT

Hong Kong - A single parent who claims he doesn't know how to switch on a computer is being sued by seven record companies for illegally uploading music on to the internet, a Hong Kong news report said Sunday. Yeung Chun-choi, who lives off welfare benefits, has been issued with a summons alleging that on numerous occasions before November 7 2005 he illegally uploaded, downloaded and stored copies of copyright music. But the 54-year-old widower and father-of-four says he doesn't know how to switch the computer on, let alone use it, according to a report in the Sunday Morning Post. He claims the computer was donated to his family by social services and was used by his youngest daughters aged 15 and 16 to do their homework. He believes the girls may be responsible as he often heard music coming from the computer. 'If the court says I've done something wrong, I've probably done something wrong. But I hope they will understand that I don't know what my children are doing on the computer,' he told reporters. 'I don't know anything about computers. I don't even know how to switch it on.' The writ was filed in the High Court Friday on behalf of Cinepoly, Emperor Entertainment; Go East Entertainment, Gold Label Entertainment, Sony BMG Music Entertainment; Universal Music and Warner Music Hong Kong. The companies are claiming unspecified damages alleging Leung infringed copyright by making recordings available to the public without the record companies' consent using WinMX file-sharing software. The music is said to include songs by canto stars Joey Leung and Andy Lau. Yeung's case stems from an investigation last year which was part of a crackdown on internet piracy by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. The action is the first of its kind in Hong Kong and follows the world's first criminal conviction for uploading movies in Hong Kong. In that case, a 38-year-old man was sentenced to three months in jail in November for uploading three Hollywood movies using BitTorrent software. © 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur