[vorbis] Belgium police raides homes of Napster users (!!!)

[Aleksandar Dovnikovic]

>From CNET news:

Belgium cracks down on file swapping

By The Associated Press
Special to CNET News.com
February 15, 2001, 3:20 p.m. PT

BRUSSELS, Belgium--Acting on complaints from the music industry, police have
raided the homes of people who use music-sharing Web sites, looking for
evidence they infringed copyright rules, the prosecutors' office said
Thursday.

Police searched the home of the first suspect in late December and two more
in January, Olivier Bogaert, a prosecution spokesman, told Belgian news
media.

He said the searches were part of an investigation of the Internet site
Mp3blast.com, but added that four cases against Napster users are under
review.

Marcel Heymans, general director of the Belgium branch of the International
Federation of the Phonographic Industry, said he warned police of alleged
copyright infractions. Heymans said his organization had tracking equipment
that could search for violators "by the thousands."

At the moment, he said the group was only targeting people "who had been
clearly warned yet persevered with the practice."

The European Parliament on Wednesday endorsed tougher rules granting artists
and record labels more copyright protection for works downloaded from the
Internet. The vote came days after a U.S. appeals court effectively ordered
Napster to stop people who use the music-sharing service from swapping
copyrighted music without charge and without restriction.

The 15 EU governments are expected to approve the new law in a matter of
weeks. It would take effect after national parliaments give their blessing,
a process that can take up to 18 months.
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