Mariana A. G. de Souza Starling
Advogada
Dannemann, Siemsen, Bigler & Ipanema Moreira
Dannemann Siemsen Advogados

The State of Paraná is using new rules, which are contained in the Brazilian Criminal Procedure and Criminal Codes, to prosecute the owner of a popular peer-to-peer website.

The new regulations - introduced by Law 10,695 - relate to online copyright infringement. According to Section 3 of Article 184 a violation is committed by any person who, without authorization and for profit, offers the works of another to the public via cable, optical fibre, airwave or any other system. The penalty for such a violation is a maximum of four months' imprisonment plus a fine.

Alberto Reichert Junior owns the website MP3 Forever, which enabled users to access and download over 6,000 singles and 250 albums for a monthly fee. Subscribers to the site also received a CD each month from Reichert, featuring tracks selected by them.

In conjunction with the Brazilian Association for the Protection of Phonographic Intellectual Property Rights (APDIF) and the Department of Justice, the Paraná Civil Police arrested Reichert and seized the counterfeit CDs, as well as the equipment used in their production.

Reichert was released from prison on bail. His trial is likely to take place in the second half of this year.

Following the lead of the US Recording Industry Association of America, the APDIF has now shifted its attention to prosecuting the company that hosted the MP3 Forever website, as well as individual subscribers to the website.