http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080319TDY02306.htm The Yomiuri Shimbun March 19, 2008 KYOTO -- A 24-year-old man on trial in the Kyoto District Court charged with violating the Copyright Law admitted Tuesday he created a computer virus and used copyrighted animation footage to spread it on the Internet. Masato Nakatsuji, a graduate school student of Osaka Electro-Communication University, made the admission during the first hearing of his trial, where he is answering charges of infringing copyright and defaming an acquaintance by attaching his photo to the virus. It is the first time in the nation that a creator of a computer virus has been tried for criminal responsibility. Creating computer viruses is not regarded as a crime under the existing law, but police were able to arrest Nakatsuji because in spreading the virus he used copyrighted animation footage without permission. The prosecution described in detail the process by which Nakatsuji allegedly created the computer virus, attached it to copyright animated footage, and then promoted it on Internet bulletin boards to accelerate its distribution. The defense counsel argued the virus was not seriously malignant, and that it would be unjust to severely punish Nakatsuji for spreading the virus as there is no law against it. The defense objected to certain evidence submitted by the prosecution, arguing it applied only to the acts of creating and spreading the virus. The prosecution successfully countered that such evidence was necessary to establish the full facts of the case. As the trial continues, observers are focusing on whether it will prompt legislation to be developed more quickly in relation to computer virus crime, a field in which the nation has lagged. A draft revision of the Penal Code, which includes a provision to criminalize the creation of computer viruses, was submitted to the Diet in October 2005. ___________________________________________________ Subscribe to InfoSec News http://www.infosecnews.org/mailman/listinfo/isn
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