Just one day after the shutdown of several edonkey servers, further actions against illegal copying were taken in Germany. Today at about 8 AM the police started investigations in almost 50 buildings, searching for evidence related to illegal copies of movies, games and software that are not available for retail yet.
This raid was the result of information that was given by a witness who is part of the so called releasegroup scene. This witness was reported to the police by the GVU, an organisation who are investigating copyright infringement. The GVU provided the technical knowledge that helped finding the methods used from the initial first copy to its final distribution. According to the GVU these files are the basis for providing illegal copies to individuals and to professional dealers.
During the raid 60 PCs, 15 hard disks and about 2,000 DVDs and CDs were confiscated but nobody was arrested yet. Further results will follow after investigations of the confiscated hardware.
While the GVU offers their support for investigating copyright infringements to the police and state attorney, their role is highly controversial. A court in Kiel judged the required independance of the GVU as competence is not given since they are funded by those movie and software companies that are affected by copyright infringement. Also the GVU has been found responsible for providing infrastructure and financial support that was used for hosting illegal copies.
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