(Associated Press via NewsEdge) A court in western Japan fined the developer of a free file-sharing software called Winny for helping to violate copyright laws with his program, a court official said.
The Kyoto District Court ordered Isamu Kaneko, a former instructor at the prestigious University of Tokyo who developed the software, to pay a fine of 1.5 million yen ($12,850), court official Hirotoshi Shimada said.
Presiding Judge Makoto Himuro said in his ruling that 'the defendant released Winny on his home page, making it easy for misusers to violate copyright law and assisting in the perpetration of crimes,' according to Kyodo News agency.
Kaneko said at a news conference afterward that he planned to appeal the ruling, according to the report.
Lawyers for Kaneko were not immediately available for comment.
Winny has become a major headache for digital content providers in Japan, attracting people by its claim that it protects users' identities.
Kaneko was arrested in May 2004 on charges of violating copyright laws. He was also accused of helping another man, Yoshihiro Inoue, disseminate copyrighted material on the Internet with Winny.
Inoue was given a three-year suspended sentence in November 2004 by the Kyoto District Court on charges of violating copyright law.
Kaneko was the first file-sharing software developer arrested in Japan.
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