May 21, 2004

U. of Tokyo Professor Charged With Creating Illegal File-Sharing Software

By ALAN BRENDER

Japanese police officers have arrested a 33-year-old professor at the University of Tokyo on charges that he developed and distributed software that allows users to swap movies, video games, and other copyrighted materials.

The professor, Isamu Kaneko, was detained on suspicion of breaking copyright laws through his file-sharing software, called Winny, which permits free downloads.

Mr. Kaneko, who teaches computer programming part time at the university, could not be reached for

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