DSI destroyed the fwiptv.cc website, the big movie copyright infringement network in the country

DSI destroyed the fwiptv.cc website, the big movie copyright infringement network in the country

       The Minister of Justice Mr. Somsak Thepsuthin delivered his policy to the DSI to ungently accelerate its investigation, inquiry and suppression against crime commission as networks by using modern technologies as tools for committing crime, especially the infringement of copyright and intellectual property.

       On February 4, 2021, the DSI, under supervision of the Director-General Pol.Lt.Col. Korrawat Panprapakorn and his deputy Pol.Lt.Col. Supat Thamthanarug, assigned the Director of Technology and Cyber Crime Bureau Pol.Lt.Col. Wichai Suwanprasert and his Cyber Crime Investigation Center’s Director Pol.Lt.Col. Chalermchon Unhaseree to lead more than 50 officials for joining forces with officials from the Central Institution of Forensic Science and the local police with the search warrant issued by the Central Intellectual Property and International Trading Court to search the target locations infringing copyrights via the fwiptv.cc website in the areas of Nonthaburi Province (4 targets) and Nakhon-Pathom Province (1 target). The officials seized more than 100 items that might be used for committing crimes, for example, the receiver and decrypt transmission devices of True Vision, transmission receiver satellites, computers, laptops, hard-disks, and mobile phones. The important target was the 3-storey building with a mezzanine, no. 54/74-75, Moo. 5, Rattanathibet Road., Bang Kraso Subdistrict, Muang Nonthaburi District, Nonthaburi Province, used as the place installing signal interception devices and equipment. The officials found and seized many devices and equipment for converting signal as evidence for identification, investigation, inquiry and prosecution against the offenders.

       This case resulted from the True Vision Group (Limited) Company, the Motion Picture Association of Thailand (MPA) and the Football Association Premier League Limited filing a complaint to the Bureau of Technology and Cyber Crime of the DSI for taking legal action against the group of website service provider named the fwiptv.cc and other relating websites (the special case no. 33/2563) in the offence of the infringement of copyrights with commercial purposes in works of authorship in the category of a sound and video broadcasting works of the True Vision channel which the works with copyrights belong to the True Vision Group (Limited) Company and foreign film making companies, such as Disney Enterprise Inc, Netflix Studio, Warner Brother, etc. including live broadcast programs of Football Premier League. The website Fwiptv.cc accessed by its members more than 7 hundred thousand views is the top copyright infringement website that collects membership fees for access (membership fees = 300 per month). This website was ranked in 728^th of the most views for Thailand. The value of commercial damages is over 2,000,000,000 baht (two billion baht)

       The Director-General said “the copyright infringement affects the development of technology and innovation in the future and it might affect international trade resulting from suspension of trade preference subject to the measurement of trade barriers. The Minister of Justice knew this problem and ordered the DSI to continually and earnestly suppress the crimes”. Furthermore, the Director-General also ordered to further investigate the connection of networks of online gambling websites and online sex service websites.

       The DSI, by its Bureau of Technology and Cyber Crime, will conduct investigation and inquiry for expanding to the network of offenders. If anyone found crime commission relating to technology, please notify the clues to crime via the DSI’s application called “Rootan” of the Cyber Investigation Center, the Bureau of Technology and Cyber Crime.

Dated February 8, 2021