Focus Taiwan
Date: 11/09/2020
By: Wu Jui-chi and Evelyn Kao

Taoyuan, Nov. 9 (CNA) Prosecutors in Taoyuan have indicted two men on suspicion of operating a video piracy streaming site called "8maple.ru" (楓林網) and requested that more than NT$67 million (US$2.35 million) in assets from their illegal dealings be frozen.

The two men — a 33-year-old surnamed Chen (陳) and a 32-year-old surnamed Chuang (莊) — were indicted for violating the Copyright Act, the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office said in a statement released Monday.

It also asked for their assets to be frozen as the website has infringed on an estimated NT$1 billion worth of copyrighted material in both the foreign and domestic movie and TV industries in case the plaintiffs seek to recover their losses, Taoyuan prosecutors said.

According to the indictment, the two men collaborated with Chinese nationals in the scheme since 2015 to use offshore cloud hosting services to download unauthorized movies, dramas and television series and offer the pirated programs online free of charge.    [FULL  STORY]