Studios, FBI teach Swedish cops to hunt file sharers

20.02.2007
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the American movie industry lobbying organization Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), along with the Swedish antipiracy organization Antipiratbyr'n, have been training officers at the Swedish National Police Academy in copyright and piracy matters.

In a report from the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), of which the MPAA is a member, the initiative is described as "training and educational work."

"This is about making police officers good at performing their duties," said Marianne Hilton, director of studies at the Swedish National Police Academy.

Recently, six Swedish police officers received their diplomas from the Swedish National Police Academy upon completing their class on copyright, piracy and file sharing. These six officers will, from now on, handle most police investigations concerning copyright violations and piracy.

Representatives of the MPAA, the FBI and Antipiratbyr'n were invited by the National Police Academy to lecture on their work against piracy and to present successful antipiracy initiatives from other nations.

According to the MPAA, police officers were introduced to such concepts as topsites (secret Internet servers that distribute pirated content) and camcording (the filming of movies off the screen with a concealed video camera).