The Japan and International Motion Picture Copyright Association (JIMCA), which represents the Motion Picture Association (MPA) in Japan, has distributed copies of an MPA-developed booklet outlining the dangers of illegal peer-to-peer file sharing.

The booklet, Illegal File-Sharing: The Risks Aren't Worth It, was developed to warn people that users of P2P file-sharing services risk exposing their computers to harmful viruses, worms, and Trojan horses as well as running the risk of data loss and identity theft.

Not many people realise that some P2P applications require users to upload - often invisibly - content at the same time they are downloading, and so they can be exposing themselves not only to the risk of computer attacks, but also criminal liability. For instance, according to the MPA, over the past few years in Japan, there have been a number of high-profile leaks from government and corporate computer networks due to inadvertent uploading of confidential data by P2P network users.

"There is a very real danger that unless people begin thinking meaningfully about the consequences of wholesale copyright theft, the future will be much less bright for the next generation of creators," said Mike Ellis, the MPA's senior VP and regional director, Asia-Pacific for the Motion Picture Association.

Story filed 29.07.07