Music pirate arrested in Portsmouth

A man accused of uploading pre-release music to the internet has been arrested in Portsmouth.

An investigation into music piracy and IP theft has resulted in the arrest of a man from Portsmouth, who is accused of uploading pre-release music to the internet.

The 33-year-old, who has not been named, is thought to have belonged to a group known as DV8, who have allegedly obtained over 2,500 albums ahead of their official release and leaked them onto file-sharing networks.

This content belongs to both major and independent record labels.

At the time of the arrest, a number of promotional CDs and computer equipment enabling the ripping and digitising of content were recovered.

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) were behind the investigation, which was carried out in conjunction with the Intellectual Property Office and City of London Police.

David Wood, director of anti-piracy at the BPI, said a forensic examination of the equipment recovered will be carried out and may yield some evidence that will be useful to the ongoing investigation.

Commenting on the developments, intellectual property minister David Lammy said: "This successful operation sends a clear message - we are serious about tackling the problem of intellectual property theft."

The IFPI said pre-release leaks are one of the most damaging forms of internet piracy, as they disrupt marketing campaigns and "rob" artists and producers of a "fair reward" for their work.

Earlier this month, the government unveiled its Digital Britain report, which contained measures designed to tackle internet piracy, including the possible requirement for internet service providers to send warning letters to illegal downloaders.