ZDnet.com reports that one of China’s top movie download website, Siluhd.com, has been shut down, with the CEO and over 30 other employees detained by Chinese law enforcement authorities on suspicion of infringing intellectual property rights.
ZDnet.com adds that according to Sina News, Siluhd.com has been operational for over 10 years and the total number of registered members of the site has reached more than 1.4 million. It noted that the website offers hundreds of thousands of high-definition Blu-ray movies, TV series, music tracks and games for download. Given its success, the founder of the website who goes by the surname of ZHOU started brick-and-mortar shops selling Blu-ray players and pirated high-definition movies as well, the report said.
Chinese law enforcement authorities, however, decided to clamp down on the online business on World Intellectual Property Day, which is held every April 26. Officials said Zhou and seven other directors of the website were detained on the suspicion of infringing intellectual property rights, stated Sina News. The report further adds that another 30 employees out of the total 139 employees, who were responsible for publishing content downloaded more than 50,000 times, could also be detained. A separate report by Caijing.com.cn said police had found more than 190 1-terabyte (TB) hard disks carrying over 10,000 movies and TV episodes in Zhou’s residence.