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By James Pearce, 30 May 2003 09:01

NEWS The Australian Federal Police raided the University of Technology, Sydney on Wednesday this week in connection with a AU$60m music piracy case before the courts. "We have executed a search warrant [on the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS)] which is connected to the investigation into the alleged AU$60 million piracy matter," a spokesperson for the AFP told silicon.com sister site ZDNet Australia. The spokesperson declined to comment on whether anything of note was discovered at the university or any further action that will be taken. Last month three tertiary students, Charles Ng, Tommy Le and Peter Tran, were charged with copyright infringement following an AFP investigation assisted by Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI). They were charged over an Australian-based website, MP3 WMA land, which allegedly offered illegal downloads of copyright-protected music. The case was deferred until 8 July. If the accused are found guilty they face maximum penalties of up to five years jail and/or a AU$60,500 fine. The music industry has stepped up its battle against online pirates in recent months. Justice Brian Tamberlin is due to hand down his verdict in the Federal Court case pitching music industry giants against three Australian universities this afternoon, which is poised to go to appeal whatever the decision. MIPI has written to the State Ombudsmen of NSW, Victoria and Tasmania asking for an independent investigation into the behaviour of the universities during the case. The effect of illegal online trading in music files on the music industry is also controversial, with some reports finding the practice increases the overall amount of money filesharers spend on music. James Pearce writes for ZDNet Australia.