[Explanation] The "Renren Film and Television Subtitle Group", which has more than 8 million registered users and published more than 20,000 films and television works, was recently destroyed by Shanghai police for infringing on the copyright of film and television works.
According to the Shanghai police report, since 2018, the suspect Liang and others have downloaded and obtained the source of the film through the website of overseas pirate forums, hired someone to translate and press the film for a remuneration of about 400 yuan/part (set), and upload it to the APP server. Disseminate to the public and make illegal profits by collecting website membership fees, advertising fees, and selling mobile hard drives for recording infringing film and television works.
[Explanation] What legal risks exist in the spread of pirated movies?
On February 3, Guo Xiaoming, a lawyer of Sichuan Juheng Law Firm, responded that such behavior may be suspected of infringing on the copyright of the copyright owner. In addition to the need to bear civil liability, if the circumstances are serious, it may also be suspected of crime.
[Concurrent] Guo Xiaoming, Lawyer of Sichuan Juheng Law Firm
According to the provisions of Article 217 of the Criminal Law of our country, for the purpose of making profit, without the permission of the copyright owner, copying and distributing its works such as movies and televisions, the illegal income amount is more than 30,000 yuan, or the illegal business amount is more than 50,000 yuan, or copying If the quantity of goods totals more than 500 copies and other serious circumstances, criminal responsibility can be investigated, and the law can be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment or criminal detention of less than 3 years, and a fine or a single fine; the amount of illegal income is more than 150,000 yuan, or the amount of illegal business is 250,000 yuan In particularly serious circumstances, such as more than RMB yuan, or the total number of copies of more than 2500 copies, can be sentenced to 3 to 7 years in prison and fined.
[Explanation] Some subtitle groups marked "the video is not for commercial use and is for communication only" in the pirated videos produced by some subtitle groups. Guo Xiaoming added that such a statement does not exempt the piracy responsibility.
[Concurrent] Guo Xiaoming, Lawyer of Sichuan Juheng Law Firm
Although everyone can watch the film and television works translated by the subtitle group for free, this is not inconsistent with the illegal means mentioned in the police report, because if users are required to pay membership fees, collect advertising fees from business cooperation, and sell mobile hard drives for burning infringing film and television works. And so on, still belong to "for the purpose of profit", and meet certain conditions to be suspected of crime.
[Explanation] In fact, China is not alone in cracking down on the spread of pirated film and television works.
Many countries abroad also have strict legal protections for the translation and dissemination of film and television works.
[Concurrent] Guo Xiaoming, Lawyer of Sichuan Juheng Law Firm
In July 2014, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. and others jointly prosecuted 15 South Koreans for illegally translating and disseminating film and television works under the names of these companies. Each of these defendants faced five years in prison or a fine of 300,000 yuan.
In Japan, for example, if an individual illegally uploads copyright-protected film and television works to the Internet, he can be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in prison and can also be fined up to 10 million yen.
Moreover, downloading unauthorized audio-visual files from the Internet may also face a penalty of less than 2 years or a fine of less than 2 million yen, which is very severe.
[Explanation] In recent years, China has also paid more and more attention to the protection of intellectual property rights.
Guo Xiaoming said that the investigation of the subtitle group of Renren Film and Television may affect the viewing habits of some users in the short term, but the legal risk of the private subtitle group itself must be addressed and resolved. The road ahead must also be stepped into On track.
The subtitle group can also consider cooperating with the copyright owner, obtaining authorization or joint translation, etc., for transformation.
But in any case, respecting intellectual property rights, raising copyright awareness, and respecting the authority of the rule of law are compulsory courses for everyone today.
(Reporting by reporter Shan Lu from Beijing)
Editor in charge: 【Luo Pan】