Criminal charge against Chinese website for copyright infringement

For the first time in the Chinese history of copyright infringement lawsuits, a web site is facing a criminal charge for dissemination of infringing files. The Chinese website openV.com claims to offer video-on-demand-services on mobile phones, computers and televisions. OpenV.com might not have approval from copyright holders to broadcast the offered movies and television works.

Infringing broadcasts of movies or television works is a serious problem in China. Normally, copyright holders turned to civil litigations to battle infringers. The fines imposed by the offenders in the civil procedures probably did not instill enough fear to refrain infringers from infringing on copyright. The Chinese government now hopes that perhaps a criminal procedure against an infringer, where a prison sentence is possible, frightens a potential infringer to refrain from copyright infringement.

The digital distribution of infringing files is not covered in the Criminal Law of People’s Republic of China. The Chinese Criminal Law does have article 217 that states that a person can be imprisoned when he reproduces or distributes a written work or musical, film, television or video work, or computer software or any other work of the latter without permission of copyright owners.

Initially, the ‘distribution’ in article 217 did not include ‘digital distribution’ and could not be used in the criminal trail. However, the Chinese Supreme People's Court has now interpreted the definition of 'distribution' in a way that the digital distribution of infringing files over the internet also falls under this article. Article 217 can therefore be used in the openV.com trial.

We have written several articles on the Chinese government and its battle against piracy and counterfeiting. The shift from civil law to criminal law, when it comes to copyright infringement lawsuits, may be a new way of the Chinese government to combat infringement.

Read more about the Chinese battle against copyright infringement on FutureofCopyright.com:

• Successful co-operation between EU and China to protect intellectual property
• Chinese battle against piracy and counterfeited goods continues
• China steps up IP protection, but still a long way to go

Reference: Bridge IP Commentary - Chinese Intellectual Property Laws & Business Laws

By: Karen Groen