China’s Xunlei, criticized by the MPAA, blasts back

[silicon_toad2000]

https://www.techinasia.com/piracy-wars-chinas-xunlei-criticized-mpaa-blasts/

You may remember the name Xunlei, as the company has historically been known as one of China’s worst offenders when it came to facilitating piracy. It operates a variety of online services including download accelerators and streaming online video, but pirated content was so rampant on the company’s platforms that it was forced to cancel a planned US IPO in 2011. Recently, things had been going better – the company netted a massive US$310 million investment round led by Xiaomi last spring, and the company signed a cooperative anti-piracy agreement with the MPAA in June.

But the MPAA clearly isn’t satisfied with what Xunlei has done to reduce copyright violation on its services. In a report released last week by the MPAA, Xunlei was once again listed as one of the world’s most “notorious” online markets for video piracy. From the MPAA report:

    Xunlei.com features a proprietary, high speed P2P file sharing system that distributes unauthorized copies of motion picture and television content. The system incorporates the website’s own desktop download manager with file formats unique to the system. Recently, Xunlei’s public service, Kankan, transitioned in format and now streams some authorized motion picture content. It also offers a “VIP Offline” service for a monthly fee. However, infringing content can be found with this service, which is downloaded by Xunlei from an external source and stored to its servers for on demand viewing. Despite executing a comprehensive content protection agreement with MPA earlier this year, there is no evidence that Xunlei has fulfilled its obligations and wide levels of infringement are still evident.

The report also cites China’s Yyets.com as a notorious market that links to, rather than hosts, pirated content.

But Xunlei is apparently having none of it. According to Techweb, the company issued a response to the MPAA’s allegations on Thursday that is quite unambiguous:

    First, Xunlei has continuously respected and protected copyrights, and there is no pirated content whatsoever on Xunlei.com. Second, Xunlei has a cooperative agreement with the MPAA and has continuously been working hard to control and restrict piracy through the development of innovative technologies and through the development of a supply chain for licensed copyrighted content.

The problem is likely that while Xunlei itself is licensing content, its P2P download services still allow for the sharing and viewing of pirated TV shows and films. And unfortunately for the Chinese company, that appears to be a large part of Xunlei’s appeal. One commenter on the Techweb article linked above put it bluntly: “[Xunlei], if you had no pirated content you’d have no content at all.”

Of course, Xunlei and China will have to decide how much they truly care about the MPAA’s criticism. The company has already placed some restrictions on its P2P services, but it ultimately answers to the Chinese government, not the American MPAA or the US trade representative that the MPAA’s report was submitted to. China’s online video market has made significant strides in recent years on removing pirated content and licensing more legitimate content – that much is undeniable. But piracy remains a problem, and whether China’s government really wants to stamp it out completely remains to be seen.

[GhostShip]

Theres little point pandering to the western copyright extremists lobby, such organisations and the recording industry in general get fat on the work of the actual creators and spend much of their time paying fat salaries to ex govt employees who when in govt bent over backwards to create  further hurdles to reaching a fair period of copyright with the public.

The time frames on copyrighted works atm are obscene and make a mockery of the words "fair deal", we even have the further unfair activity of folks trying to recopyright expired works when they had no hand in creating anything, such anti social activities only serve to undermine respect for the law and whilst the law is disrespectful of the publics rights that will remain the status quo.

[White Stripes]

china really has the US by the balls so there is no reason the MPAA/RIAA should expect to get very far... i honestly dont know why they are trying... cant put sanctions up... they would just quit making ipads and well... everything else that says 'made in china' and the US would be screwed..

[GhostShip]

I'm not sure why any western nation continues to allow the vast quantities of Chinese imports as its a simple way to destroy the indigenous industries on the back of sweat shop working conditions overseas, it seems as though a fast buck in the short term is the path being followed and that's no good for the west or the Chinese as without customers with currency of a decent value they too will suffer in the long term. 

[White Stripes]

.... destroy the indigenous industries.....

a factory that used to be in the town i live in left for mexico.... they paid very well when they were here.... my first thought when they moved to mexico was "whos going to have the money to buy their products now?"

....oh and they left us with a lovely little chemical spill that they only admitted was there after they left....

[GhostShip]

Its a shameful method of doing business, as I mentioned its such a short sighted scheme you have to wonder if the companies behind this continuing trend of "outsourcing" are really that respectable after all, few if any of them wish to pay national taxes and most favour becoming "off-shore" entities, yet another anti social sign that they are simply intent on lowering standards and quality,  preferring sweatshop factories  over well trained professional workers they are delivering a product of diminishing value to their customers and should be avoided if and when possible.

I understand that not all foreign factories are operating in this fashion but so many are its wrong to turn a blind eye to such immoral abuses of fellow human beings.