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According to an April report by the U.S. trade representative, at least 90% of virtually every type of copyrighted work sold in China is counterfeit. China has only about 2,500 screens and 1.3 billion people, and the Chinese government allows only a few U.S. movies to be exhibited there. Most of the studios' movies reach Chinese viewers only on disc or videotape, which usually arrive months after the movie had its premiere in U.S. theaters
The youths are patients at China's first officially licensed clinic for internet addiction, a downside of the online frenzy that has accompanied the nation's breathtaking economic boom. Their days begin at 6am on a machine that stimulates nerve impulses with 30V charges to pressure points. Other treatments include receiving a clear fluid through intravenous drips to "adjust the unbalanced status of brain secretions".
The Motion Picture Association and China's government have agreed in writing for the first time to cooperate to fight film piracy in China, the MPA said Saturday. The MPA, China's Ministry of Culture (MOC) and media regulator the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) signed a memorandum Wednesday that specifically targets pirated versions of new releases and agrees on a quarterly anti-piracy review, the MPA said in a statement.
In mainland China, a singer from a remote province and a simple ballad by a Beijing songwriter have both made history in the pop culture there. Dao Lang hails from Northwestern China's Xinjiang region. His music has been described as folksy, with massive grassroots appeal that won him fans even without a single photo of him. Harry Hui, President, Universal Music Southeast Asia, said: "He was very popular on the internet before he was signed to Universal. And after he was signed to Universal Music, he became even more popular because his career is now legitimised. And so his career also started to take off outside China and not only in China."
A group of congressmen on Tuesday urged China to step up protection of intellectual property, saying violations were costing American companies billions every year. Industry groups estimate that U.S. music, movie and software companies lose up to $3.8 billion a year in China from sales of pirated copies, a headache for firms such as entertainment giant Walt Disney Co. (down $0.03 to $25.61, Research) and software titan Microsoft Corp. (up $0.31 to $25.92, Research) "We believe there's every capability of dealing with this problem in China if the resources are devoted to it, if the Chinese move more towards using the criminal laws aggressively," Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, told a news conference.
Speaking on Tuesday at an industry convention in Beijing, Motion Picture Association of America chairman and CEO Dan Glickman said the Olympics is a perfect time to prove the nation's commitment to ending copyright piracy and opening its markets, according to an advance copy of the speech provided by the trade body. "In 2008, China will be at the center of the world stage, hosting the 29th Olympic Games. It will be a terrific moment of pride for the country," he said according to the speech. "And so I would like to plant this challenge: by 2008, to have more legal than illegal DVDs sold in China, to have more American movies in Chinese theaters and to have more Chinese movies in American theaters."
China’s National Copyright Administration is preparing a crackdown against rights management companies it says have no authority to issue licences and collect fees from entertainment venues and internet websites that use their clients’ music. The move throws into doubt the activities of local and foreign-invested copyright management companies working to help music groups promote legitimate use of their content in China’s booming internet and mobile telephony sectors. Such digital rights, which cover services such as MP3 downloads and mobile phone ringback tones, are an increasingly important source of revenue for music companies that previously relied mainly on compact disc sales.In China, where online piracy and sales of counterfeit CDs are both rampant, companies such as the Beijing-based rights company R2G have won plaudits by tracking down websites offering music pirated from their clients and encouraging them to sign licensing agreements instead.Digital rights management is seen as a potentially lucrative business. Rock Mobile, a spin-off from Taiwan’s Rock Music Group that handles Chinese market digital rights for companies such as EMI and Sony Music, last month raised $30m in international venture capital financing.However, administration officials insist only the non-profit Music Copyright Society of China (MCSC) and another state-backed audio-visual rights association approved last month can legally undertake “collective copyright management”.“Whatever face you put on it, you cannot get involved in this kind of business unless you have the approval of the copyright administration,” said one official, who declined to be named. The official cited rules issued in March that allow the government to confiscate earnings and pursue criminal charges against violators.
China's decision to ban "Memoirs of a Geisha" may have Hollywood crying foul, but the DVD sellers flogging pirate copies on the streets make a mockery of the government's efforts to control what its citizens see.After initially clearing the film for distribution, China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television reversed its decision last week over fears the film, which features Chinese actresses playing Japanese geishas, would spur anti-Japan sentiment at a time relations are already at a low.But the decision hasn't put a crimp in illicit supply lines. One vendor produced a copy from his sidewalk display in seconds. "It's a good copy," he said, offering it for 7 yuan ($0.85). "Of course it's been banned, but it doesn't really matter. All of my supply is pirated," he said, adding that he himself enjoyed the movie immensely.
Chinese opera singer Fan Jingma has been on all sides of the piracy issue.His recordings have been copied and sold without his permission.He has succumbed to the temptation of buying fake movies and music. And at a time when he struggled for enough money to eat, he made and sold pirated copies of his own recordings.Such is life in China, where the notion of intellectual-property rights is an evolving concept, and protection for creators is elusive.Now that he's getting ready to release his first CD on a major record label, it's no surprise that his feelings are mixed.He knows his music is likely to be pirated in China soon after it hits the market."I don't like it, but I'm not worried about it," he said. Fan figures there may be a silver lining: The more his CD is copied, the more people in China will recognize him."Of course I want to make money," he said. "But the more important thing for me is exposure."
China's government shut down 76 Web sites for providing downloads of Hollywood movies, music and other illegal content, responding to pressure from the U.S. and Europe for enhanced protection of intellectual property. Authorities arrested 18 people and fined 29 Web site operators a combined 789,000 yuan ($98,046) in the fourth quarter in the government's first major campaign against online piracy, Yan Xiaohong, deputy commissioner of the National Copyright Administration, said at a briefing in Beijing today. "We need to wait and see if the government is just taking a surgical one-time action or if it is serious in addressing this problem,'' said Albert Louie, managing partner of Beijing-based A. Louie Associates, which helps international companies track down counterfeiters and online pirates in China. ``The government must crack down more consistently.''
The Motion Picture Association (MPA), an industry group largely comprised of major Hollywood movie studios, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the China Film Copyright Protection Association (CFCPA) to cooperate on anti-piracy efforts, the group said Friday.Under terms of the agreement, the two groups will share anti-piracy information in a bid to support law enforcement efforts to crack down on movie piracy in China, where pirated films are widely available on DVDs and on the Internet. The two groups had previously cooperated by distributing a pamphlet entitled “Do You Understand the Copyright Interests in Films?”at Chinese schools and retail stores, MPA said in a statement.Established last year, the CFCPA is a group of 62 companies drawn from the Chinese film industry. It was established to act as a "bridge" between the Chinese government and the film industry, MPA said.
Yahoo China's music search engine has turned up bad news for the music industry and possible legal action against the global Web portal.In a situation that seems to mirror that of market-leading -- and already sued -- local portal http://www.baidu.com, Yahoo China's music pages link directly to unlicensed downloads and streams of songs by domestic and international artists."Deep linking," as the practice is known, differs from sending Web searchers to other pages that may host unlicensed music. Instead, the links on Baidu and Yahoo directly trigger a download of music hosted by sites that appear to be unaffiliated with Yahoo.The most obvious examples of apparent copyright infringement on the Yahoo China site include deep links to music by the Beatles. The band's catalogue has never been licensed to a digital service. This is similar to http://www.top100.cn, a Chinese music Web site that claimed legitimacy but sold unlicensed music.Yahoo China management denies that such links are examples of copyright violations.
The Chinese government has passed a new regulation to ban the uploading and downloading of Internet material without the copyright holder's permission. Under the regulation, effective from July 1, anyone uploading texts, and performance, sound and video recordings to the Internet for downloading, copying or other use, must acquire the permission of the copyright owners and pay the required fee. The production, import and supply of devices that are capable of evading or breaching technical measures of copyright protection and technical services are prohibited under the regulation. The regulation was drawn up on the principle that it must balance the interests of copyright owners, Internet service providers and users of the copyrighted works, said an official with the Legal Affairs Office of the State Council.
Under the regulation, effective from July 1, anyone uploading texts, and performance, sound and video recordings to the Internet for downloading, copying or other use, must acquire the permission of the copyright owners and pay the required fee.
