Who is the next shooter?

Subtitle.com is caught in a contradictory situation: if it wants to attract capital, it must first solve the copyright issue and have a corresponding business model; and the development of a business model will inevitably be resisted by the current audience.

November 22 was a black Saturday for die-hard fans of overseas dramas. The professional subtitle portal Shooter.com ended its more than ten years of subtitle work with an article titled "Letting Go".

On the same day, Renren Video, which was originally cleaning up its content, also announced the closure of its Chinese website. As early as a year ago, Renren Video was blacklisted by the American Film Association due to suspected copyright issues.

Copyright has always been the biggest pain for these subtitle video websites. Because they do not have legal authorization, they cannot conduct profitable activities, which leads to problems in website operation.

Operational problems have become increasingly apparent, and the launch of the "Sword Net" operation has dealt the final blow to such platforms. This month, relevant state departments issued a notice that all foreign TV series and films to be launched in 2015 must produce "a full season" of films with subtitles and submit them to local bureaus for review. Once the review is passed, they can obtain an import license number before being broadcast online.

With the increasingly strict domestic supervision on copyright, and more and more video websites enjoying the copyright to broadcast overseas dramas through formal purchases, the survival environment of resource-sharing platforms is becoming increasingly harsh.

As Shen Sheng, the director of the website, said, "The era that needs Sagittarius has gone." After all, the academic exchanges with a literary style cannot withstand the vigorous and resolute "Sword Net" action. Will more related video websites fall into despair in the future?

A large number of subtitle websites were suspected of infringement or were closed

Subtitle groups have developed with the popularity of overseas dramas. Members usually gather together because of their hobbies. Most of them are international students or people who have lived abroad. With the advancement of network technology, subtitle groups have continued to expand, from working alone, setting up camp on WeChat, Weibo, QQ and other communication software, to setting up special subtitle publishing websites. After reaching a certain scale, they set up online video platforms by purchasing servers, and some can even provide video resources for download.

Usually, it only takes a dozen people to complete the translation of a TV series. Because overseas weekly dramas have a fixed broadcast time every week, and generally one or two episodes a week, the subtitle team only needs spare time to complete it. From downloading the source, to dividing the work of listening and translating, making special effects, proofreading subtitles, compressing videos, checking the entire series, and finally publishing the finished product. The whole process sometimes only takes a few hours.

Shen Sheng, the founder of Shooter.com, also admitted that the establishment of the website was purely out of personal interest, and the needs of netizens were the determining factor. Subtitle.com was established to meet the hobby needs of some drama fans.

However, this kind of sharing for the sake of hobby infringes on the copyright of movies and TV series. And the beneficiaries are not just video websites.

An iQiyi insider pointed out: "If the state protects copyrighted content, the entire entertainment system will benefit. It protects content producers and also protects the healthy operation of the entertainment industry."

Relevant legal experts said that the translation behavior of the subtitle group is also a creation, but the permission of the right holder was not obtained before translation. Therefore, these translated subtitles can only be classified as works in theory. Even the simple downloading of subtitles is an infringement.

Whether such infringement can be protected by law depends on the attitude of the copyright holder of the work. The Contract Law contains the term "pending validity", which means that although the translated subtitles have not obtained the permission of the copyright holder of the work before translation, if the copyright holder approves them afterwards, the subtitles are authorized and are legal works. Otherwise, they are not protected. Before the copyright holder approves, the subtitles translated without permission are in a pending validity state, which is neither illegal nor legal.

The subtitle groups have been relying on this legal gray area to operate.

"Copyright is equivalent to intellectual property rights. All works have rights holders. These rights holders have the right to control the rights of reproduction and translation. When individuals do this through communication, it falls within the scope of pending effectiveness. That is to say, if the authority is recognized, the addition is agreed upon, even if it is added after translation, it is legal. However, once the rights holder pursues it, it is illegal." The above-mentioned legal experts pointed out.

This risk has always accompanied the subtitle groups. Once the rights holder pursues it, the nature of academic exchange cannot guarantee that they will get away with it unscathed.

Website positioning hinders capital entry

When responding to copyright issues, most subtitle groups use non-profit status as a shield.

This "non-profit" does not mean that subtitle websites have no income. It is understood that although subtitlers translate for free for their hobby, some larger subtitle resource platforms will push some advertisements to pay for necessary expenses such as server and website maintenance. In order to avoid risks, these websites will choose some relatively small online game advertisements and embed them into the website in the form of friendly links. Merchants will pay a certain fee, and some websites also provide paid downloads, and even push advertisements in the downloaded resources.

As a result, these websites also face further risks and challenges. An insider of a video website said: "Once these subtitle websites become big, copyright holders will start to come to them."

Chang Yachun, an intellectual property lawyer at Beijing Zhongwen Law Firm, told the reporter of Financial Weekly: "It has nothing to do with whether it is profitable or not. It is a business behavior in itself. Unauthorized use is infringement. Profit is only a measure of compensation, not infringement. Providing links is an indirect infringement, and the "safe harbor principle" can be used without compensation, but uploading works is a direct infringement, regardless of whether it is profitable or not."

On the other hand, the business model created by copyright disputes cannot win the favor of capital. At present, no subtitle website in China has received investment. There are also very few such websites abroad that can obtain investment and continue to operate.

Lack of familiarity with this industry is a major factor hindering capital entry.

A partner of Sequoia Capital admitted in an interview with the Financial Weekly reporter, "We don't know much about community-based service websites. There may be relevant researchers, but in the end, no investment was made."

What prevents capital from understanding the subtitle group is its public welfare orientation. At present, subtitle websites are caught in a contradictory situation. On the one hand, if they want to attract capital, they must first solve the copyright issue and develop a corresponding business operation model; and the development of a business model will inevitably be resisted by the current positioning group.

An industry insider from a subtitle group also expressed his deep sadness: "If we charge for it, we will probably lose a large part of the click-through rate."

A person working in an investment bank also said: "Subtitle websites are not for profit, and their audiences have already accepted this setting. Moreover, the team is also a very important consideration for capital investment. Most of the subtitle website teams are amateur practitioners, and currently lack people who have the energy and time to industrialize them. In this case, it is difficult for capital to enter."

VIKI, a foreign subtitle website, received tens of millions of dollars in capital three years ago. Since the translators did not charge any fees, the website manager only needed to invest this part of the funds in content and copyright purchases. Correspondingly, members had to pay to watch videos on the website. However, its manager remained silent about revenue, and no new capital was injected in the following three years.

The difficulty in capital entry has led more and more subtitle groups to seek a "safe haven" by cooperating with video websites.

When My Love from the Star was popular, iQiyi obtained the rights to broadcast and translate it, and Phoenix Angel Subtitles Group was responsible for the subtitles translation. An iQiyi insider said: "The website itself has a team of overseas students responsible for subtitles. Some of them do some translation themselves, and others may cooperate with external institutions or individuals."

Some industry insiders also said that this cooperation model is a win-win model permitted by current laws and regulations, and it is not ruled out that more teams and individuals will join in the future.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.