Huge fines drive up the cost of video piracy

Qvod was fined 260 million yuan by the competent authorities for piracy. Although the amount has not yet been finalized, the increase in piracy costs has still caused heated discussions in the industry. However, in the view of many video website intellectual property lawyers, the profits from piracy on video websites have always been far greater than the cost of infringement, but the emergence of similar administrative penalties is expected to increase the cost of piracy.

The previous listing boom allowed a wave of video websites to whitewash the problem of piracy, but for the sake of profit, some video websites inevitably used the safe harbor principle and skirting tactics. The huge fine imposed by the regulators on Qvod caused an uproar in the market, but some websites did not restrain themselves. According to a Beijing Business Daily reporter, the recently popular "Coming Home" also encountered piracy, among which PPS and Xunlei Kuaichuan, which enjoy a certain degree of popularity in the industry, were among them.

On May 16, Zhang Yimou's film "Coming Home" was officially released. As of May 20, the box office of the film has exceeded 120 million yuan, which shows how popular it is. However, the popularity of "Coming Home" has also led to the piracy of some websites. After several days of personal experience, Beijing Business Daily reporters found that "Coming Home" can be watched on websites such as PPS and Xunlei Fast Transfer through the form of in-site search and playback, or in-site search and download.

In fact, the behavior of websites such as Qvod is almost known to everyone in the industry. At the end of last year, organizations represented by Youku Tudou Group and Sohu Video established the China Online Video Anti-Piracy Alliance, which jointly sued Qvod and other serious piracy activities.

But in fact, piracy lawsuits and claims have been loud but little action. According to statistics from the Haidian Court, from 2007 to October 2011, the court heard 1,989 copyright cases involving video websites as defendants, but more than 90% of the cases involved compensation amounts of less than 100,000 yuan.

But according to Beijing Business Daily, the amount of compensation for infringement has not increased significantly in recent years. In May last year, Sohu Video only received 14,000 yuan in compensation in the case against Guava Video. Almost at the same time as Sohu Video's lawsuit, LeTV also sued Beijing Fengwang Information Technology Co., Ltd. for infringement and the amount of compensation awarded was only 12,000 yuan, which was 12% of LeTV's claim.

Well-known intellectual property lawyers Zhao Zhanling and Yao Kefeng both admitted to the Beijing Business Daily reporter that previously, the amount of compensation awarded by the courts for copyright infringement of online videos was generally too low, which was completely disproportionate to the copyright procurement costs of tens of millions of yuan per film. The low cost is also the direct reason why piracy in the online video industry has been repeatedly banned.

But until recently, the regulatory authorities proposed to fine Qvod 260 million yuan, and the industry began to lament the rising cost of piracy. According to Beijing Business Daily, Coming Home was produced by LeTV Pictures, and LeTV is currently the only holder of the information network transmission rights of the film. It is understood that according to LeTV's practice, before the release of a blockbuster, LeTV will send a copyright statement to major websites and publish a statement in relevant media, in order to prevent websites from illegally broadcasting the film.

In this regard, an unnamed lawyer pointed out that the punishment imposed by the regulatory authorities on the Qvod incident shows that the government is increasingly strengthening its efforts to combat piracy. Therefore, if the exclusive information network transmission rights holders sue for the pirated broadcasting of the above websites, they will face huge compensation. The lawyer also called for the crackdown on online piracy to be urgent, and ordinary viewers should support genuine products, which is the best attitude and method to combat piracy.

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.