ENFORCEMENT ISSUES IN THE ENTERTAINMENT
INDUSTRIES
KAREN R. THORLAND
OCTOBER 4, 2012
MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
THE MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION
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Walt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Corporation
Universal City Studios LLC
Warner Bros.
Entertainment Inc.
Sony Pictures
Entertainment Inc
Twentieth Century Fox
Film Corporation
ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES
PAST CIVIL LITIGATION BY ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
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

Numerous copyright infringement actions against
DVD sellers.
Relief obtained has included:
 Orders
to immediately stop selling DVDS
 Damages typically ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 USD
ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES
PAST CIVIL LITIGATION BY ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
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


Rightsholders have had past litigation successes against
pirate sites.
Typically injunctive relief has not been obtained, despite
availability.
Damages do not always compensate for the costs of
litigation or serve to deter piracy.
ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES
PAST CIVIL LITIGATION BY ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
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Sohu.com

Provided registered users with paid download (pay-per-month) of
movies without authorization from studios.

In 2006, the studios sued Sohu for copyright infringement and obtain
a judgment.

Ordered to stop infringement of studios’ right of communication.

Ordered to apologize to plaintiffs.

Ordered to pay approximately $138,000 in damages.
ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES
OTHER ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS BY INDUSTRY
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
Under current law/regulations, video hosting
platforms are required to remove infringing
content immediately once a takedown notice
is issued.
 Notice
sending requires that rightsholders search for
their content on these sites.
 Once notices are sent, rightsholders must then
monitor the sites for compliance.
 If monitoring shows that content is not removed civil
litigation may follow.
ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES
GOVERNMENT ACTION
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The online piracy landscape has greatly
changed in recent years with the Chinese
government initiating a number of measures,
including strengthened legislation, to curtail
online piracy.
 Strong government enforcement actions by
the NCAC in recent years have resulted in a
reduction in the volume of infringing content
on video hosting platforms.

ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES
CHALLENGES REMAIN – THE LANDSCAPE
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
Migration of piracy from video hosting sites to
hybrid streaming “rogue” sites using P2P
technology are growing immensely in popularity
and are difficult to enforce against.

Second-tier UGC sites are becoming more popular
locations for unauthorized content.

Growth of Internet TV and related devices brings
new means of infringement.
ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES
CHALLENGES REMAIN – THE LAW
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
As in other countries, the copyright law struggles to
keep pace with the rapid developments in media
technology and changes in consumer trends.

Some legal uncertainty remains, particularly in key
issues such as liability, burdens of proof and fault.

Bringing litigation can also be unnecessarily difficult
and often results in high costs to the rights owner but
low penalties to the infringers.

Damages awards may be a cost of doing business for some
sites.
ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES
XUNLEI – AN EXAMPLE
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ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES
SOLUTIONS?
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

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Proposed overhaul of the Copyright Law makes a number of
important improvements.
As with all legal systems, the impact of any amendments on
content theft will depend on not only the adoption of these
changes but also the implementation of the measures.
There are new opportunities for rightsholders to form alliances
with the Chinese government to work together towards a
common goal of reducing Internet piracy and reinforce the laws
which regulate online activities.
Enforcement efforts, such as notice sending notices and litigation,
are not a solution to content theft alone and need to be coupled
with continued cooperative efforts with government and stake
holders in China (including technology companies, entertainment
distributors and rightsholders).
ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES
SOLUTIONS?
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
Some specific goals include:
 Civil compensation standards that take into consideration
the popularity, production costs, box office takings of the
film, and the release date, duration and scope of the
infringing act, as well as the infringer’s business scope and
illegal gain from the infringement (i.e., not just the actual
loss of the rights owner and the illegal income of the
infringer, which can be hard to calculate).
 Less cumbersome evidence collection tools are need so
that more works can be included in claims.
 Provide preliminary relief in the form of injunctions where
warranted.
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THANK YOU!
ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES