Shandong Cracks Down on Network Infringement and Piracy; Eight Typical Cases Announced in '08

In order to promote the implementation of the Outline of the National Intellectual Property Strategy, effectively strengthen the administrative enforcement and supervision of copyright in the network environment, and promote the healthy development of the Internet industry, the Copyright Bureau of Shandong Province, the Department of Public Security, and the Provincial Communications Bureau decided to deploy a special management action to combat network infringement and piracy in the province from August to November.

Firstly, copyright administrations at all levels will take the initiative to check whether the content they disseminate is authorized, to regulate the use of works on their networks, and to prevent infringement and piracy from occurring at the source.

Secondly, it strictly regulates copyright authorization and dissemination. It promotes the construction of copyright filing systems, such as registration of works and registration of copyright contracts; and explores the establishment of a database of copyright authorization information to provide accurate information for law enforcement officers to screen for piracy.

At the same time, crack down on the illegal distribution of film, television, literature, news and other works of copyright infringement and piracy. It will strengthen the review and supervision of the qualifications of Internet publishing units, and crack down on all kinds of Internet piracy, especially the illegal dissemination of film, television, literature, news and other works. The transfer of cases should be strengthened, and a number of major cases should be jointly listed and supervised.

Finally, legal publicity and education should be strengthened. Typical cases will be exposed, warning education will be carried out, and legal education will be provided to enterprises found to have violated the law during inspections and supervision.

Typical cases of copyright enforcement in 2008

On the 26th, the relevant departments announced some of the typical copyright cases investigated and dealt with by copyright administration departments at all levels in the province in 2008:

(a) The case of copyright infringement by Weihai AiNiBen's Network Co. In September 2007, a Korean person, Jin ChenTai, rented the 14th floor of a business hotel in Weihai as a business place and purchased a server to set up a website without authorization. Server, without authorization to establish a website. In November of that year, Mr. Jin registered and established Weihai Aiyipeng's Network Co. Without the permission of the copyright holder, Jin and others uploaded film and television works, in the form of paid on-demand services, to absorb thousands of registered members, charging membership fees. 2009 February 9, Weihai Intermediate People's Court of First Instance for copyright infringement sentenced Jin Chentai to four years of imprisonment and a fine of 400,000 yuan.

(2) Dong Mingyan and Hu Dunqi Trafficking in Pirated and ** CD-ROMs. In June 2008, the People's Court of Jimo City, Qingdao, sentenced them to three years' imprisonment and three years' probation for the crime of copyright infringement, and imposed a fine of RMB 10,000 yuan on each of them.

(3) Zhong Jieliang, Cui Tao and Hong Liangru Trafficking in Pirated and ** CD-ROMs: In March 2008, Zhong Jieliang purchased a large number of pirated CD-ROMs and ** CD-ROMs from Guangzhou, stored them in a basement of Qingdao and sold them to Cui Tao and others. In July 2008, the Qingdao Municipal South District People's Court sentenced Zhong Jieliang to three years' fixed-term imprisonment, five years' probation and a fine of RMB 15,000 yuan for copyright infringement and RMB 1,000 yuan for profit-trafficking in ** articles, and sentenced Cui and Hong to six months' detention and one year's probation, and a fine of RMB 5,000 yuan for each of them, for copyright infringement. One year, and a fine of five thousand yuan.

(4) The infringement case of "263 Movie Zone Website". Since its operation in February 2007, the "263 Film and Television Zone Website" has taken the means of illegally downloading or stealing links from the Internet, uploaded more than 2,000 film and television works, including the works under complaint, to the website without authorization, and signed agreements with hundreds of Internet cafe customers in the name of the fabricated Jinan Office of Beijing Xinwang Digital Technology Co. The company also signed an agreement with hundreds of Internet cafe customers in the name of the Jinan office of the fabricated Beijing Xinwang Digital Technology Co.