Copyright Infringement: Social Media Shouldn’t Touch the Red Line

 Social Media

The 2018 Content Industry Copyright Report  (the report) shows that new type of copyright infringement has emerged through social media such as Wechat Mini Program and Weibo.

Zhao Hu from the Beijing-based Zhongwen Law Firm analyzed the reasons while being interviewed by China Intellectual Property Right News. Firstly,  some users’ awareness of copyright is extremely low. Whether the contents are pirated or not is out of their concern for the profit is paramount. In addition, the current rule of law  remains obscure, failing to set up a bottom line for behaviors through judicial practise. Last but not least, channels like Wechat Moment and Mini Program are semi-closed but quick in transmitting information. Stringent supervision remains a hurdle to be overcome. Moreover, users can forward these contents in a second without even downloading any apps, which makes precaution out of the question for the obligees.

Joint Copyright Protection

Online paid knowledge content is the most vulnerable product against copyright infringement as mentioned above.

Infringement via social media has severely damaged copyright owners’ legal right, hindered the creation of original contents, and become the “headache”of copyright owners.

Platforms need to be agents of anti-infringement actions. However, it’s impossible to eliminate torts. According to the report, most infringers are private accounts that are difficult for infringees to trace and it’s hard to clarify the specific obligees who are infringed . Therefore, platforms need to make a difference to effectively address the problem. The overarching issue is balance between copyright protection and privacy.

Zhao Hu suggested two tangible solutions. On the one hand, related units should raise public awareness of copyrights through education; build an effective copyright agent and authorization system; support legal copy and resist piracy. On the other hand, a consistent rule of law based on practise should be implemented and improved to ensure that the judge can deal with new cases with specific legal provisions in a higher efficiency. Meanwhile, higher indemnification can encourage self-regulation.

May 15 , 2019

Source: China Intellectual Property News

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