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WHEN new films are released, Li Heng, a college student in Beijing, usually goes to a peddler to buy DVDs at the gate of his college. And usually, he?can get the film DVDs at the prices he expected, at about 10 yuan ($1.59) apiece.
“it is a more convenient and cheaper way to see a newly released film,” Li told ChinAfrica, adding that he only chose to see movies with splendid special effects in the cinema, while preferring to buy DVDs of those ordinary ones and watching them on a PC in his dormitory.
“Although seeing films in the cinema is fashionable, i still?think the price is a bit too high for me,” he said. in Beijing, the average ticket price is 50 yuan ($7.9).
What Li bought was pirated DVDs whose sales are forbidden by the law.However, their cheaper price but equally high-definition video compared to their licensed counterparts guarantee a greater share of the entertainment market for media pirates. Experts say that rampant piracy, a common problem in China and the rest of the world, has brought?great economic loss to filmmakers and obscures the future development of the movie industry.
Mitigating factors
Li’s experience reflects a great challenge for the development of China’s movie industry: The industry is experiencing increasingly severe piracy. insiders say that a newly released film can be downloaded online or seen through pirated DVDs almost within three days after it premieres in the cinema. “i can see it in my dormitory, so why should i bother to go to the cinema?” asked Li.
One of the reasons why the piracy is rampant is that the production cost is very low.“For a DVD with ordinary video qualities, the cost can even be neglected. For high-definition one, the?cost is only 3 to 4 yuan ($0.47-0.63),” a DVD peddler who asked to be anonymous told ChinAfrica. “Considering China’s big market, producing pirated media?is a highly profitable business,” he added.
“Once the content is stolen, huge losses will be brought not only to the box office, but also to the industry chain based on copyright trade,”said Han Kaichen, a Chinese film director, adding that the losses to the whole industry were unpredictable.
“Given China’s big market, the protection of film copyrights is vital to the sound development of the film industry,” Zhang Huaiyin, Associate Professor on intellectual Property from Law School of Xiangtan University, told ChinAfrica.
According to data from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, China’s total box office receipts?reached 13.15 billion yuan ($2.08 billion) in 2011, up nearly 30 percent from 10.17 billion yuan ($1.61 billion) in 2010. The country produced 791 films in 2011, much more than the 526 films produced in 2010. And the number of cinema screens surged 48 percent from 6,266 in 2010 to 9,296 in 2011.“Rampant piracy will?strike a heavy blow on the booming industry,” Zhang said.
Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster, a 2010 kungfu blockbuster, lost 11.85 million yuan($1.87 million) in box office revenue because of DVD piracy.
Other ways of infringing on film copyrights include showing films online, in internet cafes, on long-distance buses and even on television for free.
Eliminating the problem
Film intellectual property right (iPR) protection has been attracting widespread attention in recent years and the Chinese Government has launched numerous campaigns to tackle copyright theft.A total of 32,573 illegal sites for copyright violations were closed down and and 54,658 criminal suspects were arrested during a campaign to combat iPR violations that ended in June 2011.
According to a report on the judicial protection for China’s iPR by the Supreme People’s Court of China, a total of 59,612 iPR cases were handled in 2011 with 50,201 verdicts rendered,increasing by 38.8 percent and 39.5 percent respectively.
Besides the efforts from the government, raising people’s awareness of boycotting pirated DVDs is equally important, according to experts.
However, not every one is aware that buying pirated DVDs or unauthorized downloading of films is illegal. “i’ve never even thought of property rights although i have been buying DVDs for years”, Li Heng told ChinAfrica.
“in fact, piracy is stealing. The only difference is that it is stealing the copyright owner’s intangible property right,” said Zhang Chaodong, an intellectual property lawyer, in an interview with Sohu.com.
He appealed that the government should improve the public’s awareness on the protection of intellectual property rights and that people violating them?should be punished. “i suggest that primary education should include cultivation of?children’s knowledge in this regard so that they will be conscious of the concept of copyright since childhood,” Zhang Chaodong said.
“Meanwhile, when their works are pirated, copyright owners should appeal to the law to safeguard their legal interests,” he added.
“it is a more convenient and cheaper way to see a newly released film,” Li told ChinAfrica, adding that he only chose to see movies with splendid special effects in the cinema, while preferring to buy DVDs of those ordinary ones and watching them on a PC in his dormitory.
“Although seeing films in the cinema is fashionable, i still?think the price is a bit too high for me,” he said. in Beijing, the average ticket price is 50 yuan ($7.9).
What Li bought was pirated DVDs whose sales are forbidden by the law.However, their cheaper price but equally high-definition video compared to their licensed counterparts guarantee a greater share of the entertainment market for media pirates. Experts say that rampant piracy, a common problem in China and the rest of the world, has brought?great economic loss to filmmakers and obscures the future development of the movie industry.
Mitigating factors
Li’s experience reflects a great challenge for the development of China’s movie industry: The industry is experiencing increasingly severe piracy. insiders say that a newly released film can be downloaded online or seen through pirated DVDs almost within three days after it premieres in the cinema. “i can see it in my dormitory, so why should i bother to go to the cinema?” asked Li.
One of the reasons why the piracy is rampant is that the production cost is very low.“For a DVD with ordinary video qualities, the cost can even be neglected. For high-definition one, the?cost is only 3 to 4 yuan ($0.47-0.63),” a DVD peddler who asked to be anonymous told ChinAfrica. “Considering China’s big market, producing pirated media?is a highly profitable business,” he added.
“Once the content is stolen, huge losses will be brought not only to the box office, but also to the industry chain based on copyright trade,”said Han Kaichen, a Chinese film director, adding that the losses to the whole industry were unpredictable.
“Given China’s big market, the protection of film copyrights is vital to the sound development of the film industry,” Zhang Huaiyin, Associate Professor on intellectual Property from Law School of Xiangtan University, told ChinAfrica.
According to data from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, China’s total box office receipts?reached 13.15 billion yuan ($2.08 billion) in 2011, up nearly 30 percent from 10.17 billion yuan ($1.61 billion) in 2010. The country produced 791 films in 2011, much more than the 526 films produced in 2010. And the number of cinema screens surged 48 percent from 6,266 in 2010 to 9,296 in 2011.“Rampant piracy will?strike a heavy blow on the booming industry,” Zhang said.
Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster, a 2010 kungfu blockbuster, lost 11.85 million yuan($1.87 million) in box office revenue because of DVD piracy.
Other ways of infringing on film copyrights include showing films online, in internet cafes, on long-distance buses and even on television for free.
Eliminating the problem
Film intellectual property right (iPR) protection has been attracting widespread attention in recent years and the Chinese Government has launched numerous campaigns to tackle copyright theft.A total of 32,573 illegal sites for copyright violations were closed down and and 54,658 criminal suspects were arrested during a campaign to combat iPR violations that ended in June 2011.
According to a report on the judicial protection for China’s iPR by the Supreme People’s Court of China, a total of 59,612 iPR cases were handled in 2011 with 50,201 verdicts rendered,increasing by 38.8 percent and 39.5 percent respectively.
Besides the efforts from the government, raising people’s awareness of boycotting pirated DVDs is equally important, according to experts.
However, not every one is aware that buying pirated DVDs or unauthorized downloading of films is illegal. “i’ve never even thought of property rights although i have been buying DVDs for years”, Li Heng told ChinAfrica.
“in fact, piracy is stealing. The only difference is that it is stealing the copyright owner’s intangible property right,” said Zhang Chaodong, an intellectual property lawyer, in an interview with Sohu.com.
He appealed that the government should improve the public’s awareness on the protection of intellectual property rights and that people violating them?should be punished. “i suggest that primary education should include cultivation of?children’s knowledge in this regard so that they will be conscious of the concept of copyright since childhood,” Zhang Chaodong said.
“Meanwhile, when their works are pirated, copyright owners should appeal to the law to safeguard their legal interests,” he added.