Entrepreneur finds jackpot chasing pirates
February 25, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ON January 22, the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year, Zizhu Science Park was a virtually a ghost town because most people were away enjoying big feasts at traditional family reunions.
But in one room of Building No. 2, a light shot across the quiet darkness. Inside, Wu Guanyong and his team members were busy monitoring online broadcasts of state television's annual Spring Festival gala program to check for websites "stealing" the broadcast without authorization.
Wu sacrificed dinner with his family because he couldn't pass up such a good business opportunity for his eight-month-old start-up company.
In the cyber era, it's hard for video copyright holders to detect piracy because the virtual network is so immerse and infringers are adept at disguising their activities.
Simple searches with key words, the common way of trying to track those who pirate material, are time-consuming and often not very effective.
That's where Wu's company comes into play. They have developed technology to monitor sites and ferret out instances of copyright infringement.
The Anhui Province native, who is now studying for a doctorate in electronic engineering from Shanghai's prestigious Jiao Tong University, founded Firstbrave Information Technology Co. in Zizhu park after carefully nurturing his entrepreneurial dreams.
"I tried to gather experience and get initial funding and customers to lay the foundation for my future business," Wu said.
Believing that a good team is the key to success, Wu managed to convince a classmate to join him rather than to accept an offer to work at IBM. In the end, the company started with four people and an investment of 1 million yuan (US$161,290).
Next to the right team, using advanced technology is important, Wu said.
"We keep up with cutting-edge technologies and are dedicated to applying what we learned in university into practical results," he said.
He said many companies in the field are still using old technologies. But times are changing fast. The convergence of telecommunications, cable TV and Internet networks in China offers a whole new realm of opportunities that Wu and his team were quick to seize.
"I believe the industry has a bright future," he said.
Avoiding sectors where big companies have already cornered the market, Wu positioned his company as a media industry technology service supplier in an underdeveloped part of the market.
The company's business includes Internet video copyright monitoring, media asset management, advertisement monitoring and marketing relying on software. Monitoring Internet video copyright infringement is a key service.
"We aren't trying to take on too many services at once," he said. "Rather, we focus on one small, specific item and try to become the most professional provider there."
Professional team
Wu and his team developed their own video-searching technology, which detaches dynamic video into a series of images and compares each one with that of the database.
Only if the contents of the image being monitored exceed a certain ratio to the original can the suspect image be singled out.
That could include a deviation such as subtitles being deleted.
The technology also uses cloud computing and can provide real-time results.
"Accuracy, speed and full-scale monitoring are what we pursue," Wu said.
The company is located in Zizhu park because the Minhang campus of Jiao Tong University is nearby and the park is constructing an Internet audio-visual industry center, which is in tune with Wu's business.
Part of his start-up funding came from the Zizhu office of Youth Business China, an agency that helps bright, young people with entrepreneurial ambitions. The rent is also free. To attract customers, Wu provides a free testing service for two weeks.
During the New Year's Eve monitoring for China Network Television (CNTV), the company provided three reports during the gala program, finding nearly 300 websites that were "stealing" the broadcast.
Based on the information gathered, CNTV will sue the websites airing unauthorized broadcasts. Firstbrave's performance has won it a contract to monitor the online broadcasts of state television's Lantern Festival gala.
The monitoring involved four technical personnel and dozens of servers.
Firstbrave now employs 15 staff and expects to quadruple that number this year. The company is already making a profit. It has cooperative ties with big online video websites such as Tudou and Youku.
But in one room of Building No. 2, a light shot across the quiet darkness. Inside, Wu Guanyong and his team members were busy monitoring online broadcasts of state television's annual Spring Festival gala program to check for websites "stealing" the broadcast without authorization.
Wu sacrificed dinner with his family because he couldn't pass up such a good business opportunity for his eight-month-old start-up company.
In the cyber era, it's hard for video copyright holders to detect piracy because the virtual network is so immerse and infringers are adept at disguising their activities.
Simple searches with key words, the common way of trying to track those who pirate material, are time-consuming and often not very effective.
That's where Wu's company comes into play. They have developed technology to monitor sites and ferret out instances of copyright infringement.
The Anhui Province native, who is now studying for a doctorate in electronic engineering from Shanghai's prestigious Jiao Tong University, founded Firstbrave Information Technology Co. in Zizhu park after carefully nurturing his entrepreneurial dreams.
"I tried to gather experience and get initial funding and customers to lay the foundation for my future business," Wu said.
Believing that a good team is the key to success, Wu managed to convince a classmate to join him rather than to accept an offer to work at IBM. In the end, the company started with four people and an investment of 1 million yuan (US$161,290).
Next to the right team, using advanced technology is important, Wu said.
"We keep up with cutting-edge technologies and are dedicated to applying what we learned in university into practical results," he said.
He said many companies in the field are still using old technologies. But times are changing fast. The convergence of telecommunications, cable TV and Internet networks in China offers a whole new realm of opportunities that Wu and his team were quick to seize.
"I believe the industry has a bright future," he said.
Avoiding sectors where big companies have already cornered the market, Wu positioned his company as a media industry technology service supplier in an underdeveloped part of the market.
The company's business includes Internet video copyright monitoring, media asset management, advertisement monitoring and marketing relying on software. Monitoring Internet video copyright infringement is a key service.
"We aren't trying to take on too many services at once," he said. "Rather, we focus on one small, specific item and try to become the most professional provider there."
Professional team
Wu and his team developed their own video-searching technology, which detaches dynamic video into a series of images and compares each one with that of the database.
Only if the contents of the image being monitored exceed a certain ratio to the original can the suspect image be singled out.
That could include a deviation such as subtitles being deleted.
The technology also uses cloud computing and can provide real-time results.
"Accuracy, speed and full-scale monitoring are what we pursue," Wu said.
The company is located in Zizhu park because the Minhang campus of Jiao Tong University is nearby and the park is constructing an Internet audio-visual industry center, which is in tune with Wu's business.
Part of his start-up funding came from the Zizhu office of Youth Business China, an agency that helps bright, young people with entrepreneurial ambitions. The rent is also free. To attract customers, Wu provides a free testing service for two weeks.
During the New Year's Eve monitoring for China Network Television (CNTV), the company provided three reports during the gala program, finding nearly 300 websites that were "stealing" the broadcast.
Based on the information gathered, CNTV will sue the websites airing unauthorized broadcasts. Firstbrave's performance has won it a contract to monitor the online broadcasts of state television's Lantern Festival gala.
The monitoring involved four technical personnel and dozens of servers.
Firstbrave now employs 15 staff and expects to quadruple that number this year. The company is already making a profit. It has cooperative ties with big online video websites such as Tudou and Youku.
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