Ban on foreign TV shows is working
Source: Xinhua |
January 9, 2011, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
JUST about two months ago, with a few clicks of the mouse, Chen Ying was able to watch her favorite American TV shows, "The Vampire Diaries" or "Gossip Girl," online for free.
Like Chen, an employee of a foreign-invested company in Shanghai, many Chinese fans of US TV shows have little choice but to watch video clips online because domestic cable channels do not broadcast copyrighted versions. Some fans volunteer to upload clips onto video-sharing websites without charge.
But now Chen struggles to find unauthorized foreign TV shows online.
In November 2010, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television announced a ban on any form of trading and supplying unauthorized foreign TV shows.
In October, the Ministry of Culture launched a six-month crackdown on counterfeiting to halt the theft of intellectual property rights and promote awareness of the issue.
In response, China's major video-hosting websites, including Youku.com, Tudou.com and Ku6.com, removed videos of unauthorized foreign TV programs.
A podcastor, using an online name "Xueselaoxie" on Youku.com, said some 7,000 unauthorized videos of American TV shows he had uploaded were deleted by the website in one night.
To fans of foreign TV series, the ban is disappointing. But to the country, it's an important step in fighting IPR infringement, said Li Yongqiang, assistant to CEO of Beijing Baofeng Inc, an online video-hosting provider.
Similar regulations were issued earlier. But they never received as much attention as this one, Li said.
"I checked some portals after the ban. Some websites removed all unauthorized videos of American TV shows over night," Li added.
"I believe the entire online video-sharing industry has realized the importance of developing it in a healthy way and people's awareness of IPR will be raised," Li said.
Following the ban, many provinces beefed up efforts in cracking down on online IPR infringement.
In Jilin Province, the provincial copyright administration shut down two websites, o2sky.com and imdj.net, after they illegally provided videos of South Korean movies.
Like Chen, an employee of a foreign-invested company in Shanghai, many Chinese fans of US TV shows have little choice but to watch video clips online because domestic cable channels do not broadcast copyrighted versions. Some fans volunteer to upload clips onto video-sharing websites without charge.
But now Chen struggles to find unauthorized foreign TV shows online.
In November 2010, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television announced a ban on any form of trading and supplying unauthorized foreign TV shows.
In October, the Ministry of Culture launched a six-month crackdown on counterfeiting to halt the theft of intellectual property rights and promote awareness of the issue.
In response, China's major video-hosting websites, including Youku.com, Tudou.com and Ku6.com, removed videos of unauthorized foreign TV programs.
A podcastor, using an online name "Xueselaoxie" on Youku.com, said some 7,000 unauthorized videos of American TV shows he had uploaded were deleted by the website in one night.
To fans of foreign TV series, the ban is disappointing. But to the country, it's an important step in fighting IPR infringement, said Li Yongqiang, assistant to CEO of Beijing Baofeng Inc, an online video-hosting provider.
Similar regulations were issued earlier. But they never received as much attention as this one, Li said.
"I checked some portals after the ban. Some websites removed all unauthorized videos of American TV shows over night," Li added.
"I believe the entire online video-sharing industry has realized the importance of developing it in a healthy way and people's awareness of IPR will be raised," Li said.
Following the ban, many provinces beefed up efforts in cracking down on online IPR infringement.
In Jilin Province, the provincial copyright administration shut down two websites, o2sky.com and imdj.net, after they illegally provided videos of South Korean movies.
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