ENFORCEMENT ISSUES IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES KAREN R. THORLAND OCTOBER 4, 2012 MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES 2 THE MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation Universal City Studios LLC Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES  Numerous copyright infringement actions against DVD sellers.  Relief obtained has included:  Orders to immediately stop selling DVDS  Damages typically ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 USD 3 PAST CIVIL LITIGATION BY ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY

ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES  Rightsholders have had past litigation successes against pirate sites.  Typically injunctive relief has not been obtained, despite availability.  Damages do not always compensate for the costs of litigation or serve to deter piracy. 4 PAST CIVIL LITIGATION BY ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY

ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES 5 PAST CIVIL LITIGATION BY ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY Sohu.com  Provided registered users with paid download (pay-per-month) of movies without authorization from studios.  In 2006, the studios sued Sohu for copyright infringement and obtain a judgment.  Ordered to stop infringement of studios’ right of communication.  Ordered to apologize to plaintiffs.  Ordered to pay approximately $138,000 in damages.

ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES  Under current law/regulations, video hosting platforms are required to remove infringing content immediately once a takedown notice is issued.  Notice sending requires that rightsholders search for their content on these sites.  Once notices are sent, rightsholders must then monitor the sites for compliance.  If monitoring shows that content is not removed civil litigation may follow. 6 OTHER ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS BY INDUSTRY

ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES  The online piracy landscape has greatly changed in recent years with the Chinese government initiating a number of measures, including strengthened legislation, to curtail online piracy.  Strong government enforcement actions by the NCAC in recent years have resulted in a reduction in the volume of infringing content on video hosting platforms. 7 GOVERNMENT ACTION

ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES  Migration of piracy from video hosting sites to hybrid streaming “rogue” sites using P2P technology are growing immensely in popularity and are difficult to enforce against.  Second-tier UGC sites are becoming more popular locations for unauthorized content.  Growth of Internet TV and related devices brings new means of infringement. 8 CHALLENGES REMAIN – THE LANDSCAPE

ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES  As in other countries, the copyright law struggles to keep pace with the rapid developments in media technology and changes in consumer trends.  Some legal uncertainty remains, particularly in key issues such as liability, burdens of proof and fault.  Bringing litigation can also be unnecessarily difficult and often results in high costs to the rights owner but low penalties to the infringers. Damages awards may be a cost of doing business for some sites. 9 CHALLENGES REMAIN – THE LAW

ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES XUNLEI – AN EXAMPLE 10

ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES  Proposed overhaul of the Copyright Law makes a number of important improvements.  As with all legal systems, the impact of any amendments on content theft will depend on not only the adoption of these changes but also the implementation of the measures.  There are new opportunities for rightsholders to form alliances with the Chinese government to work together towards a common goal of reducing Internet piracy and reinforce the laws which regulate online activities.  Enforcement efforts, such as notice sending notices and litigation, are not a solution to content theft alone and need to be coupled with continued cooperative efforts with government and stake holders in China (including technology companies, entertainment distributors and rightsholders). 11 SOLUTIONS?

ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES  Some specific goals include:  Civil compensation standards that take into consideration the popularity, production costs, box office takings of the film, and the release date, duration and scope of the infringing act, as well as the infringer’s business scope and illegal gain from the infringement (i.e., not just the actual loss of the rights owner and the illegal income of the infringer, which can be hard to calculate).  Less cumbersome evidence collection tools are need so that more works can be included in claims.  Provide preliminary relief in the form of injunctions where warranted. 12 SOLUTIONS?

ENFORCEMENT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES THANK YOU! 13